I divorced a while back, walked out of marital home with very little. I had sole custody with no child support and same income as you. Lawyer too, with a fairly demanding job. We moved from a nice house in Fairfax to a smaller townhome in Arlington so I would not have much commute. We could only afford south Arlington. So can you. You just don’t want to be with the poorer folks. You have no excuse. 170$ total income without a huge down payment is too poor for north Arlington. Just face it.

Condos are rarely a good investment, but mine was! I bought around 9/11 and it more then doubled in value by 2014. Yep. With less then 50k down I walked out with hundreds of thousands of dollars. But, I timed everything right.

When I lived in the NY area, none of the professionals in my town complained that they had to take the commuter train into Manhattan every day. Yet around here, it feels like people think being a professional means you deserve a SFH within biking distance of downtown DC.

Why not take the VRE? It's comfortable and easy and there are all sorts of affordable neighborhoods along it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And I will never be able to afford a Lamborghini and make do with my 12 year old Honda that is running just fine. I will also never be able to afford to go on a safari in Africa, so, we visit the National Zoo and make due with a week at the beach.

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

This is OP. I hear this point. I hear that posters are saying I sound entitled. And you’re right. I suppose I
AM feeling entitled. I think a successful lawyer who has been practicing for 20 years should be able to afford a small SFH in the DC with a commute of 45 minutes or less door to door and good schools.

Except, you can.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And I will never be able to afford a Lamborghini and make do with my 12 year old Honda that is running just fine. I will also never be able to afford to go on a safari in Africa, so, we visit the National Zoo and make due with a week at the beach.

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

This is OP. I hear this point. I hear that posters are saying I sound entitled. And you’re right. I suppose I
AM feeling entitled. I think a successful lawyer who has been practicing for 20 years should be able to afford a small SFH in the DC with a commute of 45 minutes or less door to door and good schools.

I hear you OP, I find it totally absurd that with my education and career level I have to commute in on a long train ride, but it's literally a numbers issue. Yes, we *should* have a standard of living where this is reasonable! But there is a limited amount of land and too many other people got there first. If you want to be grumpy about it I won't blame you!

Thank you, PP. I don’t know yet whether I want to be grumpy about it or move! But I do find it absurd. Of course I understand supply and demand rationally. But if you had told me when I graduated from law school and was choosing which market to accept a job in that if I picked DC, I wouldn’t be able to afford a SFH in the DC area within a reasonable commuting distance if I ever got divorced, I would have laughed at you. Of course that’s true for New York or San Fran, but not DC! Yes, it’s true for DC too.

Your problem is probably that you work in the city. You can get a beautiful house on your income with good schools, but not if you’re trying to keep it to 45 minutes into downtown DC. We can ruminate endlessly on why that is and whether it’s “fair” or not, but it just is what it is.

Personally, if this bothered me so much I would try to find a job outside of DC proper. Even if you worked in Arlington it would be much easier to commute from say Burke or West Springfield or Fairfax. I’m sure there are fed lawyer positions at federal annexes all over the area.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And I will never be able to afford a Lamborghini and make do with my 12 year old Honda that is running just fine. I will also never be able to afford to go on a safari in Africa, so, we visit the National Zoo and make due with a week at the beach.

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

This is OP. I hear this point. I hear that posters are saying I sound entitled. And you’re right. I suppose I
AM feeling entitled. I think a successful lawyer who has been practicing for 20 years should be able to afford a small SFH in the DC with a commute of 45 minutes or less door to door and good schools.

I hear you OP, I find it totally absurd that with my education and career level I have to commute in on a long train ride, but it's literally a numbers issue. Yes, we *should* have a standard of living where this is reasonable! But there is a limited amount of land and too many other people got there first. If you want to be grumpy about it I won't blame you!

Thank you, PP. I don’t know yet whether I want to be grumpy about it or move! But I do find it absurd. Of course I understand supply and demand rationally. But if you had told me when I graduated from law school and was choosing which market to accept a job in that if I picked DC, I wouldn’t be able to afford a SFH in the DC area within a reasonable commuting distance if I ever got divorced, I would have laughed at you. Of course that’s true for New York or San Fran, but not DC! Yes, it’s true for DC too.

Anonymous wrote:And I will never be able to afford a Lamborghini and make do with my 12 year old Honda that is running just fine. I will also never be able to afford to go on a safari in Africa, so, we visit the National Zoo and make due with a week at the beach.

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

Lack of affordable housing should be a concern, and this callous attitude is dispicable. OP wants a SFH with a reasonable commute, not a mansion. Stop being a dick.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And I will never be able to afford a Lamborghini and make do with my 12 year old Honda that is running just fine. I will also never be able to afford to go on a safari in Africa, so, we visit the National Zoo and make due with a week at the beach.

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

This is OP. I hear this point. I hear that posters are saying I sound entitled. And you’re right. I suppose I
AM feeling entitled. I think a successful lawyer who has been practicing for 20 years should be able to afford a small SFH in the DC with a commute of 45 minutes or less door to door and good schools.

I hear you OP, I find it totally absurd that with my education and career level I have to commute in on a long train ride, but it's literally a numbers issue. Yes, we *should* have a standard of living where this is reasonable! But there is a limited amount of land and too many other people got there first. If you want to be grumpy about it I won't blame you!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And I will never be able to afford a Lamborghini and make do with my 12 year old Honda that is running just fine. I will also never be able to afford to go on a safari in Africa, so, we visit the National Zoo and make due with a week at the beach.

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

This is OP. I hear this point. I hear that posters are saying I sound entitled. And you’re right. I suppose I
AM feeling entitled. I think a successful lawyer who has been practicing for 20 years should be able to afford a small SFH in the DC with a commute of 45 minutes or less door to door and good schools.

But you're competing against dual incomes, family money, folks that got into real estate right before the boom. . .

I want a house with a view, but behind us is a huge high-rise so I look out my back windows and see brick.

*in the DC area

Anonymous wrote:And I will never be able to afford a Lamborghini and make do with my 12 year old Honda that is running just fine. I will also never be able to afford to go on a safari in Africa, so, we visit the National Zoo and make due with a week at the beach.

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

This is OP. I hear this point. I hear that posters are saying I sound entitled. And you’re right. I suppose I
AM feeling entitled. I think a successful lawyer who has been practicing for 20 years should be able to afford a small SFH in the DC with a commute of 45 minutes or less door to door and good schools.

And I will never be able to afford a Lamborghini and make do with my 12 year old Honda that is running just fine. I will also never be able to afford to go on a safari in Africa, so, we visit the National Zoo and make due with a week at the beach.

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you dating? You might meet someone and join incomes. They you will be able to afford a SFH.

Are you telling OP to be a gold-digger?

The modus operandi of DCUM

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We couldn’t afford to buy in Fairfax so we moved to Manassas and found a community we love with great neighbors. I k ow it seems a disappointment not to live in Arlington but I am sure you can find a wonderful place!

Where on earth did you find a community you love with great neighbors in Manassas?

DP. If you moved to the neighborhood, your very presence would lessen the greatness of the community.

TH:
https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/1626-N-Colonial-Ter-22209/home/11249318