Yearly Income (Arlington: apartment, to rent, condos)

[Sparty2000]

Hi everybody,

I'm debating about moving to NoVa or the DC Metro area, and my friends who have lived there for years say that in order to live "comfortably," you should be making around $100,000+/yr minimal gross (rent, food, monthly bills, entertainment, car payment etc.). Not sure if this is completely true, since they like to live on the high end. Another person told me that $75,000 gross minimal could be comfy. If I did move out there, I would probably get a 1 or 2 bedroom apt in NoVa somewhere. I do know it's pretty expensive to live out there. Not a huge fan of living in the heart DC, but PG County could be an option.

So is there a certain price range you should be making per year at a minimal without feeling strapped?

Thanks for your help!!

[tgbwc]

Is this for one person? I think your friends who say a minimum of $100,000 gross are spending a good amount living on the high end. Even $75k shouldn't be an issue.
I've been working in NoVA for 23 years and make about $15k less than that and I do fine. We are a family of three, in a single family home and gross about $165k.

[Sparty2000]

Hi tgbwc. Yes, this is just for me only. My friends who made those comments are also single, without kids.
Thank you for your personal comments! Now I can get a feel of what I would like to do for the future.

[ACWhite]

It depends on where you want to live. It's easy to spend 3K+ per month in rent, but you could also live further out or share rent with roommates, which would cost less.

[The Dissenter]

I make about $42k a year, and I manage to survive. I have college debt and a car note but no kids and live by myself. I'm getting a below market deal on the unit I rent.

[Mnseca]

Everything depends on how much debt you have and how you define comfortable. I think 100K for a single guy is pushing it a little - but on the other hand, it can be a bit hard to see people living high on the hog, buying expensive condos and cars, taking vacations to Europe, etc., when you're just scraping by with rent. For that lifestyle, you will need 80K plus, but to pay rent for a simple apartment, with little to no debt, no extravagant purchases or vacations, I think you can manage on much less. As a family of 3 I'd say we live comfortably enough on a little over 100K, and that includes a big mortgage and some debt.

[dhydavid]

If you want to rent in NoVa closer to DC, with 75000, you should be fine, and if you are frugal you can even save at least 15000 a year and maybe more. But of course you won't be able to buy expensive cars or rent a huge luxury apartment.

With 100K, you can afford moderately expensive cars, e.g. a lower-end BMW, and a nice big apartment that is not too far from DC, and maybe within walking distance to the metro.

But if you consider PG county, the rent can be a few hundred dollars lower than in Arlington. So with 75K, you are probably going to be slightly above average in this area.

I would assume that even with 50K, and if you share an apartment with a roommate, you will still be ok.

Originally Posted by Sparty2000

Hi everybody,

I'm debating about moving to NoVa or the DC Metro area, and my friends who have lived there for years say that in order to live "comfortably," you should be making around $100,000+/yr minimal gross (rent, food, monthly bills, entertainment, car payment etc.). Not sure if this is completely true, since they like to live on the high end. Another person told me that $75,000 gross minimal could be comfy. If I did move out there, I would probably get a 1 or 2 bedroom apt in NoVa somewhere. I do know it's pretty expensive to live out there. Not a huge fan of living in the heart DC, but PG County could be an option.

So is there a certain price range you should be making per year at a minimal without feeling strapped?

Thanks for your help!!

[LynchburgLover]

Daughter started at about $52-55k, rented a room in house with 3 other girls in Arlington. Had no student debt but did buy a used car in the $24k range. She did okay, but did not live high end. Three years later, she's up to about $65-70 and living quite well. Puts a lot in savings and 401k and enjoys lots of social activities.

[Lilac110]

Originally Posted by Sparty2000

Another person told me that $75,000 gross minimal could be comfy.

I'm about in that range (or, at least on pace to make that--I freelance) and it's definitely doable, and in a nice part of Arlington, near a Metro station, to boot. However, my own sanity and financial paranoia mean I won't have a car--and I'm perfectly okay with that because of ZipCar.

[FCNova]

It all depends how you define comfortable, and where exactly you want to live. Housing costs are the biggest expense here but they decrease the further away from DC you go.

I was making 28k when I graduated college a decade and a half ago and lived in Arlington with a buddy and felt comfortable. That much won't go as far today but you don't need anywhere close to 100k if you are fiscally responsible.