I feel the same way. Living costs are outrageous here. I wish the federal government would spread more of the agencies here around the U.S. instead of having them all centralized in one place. DC has a monopoly on jobs because of this.

Living in Ga we were able to save 25k in like a two year period and live a pretty awesome life in a huge, newish home with good schools. Now we are lucky if we can save $200 a paycheck, plus we are living in a small and very old renovated home yet paying a ton.

I think people in DC are rude because the cost of living here sucks

Anonymous wrote:OP's premise is faulty. I want to move back to the DC area because it is so much cheaper than Paris, where DH now found work. But we go where work is.

Let me point out that DC is one of the cheaper capital cities of the developed world you could ever live in! No US city makes the top 10 most expensive cities to live in, worldwide. Now I think they're all in Asia.

Snore. Who cares? Not everyone has to live in a big city - the world is a big place, you know.

OP's premise is faulty. I want to move back to the DC area because it is so much cheaper than Paris, where DH now found work. But we go where work is.

Let me point out that DC is one of the cheaper capital cities of the developed world you could ever live in! No US city makes the top 10 most expensive cities to live in, worldwide. Now I think they're all in Asia.

I have a rental,property - 4 BA 1.5 BA - in SS I rent out or $1600.

Well if you throw in the towel, don't try heading West.

I live in San Diego, CA and the cost of living here sucks.

You cannot get a one-bedroom apt. in a safe and decent neighborhood for under $1,200/mo. A gallon of regular gasoline is currently $3.89 and our community colleges are like $30 per unit.

However the weather is perfect, it is always warm, sunny and it hardly ever ever rains. Sure we have earthquakes, but it will be rare if you ever see a hurricane or flood.

The people are all shallow and beautiful and no one says "Good Morning" to strangers on the street w/out being looked at like a potential mugger. LOL.

Smoking marijuana is legal and everyone here seems to think it is the best medicine around.
Homosexuality is the latest fad and there are no bible belts in this city.

Go figure.

When the jobs are as good elsewhere.

DC is not as expensive as some other places.

If you had tons in your retirement account 8 years ago, you should have bounced back by now if the majority of it is in the market, as it should be at your age. Everyone's retirement account (unless it was crazy conservative) took a big hit in recent years, but I know mine at least has come back and then some.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC doesn't have "free daycare" for 0-3. Unless you are destitute / living under poverty line.

This is true. But there are free preschools starting at age 3 in some DC neighborhoods.

This isn't always a great choice. Your options are limited by chance lottery and there's no guarantee the school you chance to get into will be a good fit. I'm the PP and part of the reason we are leaving is because we tried PS3 and it has not been a great experience (no real fault of the school, our child just wasn't ready for 10 hours of structure 5 days a week). I'm tired of paying the equivalent of a mortgage for daycare and I can't afford to have another child in daycare here. At the end of the day the financial pressure dictates everything in our life, and that is no way to live - for us or for our child.

We just decided to "throw in the towel" and I am soooooo relieved. It's been a decade, and we've gotten a lot out of it in terms of education, career growth, experience, friends - but it's time. We are doing well in our careers but we will never be the type to make more than $250 or $300K per year simply because of our chosen fields (we're at about $165K now). With a child in the mix now, we've tried to make it work in terms of housing and child care expenses, but with outstanding school loans it's a lot. And we can't even afford a second child in daycare, so our family planning options are limited by finances, which is frustrating as hell. Our choices are stay in our crappy old house that is always in need of repair, spend a fortune on a rental near our jobs in the city, or move waaaaay out to the burbs for good schools and endure commutes from hell. We just feel like all of these options suck when we could be closer to our families, make comparable salaries, and have a COL that is much, much lower.

Aaaaaah! I can't wait to get the ball rolling and move on. The past year has been so stressful I think it's aged me prematurely.

It is cheaper than where I am from (though definitely more expensive than where I was raised), so you won't hear me complaining about the COL here. Though I would happily move back to CA, though - just not in the cards right now.

Anonymous wrote:I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I am from a large midwestern city and there, many people have two vehicles, one or two boats, jet skis, ATVs, other toys. And a lake house. And many of these people are blue collar workers.

But the key thing here is that all of their money is not spent on their primary house like it is for many people here. That and the overall cost-of-living is lower.

Everytime I go back I ask myself who is leading the better life here. Yes, I make a ton of money here, but I also work long hours with a pretty high stress job. And I see little of it after the bills are paid. There, they work their 9-5 and have family all around and really enjoy life.

You must be from Detroit! That's where I grew up and EVERYONE has a three or four car garage.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You couldn't pay me enough to live in NC.

Why? Just curious. I went to school there and have plenty of friends who live there and seem to be very happy.

Now, most of them ARE bitching about their currently insane state legislature and how it makes their state look bad. Of course, as a person who lives in Virginia by necessity (I'd move to MD in a heartbeat just to escape OUR state legislature if it made any sense for our commutes), I can sympathize.

Are you white?

yes, I am - I think we have crossed paths before on this site. I have african american friends in NC, though. I don't know that your issue with racism there is across the board.

I'd only move to Raleigh area if we ever went that direction (not where I went to school). That is where MOST of my friends live who stayed in NC after school ended up.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I am from a large midwestern city and there, many people have two vehicles, one or two boats, jet skis, ATVs, other toys. And a lake house. And many of these people are blue collar workers.

But the key thing here is that all of their money is not spent on their primary house like it is for many people here. That and the overall cost-of-living is lower.

Everytime I go back I ask myself who is leading the better life here. Yes, I make a ton of money here, but I also work long hours with a pretty high stress job. And I see little of it after the bills are paid. There, they work their 9-5 and have family all around and really enjoy life.

Anonymous wrote:OP here....we threw in the towel. To answer questions, yes we lost my income because of a merger but I was pregnant so it worked out. My salary would basically only cover daycare/commuting costs so it was best for me to stay home.

My husband was able to get the same salary with his new job which is HQ in DC but we will be moving a few hours away where the cost of living is 75% cheaper (or so it says), so it's a win win. We can visit the city very easily but not have to deal with the traffic, rude people and expense.

I've been shocked that two kids can go to preschool cheaper than one here. We'll be able to buy a house that we could never afford here and the people just seem nicer. And the schools are amazing.

Thanks for the responses!

OP...are you moving south to Virginia Beach? If so, we did and we love it! Good luck with your new situation.