Anonymous
Post 01/13/2026 07:45     Subject: It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is the generational wealth canard passé yet? What will be the next excuse of the envious and lazy?


I used to not even think about it and assumed everyone rich got that way from working. But then I met several actual trust fund babies around here and my perspective changed.


People living on trust funds are very much a minority. You could also point to lottery winners with as much relevance.


Yes, but you do have a fair number of people who have family either paying for/contributing to school costs and helping with large downpayments/housing.


It’s common my parents paid for school and gave me 200k to buy a house.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 23:57     Subject: It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth
Anonymous wrote:Posts like these affirm my belief that the unaffordability of homes is bogus.
There are affordable homes. People just don't want to live in Arlandria or Hyattsville. Every family is doing their level best to avoid living next to lower socio-demographics and overstretching themselves to attain what they feel they are entitled to.
As a child of immigrants who ended up at top tier schools, I have seen those two worlds and the blithe non-existance of the have-nots in the eyes of the haves. And boy, do those who have try so very hard to avoid the world of the have-nots that they try to blind themselves to. My peers are deeply shocked when they learn where I grew up - South Arlington.

So people wait a good 10-15 years to have kids at their earnings peak because they wouldn't want to raise kids in a lower tier neighborhood.


best comment in this thread.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 23:53     Subject: It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth
Anonymous wrote:The lifestyles people want to live now (affluent town, 2+ expensive vacations a year, camps, preschools, thousands of dollars/year in children’s activities / enrichment, pool club, 2 nice cars, DoorDash / frequent dining out, funding private college, etc) have always been for the affluent. The merely UMC can scrimp and save and have just the home in the affluent neighborhood OR they can have some of the above and live in a less affluent neighborhood. I grew up in a wealthy NYC burb in a house with no central AC and we didn’t take a flying vacation until my sister was 10 and I was 5, and we ate 99% of our meals at home. “Well off” then was more modest than it is now.

Anyway - we moved to a college town in the Midwest and feel like we can “have it all” here- except the fancy zip code.


well said.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 21:51     Subject: It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth
My wife and I are raising kids in Potomac with no generational wealth. I grew up middle class and she grew up poor. I went to West Point and then saved a ton tax free while deployed for nearly 3 years. She had minimal loans because she went to a cheap state school and waited tables. We didn’t have kids until mid-30s, and we make high 6 figures.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 20:30     Subject: It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is the generational wealth canard passé yet? What will be the next excuse of the envious and lazy?


I used to not even think about it and assumed everyone rich got that way from working. But then I met several actual trust fund babies around here and my perspective changed.


People living on trust funds are very much a minority. You could also point to lottery winners with as much relevance.


There are people without trust funds who simply get tons of money from their parents and rely on them to fund their lifestyle. It’s actually very common because there’s a lot of rich people out there. There are over 2 million American families with 8 figure net worths, if even 10% help their kids you have 200,000 rich kids with huge financial handouts concentrated in major metro areas. It’s probably more like 30-50% are helping their kids and some have way more than 8 figures net worth


This. And a lot of these kids getting help from parents worth $10M+ also have high paying jobs because their parents set them up for success via good educations, extracurriculars, etc. Then they married another high paying professional they met at Harvard or Yale or Amherst. It’s not either / or.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 20:20     Subject: It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is the generational wealth canard passé yet? What will be the next excuse of the envious and lazy?


I used to not even think about it and assumed everyone rich got that way from working. But then I met several actual trust fund babies around here and my perspective changed.


People living on trust funds are very much a minority. You could also point to lottery winners with as much relevance.


There are people without trust funds who simply get tons of money from their parents and rely on them to fund their lifestyle. It’s actually very common because there’s a lot of rich people out there. There are over 2 million American families with 8 figure net worths, if even 10% help their kids you have 200,000 rich kids with huge financial handouts concentrated in major metro areas. It’s probably more like 30-50% are helping their kids and some have way more than 8 figures net worth
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 20:19     Subject: It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We are very happy, safe, and having a good time in our 800k neighborhood in Fairfax county. There are sidewalks, pools, tennis courts, places to walk and ride bikes to. Neighborhood kids are not overly spoiled. Neighbors probably have more pickup trucks than McLean but I see that as a plus.


West Springfield? Burke?


Fairfax!
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 19:53     Subject: It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth
Anonymous wrote:We are very happy, safe, and having a good time in our 800k neighborhood in Fairfax county. There are sidewalks, pools, tennis courts, places to walk and ride bikes to. Neighborhood kids are not overly spoiled. Neighbors probably have more pickup trucks than McLean but I see that as a plus.


West Springfield? Burke?
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 19:32     Subject: It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth
we had kids at 29 and 31 and started in a townhouse, moved when they were 3 and 5 to a SFH older home and built our dream home when they were 10 and 12. Baby steps!
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 19:28     Subject: It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is the generational wealth canard passé yet? What will be the next excuse of the envious and lazy?


I used to not even think about it and assumed everyone rich got that way from working. But then I met several actual trust fund babies around here and my perspective changed.


People living on trust funds are very much a minority. You could also point to lottery winners with as much relevance.


Yes, but you do have a fair number of people who have family either paying for/contributing to school costs and helping with large downpayments/housing.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 19:13     Subject: It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is the generational wealth canard passé yet? What will be the next excuse of the envious and lazy?


I used to not even think about it and assumed everyone rich got that way from working. But then I met several actual trust fund babies around here and my perspective changed.


People living on trust funds are very much a minority. You could also point to lottery winners with as much relevance.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 17:49     Subject: It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth
Anonymous wrote:Is the generational wealth canard passé yet? What will be the next excuse of the envious and lazy?


I used to not even think about it and assumed everyone rich got that way from working. But then I met several actual trust fund babies around here and my perspective changed.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 16:13     Subject: It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It's possible, we did it. You have to delay kids to your mid to late 30's to give yourself time to save and invest for a house in Mclean. Most younger people are blowing money on stupid stuff like Starbucks, fake nails, tattoos, travel,


meh. We met in college, got married soon after graduation and had two kids by the time
we were 28. Bought our first house at 23 and our 2nd inside the beltway in NOVA by age 26. Combining incomes and having parents who paid for college and cars we had for years for both of us was a huge leg up. We are now 48, careers in full swing near career peak and one kid who has graduated college and well employed and another who is mid college, starting our family early was a big bonus.


Generational wealth


DP. Is it? We are doing that for our kids, on middle class incomes. It isn’t a leg up so much is making sure they aren’t starting out in a deep hole.
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 15:53     Subject: It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth
Anonymous wrote:We are very happy, safe, and having a good time in our 800k neighborhood in Fairfax county. There are sidewalks, pools, tennis courts, places to walk and ride bikes to. Neighborhood kids are not overly spoiled. Neighbors probably have more pickup trucks than McLean but I see that as a plus.


Burke!
Anonymous
Post 01/12/2026 14:52     Subject: It’s extremely hard to raise kids in a nice neighborhood without generational wealth
Anonymous wrote:We raised kids in Bethesda, bought over 27 years ago, and now lots of young families are moving in. We discuss it, because we couldn't afford our house today, and we wonder how all these kids can afford the brand new homes popping up throughout our neighborhood. Our guess is mommy and daddy are helping significantly, because none are old enough to make big law partner, or be similarly employed


We do have a lot of family money but also a lot of double doctor or double lawyer families moving in, some with kids, some without. In any case, the feel of our neighborhood is changing. Many more teslas and new luxury cars, not old ones (ha, I do have some self awareness). Everyone new seems a bit showier. I am glad our kids will be out of school before it changes completely.