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If you look at the job market on the East, South East Coast.
I am from Texas, there isn't much going on there. The South East is worst. Washington DC is the southern most place where is almost affordable and there is stuff going on.
Huh?
First, DC is not that affordable. It's very expensive and frankly overpriced for what you get in return.
And the SE has more going for it than you credit. Texas has a booming economy and a lot of other stuff going on
DC seems to suffer the same problem as a lot of big major cities (NY, Chi, LA, etc.) It's great if you are young, carefree and just starting out in life. Or it's great if you are older and have "made it big" in terms of your career, your finances and your social life.
But if you are in between those two groups - ie, 25-40 years old, unstable career and less than $70,000 salary, then things are probably going to suck. You are going to deal with horrible commutes, long hours and endless bullsh-t just for the privelege of dumping all of your money on a small apartment and overpriced restaurants.
I moved here entirely by choice. I love it here. I came out for a conference and didn't want to leave. Went back home and started thinking about moving here - applied for a couple positions (I do a very specific job and have been doing it a long time so that was helpful), got the interview, got the job and said adios to San Diego.
I would not change that decision if you offered me more money to go back to San Diego. Or Southern California for that matter. I moved my teenage daughter here and we both love it - we love the energy of the city, all the things there are to do (many free!), we love our neighborhood (we live in Greenbelt though not in DC). It is way more affordable for us here than San Diego as even though the cost of living isn't so different the salary was much higher for actually a job with less responsibility than I had before (1/2 the staff I had before!)
I am working at saving for a townhouse which I can afford in Greenbelt ($100K-150K) in the Old Greenbelt GHI area. We have easy metro access and are close enough to the city to go in all the time but far enough out to be in a burb. My work commute is short (primarily work at Largo but go into DC occasionally and I just metro in).
Here I get to work to live. I know I know y'all will come back and say "hey Cali is so relaxed and laid back"...but I lived there 25 years and I didn't feel that way. Salaries are wayyyy lower than here with similar COL. I have better balance here but that's a choice as well for where I wanted to work (I do not work for the Feds!).
San Diego is beautiful. However for all the things I like and my daughter likes DC area is best for us.
So no work forced me here - in fact I was comfortable in San Diego (except even with making more than $70K I had no hope in hell of any house purchase!) but honestly the sameness (same weather, same superficial culture, nothing to do, etc) was just too much. After 25 years I was flat out completely bored. I want variety, intellectural pursuits, a sense of history, ability to walk and explore.
Yep, I moved here for my job. I was glad to be somewhere new instead of near home....(just because my hometown has nothing to do). I also went to school in a small college town, so I really like the general idea of being in the city.
Every city has its up and downsides. I like a lot of things about DC but there are also a lot of things I'm looking for that I think it lacks. For instance, a cohesive, vibrant art scene (I'm not just talking about museums, but like the gallery/indie art scene). There's definitely stuff here, but I feel like I have to go find it all by myself and it's very fragmented.
I do think DC is growing on me a bit though... but I definitely don't want to live here forever. Or be here in the next 5 years for that matter
I moved here entirely by choice. I love it here. I came out for a conference and didn't want to leave. Went back home and started thinking about moving here - applied for a couple positions (I do a very specific job and have been doing it a long time so that was helpful), got the interview, got the job and said adios to San Diego.
I would not change that decision if you offered me more money to go back to San Diego. Or Southern California for that matter. I moved my teenage daughter here and we both love it - we love the energy of the city, all the things there are to do (many free!), we love our neighborhood (we live in Greenbelt though not in DC). It is way more affordable for us here than San Diego as even though the cost of living isn't so different the salary was much higher for actually a job with less responsibility than I had before (1/2 the staff I had before!)
I am working at saving for a townhouse which I can afford in Greenbelt ($100K-150K) in the Old Greenbelt GHI area. We have easy metro access and are close enough to the city to go in all the time but far enough out to be in a burb. My work commute is short (primarily work at Largo but go into DC occasionally and I just metro in).
Here I get to work to live. I know I know y'all will come back and say "hey Cali is so relaxed and laid back"...but I lived there 25 years and I didn't feel that way. Salaries are wayyyy lower than here with similar COL. I have better balance here but that's a choice as well for where I wanted to work (I do not work for the Feds!).
San Diego is beautiful. However for all the things I like and my daughter likes DC area is best for us.
So no work forced me here - in fact I was comfortable in San Diego (except even with making more than $70K I had no hope in hell of any house purchase!) but honestly the sameness (same weather, same superficial culture, nothing to do, etc) was just too much. After 25 years I was flat out completely bored. I want variety, intellectural pursuits, a sense of history, ability to walk and explore.
I love DC and the area.
Great post. These would be my thoughts exactly if I were comparing southern California to the DC area.
I moved to DC from Chicago 3 years ago for a job opportunity, I had no intentions of leaving Chicago, but got an offer I couldn't refused. I don't love DC, but I think it is a great city.
Born and raised in the DC area and will only trade up for Manhattan, nothing else will ever make me content. Although there are 4 or 5 other cities I like as much as I like DC but only Manhattan will entice me away from here for now
I moved to DC from Chicago 3 years ago for a job opportunity, I had no intentions of leaving Chicago, but got an offer I couldn't refused. I don't love DC, but I think it is a great city.
Ditto. When they dangled a super rich relocation package I jumped.
But if you are in between those two groups - ie, 25-40 years old, unstable career and less than $70,000 salary, then things are probably going to suck. You are going to deal with horrible commutes, long hours and endless bullsh-t just for the privelege of dumping all of your money on a small apartment and overpriced restaurants.
Nailed it...Big Time. Look, there was a time (say 20 years ago) when college grads working in their very first non-profit organization jobs or entry-level GS federal government positions could afford their own apartment in The District; in Arlington, VA; in Alexandria, VA; in Silver Spring, MD.
They. Could. Afford. Their. Own. Apartment.
Salary levels from the 1990s to 2012 have not changed all that much for non-profits and federal government jobs. But the price of real estate has skyrocketed during the same timeframe. Add to the fact that more post-grads have worse student loan debt loads today than 20 years ago and you cannot begin to imagine how LIFE SUCKS in DC for lower salaried professionals.
I always advise people that if they want to live in DC, keep in mind that the job market here is extremely out of whack.
Two examples.
Lawyers fresh out of a tier 1 law school are getting $150,000 per year offers at DC firms while experienced non-profit association executives have to work at least a decade or TWO to achieve that salary level. Where you get your diploma matters in Washington, DC because many of the hiring bosses at our esteemed law firms will hire a fellow Yalie, a fellow Princeton grad, a fellow Dukie and so on. The diploma from an elite East Coast university is prized more than years of work experience. That's just a d#mn fact around here.
You have newly-minted computer science grads from Virginia Tech, Carnegie Mellon or some other well-known universities with top-flight CS programs starting in the $70,000-$80,000 range. Yes, I have heard of 22 year old IT engineers getting these job offers at contracting firms. But if you are a simple network administrator guy, you won't get those job salary offers after you get your certification from fly-by-night private university. It would take you many years to earn the salary of a 22 year old B.S. grad from VA Tech.
If you have dreams of moving to Washington, DC then you better know which careers are lucrative here.
There are winners and losers in the DC economy. We know who the winners are: they are the people in this forum who praise everything about DC of today. They chose the right professions(i.e. law, IT, public relations & lobbying, think-tank research, bio-pharma science etc.) in the right place(Washington, DC) where there is demand for their services and they were rewarded handsomely (six-figure salaries--well above the national median).
The losers don't post here. Either because they are too poor to own a computer OR they don't have time because they are working two jobs at 14 hours per day just to be able to afford living in this region. Most likely, they are long frigging gone from the Washington, DC region and they have nothing to add here. Hopefully, they found happiness and some financial reward where ever they may be located.
You all are hilarious. So everyone under 40 who makes less than six figures is "miserable" in this city? Well I am under 30, make nowhere close to six figures, and I enjoy my life. That also describes dozens of other people I know here. So there goes coldbliss's theory.
Maybe it's not as easy to get by here as other cities, but it's doable. You make concessions like living in group houses. Actually for a lot of people in their 20s, living in group houses is fun.
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