Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The vast majority of families living in expensive DC, Bethesda, Chevy Chase or Arlington neighborhoods and complaining about cost of living, could move to Silver Spring, or PG County, or Burke and continue to work at the same jobs, and have the same income.

The PP was right. Short commutes, high scoring public schools, "walkable communities", these are luxuries. There's nothing wrong with wanting to have them, but they're expensive luxuries. If you're paying for them, and not making major sacrifices elsewhere, you probably aren't middle class.

Honestly that was my thought as well. If you look at housing prices, median income levels, types of employment, levels of education, etc. many neighborhoods in PG county and Silver Spring are much more aligned with middle class than Bethesda, Chevy Chase, or NW DC. Saying "the schools are a non-starter" is fine--just know that [/b]having the means to buy in a good school district that doesn't have a horrible commute is in itself a luxury[b].

I think that's incredibly depressing, although accurate for this area. Luxuries should be things like affording a cleaning service, driving a Lexus, taking a vacation to Europe every summer, owning a beach house, etc. Being able to send your kids to a good school (not necessarily a 10 on great schools, but one with decent test scores and not a high percentage of ESOL students) and living within 30 minutes of your job shouldn't be just for the upper middle class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nothing ordinary about making north of $200K, which puts one in the top 5% of the country. How is that "middle"? And please don't say "250K doesn't get you very far in NW DC, Chevy Chase and Bethesda" - living in an expensive area is a choice. When I lived in NYC, I remember wealthy professionals in Manhattan saying these incomes are "barely getting by" - as if choosing to live in Manhattan isn't itself a luxury.

http://mic.com/articles/64095/what-we-get-wrong-when-we-define-the-middle-class

Unfortunately for you, OP, congressional Democrats about 10 years ago very clearly defined $250,000 as "middle class" as part of very high-profile debates over curtailing the Alternative Minimum Tax.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/07/AR2007060702146.html

"Rep. Richard E. Neal (D-Mass.), chairman of the House subcommittee with primary responsibility for the AMT, said that option would also lower AMT bills for families making $250,000 to $500,000.

"'There is consensus to make sure that we have some responsible tax policy that will also treat taxpayers fairly. No one ever expected to be caught in the AMT making 75 grand,' said Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), a Ways and Means Committee member whose Los Angeles district is populated by working poor. 'We're trying to come up with a fix that does right by the great majority of Americans who fall into the middle class.'"

So, please, save your disdain and class warfare rhetoric for the truly wealthy. We have a lot more in common with you: We pay mortgages, child care, earn our income from salaries, not income, and have debts.

Ultimately, the fact is this "middle class" you're complaining about pay far more taxes than either you OR the wealthy. You should thank us for the tax burdens we bear so you don't have to.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your use of luxuries is incorrect.

I live in Arlington for the "amenities" which you stated.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the choice argument only works if these families could move to lower cost of living areas and still make that much. That usually isn't the case.

The vast majority of families living in expensive DC, Bethesda, Chevy Chase or Arlington neighborhoods and complaining about cost of living, could move to Silver Spring, or PG County, or Burke and continue to work at the same jobs, and have the same income.

The PP was right. Short commutes, high scoring public schools, "walkable communities", these are luxuries. There's nothing wrong with wanting to have them, but they're expensive luxuries. If you're paying for them, and not making major sacrifices elsewhere, you probably aren't middle class.

Expensive amenities are luxuries. There's nothing wrong with having them, but you have to recognize that having them means that there are other luxuries you won't have.

Anonymous wrote:Nothing ordinary about making north of $200K, which puts one in the top 5% of the country. How is that "middle"? And please don't say "250K doesn't get you very far in NW DC, Chevy Chase and Bethesda" - living in an expensive area is a choice. When I lived in NYC, I remember wealthy professionals in Manhattan saying these incomes are "barely getting by" - as if choosing to live in Manhattan isn't itself a luxury.

http://mic.com/articles/64095/what-we-get-wrong-when-we-define-the-middle-class

Anonymous wrote:

The vast majority of families living in expensive DC, Bethesda, Chevy Chase or Arlington neighborhoods and complaining about cost of living, could move to Silver Spring, or PG County, or Burke and continue to work at the same jobs, and have the same income.

The PP was right. Short commutes, high scoring public schools, "walkable communities", these are luxuries. There's nothing wrong with wanting to have them, but they're expensive luxuries. If you're paying for them, and not making major sacrifices elsewhere, you probably aren't middle class.

Honestly that was my thought as well. If you look at housing prices, median income levels, types of employment, levels of education, etc. many neighborhoods in PG county and Silver Spring are much more aligned with middle class than Bethesda, Chevy Chase, or NW DC. Saying "the schools are a non-starter" is fine--just know that [/b]having the means to buy in a good school district that doesn't have a horrible commute is in itself a luxury[b].

The vast majority of families living in expensive DC, Bethesda, Chevy Chase or Arlington neighborhoods and complaining about cost of living, could move to Silver Spring, or PG County, or Burke and continue to work at the same jobs, and have the same income.

The PP was right. Short commutes, high scoring public schools, "walkable communities", these are luxuries. There's nothing wrong with wanting to have them, but they're expensive luxuries. If you're paying for them, and not making major sacrifices elsewhere, you probably aren't middle class.

Anonymous wrote:Apparently you lose common sense for every 50k increase. 200k is not middle class in any US neighborhood.

Anonymous wrote:Your use of luxuries is incorrect.

I live in Arlington for the "amenities" which you stated.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the choice argument only works if these families could move to lower cost of living areas and still make that much. That usually isn't the case.

The vast majority of families living in expensive DC, Bethesda, Chevy Chase or Arlington neighborhoods and complaining about cost of living, could move to Silver Spring, or PG County, or Burke and continue to work at the same jobs, and have the same income.

The PP was right. Short commutes, high scoring public schools, "walkable communities", these are luxuries. There's nothing wrong with wanting to have them, but they're expensive luxuries. If you're paying for them, and not making major sacrifices elsewhere, you probably aren't middle class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the choice argument only works if these families could move to lower cost of living areas and still make that much. That usually isn't the case.

This.

I feel so sorry for those people who have no choice but to live in Chevy Chase or Great Falls. Must be tough.

It is. We bought a Chevy Chase home from family at a price what we would have paid in Damascus 15 years ago. They wanted the house to stay in the family and DH had just taken a job in a downtown nonprofit. That job is not transferrable to another place and we depend on Metro access to his work. We are the have-nots in the land of haves. Not all of us wanted to be exactly here, but life and jobs put us here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the choice argument only works if these families could move to lower cost of living areas and still make that much. That usually isn't the case.

The vast majority of families living in expensive DC, Bethesda, Chevy Chase or Arlington neighborhoods and complaining about cost of living, could move to Silver Spring, or PG County, or Burke and continue to work at the same jobs, and have the same income.

The PP was right. Short commutes, high scoring public schools, "walkable communities", these are luxuries. There's nothing wrong with wanting to have them, but they're expensive luxuries. If you're paying for them, and not making major sacrifices elsewhere, you probably aren't middle class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the choice argument only works if these families could move to lower cost of living areas and still make that much. That usually isn't the case.

This.

I feel so sorry for those people who have no choice but to live in Chevy Chase or Great Falls. Must be tough.