Anonymous wrote:DH never paid a dime for education (Annapolis grad, Navy paid for law school). I have a trust fund and a really good private sector income in my own. This is really common.

Yep, most officers in this area are well educated but never paid for education (besides the academies, there are many who did ROTC for undergrad and then another degree paid for by military).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Running joke in military circles actually. Many, many have cars above means.

Also, veterans get preferences for fed jobs. So what they typically do is get a fed job after leaving the military. Once their clearance is processed and they start their new job, they will talk to other vets who are collecting 40k/yr in disability. And they will inevitably apply for disability due to their "PTSD" despite never having seen a second of actual combat.

It’s very hard to get disability pay except if you caught in war and if they did they deserve it. It’s not easy getting a fed job and most don’t have the kind of clearance needed.

My spouses military pension is less than $1k a month. Officers do well.

+1. Far more likely to deserve disability benefits and be denied than the other way around.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Running joke in military circles actually. Many, many have cars above means.

Also, veterans get preferences for fed jobs. So what they typically do is get a fed job after leaving the military. Once their clearance is processed and they start their new job, they will talk to other vets who are collecting 40k/yr in disability. And they will inevitably apply for disability due to their "PTSD" despite never having seen a second of actual combat.

Ok there, Skippy.

Carrying around a lot of weird baggage about veterans… none of which was even remotely relevant to the thread.

Good job, good effort.

DH never paid a dime for education (Annapolis grad, Navy paid for law school). I have a trust fund and a really good private sector income in my own. This is really common.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Running joke in military circles actually. Many, many have cars above means.

Also, veterans get preferences for fed jobs. So what they typically do is get a fed job after leaving the military. Once their clearance is processed and they start their new job, they will talk to other vets who are collecting 40k/yr in disability. And they will inevitably apply for disability due to their "PTSD" despite never having seen a second of actual combat.

It’s very hard to get disability pay except if you caught in war and if they did they deserve it. It’s not easy getting a fed job and most don’t have the kind of clearance needed.

My spouses military pension is less than $1k a month. Officers do well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Family money
Spouse has a high income

Also, many active military claim residence in FL and the like, and pay no property taxes

This but officers can make good money. They get a lot for a housing allowance on top of pay.

They also have far less expenses, too, in general. Besides housing, they typically will not spend as much on medical, state income tax, college savings (GI bill plus in-state in their state of residence), retirement, and a whole lot more.

This is, of course, even more true for dual-military families, especially dual-officer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the military around here (not all of course) are officers. Many of those officers have been in for a number of years. It's the complete opposite of a traditional military base, which are dominated by enlisted.

You aren't witnessing an E-3 sending kids to private school and driving an 80k car. S/he still might overspend on cars, but it's not what you are describing.

This is not true at all. Lots of enlisted. I’m a retired enlisted wife.

There are definitely lots of enlisted but my guess is these are officers that the OP is talking about that are sending their kids to the private schools in Alexandria.

Anonymous wrote:
You may not have noticed, OP, but certain population groups that do not sink millions into primary residences, either because they can't afford it, or because their job makes owning a home a little complicated and they don't necessarily want to invest a large sum, tend to splurge on vehicles and other non-real estate signs of wealth.

It's like the teacher in a lower-income neighborhood noticing her students coming in with the latest in sneakers and iPhones.

These are officers with kids attending alexandria private schools. Many have been at the pentagon, etc. for multiple years and own homes in this area or rent in good neighborhoods. Officers in this area tend to have spouses with good professional jobs...no different from other 2 income professional households. They likely can ...just afford a car on top of their home.

Anonymous wrote:Most of the military around here (not all of course) are officers. Many of those officers have been in for a number of years. It's the complete opposite of a traditional military base, which are dominated by enlisted.

You aren't witnessing an E-3 sending kids to private school and driving an 80k car. S/he still might overspend on cars, but it's not what you are describing.

This is not true at all. Lots of enlisted. I’m a retired enlisted wife.

Anonymous wrote:Family money
Spouse has a high income

Also, many active military claim residence in FL and the like, and pay no property taxes

This but officers can make good money. They get a lot for a housing allowance on top of pay.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of military physicians in the area, with bonuses salary can be easily $250k+. Part of that salary (housing) is not taxed and like the other poster said a number claim Florida/TX residency so no state tax. Plus no history of student loans.

Also military (usually younger service members though) are notorious for over spending on cars. That's why there are so many car dealers around military bases

(I'm a former military physician)

My DH is an ex Navy officer and tells story of taking enlisted back to dealerships and returning cars.
They prey on them.

It's bad enough that Norfolk has Jags to assist them

Most of the military around here (not all of course) are officers. Many of those officers have been in for a number of years. It's the complete opposite of a traditional military base, which are dominated by enlisted.

You aren't witnessing an E-3 sending kids to private school and driving an 80k car. S/he still might overspend on cars, but it's not what you are describing.

You may not have noticed, OP, but certain population groups that do not sink millions into primary residences, either because they can't afford it, or because their job makes owning a home a little complicated and they don't necessarily want to invest a large sum, tend to splurge on vehicles and other non-real estate signs of wealth.

It's like the teacher in a lower-income neighborhood noticing her students coming in with the latest in sneakers and iPhones.

PP here. Oh yes, also an officer married to a private school teacher, and a military doctor whose wife also works in healthcare.

Anonymous wrote:Running joke in military circles actually. Many, many have cars above means.

Also, veterans get preferences for fed jobs. So what they typically do is get a fed job after leaving the military. Once their clearance is processed and they start their new job, they will talk to other vets who are collecting 40k/yr in disability. And they will inevitably apply for disability due to their "PTSD" despite never having seen a second of actual combat.