OP, perhaps you ought to make a pro / con list and discuss moving with your family. No one here is going to calm your nerves about the SOTU. Our nerves are jangled, too.

But jangled or not, staying in here - or doubling down, as you put it - is a personal decision. I, for one, lived in DC through the Mayor Barry days when we were told to boil water because it had 'fecal matter' in it. I rented then, and I bought my first DC home after that announcement. Regardless of who is in the WH or what level of fecal matter is in the Potomac, I love DC and I have no plans to leave.

You clearly aren't as attached and so, fancy lawyer with options, you ought to do your own pro/con with your family and stop yucking our yum (not the fecal matter, of course, that is yuck ... but yum of this stunningly beautiful city with its resilient interesting, dynamic and strong residents - its amazing metro and exciting new arts scene on the Wharf and the renaissance of the old arts scene that will surely take place in 3 years).

Please, if you don't like it here then go! We've got more lawyers in DC then we can shake a stick at and someone who wants to be here will take your place. Good luck and hopefully happier days to you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC real estate is cheap and almost same salaries as NYC and Boston.

Studio apts in older rent controled buildings are as cheap as $1550 a month, one bedroom condos as cheap as $350,000 and small single family homes close in that are fixer uppers as cheap as 600K.

By comparision those prices are all double or triple in NYC and salaries are slightly higher.

Liar liar pants on fire

there are literally as cheap as $1,300 a month Studios in DC. Studios in dumpy small buildings in Manhattan have not seen those prices in 20-25 years.


https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1801-Clydesdale-Pl-NW-Washington-DC-20009/464649_zpid/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP is a troll. Nice try, OP. The market is still moving.

I think OP might be the same person from the "real estate mistake" thread who is thinking about ditching their current house for a $100K loss because their income just tripled. First world problems, to say the least.

Ah that’s me! And no unfortunately I’m not OP as much as I’d love that big law partner comp.

Anonymous wrote:OP is a troll. Nice try, OP. The market is still moving.

I think OP might be the same person from the "real estate mistake" thread who is thinking about ditching their current house for a $100K loss because their income just tripled. First world problems, to say the least.

[img]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you make millions per year and you're worried? Why don't you just move to a different office of your law firm if you think DC is forever changed?

Considering it! Im not worried abt being homeless… im trying not to make a stupid decision to buy an expensive house and set up shop here in a big way only to have this place descend into some weird police state capitol city under authoritarian rule. And yes I’m obviously a lawyer. Moving my whole life is also a high cost to me and my family so I’m weighing my options.

I’m obviously not surprised that I’m not finding a lot of thoughtful responses here. And I really do hope that I’m wrong. But things are not business as usual and I think DC is potentially in a worse position than blue states that can’t just lose all autonomy.

If you are a big firm lawyer making millions in DC, review your client list. There is a very good chance that you or your colleagues are part of the problem. You could help us all.

OP: This is an extremely fair point. But just like everyone else – I feel totally powerless and as a single person, realistically, I am.

You can stop. You are already richer than 99 percent of people on the planet. Use your time and knowledge to do what you believe is right.

Relax, chicken little.

OP is a troll. Nice try, OP. The market is still moving.

Anonymous wrote:DC real estate is cheap and almost same salaries as NYC and Boston.

Studio apts in older rent controled buildings are as cheap as $1550 a month, one bedroom condos as cheap as $350,000 and small single family homes close in that are fixer uppers as cheap as 600K.

By comparision those prices are all double or triple in NYC and salaries are slightly higher.

Liar liar pants on fire

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How on Earth are people getting comfortable buying real estate in DC right now? I’m already a homeowner here and under different circumstances would be looking to upgrade my home but:

- the Potomac River is a biohazard and sure that won’t be the case forever but didn’t we learn something here?? this area is such a disaster - truly - it’s so mismanaged that things like this are likely to keep happening

- city may very well be under federal rule soon. Whole country going down the tubes but this area is uniquely bad. We’ve lost the Kennedy center. Smithsonians probably next. All those perks of living here will be gone by the time trump done with us

I could go on but hopefully you get it. Look…we are seeing it in prices. So yes demand is down.

I’d love to have lived here long term in another universe…how are those of you who are deciding to double down on DC justifying it to yourselves.

If you think the shit in the river or in the white house are good things, probably don’t care to hear from you.

We sold a house in DC when Marion Barry was caught smoking crack, crime in DC was rampant, and a serial killer had recently raged through Mount Pleasant.

Getting out of DC at the time was the right thing for our family, but we took a hit financially. Had we stayed, or at least held on and rented the house longer, we'd have made a ton of money.

Point is that bailing on DC when it's getting slammed is like selling a stock after a couple of bad quarterly earnings' reports. If the fundamentals are still good, you're better off staying the course.

Are they?

Anonymous wrote:How on Earth are people getting comfortable buying real estate in DC right now? I’m already a homeowner here and under different circumstances would be looking to upgrade my home but:

- the Potomac River is a biohazard and sure that won’t be the case forever but didn’t we learn something here?? this area is such a disaster - truly - it’s so mismanaged that things like this are likely to keep happening

- city may very well be under federal rule soon. Whole country going down the tubes but this area is uniquely bad. We’ve lost the Kennedy center. Smithsonians probably next. All those perks of living here will be gone by the time trump done with us

I could go on but hopefully you get it. Look…we are seeing it in prices. So yes demand is down.

I’d love to have lived here long term in another universe…how are those of you who are deciding to double down on DC justifying it to yourselves.

If you think the shit in the river or in the white house are good things, probably don’t care to hear from you.

We sold a house in DC when Marion Barry was caught smoking crack, crime in DC was rampant, and a serial killer had recently raged through Mount Pleasant.

Getting out of DC at the time was the right thing for our family, but we took a hit financially. Had we stayed, or at least held on and rented the house longer, we'd have made a ton of money.

Point is that bailing on DC when it's getting slammed is like selling a stock after a couple of bad quarterly earnings' reports. If the fundamentals are still good, you're better off staying the course.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you make millions per year and you're worried? Why don't you just move to a different office of your law firm if you think DC is forever changed?

Considering it! Im not worried abt being homeless… im trying not to make a stupid decision to buy an expensive house and set up shop here in a big way only to have this place descend into some weird police state capitol city under authoritarian rule. And yes I’m obviously a lawyer. Moving my whole life is also a high cost to me and my family so I’m weighing my options.

I’m obviously not surprised that I’m not finding a lot of thoughtful responses here. And I really do hope that I’m wrong. But things are not business as usual and I think DC is potentially in a worse position than blue states that can’t just lose all autonomy.

If you are a big firm lawyer making millions in DC, review your client list. There is a very good chance that you or your colleagues are part of the problem. You could help us all.

OP: This is an extremely fair point. But just like everyone else – I feel totally powerless and as a single person, realistically, I am.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you make millions per year and you're worried? Why don't you just move to a different office of your law firm if you think DC is forever changed?

Considering it! Im not worried abt being homeless… im trying not to make a stupid decision to buy an expensive house and set up shop here in a big way only to have this place descend into some weird police state capitol city under authoritarian rule. And yes I’m obviously a lawyer. Moving my whole life is also a high cost to me and my family so I’m weighing my options.

I’m obviously not surprised that I’m not finding a lot of thoughtful responses here. And I really do hope that I’m wrong. But things are not business as usual and I think DC is potentially in a worse position than blue states that can’t just lose all autonomy.

If you are a big firm lawyer making millions in DC, review your client list. There is a very good chance that you or your colleagues are part of the problem. You could help us all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, you make millions per year and you're worried? Why don't you just move to a different office of your law firm if you think DC is forever changed?

Considering it! Im not worried abt being homeless… im trying not to make a stupid decision to buy an expensive house and set up shop here in a big way only to have this place descend into some weird police state capitol city under authoritarian rule. And yes I’m obviously a lawyer. Moving my whole life is also a high cost to me and my family so I’m weighing my options.

I’m obviously not surprised that I’m not finding a lot of thoughtful responses here. And I really do hope that I’m wrong. But things are not business as usual and I think DC is potentially in a worse position than blue states that can’t just lose all autonomy.

Well, I personally wouldn't be too worried. Remember that about one year ago, everyone predicted that DC was headed for catastrophe because of DOGE. And now we know that the federal workforce was barely affected, and DC real estate has been fine (maybe you're seeing something different, but if there has been a decline, I think it's been marginal at best). Everyplace has its risks (e.g., earthquakes in California), but I think DC is about as safe of a bet as you can get. It won't have the astronomical prices of, say, NY or SF because I don't think it's as desirable as those places, so your upside on a multimillion dollar home may be limited, but it should be relatively stable precisely due to industries like yours.

Anonymous wrote:OP, you make millions per year and you're worried? Why don't you just move to a different office of your law firm if you think DC is forever changed?

Considering it! Im not worried abt being homeless… im trying not to make a stupid decision to buy an expensive house and set up shop here in a big way only to have this place descend into some weird police state capitol city under authoritarian rule. And yes I’m obviously a lawyer. Moving my whole life is also a high cost to me and my family so I’m weighing my options.

I’m obviously not surprised that I’m not finding a lot of thoughtful responses here. And I really do hope that I’m wrong. But things are not business as usual and I think DC is potentially in a worse position than blue states that can’t just lose all autonomy.

DC real estate is cheap and almost same salaries as NYC and Boston.

Studio apts in older rent controled buildings are as cheap as $1550 a month, one bedroom condos as cheap as $350,000 and small single family homes close in that are fixer uppers as cheap as 600K.

By comparision those prices are all double or triple in NYC and salaries are slightly higher.