Housing is high in this area. Also daycare costs are insane-We were paying $1,500/month for day. We have two children so that was $3,000/month just for daycare. There's also long commutes if you cannot afford to live close to work. You have long waiting lists for after school care.

In your shoes OP, I would relocate only if your salary would be significantly higher in the D.C, if you do not have children, and if there was a lot of career opportunity for your field. After having children, living in this area is very expensive and also stressful.

We make ~$100K/year which seems like so much money, but it's HARD. We are very fortunate that we bought our house over 10 years ago after selling another house on which we made a tidy little sum. Our cars are 9 and 15 years old. Our commutes are not bad at all. Live in the city, great elementary school, middle school up in the air. Things are tight but we can get pizza and go out to dinner as long as we watch it. There's no way we can save for college but we are maxing out on retirement. We work like crazy, but life is pretty good. We like it here and like our lives, but certainly day dream of what we could buy for cash in the midwest and how we could live off the left over cash from selling our house for several years.

... which is worth significantly more than OP's house.

Our HHI is around 150k. Our home is an urban apartment.

Anonymous wrote:You don't mention what your spouse makes? Most families here have two incomes and, almost more importantly, two careers to support. If not, I see no reason why someone at your career level would move here.

+1

we also moved here from midwest, and my rent nearly tripled. Ours are nonprofit salaries, lower than what you stated. We do it by living in a very modest small house in a decent school district in the suburbs. My house is tiny, not ideal, but it works. Definitely there are trade-offs.

OP, many people here are shaped by their long commutes and the Mercedes that cut them off. No that they would admit it, but it takes its toll.

Anonymous wrote:Money. We make a lot of it.

Yes, DH and I more than doubled our HHI by moving here. We were previously in So Cal, so housing costs were a wash.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP, I am from Nebraska and Iowa, so I know a thing or two about $90,000 homes that are livable.

My answer to your question is that my standard of living is very similar to my sister's in Iowa. Her HHI is about $150,000. My HHI is about $500,000. Again, our lifestyles are pretty similar.

Her DH is an executive and so is mine -- but see the difference in pay! Sis and I both have little jobs that keep us in the game but don't pay a lot.

That's my answer.

What does your DH do that pays that much? How do you even get a position like that?

He is 52 years old, C-level and a triple ivy (undergrad law and MBA). Been working for 20+ years.
I have a very low paying nonprofit job and 2 degrees from state schools. I have less prestige and less stress.

Anonymous wrote:We make just over $250K, have modest debt (student loans only) and worked our bums off saving to afford a $750K SF house. This means no vacation, no extravagant eating, no new car even though we could technically afford it. We saved nearly $120K in four years by saving, saving, and saving (maxed out our retirement too) and by living outside the beltway while renting to keep costs down. For three of the four years we had an infant too, so daycare costs, etc.

When we closed on our house, my husband was wearing frayed five year old khakis - his only pair. It can be done.

PP here - we moved here from the midwest and have similar HHI to my inlaws... I actually think we now might make just a tad more than they do. BUT, my inlaws live way better and more extravagantly than us. Their lifestyle involves spending more money on "stuff" and not watching the pennies... Honestly, a dinner out at applebees once a week adds up!

Its possible to get a decently nice house for 300k in some burbs.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/15449-Silvan-Glen-Dr_Dumfries_VA_22025_M63699-43804

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP, I am from Nebraska and Iowa, so I know a thing or two about $90,000 homes that are livable.

My answer to your question is that my standard of living is very similar to my sister's in Iowa. Her HHI is about $150,000. My HHI is about $500,000. Again, our lifestyles are pretty similar.

Her DH is an executive and so is mine -- but see the difference in pay! Sis and I both have little jobs that keep us in the game but don't pay a lot.

That's my answer.

What does your DH do that pays that much? How do you even get a position like that?

Anonymous wrote:People either do one of the following things.

1) Combined income of 200K+, which is easy to do here.

2) Sacrifice and live in a far out suburb where you can buy a nice house in the 300K range.

3) Live closer in, but in a townhouse or condo.

Uh, what far out suburb can you get a nice house for 300k!? I live in Loudoun and you cannot even get in a TH for 300k. IF you could find a home starting in the 4s and even 5s you are EASILY going to have a half dozen bidders on the first weekend.

oP i will be honest here. My family is so lucky. We purchased in Loudoun prior to the housing boom and sold at the top of the market making 300k tax free. We had a very large down payment for a beautiful home in a great neighborhood. I'm grateful daily foe our luck.

Hi OP, I am from Nebraska and Iowa, so I know a thing or two about $90,000 homes that are livable.

My answer to your question is that my standard of living is very similar to my sister's in Iowa. Her HHI is about $150,000. My HHI is about $500,000. Again, our lifestyles are pretty similar.

Her DH is an executive and so is mine -- but see the difference in pay! Sis and I both have little jobs that keep us in the game but don't pay a lot.

That's my answer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't mention what your spouse makes? Most families here have two incomes and, almost more importantly, two careers to support. If not, I see no reason why someone at your career level would move here.

Spouse makes about $45,000 but incredible benefits (dirt cheap healthcare) are also part of the package.

Wow. Just wow.