Whats the minimum salary YOU would be comfortable with (areas and caveats inside) (Leesburg: sale, insurance)

[leavingwash]

I use and like the Redfin site as it allows you to do a lot of research and see what is available in the areas. Definitely the piece I think you have going for you is the equity you have in your current home which will offset the higher housing costs here.

If you are moving from out of state make sure to factor in real estate taxes (which are higher in these areas than some parts of the country), there is a state tax (I didn't have that in WA so that impacts take home income) and personal property taxes.

Good luck

[ffx rez]

If the kids are in school, I'd have the wife get a job. Double income would be much more comfortable all around

[jillybean720]

We were a family of 4 living in a SFH in Sterling (Sugarland Run, sold for $360k) with one SAH parent on a single $120k salary. We were doing okay - not paycheck-to-paycheck, stashing a little away for savings, but not as comfortable as I would have liked. We had 10% going to retirement (which is under-funding since there were 2 of us), one car payment (2 cars but one was paid off), one student loan, no credit card or other debt. There are a lot of factors to consider. For example, I'm picky about how I feed my family - no grains, no sweets, preference for free-range meats, etc. - so our grocery bill was probably higher than many. We didn't have our kids enrolled in any activities. We never hired a babysitter or went out for date nights or anything. We didn't take vacations.

[rpe290]

Originally Posted by leavingwash

I use and like the Redfin site as it allows you to do a lot of research and see what is available in the areas. Definitely the piece I think you have going for you is the equity you have in your current home which will offset the higher housing costs here.

If you are moving from out of state make sure to factor in real estate taxes (which are higher in these areas than some parts of the country), there is a state tax (I didn't have that in WA so that impacts take home income) and personal property taxes.

Good luck

Thanks for the heads up, the one big one would be the personal property tax that would be a $1700 year increase over now (from my estimation) the rest are the same or negligible...

I have also looked at ( as an example ) say, Warrenton, and it shows sometimes 45 minute commute, but I've also heard not to believe what you see on the Google map traffic there at times. 45 minutes would be fine with me if it was consistent... But it sounds like it's not.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by rpe290

Than

I have also looked at ( as an example ) say, Warrenton, and it shows sometimes 45 minute commute, but I've also heard not to believe what you see on the Google map traffic there at times. 45 minutes would be fine with me if it was consistent... But it sounds like it's not.

Commute to where? I can't imagine Warrenton being a 45 minute commute to anywhere?

[rpe290]

Originally Posted by spencgr

Commute to where? I can't imagine Warrenton being a 45 minute commute to anywhere?

Herndon/Sterling area--plug it in and it shows 42 or so, but I just can't believe that with all the horror stories I have heard, unless those are all further east? (to be fair, this isn't from a particular residential address or anything, I know that will add a few mins too)

[RiotAct41]

$108,428.91

[rpe290]

Originally Posted by RiotAct41

$108,428.91

So precise?

[Ffxdata]

I would say $110k.

[gomason]

Originally Posted by rpe290

Herndon/Sterling area--plug it in and it shows 42 or so, but I just can't believe that with all the horror stories I have heard, unless those are all further east? (to be fair, this isn't from a particular residential address or anything, I know that will add a few mins too)

Now look at the commute time at 7:45 in the morning: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Warr...2!8j1460014980.