Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The salary snobbery is odd. We are an upper income household and have friends who make much less. It isn't like we as for a w-2 before hanging out. One huge benefit of the government is the pension if you stay long enough. Btw have you tried to negotiate salary? That is possible in some agencies. I think most posters are just cautioning you as to the hit your lifestyle will take up here.

I didn't think this existed anymore? I know it is not like the old days where if you work there for 20 years you get 80% of your highest salary for walking to the mailbox.

It's still pretty damn good. At least it is for us. My DH has been a fed for 12 years. We'll get something like 70% of his highest salary plus the TSP. No complaints.

That's the old system you mooches love. The new one is worse

If your DH has been a fed for 12 years he is under the new system called FERS. Nobody is getting 70% of their salary under FERS.

Currently, your husband is entitled to 12% for the average of his top 3 earning years.

Not PP, but my husband is FBI and he gets more than 12%. It's not 70%--I think it's more like 30% (but don't quote me on that).

If your DH is a LEO, yes his retirement is greater than 12% for 12 years of service, but still less than 30%, and no way near the 70% PP quoted. There is a separtate retirement system for Federal LEO's and firefighters. They also have a mandatory retirement age. Yes, their beanies are better than the average federal employee, but then again, they are literally in the line of fire.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The salary snobbery is odd. We are an upper income household and have friends who make much less. It isn't like we as for a w-2 before hanging out. One huge benefit of the government is the pension if you stay long enough. Btw have you tried to negotiate salary? That is possible in some agencies. I think most posters are just cautioning you as to the hit your lifestyle will take up here.

I didn't think this existed anymore? I know it is not like the old days where if you work there for 20 years you get 80% of your highest salary for walking to the mailbox.

It's still pretty damn good. At least it is for us. My DH has been a fed for 12 years. We'll get something like 70% of his highest salary plus the TSP. No complaints.

That's the old system you mooches love. The new one is worse

If your DH has been a fed for 12 years he is under the new system called FERS. Nobody is getting 70% of their salary under FERS.

Currently, your husband is entitled to 12% for the average of his top 3 earning years.

Not PP, but my husband is FBI and he gets more than 12%. It's not 70%--I think it's more like 30% (but don't quote me on that).

OP, the people on DCUM are not truly representative of DC Metro. Most of the people who troll or post on DCUM have HHI over 250K and they still consider themselves the working poor or lower middle class.

There are thousands of people who live in DC proper and the suburbs who are living comfortably on less than 120K HHI. Yes, child care will be expensive, but the $1800 per month qipted is not typical. It is on the high end of the spectrum.

I attended school in Tallahassee, Go Noles, and lived in Florida for 10 years. I could never have earned the income through career advancement in Florida, as I have been able to earn in this area. The job upward hopping simply was not available in any jurisdiction in Florida. If your husband was offered a job for 60K in the government, I must assume that he is young in his career. There are opportunities for advancement in the federal government in Washington, not so many in Florida. Also, once he has made advancements in his federal career in this area, your DH would have an opprotunity for lateral transfers to different areas in Florida.

GL with your decison, but take DCUM with a shot of vodka.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The salary snobbery is odd. We are an upper income household and have friends who make much less. It isn't like we as for a w-2 before hanging out. One huge benefit of the government is the pension if you stay long enough. Btw have you tried to negotiate salary? That is possible in some agencies. I think most posters are just cautioning you as to the hit your lifestyle will take up here.

I didn't think this existed anymore? I know it is not like the old days where if you work there for 20 years you get 80% of your highest salary for walking to the mailbox.

It's still pretty damn good. At least it is for us. My DH has been a fed for 12 years. We'll get something like 70% of his highest salary plus the TSP. No complaints.

That's the old system you mooches love. The new one is worse

If your DH has been a fed for 12 years he is under the new system called FERS. Nobody is getting 70% of their salary under FERS. Currently, your husband is entitled to 12% for the average of his top 3 earning years.

I am the poster highlighted above. I thought this sounded incorrect when the response was posted. Otherwise my husband would have been much more likely to stay with the govt 4 years ago, rather than moving to private industry.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The salary snobbery is odd. We are an upper income household and have friends who make much less. It isn't like we as for a w-2 before hanging out. One huge benefit of the government is the pension if you stay long enough. Btw have you tried to negotiate salary? That is possible in some agencies. I think most posters are just cautioning you as to the hit your lifestyle will take up here.

I didn't think this existed anymore? I know it is not like the old days where if you work there for 20 years you get 80% of your highest salary for walking to the mailbox.

It's still pretty damn good. At least it is for us. My DH has been a fed for 12 years. We'll get something like 70% of his highest salary plus the TSP. No complaints.

That's the old system you mooches love. The new one is worse

If your DH has been a fed for 12 years he is under the new system called FERS. Nobody is getting 70% of their salary under FERS. Currently, your husband is entitled to 12% for the average of his top 3 earning years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the good inputs. Admin should really do something about un useful comments

We aren't trying to be mean. We are being realistic. You will be living on a very tight budget with that income. It's very, very low for this area.

I'm so glad I didn't know about DCUM when we moved here. We made $120k a year and rented a townhouse in Alexandria. 30 minute commute to DC by metro. I never once felt like money was tight. It took us one year to save for a home, and we bought in the same neighborhood. My husband is a Fed, and his salary went from $80k to $155k in the 5 years we've been here, so now we're living even more comfortably than before. Our daycare, which I love, is $1000 a month.

It's funny, whenever people say they want to move to someplace like Orlando, people say that they shouldn't, because the job opportunities, job stability, and ops for advancement are so high here. They would (of course) also make fun of Orlando. But when people want to move here, people tell them to stay away.

Get off the message boards OP, and conduct your own research.

We buy milk for under $3.

Anonymous wrote:OP--listen to what people are telling you. Go to paycheckcity.com and punch in your numbers. Look at what your net will be after taxes. Call up some daycare providers and get rates. Then find some housing that you might like. Look at the cost. Realize that 1 hr commutes around here are typical. Ask yourself if this is the lifestyle you really want? $120K around here just does not go very far. A gallon of milk is around $4, a loaf of bread about $2.50. If you want organic milk, it's more like $7 or $8. Gas is $3.50 or so. Call up your car insurance company and ask what rates will be.

DC is an amazing city. But living here comes with a hefty price tag.

$3.50? You must live in VA. Gas is $4.50 in MD.

Anonymous wrote:If you like Walmart, you won't like it here.

+1 I thought the same thing!
Maybe Manassas?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The salary snobbery is odd. We are an upper income household and have friends who make much less. It isn't like we as for a w-2 before hanging out. One huge benefit of the government is the pension if you stay long enough. Btw have you tried to negotiate salary? That is possible in some agencies. I think most posters are just cautioning you as to the hit your lifestyle will take up here.

I didn't think this existed anymore? I know it is not like the old days where if you work there for 20 years you get 80% of your highest salary for walking to the mailbox.

It's still pretty damn good. At least it is for us. My DH has been a fed for 12 years. We'll get something like 70% of his highest salary plus the TSP. No complaints.

That's the old system you mooches love. The new one is worse

And, what, pray tell PP do you do?

Subprime lending. I make my money off the poor. Never said I wasn't an asshole.

OP - Im born and raised here. I can tell you with 100% confidence that you should stay in FL.

People here are bitter, unattractive, unhealthy (because they all work so much to keep up with the COL here) and you will quickly turn into one of us - "the walking dead"!

Also, agree with one of the PPs who said that once you come here its tough to leave because salaries everywhere else are so much lower so you will have to take a paycut if you leave DC. don't get sucked into this place.

also, moving yourself is not cheap. we did it, assume $20K at a minimum.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The salary snobbery is odd. We are an upper income household and have friends who make much less. It isn't like we as for a w-2 before hanging out. One huge benefit of the government is the pension if you stay long enough. Btw have you tried to negotiate salary? That is possible in some agencies. I think most posters are just cautioning you as to the hit your lifestyle will take up here.

I didn't think this existed anymore? I know it is not like the old days where if you work there for 20 years you get 80% of your highest salary for walking to the mailbox.

It's still pretty damn good. At least it is for us. My DH has been a fed for 12 years. We'll get something like 70% of his highest salary plus the TSP. No complaints.

That's the old system you mooches love. The new one is worse

And, what, pray tell PP do you do?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The salary snobbery is odd. We are an upper income household and have friends who make much less. It isn't like we as for a w-2 before hanging out. One huge benefit of the government is the pension if you stay long enough. Btw have you tried to negotiate salary? That is possible in some agencies. I think most posters are just cautioning you as to the hit your lifestyle will take up here.

I didn't think this existed anymore? I know it is not like the old days where if you work there for 20 years you get 80% of your highest salary for walking to the mailbox.

It's still pretty damn good. At least it is for us. My DH has been a fed for 12 years. We'll get something like 70% of his highest salary plus the TSP. No complaints.

That's the old system you mooches love. The new one is worse