Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, big tickets items like a college education and a home have become unaffordable. People feel like they can't get ahead.
This is why the birthrate in America has dropped to a historic low.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/06/30/the-u-s-fertility-rate-just-hit-a-historic-low-why-some-demographers-are-freaking-out/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.dab498dcc68f

No, college education is not unaffordable. Community college and the cheapest state school you can find. Totally doable for families making 100K a year HHI. I do agree that for families living in poverty (HHI under 40K) any money towards school is nearly impossible.

Depending on the major and quality of the school, community college is not always the best option. Maybe community colleges are really stellar around here, but they weren’t where I grew up. I took a couple summer classes there but the quality paled in comparison to my regular college and the course offerings in my field (biology) were terrible. My sister on the other hand pursued criminal justice (followed by the police academy) and community college was a great choice for her.

I think yes. Marriage is cheap, kids and housing are not. My kids are going to be much more widely spaced than i would find ideal due to day care coats, unpaid leave, and the long time it's taking us to balance two careers, and i can't imagine ever buying a house closer than an hour and a half from work in DC. I'm 32, spouse is 36, neither of us makes over $100k perhaps it was our terrible life choice to not become lawyers or whatever, but the fact is that childcare and housing in the DC area are not affordable for people with normal middle class salaries.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, big tickets items like a college education and a home have become unaffordable. People feel like they can't get ahead.
This is why the birthrate in America has dropped to a historic low.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/06/30/the-u-s-fertility-rate-just-hit-a-historic-low-why-some-demographers-are-freaking-out/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.dab498dcc68f

No, college education is not unaffordable. Community college and the cheapest state school you can find. Totally doable for families making 100K a year HHI. I do agree that for families living in poverty (HHI under 40K) any money towards school is nearly impossible.

Anonymous wrote:I love how people talk about living further out or living in a two bedroom
I live in a place where a two bedroom goes for 800k and basically that is what you will pay for a small house in the suburbs. It isn't sustainable. The worst part is, I would love to move to West Virginia but my child requires a real hospital (like Boston Children's or Hopkins) and my dh is tied to major cities. I am tired of old people talking about young people whining since my father retired after 30 years working with a full pension over 100k and my mother never worked. That is no longer possible given pensions are gone and with our loans means we will work forever.

You could live in the Chicago area. You can buy a condo in an iffy area for under 200K. You can buy a house in the suburbs for under 300K. Near major hospitals. You can also rent.

Yes, big tickets items like a college education and a home have become unaffordable. People feel like they can't get ahead.
This is why the birthrate in America has dropped to a historic low.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/06/30/the-u-s-fertility-rate-just-hit-a-historic-low-why-some-demographers-are-freaking-out/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.dab498dcc68f

I love how people talk about living further out or living in a two bedroom
I live in a place where a two bedroom goes for 800k and basically that is what you will pay for a small house in the suburbs. It isn't sustainable. The worst part is, I would love to move to West Virginia but my child requires a real hospital (like Boston Children's or Hopkins) and my dh is tied to major cities. I am tired of old people talking about young people whining since my father retired after 30 years working with a full pension over 100k and my mother never worked. That is no longer possible given pensions are gone and with our loans means we will work forever.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the 4 year tuition cost of decent school? 75k? 80k?

Notice I said decent and not great.

A great school will cost over 100k easily.

Who cares?? I graduated George Mason in 2008 and Mke 280k/yr. I'm so glad I went to GMU, I have so many local contacts through the alumni network. A great school means very little and as a hiring manager myself I care absolutely not even an ounce where you went to college.

I have kids, I have a SFH, I have ZERO school debt and with two of us (my DH was UVA) we make over 500k/yr.

Where do you make $280K as a hiring manager?!

Right? Finding this post hard to believe.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the 4 year tuition cost of decent school? 75k? 80k?

Notice I said decent and not great.

A great school will cost over 100k easily.

Who cares?? I graduated George Mason in 2008 and Mke 280k/yr. I'm so glad I went to GMU, I have so many local contacts through the alumni network. A great school means very little and as a hiring manager myself I care absolutely not even an ounce where you went to college.

I have kids, I have a SFH, I have ZERO school debt and with two of us (my DH was UVA) we make over 500k/yr.

I am sorry but 100k is a lot of money for some people.

College doesn't need to cost 100k a year. It doesn't even need to cost 100k for 4 years. There is absolutely nothing wrong with community college. I'm in a Chicago suburb and a kid can attend CC full time for about 7-8K a year in tuition. And, if a kid is a decent enough student, not even a super star, many CC's will offer partial to full scholarships to attract good kids. Most students can work full time and go to school full time....it isn't that hard if they don't also have to pay rent or raise a child. They can pay as they go. Then transfer to basic state school X, which costs about 25-30K a year for tuition room and board. Kids need to start working during high school and saving, working while in college. There is no reason for anyone to require a name brand school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the 4 year tuition cost of decent school? 75k? 80k?

Notice I said decent and not great.

A great school will cost over 100k easily.

Who cares?? I graduated George Mason in 2008 and Mke 280k/yr. I'm so glad I went to GMU, I have so many local contacts through the alumni network. A great school means very little and as a hiring manager myself I care absolutely not even an ounce where you went to college.

I have kids, I have a SFH, I have ZERO school debt and with two of us (my DH was UVA) we make over 500k/yr.

Where do you make $280K as a hiring manager?!

Anonymous wrote:In my friend group I am one of the only ones who has kids (33) but I have like 4 friends who are pregnant right now. I was just early. It definitely kicks in. Home ownership is a little more delayed but people are also slowly moving in that direction. Three friends have bought in the last few years.

My DH purchased his first house when he was 31 with some help from his parents. We got married and lived in that house and just bought a new one. But we did leave DC to get a bigger house closer to a metro area than we could have gotten in dc.

I think people are moving towards traditional families, they just don't start as early as they do in parts of the country outside the big metro areas.

Exactly this, from a fellow 33 year old. I always think of this when I read a hand-wringing article about millenials not having kids. I think they are, they're just doing it later and probably having fewer. Like you, my social group is mostly starting to have kids right now and there is a bit of a baby boom, which I expect to really take off over the next few years. With home ownership, it seems like most are still renting, with the idea that they'll make it work in a smaller apartment while kids are young and will enjoy the urban lifestyle until they have to think about schools. A lot of my friends are continuing to rent places that are probably a bit below what they would really like in terms of space, but that are affordable enough that they can save for a downpayment on a house. Then they'll move. So, basically what my parents did in the 80s, just about 5-8 years behind their schedule.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the 4 year tuition cost of decent school? 75k? 80k?

Notice I said decent and not great.

A great school will cost over 100k easily.

Who cares?? I graduated George Mason in 2008 and Mke 280k/yr. I'm so glad I went to GMU, I have so many local contacts through the alumni network. A great school means very little and as a hiring manager myself I care absolutely not even an ounce where you went to college.

I have kids, I have a SFH, I have ZERO school debt and with two of us (my DH was UVA) we make over 500k/yr.

I am sorry but 100k is a lot of money for some people.

Anonymous wrote:What is the 4 year tuition cost of decent school? 75k? 80k?

Notice I said decent and not great.

A great school will cost over 100k easily.

Who cares?? I graduated George Mason in 2008 and Mke 280k/yr. I'm so glad I went to GMU, I have so many local contacts through the alumni network. A great school means very little and as a hiring manager myself I care absolutely not even an ounce where you went to college.

I have kids, I have a SFH, I have ZERO school debt and with two of us (my DH was UVA) we make over 500k/yr.

Anonymous wrote:It just depends on your expectations. If you expect to buy a nice house at 30 with kids, then yes it's too expensive for most people.

If you are willing to have a starter home, or condo with kids, I think it's doable, even in DC area.

I see too many younger adults think they should be able to afford the same things that a 40+ yr old has. I had this conversation with another person. They are much younger than my DH and I. I reminded this person that we are much much older, and we are at a different stage in our lives.

I am willing to live in a condo with kids (which I do). My observation is that anything in firm "starter" range in DC proper is vulnerable to developers looking to convert it into condos or someone with all cash and no contingencies. This applies to many areas of DC (NE and NW especially).

My grandparents built a lower middle class life back in the day. They didn't buy in a nice area. They didn't go on vacations. They didn't go out to eat. My grandpa worked double shifts where it was required. Their kids didn't attend extra curriculars that cost money. Instead they ran around the neighborhood running wild. My grandma stayed home.

My parents built a middle class life. We took some vacations. We ate out once a week my whole life, my dad shopped the sales at the grocery store and we didn't throw food away. Both my parents worked and worked extra when it was needed. We kids attended some extra curriculars that cost money. Mostly, we just ran around the neighborhood on our bikes causing mischief.

My spouse and I work full time. We live in a nice area, not a wealthy area. We go out to eat waaaaaay too much. We buy starbucks too much. Our kids take expensive, expensive music and language and sports classes. Recently we had a large bill that required cutting all these special classes, most going out to eat, most coffee. We have never really been big on vacations and rarely take them. We both work extra jobs when we need to.

To me, getting married and having kids is not too expensive, they just require extensive sacrifices. It can mean no vacations or eating out. It can mean working two jobs for a while. This is what every previous generation has done. It can mean not buying in a nice area. It can mean living in a house that needs MAJOR cosmetic repairs and not making those repairs for 20 years. It can mean not owning 2 cars or in some cities not even owning one. Our generation simply doesn't know how to sacrifice.

I hear some good coal jobs are coming back to WV- low cost of living there too.