Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here again

wow i didnt think my little rant was going to generate such a long thread.

ok i forgot a few bills, like the gym, salary insurance, life insurance etc.... and also we only started making that much recently, it has not even been a year yet.

a good chunk of our salary also comes in the form of a yearly bonus, so we dont exactly have $7k left over on our checking account once the bills are paid. and what we do have left goes in the house currently.

the word "poor" was supposed to be taken in context of this extremely frivolous town. I just feel like i am doing something wrong when i see all these $2M+ homes and $100K+ car around me.

based on my reading this post it sounds like the DC version of the American Dream is to work a lot, pay a lot of taxes, visit museums, go on hikes, hang out with over-educated snobs who drive cheap cars and have little to show for at the end ... sounds a lot like Europe to me.....

I'm not sure you HHI is your problem.

Anonymous wrote:OP here again

based on my reading this post it sounds like the DC version of the American Dream is to work a lot, pay a lot of taxes, visit museums, go on hikes, hang out with over-educated snobs who drive cheap cars and have little to show for at the end ... sounds a lot like Europe to me.....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here again

wow i didnt think my little rant was going to generate such a long thread.

ok i forgot a few bills, like the gym, salary insurance, life insurance etc.... and also we only started making that much recently, it has not even been a year yet.

a good chunk of our salary also comes in the form of a yearly bonus, so we dont exactly have $7k left over on our checking account once the bills are paid. and what we do have left goes in the house currently.

the word "poor" was supposed to be taken in context of this extremely frivolous town. I just feel like i am doing something wrong when i see all these $2M+ homes and $100K+ car around me.

based on my reading this post it sounds like the DC version of the American Dream is to work a lot, pay a lot of taxes, visit museums, go on hikes, hang out with over-educated snobs who drive cheap cars and have little to show for at the end ... sounds a lot like Europe to me.....

Dude, cut down on the hallucinogens. There just aren't that many $2 million+ houses and $100k cars in Bethesda. The housing stock is pretty normal, even dumpy in some parts.

Anonymous wrote:OP here again

wow i didnt think my little rant was going to generate such a long thread.

ok i forgot a few bills, like the gym, salary insurance, life insurance etc.... and also we only started making that much recently, it has not even been a year yet.

a good chunk of our salary also comes in the form of a yearly bonus, so we dont exactly have $7k left over on our checking account once the bills are paid. and what we do have left goes in the house currently.

the word "poor" was supposed to be taken in context of this extremely frivolous town. I just feel like i am doing something wrong when i see all these $2M+ homes and $100K+ car around me.

based on my reading this post it sounds like the DC version of the American Dream is to work a lot, pay a lot of taxes, visit museums, go on hikes, hang out with over-educated snobs who drive cheap cars and have little to show for at the end ... sounds a lot like Europe to me.....

Anonymous wrote:OP here again

wow i didnt think my little rant was going to generate such a long thread.

ok i forgot a few bills, like the gym, salary insurance, life insurance etc.... and also we only started making that much recently, it has not even been a year yet.

a good chunk of our salary also comes in the form of a yearly bonus, so we dont exactly have $7k left over on our checking account once the bills are paid. and what we do have left goes in the house currently.

the word "poor" was supposed to be taken in context of this extremely frivolous town. I just feel like i am doing something wrong when i see all these $2M+ homes and $100K+ car around me.

based on my reading this post it sounds like the DC version of the American Dream is to work a lot, pay a lot of taxes, visit museums, go on hikes, hang out with over-educated snobs who drive cheap cars and have little to show for at the end ... sounds a lot like Europe to me.....

Anonymous wrote:OP here again

wow i didnt think my little rant was going to generate such a long thread.

ok i forgot a few bills, like the gym, salary insurance, life insurance etc.... and also we only started making that much recently, it has not even been a year yet.

a good chunk of our salary also comes in the form of a yearly bonus, so we dont exactly have $7k left over on our checking account once the bills are paid. and what we do have left goes in the house currently.

the word "poor" was supposed to be taken in context of this extremely frivolous town. I just feel like i am doing something wrong when i see all these $2M+ homes and $100K+ car around me.

based on my reading this post it sounds like the DC version of the American Dream is to work a lot, pay a lot of taxes, visit museums, go on hikes, hang out with over-educated snobs who drive cheap cars and have little to show for at the end ... sounds a lot like Europe to me.....

Anonymous wrote:I'm not understanding the problem here. Are you asking if $7k a month "extra" is enough to get by in Bethesda?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Another thing i am trying to do is figure out why this area is so expensive, this way at least i could get something out of living here.

Prices are higher because of the schools, which you might not be using yet.

The schools are the same throughout the county. What varies is the HHI of the students attending the schools. If you want your child to attend schools where the majority of students come from families with high HHI, then move to Bethesda or Potomac. If that is not important to you, then move anywhere else in the county. Schools are not inherently better because they are located in Bethesda.

That may be true, but people are obsessing about school districts around here. My wife made us overlook a house because it was in the Walter Johnson district, and her coworker told her she should aim for Churchill or Whitman.

Well then she needs to learn to think for herself. Does she always base life decisions on what her coworker tells her?

We live in WJ cluster - let's not be defensive. Whitman is seen as being one of the best public high schools in the country.
It is very sought after and it means that the housing prices in feeder neighborhoods are very stable and increase a bit more.

WJ is fine, but it's not Whitman.

Even assuming that Whitman is the best high school in MCPS (an assertion I don't agree with, but let's assume it's true) - why must OP live there, if doing so strains the household finances? Must everyone have the "best"?

What is at stake? Does OP think his kids won't go to college if they attend Walter Johnson, BCC, Blair, or Einstein?

No, but people desire that so it keeps your house value up.

The schools you list are all good.

On the contrary while most of the county elementary and middle schools are very good (some of the elem schools in poorer neighborhoods have many more resources and smaller classes actually) the quality of some of the high schools can be very poor. So that is an issue. If you live in a crappy HS district you might budget for a private school or move.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the replies...i am venting a little bit here but i would like to find out what i am doing wrong.

$350k per year is about $14.5k per month after taxes

Mortgage: $3800 and that's low because of the fixer upper house
2 kids in day-care: $4000 (only 1/2 now since we dont have the 2nd kid yet)
2 cars: $600
Student debt: $600
Bills: $600
House cleaning: $300

that's less $5000 left per month, which would be ok if we didnt eat out and go on trips now and then. We may be doing too much of that...

We also spend a lot on our house because it is a fixer-upper.

The bottom line is that after all these years and all the work trying to do the right thing, we are barely making end meet.

Another thing i am trying to do is figure out why this area is so expensive, this way at least i could get something out of living here.

By the way, I just went on zillow and searched for 4 BR+ homes for less than 800k and 10 houses came up, all in need of work.

$5,000 OF MONTHLY DISCRETIONARY INCOME IS NOT POOR FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

+1 Good grief, OP.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I totally get it- we are in a very similar situation, I almost wonder if you are my husband posting. I do not feel like we have money to burn AT ALL.

If that's your definition of not feeling poor, you will always feel poor.

Agree. This is a pathetic posting and clearly someone who is humble bragging.

OP here .... i get into this argument with some family/friend back home (they think i am ridiculous when i say i am struggling) but i think there is something people are missing here.

unless you're some trust fund kid, $350k a year doesnt come easy.... it involves years and years of sacrificing ... moving a lot , traveling for work, living in places you don't like, beeing away from friends and family, having to adjust culturaly (in my case again), learning a foreign language...All those things are fine at one condition, and that is that i am going to be rewarded for it. Otherwise why not just stay put, work a 9 to 5, be around friends and family etc... so yes $350k is being rewarded, but what is the point if you have to live the same life you would somewhere else on $100k.

And again, i just dont see where the money is going around here, there is nothing special at all about the place (expect schools maybe), there are no beaches, no mountains, mediocre climate, insanely high taxes etc...