Also, I'm sorry to say this, but you're going to have to figure out housing priorities / realign your expectations in a hurry. $900 for a 2 bed in a reasonably safe neighborhood with anything approaching a decent commute into the city (as in under about 2 hours) isn't going to happen unless you qualify for income assisted housing. You can do it for a 1 bedroom but you're still going to be looking at a long commute if you work in the middle of the city, or you'll be giving up significant amounts of safety.
Most people that have to commute into the city (like me) pay about that much for 1/2 of a 2-bedroom apartment and still have a long commute. As an example, I split a 2 bedroom in Alexandria (Huntington - the cheaper, dirtier, less interesting section of Alexandria outside of the beltway) with my brother. We pay $1800 / month + electric + $50 / car (1 free). I still have an hour long commute each way to get into the middle of the city for my job. Our apartment is actually relatively cheap for being this close to a metro station (10-15 min walk). You can definitely find cheaper if you give up amenities (we have a lot - some that were important to us), but not much if you want to take the metro and be safe. Driving into the city from outside the beltway can be a major headache (DC is often considered the second worst traffic in the nation behind LA, with places like NY, Boston, and Houston also showing up) and you'll pay $17 / day for parking. Depending on where you work and your control over your hours you could look for a place away from a metro but near a bus that will take you close to your job. That could help you save some money.
Out of curiosity, why are you moving here? Is there a substantial reason, or are you just looking for a change of pace?
Not to sound too negative or scare you away, but I just don't know if this is the right area for you. There are a lot of law-related jobs in this area (not just straight up lawyers, but backing into congressional jobs, lobbying, NFPs, government contractors, etc.), so I think that you'll be ok finding a job, at least as much as anyone is in these times. However, given my knowledge of paralegals (my mom is a paralegal in Philly), they don't make enough money to live what most would consider a comfortable sustainable lifestyle in this area (or even to really make a dent in one for a family). That means that the majority of your ability to live the life you want / are used to (going on assumptions here and we know what that means) would rest on a start-up business (essentially) selling a luxury service in a time when most people are tightening their belts. DC is simply a lot more expensive than almost anywhere you could have come from in FL. Try a COL calculator like this one:
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed . You'll see that DC is even 20%+ more expensive than Miami, with an even greater disparity in housing. Also, keep in mind that that's factoring in the much much cheaper areas of DC that are extremely unsafe (of course the Miami #s probably are as well).
When I first started working here I was making about $50k, lived with a roommate an hour and a half from where I work, and wasn't able to save much at all. My friend was making about $40-45k, ate practically nothing but Ramen and pizza, and was losing money. In other words, if you and your husband can't combine to make about $90k or so then you may have difficulty saving any money while living comfortably. His business may provide that, but to be honest it sounds like a gamble to me. If you do go that route, your best bet might be to get the business up and running in this area over a couple of years and then move somewhere cheaper while others maintain the business here.
FWIW, my definition of living comfortably includes being self-sufficient (not wracking up debt to pay bills, no monetary family support), driving a modest used car, eating decent food from grocery stores (fruits, veggies, real meat, etc. - not rice/pasta/beans/leftovers all the time), going out to eat at a cheap sit-down restaurant like Applebees once or twice a week, a non-lavish trip to a bar or movie once a week, and attending the occasional concert or sporting event. I do not include huge nights out on the town, big parties, frequent or $50/plate restaurants, seeing a concert every week, or season tickets to a sporting event or theater, etc.
All that said, this area can be a great place to live - there's lots of opportunities to take advantage of. And who knows, maybe the business will take off if he's good at what he does and can get in with the right clientele. I presume he does detailing as well, not just car wash? FWIW, there's a few competitors in the NoVA area (I didn't bother with MD since I don't live there
) and they seem to charge anywhere from $30 for a simple wash up to about $350 for a full kitchen-sink interior, exterior I want to blind everyone on the road with my bling detail service. Average prices seem to be around $150. So I imagine that you could make pretty decent money if you're able to be better than the competitors at something and build up a solid clientele base.
If you do move here, let me know. I have a car that needs a full service pretty badly! (of course I should probably fix a few other things first
)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
