myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself myself

Really? Am I supposed to convince you of my one handed typing ability with a 3 year old on my knee? I've got things to do, I don't have half my life to come back and edit every time I spot a typo or grammatical error, I'm not writing a White paper. You must really inspire those around you and clearly you must have mastered proper use of the word "myself" 8) .

Anonymous wrote:

csabdalla wrote:Okay, I came to this board for help and not the snarky comments below. I GREATLY appreciate the generous help that has been given, but I am coming in blind from a very different part of the nation that is weathering the worst the economic crisis.


"I would have to say the "can't comment on" is code for "I don't have a job" or "I haven't finished my background check" - not I work for NSA or CIA. As so many people here work for NSA or CIA and freely comment on it (vs. the work they do for that agency...it's only a person who is new to the area that feels the need to be so hush hush)."

We live in Detroit, it's an intimate city and not a "government community"like DC. You are usually no more that 2-3 degrees of separation of anyone. There are field offices and unless you work for the FDA people DO NOT advertise where they work or what they do, nor are they encouraged to do so. I am completely unfamiliar with Washington culture but where I live people with with certain work deflect direct questions as a rule.

My self and my husband are in the same field and where he will be situated is also up in the air and is the reason I just want a feel for the general area so we are able to weed out area's not worth looking at and focus on what is.

As for my math skills...
"OP, hopefully you are not working for Treasury because you need some help with your math skills. You are willing to pay $3,200 in rent, PLUS childcare on a 125K Dual HHI?"

They are pretty good considering we own little to NO debt short of some student loans. Are cars are paid for, as well as every piece of lovely furniture, we have no credit card bills and live within our means.
I had NO idea childcare there is more than I pay for one child's monthly tuition at an elite private school here. $125 - 140K in Detroit and you live pretty damn good. But it's still Michigan and it's time to move on.

people are not allowed to move to DC unless they know how to properly use the word "myself".

NP here. For crying out loud, YOU are why people hate D.C. so much. Even if you meant to be funny, you just sound like an ass.

csabdalla wrote:Okay, I came to this board for help and not the snarky comments below. I GREATLY appreciate the generous help that has been given, but I am coming in blind from a very different part of the nation that is weathering the worst the economic crisis.


"I would have to say the "can't comment on" is code for "I don't have a job" or "I haven't finished my background check" - not I work for NSA or CIA. As so many people here work for NSA or CIA and freely comment on it (vs. the work they do for that agency...it's only a person who is new to the area that feels the need to be so hush hush)."

We live in Detroit, it's an intimate city and not a "government community"like DC. You are usually no more that 2-3 degrees of separation of anyone. There are field offices and unless you work for the FDA people DO NOT advertise where they work or what they do, nor are they encouraged to do so. I am completely unfamiliar with Washington culture but where I live people with with certain work deflect direct questions as a rule.

My self and my husband are in the same field and where he will be situated is also up in the air and is the reason I just want a feel for the general area so we are able to weed out area's not worth looking at and focus on what is.

As for my math skills...
"OP, hopefully you are not working for Treasury because you need some help with your math skills. You are willing to pay $3,200 in rent, PLUS childcare on a 125K Dual HHI?"

They are pretty good considering we own little to NO debt short of some student loans. Are cars are paid for, as well as every piece of lovely furniture, we have no credit card bills and live within our means.
I had NO idea childcare there is more than I pay for one child's monthly tuition at an elite private school here. $125 - 140K in Detroit and you live pretty damn good. But it's still Michigan and it's time to move on.

people are not allowed to move to DC unless they know how to properly use the word "myself".

By the way, Fed field offices here in Detroit are generally NOT known to the public nor are their addresses published. Period. You guys just have it different in DC and it's the nature of the place and the large population there that does federal and contract work. You say something like that here in Detroit you might as well dress up in a bright pink tutu with bells on because that's how much you would stick out, it would arouse nothing but attention and suspicion from every civilian around you. It's a different place, thinking and culture. HERE, people would think THREE times before having you over for dinner.

OP, whether it's accurate or not or right to say these things, there have been debates around here by people who say that HHI of $300-400K makes you feel as though you're middle class only and no better here. People regularly post on DCUM saying that they "only" have a HHI of $150K. Lots of people get by on less here, there are working poor, etc.--but as you can see, yes, your HHI does not go as far here as it does elsewhere. There are a lot of pluses to being in this area and I encourage you to try for yourself. I am nearing a decade here and am looking to leave but it was a great ride.

Okay, I came to this board for help and not the snarky comments below. I GREATLY appreciate the generous help that has been given, but I am coming in blind from a very different part of the nation that is weathering the worst the economic crisis.


"I would have to say the "can't comment on" is code for "I don't have a job" or "I haven't finished my background check" - not I work for NSA or CIA. As so many people here work for NSA or CIA and freely comment on it (vs. the work they do for that agency...it's only a person who is new to the area that feels the need to be so hush hush)."

We live in Detroit, it's an intimate city and not a "government community"like DC. You are usually no more that 2-3 degrees of separation of anyone. There are field offices and unless you work for the FDA people DO NOT advertise where they work or what they do, nor are they encouraged to do so. I am completely unfamiliar with Washington culture but where I live people with with certain work deflect direct questions as a rule.

My self and my husband (this should read "My husband and I") are in the same field and where he will be situated is also up in the air and is the reason I just want a feel for the general area so we are able to weed out area's not worth looking at and focus on what is.

As for my math skills...
"OP, hopefully you are not working for Treasury because you need some help with your math skills. You are willing to pay $3,200 in rent, PLUS childcare on a 125K Dual HHI?"

They are pretty good considering we own little to NO debt short of some student loans. Are cars are paid for, as well as every piece of lovely furniture, we have no credit card bills and live within our means.
I had NO idea childcare there is more than I pay for one child's monthly tuition at an elite private school here. $125 - 140K in Detroit and you live pretty damn good. But it's still Michigan and it's time to move on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I personally like Reston, its really well planned. However, there are no mass transit options, and the commute will be hellish.

Not true. Buses now, and soon to be Metro.

Depends on what you qualify as hellish. An hour to some is hellish, to others it's ok. Also depends on where you are in Reston. I live in Reston and when I commuted into DC as of 2 years ago, it took 80 min (on good days). I didn't live right near where I could catch a bus. I found a job closer to home and it's sooooo nice not to have that commute. I find more than 40 min or so a big negative to quality of life.

Anonymous wrote:

I personally like Reston, its really well planned. However, there are no mass transit options, and the commute will be hellish.

Not true. Buses now, and soon to be Metro.

I live in Reston. They are building a metro here and it'll be ready in 2013. In the meantime, I take the bus to West Falls Church and door-to-door, I'm in the office in an hour...which is better than driving in.

There's several lakes in the Reston area, which is very nice and the cost is much lower than living closer in. More of a family feel, too.

OP, some advice about distances and commuting. Do not go just by actual distance and try to guess how long that would take you. We live in Falls Church, VA, about 3 miles from the metro station. When I commuted into downtown, this was my commute on an average day:

Drive 3 miles to metro -- 15-25 min (traffic)
Park, walk to train, wait for train -- 10 min
Train ride (straight shot, no transfers) -- 20 min
Exit train, get out of station, walk few blocks to work - 5 min

After metro raised the car parking fees (yes, keep in mind if you drive and park at the metro, you're going to pay -- $4.50/day for no reserved spot) and I got tired of the stupid drive of 3 miles taking FOREVER, I started driving into the city. It's a 40 min drive (~10 miles) on good days. I pay $325/mo for parking.

Right, but with that income, going up that high for housing (plus childcare, commuting), etc., there goes your disposible income. What about savings, retirement and any education-related savings for the kids? If you don't mind spending everything you make, that's fine (and good luck when you're po' in retirement or trying to pay for your kids' college). If you want to be prudent, rent a 2 bedroom condo for a few years. Welcome to the DC metro area.

Anonymous wrote:OP, hopefully you are not working for Treasury because you need some help with your math skills. You are willing to pay $3,200 in rent, PLUS childcare on a 125K Dual HHI?

If you are at CIA, the childcare there will cost you $1,400/mo, plus your older will need aftercare, which at the VERY least will be $400/mo. Out the gates before you have to LIVE life thatn is $5,000 in necessary expenses. You are aware that the approx net income on that salary is around $8,300? I'm not saying you can't live on $3,300/mo, but throw in utilities, groceries, cars, gas, and savings, there is not much left over there.

Its real easy around here with the cost of living so high to get in over your head real fast.

No, she'll be fine. We only use my income - $125k - to live off of and we bank my DHs paycheck. Our rent is $3k/month. Daycare for 2 children is $2500/month. Our cars are paid off. We don't buy expensive clothes, nor go to high priced concerts. Still manage to belong to a gym and enroll our children in music classes and gymboree. It's all about priorities.

csabdalla wrote:
When you guys talk about commuting on the train how long does it literally take you to get to and from work. I mean you park your car, get on a train, get off and then still have to walk long distances or get on a bus? Is that how you do it there? Detroit is the Motor City after all so we drive everywhere and park.

There's no easy answer. You have to start first with is your office near a metro stop. Then, you want to pick a place to live along the same color line as the metro stop at work. So someone that lives in Alexandria to commute to Bethesda would be better off driving and dealing with the traffic than taking the blue line to the red line. Changing trains adds a lot of time to the commute, so you don't want that.
Also, not all metro locations have parking. Meaning you either need to be within walking distance or have a shuttle bus.
Often times the metro can take longer than driving. That said, its consistent - no wreck ruining the morning commute, or snow as was the case last winter for many. And you can catch up on reading, whatever, during the commute. And lastly, the feds will pay for your metro ticket.
Also, at most work locations, the walk from the metro is usually just as short or shorter than if you had to deal with finding a parking spot.
For me, I drive. It takes me 25 minutes to drive. Then it takes me 10 minutes to walk to work.
If I metro'd it, it would take me 5 minutes to get to metro (shuttle bus picks up at the end of my street), 25 minutes on the metro, 3 minute walk from metro into office. So I would save time if I used the metro. I don't because the children's daycare is next to where I work, and I will not drag them onto the metro during rush hour.

Don't underestimate a metro commute either...I live literally five miles from my office near the White House in N Arlington (Ballston area). Here's what my commute generally looks like for a walkable to metro TH at a very close-in stop:

Walk to metro (Ballston)- 12 to 15 mins
Wait for train- 4-10 mins
Train ride - 12-16 mins
Walk to office (from Farragut West)- 7 to 10 mins

Total metro commute for five mile distance: 35 to 50 minutes. If you live further out and need to factor your door to door time whether waiting for buses, parking at lots etc. You can see the commute can get pretty long!

OP, hopefully you are not working for Treasury because you need some help with your math skills. You are willing to pay $3,200 in rent, PLUS childcare on a 125K Dual HHI?

If you are at CIA, the childcare there will cost you $1,400/mo, plus your older will need aftercare, which at the VERY least will be $400/mo. Out the gates before you have to LIVE life thatn is $5,000 in necessary expenses. You are aware that the approx net income on that salary is around $8,300? I'm not saying you can't live on $3,300/mo, but throw in utilities, groceries, cars, gas, and savings, there is not much left over there.

Its real easy around here with the cost of living so high to get in over your head real fast.