Can you live on $80,000 a year in Frederick or Howard County? (Brunswick: credit, new house)

[kjg1963]

Originally Posted by mamaecho

Actually we paid all our utilities... From pricing around, the rental prices were pretty comparable.. we could have rented from a couple of other apartment complexes for around the same price as we paid for the "moderate income" apartment.. We were payd 1060 for a 2 bdrm.. you could go to the Hamptons (at the time anyway) and pay less than 1000 for the 2 bdrm.

So the prices were not triple or even double what "normal" prices were.

It a shame that everyone insists that you can't be living well (at least how you define it) and that you have to defend your position. I've been making it for years for under $50,000 and I've never been in income based housing. I've never benefitted from any government programs because I've always made too much money (amazingly enough!!).

It can be done! I think most of the issue in this area is the housing. Yes, you do need to make well over $100,000 to afford to buy in this area. Other than that major expense, it is doable to live on less. This may be the major difference on how much money some perceive as necessary to live comfortably around here. I don't own a home; I've rented my whole life. And, no, I am not living in a "bad" area to be able to afford to live here. I live in a very nice residential neighborhood of single family homes (most owner-occupied). Up until recently, these homes (many 1890's victorians) were selling for upwards of $450,000.

[trickymost]

Originally Posted by mamaecho

I understand where you are coming from. I do get highly annoyed at people who constantly feed off the government, food stamps, subsidized housing, etc, etc,... but like I said, we were paying about the same as other apartments in the area (of course not the higher end apartments.. but for similiar ones)...

As far as spending absolutely nothing, I disagree with that.. I just have a budget that I stick to. I spend around 100 a week for groceries, and then we have a set budget for "fun" activities.. We have one car payment.. etc.. I mean, no I don't go to the mall and splurge on whatever I want, but we aren't "wanting" for anything.. We may not have the biggest tvs, or the nicest cars, but we are comfortable. Granted, when we were making less times were tougher, but hey, that's what happens in life, and God willing we will continue to move forward.

God bless you.

I am not calling you a liar, I just don't see how it is possible. My costs for commuting, for school loans, and my car insurance for an older accord plus 1k rent would be your salary. And I didn't go to an expensive school or take out a lot of loans.

[mamaecho]

Originally Posted by trickymost

God bless you.

I am not calling you a liar, I just don't see how it is possible. My costs for commuting, for school loans, and my car insurance for an older accord plus 1k rent would be your salary. And I didn't go to an expensive school or take out a lot of loans.

When we were making less we didn't have a car loan at all.. on top of a few other particulars (company paid for my husband's gas, his van, etc) we made things work.. at that time I believe I also had a grocery limit of 70 dollars a week, etc..

I guess it's all how you work your money.... I mean.. if you wanna see I'll send you my budget.. haha. Things have certainly changed since my hubby changed jobs and we moved to Montgomery Village...

Anyway.. like I said.. it's entirely possible to live on 80k a year.. you may not live like a millionaire.. but it's doable for sure.

[Chris-Kim]

Anyway.. like I said.. it's entirely possible to live on 80k a year.. you may not live like a millionaire.. but it's doable for sure.

Sure, if one cares less about the school district, private lessons for his children, etc.

But you're missing the point.

People living in Howard County do have certain expectations and that's why they chose Howard. If you have two children, it's going to be extremely difficult to live in Howard County on 80k unless you are content with living in a tiny apartment.

[mamaecho]

Originally Posted by Chris-Kim

Sure, if one cares less about the school district, private lessons for his children, etc.

But you're missing the point.

People living in Howard County do have certain expectations and that's why they chose Howard. If you have two children, it's going to be extremely difficult to live in Howard County on 80k unless you are content with living in a tiny apartment.

I'll tell you that life isn't only about private lessons.. and you can certainly afford to live in a good district for 80k in Frederick (which is what I was talking about, not Howard as I don't know anything about Howard county..)

No wonder people have such a negative view of Marylanders sometimes....

[Barli]

Originally Posted by bjohn209

I posted here not too long ago saying that I was interviewing for a federal job in DC. I was offered the job at a GS-12 with a salary of $80,000. (This was after some negotiation--the initial offer was lower.)

I accepted the job and am now looking for a place to live. My wife and I are attracted to Frederick and Howard counties. We realize that the tradeoff of living further out from work is a longer commute, but we've concluded that living out that far would be much more affordable. Would you say that's a valid conclusion?

Is there anyone out there with experience living on $80,000 in those areas? Will things work on $80,000? Are they good areas for families? Positive and negative opinions welcome. Thanks in advance.

The state of Maryland is a very expensive one! We live in eastern Frederick (also know as Fredneck), hubby makes $85k a year and we live paycheck to paycheck. We both grew up n Howard County, (me Columbia, he Glenwood). When we married there was no way we could stay there so we came west. Everything in Frederick is expensive. From gas to milk to sports for the kids, it's all outrageous.

If you do decide to come here, stay away from Frederick City...it's like a small inner city, with a few nice shopping areas. Also stay away from areas directly west of Frederick City, (area of Rt. 40). There is quite a bit of crime there. Further west then that and you are really looking at the country. Small towns with not much to do but very close to Frederick.

As a whole I have been very unhappy here for a very long time. It's all highly overrated. Oh, and I don't know where you're coming from but be prepared for gray skies. We get very few blue skies here.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[convex20899]

tax, tax, tax, tax, tax, the more you think, the more MD tax's you. Frederick at onetime was a great place to live. Stay away from the "golden mile" trashy neighborhoods and no one speaks English. Try ordering a double r-bar burger at the Roy rogers!

[Kamaaina]

You also have to remember Maryland's unofficial motto: "If you can dream it, we can tax it"... 'nuff said!

[hdasler]

Originally Posted by mamaecho

It always makes me laugh when people say over 50k isn't adequate.

We moved here three years ago, making 35k... living in MoCo.

Currently, we live in MoCo making 55k.. now are things tight sometimes? Sure.. but for the most part we are making it and are relatively happy financially.....


That being said, wanting to buy a house is completely different.. I don't want to buy in Montgomery Village, so we are off to Brunswick.. in Frederick County.. Prices are affordable.. schools are nice.. and I'm in love with the hometown feel..

That being said, it's entirely possible to buy a home almost anywhere in Frederick County for under 200k.. depending on what you are looking for (I say almost because you can't touch Urbana for that)

I always laugh too, that and all of the Montgomery County people complaining because of the tough economy and their tight wallets (and they make like 150,000-200,000 dollars a year)

I teach at a private school, make about 23,000 dollars a year. On this I supported myself and my sister. Things were tight, but hey you gotta do what you gotta do.
I make about 1300/month after taxes, my sister now helps and supplements with additional income working part time of about 7-800/month. So the two of us together make about 2400.

Here's my breakdown:
840: Apartment
550 for me, 250 for my sister: Other bills (student loans, car bill, car insurance etc)
15-20: laundry each month
30 each so 60 total: Cell phone (prepaid plan so its a little cheaper)
40-60: Utilities (we pay electric only and run the bare minimum, rarely run the heat, keep light off until dark, etc)

The rest goes towards groceries and whittling down my credit card which has been close to maxed out since I completed student teaching 2 years ago (had to pay for food and gas, plus regular college fees, and not allowed to work so maxxed out my credit card)

We live very tight, never go out to eat, rarely buy new clothes, just trying to survive lol

We're moving to Frederick area soon, you can get a little more for your money up there.

I would LOVE to make at least 50,000 a year. That would make my life much simpler.

[tercel95]

Originally Posted by hdasler

I always laugh too, that and all of the Montgomery County people complaining because of the tough economy and their tight wallets (and they make like 150,000-200,000 dollars a year)

I teach at a private school, make about 23,000 dollars a year. On this I supported myself and my sister. Things were tight, but hey you gotta do what you gotta do.
I make about 1300/month after taxes, my sister now helps and supplements with additional income working part time of about 7-800/month. So the two of us together make about 2400.

Here's my breakdown:
840: Apartment
550 for me, 250 for my sister: Other bills (student loans, car bill, car insurance etc)
15-20: laundry each month
30 each so 60 total: Cell phone (prepaid plan so its a little cheaper)
40-60: Utilities (we pay electric only and run the bare minimum, rarely run the heat, keep light off until dark, etc)

The rest goes towards groceries and whittling down my credit card which has been close to maxed out since I completed student teaching 2 years ago (had to pay for food and gas, plus regular college fees, and not allowed to work so maxxed out my credit card)

We live very tight, never go out to eat, rarely buy new clothes, just trying to survive lol

We're moving to Frederick area soon, you can get a little more for your money up there.

I would LOVE to make at least 50,000 a year. That would make my life much simpler.

There are other much more affordable places to live (Not in MD)... You should really try and send some resumes out to other places you might want to live...

You could live much more comfortably on your salary down here in Jacksonville... MD holds a lot of people back, there are a lot of other really nice places to live, you should at least look into it... You are hurting yourself by staying in MD...