This is divorced PP. I don’t know what you are talking about with an hour long commute. I live near route 50 near ffx line and it takes me 20 min to get to metro center in the morning. 30 minutes to get home. I have also commented from fairlington recently and I don”t know what you were doing, but it doesn’t take an hour.

Yes commutes can be really long, even if you have money. Sorry, no sympathy here. I chose a short commute and small townhome. I would love a bigger place, but isn’t happening. Part of what makes arlington expensive is the proximity to DC.

I will also second what some have said-you chose the easy route by staying in govt. the only govies I know in Arlington have a spouse making at least as much income. Working outside govt can be a trade off, but perhaps you should consider in house or something that has less of a salary cap.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This is OP. I don’t currently live in South Arlington, but I have. And I’d be happy to again. Except that the commute on 395 is horrendous if you drive in and takes a long time if you have to walk or drive to bus then bus to Pentagon city then take two metros. So again, it’s the commute. But I’m kind of starting to enjoy people making assumptions that I don’t want others to judge me for living in a condo and that I don’t want to live among the poors. Rather than admitting that COMMUTES ARE REALLY LONG IN THIS AREA, and that’s not ideal. No want WANTS to commute for a hour on a train.

I understand you have limits with the kids, but now you just sound lazy and entitled. An hour commute is not that long.

If you are so obsessed with the commute, then stay where you are. There is nothing wrong with living in a condo.

Sometimes you just can't get certain things in certain neighborhoods. People on the UES wouldn't complain about not being able to afford a SFH in their neighborhood. If they wanted it, they'd move.

An hour commute IS ridiculous to a single mom with kids. It’s shocking that these comments seems to think it’s acceptable that government workers can’t afford to live somewhere with less than an hour commute in Washington DC. So callous.

(I’m not OP)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is ridiculous. I’m not crying because I can’t live in Malibu.

Equating Arlington with Malibu == bananapants

Arlington is pretty great! Growing up there in Lyon Park was wonderful. Lots of kids to play with. Parks in walking distance. The homes at the time were fairly small and not that nice, but the deep tree canopy is beautiful.

I'd rather live there than Malibu any day. California is so superficial.

Anonymous wrote:This is ridiculous. I’m not crying because I can’t live in Malibu.

Equating Arlington with Malibu == bananapants

This is ridiculous. I’m not crying because I can’t live in Malibu.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This is OP. I don’t currently live in South Arlington, but I have. And I’d be happy to again. Except that the commute on 395 is horrendous if you drive in and takes a long time if you have to walk or drive to bus then bus to Pentagon city then take two metros. So again, it’s the commute. But I’m kind of starting to enjoy people making assumptions that I don’t want others to judge me for living in a condo and that I don’t want to live among the poors. Rather than admitting that COMMUTES ARE REALLY LONG IN THIS AREA, and that’s not ideal. No want WANTS to commute for a hour on a train.

I understand you have limits with the kids, but now you just sound lazy and entitled. An hour commute is not that long.

If you are so obsessed with the commute, then stay where you are. There is nothing wrong with living in a condo.

Sometimes you just can't get certain things in certain neighborhoods. People on the UES wouldn't complain about not being able to afford a SFH in their neighborhood. If they wanted it, they'd move.

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.

You are a maxed out government lawyer. You are not a successful lawyer.

So, this is not a criticism, but that is exactly what I was thinking, LOL. I am also a government worker so I think I can say that.

This is OP. To the extent that your point is that I can change jobs to make more money, that’s true. I have an Ivy League law school degree and 20 years of prestigious jobs. But I stand by my point that one should be able to choose government service and still be able to afford a SFH with a commute of less than 45 minutes and good schools without family money and without a spouse. I am a government lawyer because I believe in what I do.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

This is OP. I don’t currently live in South Arlington, but I have. And I’d be happy to again. Except that the commute on 395 is horrendous if you drive in and takes a long time if you have to walk or drive to bus then bus to Pentagon city then take two metros. So again, it’s the commute. But I’m kind of starting to enjoy people making assumptions that I don’t want others to judge me for living in a condo and that I don’t want to live among the poors. Rather than admitting that COMMUTES ARE REALLY LONG IN THIS AREA, and that’s not ideal. No want WANTS to commute for a hour on a train.

What's wrong with this?

https://www.redfin.com/VA/Arlington/16-S-Aberdeen-St-22204/home/11258269

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

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.

Then she should have made different life choices

1. Not procreated with a person she could not stay with

2. Not ejected to have children on her own that she could not afford

3. Taken a giver meant job rather than a higher paying job in the private sector

4. Purchased a 800 sf condo with kids. She should have bought a larger unit in a lesser building in the same school district

She could still buy a larger unit in a lesser building in the same school district.

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

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.

Then she should have made different life choices

1. Not procreated with a person she could not stay with

2. Not ejected to have children on her own that she could not afford

3. Taken a giver meant job rather than a higher paying job in the private sector

4. Purchased a 800 sf condo with kids. She should have bought a larger unit in a lesser building in the same school district

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.

You are a maxed out government lawyer. You are not a successful lawyer.

So, this is not a criticism, but that is exactly what I was thinking, LOL. I am also a government worker so I think I can say that.

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

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.

Despicable? Not the PP but that's pushing it. She can have a SFH with a reasonable commute. In PG County. Or in Southeast. Or in Kensington, MD. Or in Forest Glen.

Yes, she'd like to be in Arlington, but if she still has a kid in daycare, she can wait until the kid is out of daycare and then buy a townhome or she can buy somewhere else. There's time to make new friends in different neighborhoods.

Having a childish, entitled tantrum about what lawyers deserve is not a good look.

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.

You are a maxed out government lawyer. You are not a successful lawyer.

It’s a cliche, I know, but the gap between what you can get in Arlington compared to what you can get elsewhere is too big to ignore. ATge schools are circling the drain and there are many problems over the horizon. I have lived here, in a townhouse, for 16 years. There are attributes, yes. But take a deep breath.