Manassas Job Interview...Could you live in Manassas on 100k? (Arlington: best city, to rent)

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by marie5v

Well, maybe if he was going to New York City it might actually be a different story.

Then he and his wife would likely make commensurately more. I think the OP will do fine. All I see around here are more and more BMWs so there will be no shortage in demand for his services in my lifetime. He's basically sitting on a gold mine.

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by KnownUnknown

If you can't live comfortably in america on 6 figures, even if it's barely getting past 100k, you are doing something very, very, very wrong.

I mean, if comfortable is 4 bmw's and 5k shopping sprees every other week, sure, but seriously, I don't see how anyone can question whether or not they can survive on 100k.

Depends on who and what you're supporting with that $100k. A single person? Awesome. A spouse and/or multiple children? Not so cushy anymore. DH and I make over $100k combined, and while we don't actively worry about money most of the time, it's not like we have filled our basement with gold coins to swim in Scrooge McDuck style every morning. If we had to fund college accounts at the rate I'd want to, I think we'd be monitoring our bottom line VERY carefully.

[tgbwc]

Wait a minute...The OP never said he was moving with a family.
Steven r, is it just you, or is there a family too? From your original post I read it as you were asking how one person would do on 100k.

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by tgbwc

Wait a minute...The OP never said he was moving with a family.
Steven r, is it just you, or is there a family too? From your original post I read it as you were asking how one person would do on 100k.

The original post says his wife has a degree in business, but he's never said whether she intends to find work as well or not. I agree that clarification on children would be helpful.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by CaliTerp07

The original post says his wife has a degree in business, but he's never said whether she intends to find work as well or not. I agree that clarification on children would be helpful.

If he's smart he'll leave the kids with the grandparents, make the wife get a job and live in dink bliss. Take the kids back when old enough to support themselves.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by Chitownbound711

What's a better pick Herndon Va or Manassas?

Tough one to answer without knowing what the circumstances are.

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by CaliTerp07

The original post says his wife has a degree in business, but he's never said whether she intends to find work as well or not. I agree that clarification on children would be helpful.

Thanks. I even went back and read that post again yet somehow missed the part about his wife.

[michgc]

Originally Posted by steven r.

Yes there is San Francisco and New York City. 100k a year most likely wouldn't cut it in DC or Boston either...lol. I hope to make some new friends up in that area, I know there is alot of college degrees so I hope I'm not to judge by deciding to get to tech school over college. Alot of the schools I have been to have been hands on. I've been to Honda and Chrysler factory schools as well.

I think education in any form is always a good thing. I just wanted to pursue my passion in life which has always been cars and other mechanical things. Heck I still take classes from time to time. In the automoitve field you have to constantly keep up with technology, they always wanna change something.

Anyone who judges you by whether you have a college degree or not is not worth being friends with. People with honesty, integrity, and kindess may be college educated or not. They may be the hospital's top surgeon or the man who cleans the operating room floor. I think there are enough good people out there who recognize that. I think you'll be fine.

[steven r.]

Thanks all for the replies. My wife works for Walgreens Pharmacies, she's the EXA for Louisa and holds her National Board Certified CPHT. She was once part of the Richmond district but Walgreens is branching further up north which now makes her part of the DC district. How the Louisa store became part of the DC district when Louisa is alot closer to Richmond is beyond me however they consider her location part of the DC region. It's a corporate thing I guess.

We have two boys but they are older and not as expensive as they once were. The 18 year old graduated in June and we got the 16 year old left to go.

[KnownUnknown]

Originally Posted by Carlingtonian

I'd say Herndon. Decent schools, cute little downtown, and the Silver Line is on the way.



Wow--making a few major assumptions there, maybe?

It all depends on what kind of housing he wants. A townhouse or condo? No problem. Newer or larger SFH on that income? Harder but doable. I will say it's refreshing that someone moving to this area is actually being conservative in estimating the cost of living here--unlike the five posts a week asking about housing options on a budget that's 50% too low.

I think the OP is wise not to assume he should go to college because hey, that's what people do. College is a fast way to major debt, if you're not careful. And it's no longer a guarantee of a good job. Meanwhile, cars are getting more and more complicated, and there are fewer people trained to repair them.

My own mechanic is a very smart guy who owns his own shop. His brother and son are both doctors, but he doesn't seem unhappy at all with his choice. In fact, I envy him a little. He's his own boss and loves his work. Hard to beat that.

The question was can you live in Manassas on Six figures. With 100k, if you live within your means you can live anywhere. You can be a millionaire and if you don't live within our means you could find that even living in the poorest county in america would be difficult. But if you live within your means, you can live very, very, very well in Manassas, helll all or Northern Virginia.