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.
Just a quick comment/opinion. I went to a pretty good school and I got half of the tuition in scholarships, and various other source of "free money", but I'm still paying for the remainder. But I think it's doable as far as working hard enough to get on the scholarship list. I think the parent's spoil their kids way too much. My parent's hardly helped and I turned out fine. You should make your kids be responsible for college tuition. That way, once they get out, they know how to budget and be hungry enough to work harder to get a better paying job.
I actually decided on Arlington. I have a puppy and this guy had a yard.
Location: Ft. Washington/Oxon Hill border, MD (Prince George's County)
321 posts, read 812,506 times
Reputation: 233
attorney at a major corporation; $220k-$240k typically depending on bonus payout; work 9:30/10am to about 6 to 6:30pm typically; work from home some each week
live in my first home purchase in the Ft. Washington/Oxon Hill/Nat'l Harbor area immediately across Wilson Bridge from Alexandria
purchased home when I was single and at another company making about $90k - $100k; now married...public sector husband brings in about $50k; we have a baby
We are both the first in our family to go to college...let alone grad/prof school. We paid our own way through school with part-time jobs, student loans and academic and sports scholarships and grants based on financial need.
I've worked in downtown DC, Tysons and in the Dulles Corridor area....DC and Tysons commutes averaged 35-45 minutes...Dulles Corridor about an hour door to door
The cons are the things commonly expressed on this board about most Prince Georges neighborhoods (crime, schools, lack of upscale retail, fine dining, yadda yadda yadda) so no need to rehash all that. We haven't experienced a lot of crime near us (some car breakins to steal Garmins etc that go on all over the metro area), private school is always an option, I shop luxury online, on trips to NYC/Europe and in Tysons since I'm out that way for work anyway weekdays and live close to DC and Alexandria for fine dining. The neverending negative perception from others is probably the worst thing about living here..much worse than the reality of our day to day life. There are some yuppie/buppie services I'd like to avail myself of sometimes that do not exist over here and that is annoying. As an example, when pregnant I found lots of prenatal yoga offerings in Alexandria, Capitol Hill, Bethesda, Arlington but none in the Ft. Washington area.
Some of my fav things about my location are:
I actually have a decent commute in my opinion for the area...I have a stretch on the beltway that is stop/go but most is free flowing open road traffic which I prefer over my stop/go bumper/bumper traffic when I commuted into DC a shorter distance
Love being near the river; some nice parks and mix of rural/urban/suburban all in in one location; love being close to DC and Old Town...10 minutes to Smithsonians/Tidal Basin/Mall on weekends...5 minutes to Alexandria
Affordable home prices compared to comparable homes in better zip codes and ability to have the type of home that I desire at a price that is below our means leaving more disposable cash for other things...including retirement fund, college funds, emergency fund, private school, international travel, etc.
If I stay in the county this is the ideal location for access to NoVA and DC jobs. May stay and trade up in Ft. Washington to a home with a riverview in my backyard which I would love. Or we may relocate to DC, NoVA or MoCo...we aren't sure yet if we desire to take on the higher mortgage burden for such a move and a style of house that is less desirable than what we have now. I envy a fellow lawyer who has stuck it out in PG and is now living debt free/mortgage free/wife can stay home and has given his family financial freedom and an ability to live nicely without income for several years by not falling into the desire to upgrade his zip code with his salary increases.
Regular working class/middle class folks as neighbors working hard to make a good life for their families. I work with lawyers/executives and folks that have benefitted from multigenerational wealth all day and get enough of the pressures at work to keep up with where and how they live...nice to come home and not face that...keeps me grounded in the real world since I straddle the two considering my impoverished background vs. my current socioeconomic status.
attorney at a major corporation; $220k-$240k typically depending on bonus payout; work 9:30/10am to about 6 to 6:30pm typically; work from home some each week
OK, now I am beginning to understand why we're hemmorahging attorneys to in-house counsel jobs. You won't earn big-firm, mega-partner income, but the pay isn't bad and the hours are great.
Techlawyer it sounds like you're very intelligent especially with your money. Seems to be a rarity these days to find someone who makes the money you do that doesn't give in to the $6,000,000 mansion in Great Falls temptation.
Location: Ft. Washington/Oxon Hill border, MD (Prince George's County)
321 posts, read 812,506 times
Reputation: 233
Quote:
Originally Posted by 14thandYou
OK, now I am beginning to understand why we're hemorrhaging attorneys to in-house counsel jobs. You won't earn big-firm, mega-partner income, but the pay isn't bad and the hours are great.
I have to give the disclaimer like they give in weight loss commercials "results not typical" lol.
The unique bonus and equity structure at my company leads to base incomes nearly doubling and our revenues are in the multibillions annually and we are a Fortune 100. Some of us have looked elsewhere over the last few years and frankly it is hard to find comparable inhouse jobs paying that kind of money unless you are the GC or Senior VP of legal. You more commonly see $130k-$160k positions with 20% bonuses for staff level counsel jobs around here...at least from what I've seen. I am pretty certain a Senior VP of a legal group (basically my boss) within my company is making over $500k. Our GC is making multimillions.
Location: Ft. Washington/Oxon Hill border, MD (Prince George's County)
321 posts, read 812,506 times
Reputation: 233
Quote:
Originally Posted by HurricaneDC
Techlawyer it sounds like you're very intelligent especially with your money. Seems to be a rarity these days to find someone who makes the money you do that doesn't give in to the $6,000,000 mansion in Great Falls temptation.
Thanks, I am trying...the temptations are great though to live in a more "elite" area (though I don't think I'd ever be able to afford $6 million on our income...maybe $1 mill lol). Heck where I live now is Beverly Hills compared to where I grew up lol...so I guess it is all relative.
I'm 30 and live in Shirlington, which is a nice area of Arlington with lots of young professionals, but I guess my situation is a little different than most, because I'm still renting. Most of my coworkers have $2500 mortgages and live in the 'burbs with their families, but since I'm single, I chose to live close to work and save money.
I also don't have a high-paying Capitol Hill job. I'm a military musician, and make between $55-60K a year, about $21,000 of which is not taxed (because of a housing allowance). I pull in an extra $20K a year as a freelancer playing for weddings. My rent is just under $820/mo, and I have a roommate. For me, it's a perfect situation - I don't need a whole lot of space, and whereas most of my colleagues spend 2-3 hours in their cars each day commuting, I'm a 7-minute drive from work.
Shirlington is a hip area with a little village with an indie movie theater, playhouse, and tons of restaurants. It's right on 395 but doesn't have a Metro station, so most people who work in D.C. end up taking a bus to Pentagon City. The area itself is expensive for renting 1-BDs (well, in my eyes you could do better than $1600/mo + parking), and I couldn't ever consider buying. You basically have to be a millionaire to live in Arlington, or at least that's how it seems. Even modest bungalows in this area are very pricey.
I'm 50, single, male. Having a mid-life crisis maybe. I'm thinking of moving to DC this fall. Have employment probably lined up. Sort of starting over. Always wanted to live in DC. Presently live in realtively cheap Louisville, KY where I have a good job and a home. Any thoughts?
uh 3rd Street Northeast Near martin's market if you are fimiliar or about 2 blocks west of me is Union Station!
180k
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
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.
Am I nuts?
