Living in NoVA with combined income of 80k? (Arlington, Leesburg: job market, college)

[HappyDappy]

Actually, not half of that... but significantly less. And I'm not including differentials and my salary increase once I'm off orientation. I'll probably make around $50k come November/December.

[airjay75]

Originally Posted by HappyDappy

Thank you all so much for your advice! It is SO much appreciated.

Looking at this, I make NOWHERE near as much as this says :P I mean, like, less than half, haha... that's depressing!

No problem - you're most welcome. FWIW, my wife is also in her first year working as an RN at a hospital and does not make as much as that link said either. She worked before that as an RN at a doctor's office and before that in a different field. She might get to $65k now that she is working night shift and she gets paid the night differential, but her starting salary as an RN has been much closer to $50k. That said, I'm sure the statistics on that website reflect RN's at all stages of their career in a variety of settings, but $75k as an average salary certainly does seem a bit high based on our experience as well.

[stpickrell]

Originally Posted by newgatedenizen

The answer to the question is YES. Our family has never even reached the median household income for Fairfax County. But we have survived OK for the last 25 years, owning our own home, cars, raising several kids, taking annual vacations and even saving money. It's all about spending priorities and completely ignoring outside pressures and influences on where you should live, what you should drive, what you should wear, what sorts of gadgets and electronics to purchase and how frequently, etc. Just do it your way.

I am probably repeating myself but HALF of the households in Fairfax County make LESS than the median household income. So obviously a lot of people are "making it" on lesser incomes.

When did you buy your place, though? If you bought in 1989, of course you'll be doing okay on $90k a year.

[newgatedenizen]

Originally Posted by stpickrell

When did you buy your place, though? If you bought in 1989, of course you'll be doing okay on $90k a year.

I was making all of $6.50/hour in 1989.... so no, I did not buy then - that came later. But your point is valid - if I had to buy my house now the mortgage would cramp our lifestyle.

[SteelCityRising]

I would highly recommend you consider Winchester. It's just far enough removed from the NoVA rat-race to remain relatively affordably-priced, yet nursing salaries should be roughly the same. You'd be close enough to DC and inner-NoVA for day-trips, and you'd be right along I-81 for a lower-stress drive to Long Island via I-81 to I-78 through Jersey vs. I-95 to visit family/friends. Before moving away from Reston due to the cost-of-living and stress I briefly considered Winchester myself. The area is rapidly growing, has a gorgeous historic town center, and it has all of the typical big-box sprawl you could want on the periphery. In my case I didn't want to commute daily to McLean from there, but if you could find jobs in that area I'd suggest moving there in a heartbeat!

[msorsa]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I would highly recommend you consider Winchester. It's just far enough removed from the NoVA rat-race to remain relatively affordably-priced, yet nursing salaries should be roughly the same. You'd be close enough to DC and inner-NoVA for day-trips, and you'd be right along I-81 for a lower-stress drive to Long Island via I-81 to I-78 through Jersey vs. I-95 to visit family/friends. Before moving away from Reston due to the cost-of-living and stress I briefly considered Winchester myself. The area is rapidly growing, has a gorgeous historic town center, and it has all of the typical big-box sprawl you could want on the periphery. In my case I didn't want to commute daily to McLean from there, but if you could find jobs in that area I'd suggest moving there in a heartbeat!

I agree, consider moving out of the Arlington/Fairfax area. Loudoun county is expanding exponentially. Leesburg/Winchester, basically anything west of Dulles airport will be more affordable and let's not mention the traffic congestion. Still close enough to go to DC for museum, etc.

[NOVA_guy]

It really just depends on your spending habits and your debt.

One of my buddies from college makes about 65K, lives in an apartment in Fair Oaks with no roommate. $65K around here is like pennies but with the exception of a new car he has no major debt so he's living pretty comfortably.

It really depends on your situation but it's not impossible to survive here on a small salary... it's definitely not easy but I wouldn't say it's impossible either and for most people, depending on the field you're in, it pays off when you get to the six-figure salary range a few years down the road.

[Cardiff Kook]

It's sad when we get to the point that 65k is like pennies, especially being shortly removed from college

[stpickrell]

Leesburg is the new Annandale.

Unfortunately that only works for folks whose jobs can move out to Dullesland or Tysons. For those reliant on the big white columned buildings, they're in deep doo-doo. Plus a disproportionate share of the fun things for 20somethings are still in DC.

[HappyDappy]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I would highly recommend you consider Winchester. It's just far enough removed from the NoVA rat-race to remain relatively affordably-priced, yet nursing salaries should be roughly the same. You'd be close enough to DC and inner-NoVA for day-trips, and you'd be right along I-81 for a lower-stress drive to Long Island via I-81 to I-78 through Jersey vs. I-95 to visit family/friends. Before moving away from Reston due to the cost-of-living and stress I briefly considered Winchester myself. The area is rapidly growing, has a gorgeous historic town center, and it has all of the typical big-box sprawl you could want on the periphery. In my case I didn't want to commute daily to McLean from there, but if you could find jobs in that area I'd suggest moving there in a heartbeat!

I just took a look at properties in Winchester online and... WOW. There are some beautiful houses there, and like you said, the nursing salaries are comparable in the area. This is amazing! I'm locked into my current contract for at least the next two and a half years, but that area seems definitely doable. I'm pretty sure there's a new hospital that recently opened up in that area as well, so there are definitely possibilities! Thank you so much!!