Anonymous
Post 10/20/2011 13:15     Subject: Re:What % are you?
We are 76%. I am pretty disgusted by all the people moaning about how hard it is to live in DC in the 90%+. If you feel that way, I would suggest that you are living above your means and there are plenty of ways to adjust that. Buy a less expensive house in a less desirable neighborhood. Send your child to public school. Buy used cars. And most importantly, stop trying to keep up with your neighbors. Change your social circle.

Don't complain about making that amount of money. I don't complain about our HHI. I feel fortunate to live in city with jobs, free museums, and some of the best public schools in the country. And we make a lot less than you but a lot more than most people in the country, even considering the cost of living here. Between my husband and I we have 5 degrees (2 undergrads, 2 masters, and a doctorate). We just made the decision to go into a field we love (the arts) knowing it wouldn't be financially rewarding, but would be emotionally rewarding.

Grow up. And volunteer (don't just donate money) - maybe you will get a little perspective.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2011 13:01     Subject: What % are you?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Well of course. Why would you want to live in a house that someone else lived in? That's gross.



Imagine if your husband said that about your ...... unless you were a virgin bride
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2011 12:53     Subject: Re:What % are you?
So an average family with a household income of $43K can buy a new home that is more than 6X their annual salary?

Someone is incredibly bad at math...
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2011 12:42     Subject: Re:What % are you?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Meant to add, so while it may be hard to make that much, it's not hard to "*imagine* making that much.


Is it hard for you to *imagine* living on $43,000/year? Because 50% of the households in the country make LESS than $43k.


No, it's not hard for me to imagine living on $43K. The average person in the US doesn't even go to college.


Exactly. And the average price of a NEW single family home in the US in 2010 was $273K. So you show me where I can buy my average, new, single family home for 273K and I'll be happy to imagine living on 43K.

Now in DC the median was 85K. But I'd still take that after you show me the average, new, single family home I can buy for 550K anywhere in the DC area.



Not the PP. But there are plenty of homes for under 273K and 550K. They may not be mcmansions, but they are there.

I've grown to accept that I will never make above 60-70K as long as I am working in my field. It's likely that I'll be in the 40K-50K for a while. Yet somehow, we'll survive.



Really? You show me where in the DC metro area there are NEW (not existing) single family (not townhouses) for sale for under 273 or 550K. That's what the stats are saying. So if you can find this in the DC metro area (not Frederick, not Fredericksburg) I'll go get my checkbook.



Funny how the PP said there were homes in that range, and you came back with "new" and "single family (not townhouses)". Why not just add "with a boat dock and within walking distance to fabulous restaurants"?



PP here and I didn't "come back" with that info...it was part of the stats I quoted in the original post. And fwiw, I don't even like new homes. I prefer (and live in) an older home. BUT...since folks are throwing around the stats, I think people need to compare apples to apples. It isn't about entitlement...its about the fact that in the places where most people in the US live, the median or average earner can afford an average new home. The stats specifically said new (not existing) single family home. So its not right that you look only at the parts of the stats that suit your argument.


Should add that new homes tend to be less expensive to maintain, heat and cool than older homes as they are much more energy efficient. Unless, of course, you have more space to heat and cool. So as those of us living in older homes know, if you must live in an older home, you must assume the associated extra costs of that.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2011 12:38     Subject: Re:What % are you?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Meant to add, so while it may be hard to make that much, it's not hard to "*imagine* making that much.


Is it hard for you to *imagine* living on $43,000/year? Because 50% of the households in the country make LESS than $43k.


No, it's not hard for me to imagine living on $43K. The average person in the US doesn't even go to college.


Exactly. And the average price of a NEW single family home in the US in 2010 was $273K. So you show me where I can buy my average, new, single family home for 273K and I'll be happy to imagine living on 43K.

Now in DC the median was 85K. But I'd still take that after you show me the average, new, single family home I can buy for 550K anywhere in the DC area.



Not the PP. But there are plenty of homes for under 273K and 550K. They may not be mcmansions, but they are there.

I've grown to accept that I will never make above 60-70K as long as I am working in my field. It's likely that I'll be in the 40K-50K for a while. Yet somehow, we'll survive.



Really? You show me where in the DC metro area there are NEW (not existing) single family (not townhouses) for sale for under 273 or 550K. That's what the stats are saying. So if you can find this in the DC metro area (not Frederick, not Fredericksburg) I'll go get my checkbook.



Funny how the PP said there were homes in that range, and you came back with "new" and "single family (not townhouses)". Why not just add "with a boat dock and within walking distance to fabulous restaurants"?



PP here and I didn't "come back" with that info...it was part of the stats I quoted in the original post. And fwiw, I don't even like new homes. I prefer (and live in) an older home. BUT...since folks are throwing around the stats, I think people need to compare apples to apples. It isn't about entitlement...its about the fact that in the places where most people in the US live, the median or average earner can afford an average new home. The stats specifically said new (not existing) single family home. So its not right that you look only at the parts of the stats that suit your argument.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2011 12:33     Subject: What % are you?
By the way, you can even include the players in my baseball analogy. A stadium like Nationals Park holds about 42,000 fans, and each team has 25 men on its roster, so the baseball players (who on average make enough to be 99.5%) are only a little more than 0.1% of the people at any given game. 0.5% of 42,000 is 210, which means there's likely another 160 people at the game who are making more than $815,859 or more.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2011 12:30     Subject: Re:What % are you?
73%. Single mom here
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2011 12:23     Subject: Re:What % are you?
Anonymous wrote:I love all the defensiveness among those in the 95th percentile. "We're rich? But we're barely getting by!"

That's exactly the point. You are the 99%. You, and me, and everyone on DCUM, and everyone living in a van down by the river.

Play with the chart a bit -- it only takes a few thousand a year to bump you up a % or down a %. But try as you might, you'll *never* break 99% as long as you're working for a living.

The top 1% don't make a few hundred thousand more than you do -- they make *millions* more than you do. Every year. And most of them do it without working at all.

Count your blessings that you have what you have for a minute, and then get really, really angry that the 1% want you to pay a higher proportion of your hard-earned income in taxes so they can continue to build wealth effortlessly.


Actually, after playing around with it a bit, I have found the exact number that separates the 99% from the 99.5%: $815,859
One dollar more puts you into the 99.5% category. So while I'm 98%, 99.5% isn't so out of reach.

By the way, one way to look at this is by thinking literally about it. Out of 100 people, a 96%er is making more than 95 of the 100. Picture 100 people, say at a baseball game. You make $290K as a 96% person. Are you really surprised that of the 100 people around you at a baseball game, only three of them make more than you?
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2011 12:19     Subject: What % are you?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Houses in Rockville, MD built between 2003-2011 under 550K:

http://www.remax.com/property/92858298-60450388/12921-GRENOBLE-DR-Rockville-MD-20853/

http://www.remax.com/property/94449236-60450388/107-VIRGINIA-AVE-Rockville-MD-20850/

http://www.remax.com/property/87997378-60450388/219-FREDERICK-AVE-Rockville-MD-20850/


Sure, okay, fine. But where are the new, unattached, SFHs for under $550k in historic neighborhoods with sidewalks shaded by old-growth *elm* trees? Cause I'm not seeing 'em!


You need to be more resourceful. I mean, we couldn't survive on our income if we weren't able to pay off a neighborhood to rip down 4 houses to make room for ours. Built in 2011 and ew-free! Oh - and people are required to wear cloth booties when they walk in the house. Even our dog. He slips and slides a little but he'll be fine.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2011 12:04     Subject: What % are you?
Anonymous wrote:Houses in Rockville, MD built between 2003-2011 under 550K:

http://www.remax.com/property/92858298-60450388/12921-GRENOBLE-DR-Rockville-MD-20853/

http://www.remax.com/property/94449236-60450388/107-VIRGINIA-AVE-Rockville-MD-20850/

http://www.remax.com/property/87997378-60450388/219-FREDERICK-AVE-Rockville-MD-20850/


Sure, okay, fine. But where are the new, unattached, SFHs for under $550k in historic neighborhoods with sidewalks shaded by old-growth *elm* trees? Cause I'm not seeing 'em!
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2011 12:03     Subject: Re:What % are you?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Meant to add, so while it may be hard to make that much, it's not hard to "*imagine* making that much.


Is it hard for you to *imagine* living on $43,000/year? Because 50% of the households in the country make LESS than $43k.


No, it's not hard for me to imagine living on $43K. The average person in the US doesn't even go to college.


Plenty of people go to college (and even grad school) and make less than 43K - and yes, even in this area!


And for that matter, it is totally possible to make more than $43k without going to college.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2011 12:02     Subject: What % are you?
Anonymous wrote:Well of course. Why would you want to live in a house that someone else lived in? That's gross.


ITA, no "used" homes for me. So déclassé...
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2011 12:02     Subject: What % are you?
Houses in Rockville, MD built between 2003-2011 under 550K:

http://www.remax.com/property/92858298-60450388/12921-GRENOBLE-DR-Rockville-MD-20853/

http://www.remax.com/property/94449236-60450388/107-VIRGINIA-AVE-Rockville-MD-20850/

http://www.remax.com/property/87997378-60450388/219-FREDERICK-AVE-Rockville-MD-20850/
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2011 11:57     Subject: What % are you?
Well of course. Why would you want to live in a house that someone else lived in? That's gross.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2011 11:54     Subject: Re:What % are you?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Meant to add, so while it may be hard to make that much, it's not hard to "*imagine* making that much.


Is it hard for you to *imagine* living on $43,000/year? Because 50% of the households in the country make LESS than $43k.


No, it's not hard for me to imagine living on $43K. The average person in the US doesn't even go to college.


Exactly. And the average price of a NEW single family home in the US in 2010 was $273K. So you show me where I can buy my average, new, single family home for 273K and I'll be happy to imagine living on 43K.

Now in DC the median was 85K. But I'd still take that after you show me the average, new, single family home I can buy for 550K anywhere in the DC area.



Not the PP. But there are plenty of homes for under 273K and 550K. They may not be mcmansions, but they are there.

I've grown to accept that I will never make above 60-70K as long as I am working in my field. It's likely that I'll be in the 40K-50K for a while. Yet somehow, we'll survive.


Really? You show me where in the DC metro area there are NEW (not existing) single family (not townhouses) for sale for under 273 or 550K. That's what the stats are saying. So if you can find this in the DC metro area (not Frederick, not Fredericksburg) I'll go get my checkbook.



New? A lot of homes in the DC area are old. If you're looking for housing developments by Ryan homes - those are in the suburbs.

I found plenty of renovated single family homes in the 240-550K range right in the middle of the DC. Many built in the 1920s, which seems to be typical for DC homes.

Let me check the suburbs, since that seems to be what you want.