The Richest Counties in America (Alexandria, Leesburg: rent, home, neighborhoods)

[reebo]

Ahh, thank you all.

[JD984]

I wonder how sustainable this situation is - on one hand, it's nice that NoVa attracts so many well-educated workers who have high-paying jobs, but the concentration of high incomes so close to Washington DC must generate increasing resentment in other parts of the country (that is, if those living elsewhere aren't packing up to move here, too).

[saganista]

Nice if people around the country have all this time on their hands that they can go about resenting people who live elsewhere. Maybe they could sit down and do a crossword puzzle or something instead. But the apparent relative wealth of NoVa holds primarily just at the county level. If you start looking at a lower scale -- e.g., places with a population of 50K or 10K -- NoVa isn't all that well represented. Instead, you start seeing a lot of the upscale suburbs of NYC, LA, SF, and Chicago. At the 10K level in fact, the only NoVa entry in the Top 100 is Wolf Trap, which nobody around here even recognizes as a place, but it's basically the north side of Vienna between Lawyers/HunterMill on one side and Route7/Beulah on the other -- in other words, Hunter Valley and its surrounds. With a median household income of $136K, it ranks 15th. Bethesda and Potomac make the list from across the river, but no place else from NoVa, so maybe those who have chosen envious whining as a hobby should go pick on somebody else.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by saganista

Nice if people around the country have all this time on their hands that they can go about resenting people who live elsewhere. Maybe they could sit down and do a crossword puzzle or something instead. But the apparent relative wealth of NoVa holds primarily just at the county level. If you start looking at a lower scale -- e.g., places with a population of 50K or 10K -- NoVa isn't all that well represented. Instead, you start seeing a lot of the upscale suburbs of NYC, LA, SF, and Chicago. At the 10K level in fact, the only NoVa entry in the Top 100 is Wolf Trap, which nobody around here even recognizes as a place, but it's basically the north side of Vienna between Lawyers/HunterMill on one side and Route7/Beulah on the other -- in other words, Hunter Valley and its surrounds. With a median household income of $136K, it ranks 15th. Bethesda and Potomac make the list from across the river, but no place else from NoVa, so maybe those who have chosen envious whining as a hobby should go pick on somebody else.

I take your point that the data looks different when it is disaggregated, but that doesn't negate the conclusion that there is certainly quite a concentration of high-income earners in this area.

Are there other posters who are proud of the region's accomplishments, but deal regularly with relatives, in-laws, etc., who rail against Washington and anyone who appears to benefit from "the Washington establishment," etc? My point is simply that articles like this may a cause for celebration by some, but viewed quite differently by others. There'll be one more conversation or e-mail exchange where all you generally do is nod politely without saying anything of substance to avoid offending some family member.

[michgc]

Honestly, when anyone sees the housing prices around here, the only thing people feel for us is sorry. Having the highest median income means nothing when the greatest chunk of most peoplel's budget is so costly.

[ajzjmsmom]

Originally Posted by michgc

Honestly, when anyone sees the housing prices around here, the only thing people feel for us is sorry. Having the highest median income means nothing when the greatest chunk of most peoplel's budget is so costly.

so true

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by JEB77

it's nice that NoVa attracts so many well-educated workers who have high-paying jobs, but the concentration of high incomes so close to Washington DC must generate increasing resentment in other parts of the country

So what? Why should we care?

There are people in Peoria who resent the rich towns around Silicon Valley, and do the people of San Jose give a hoot? There are people in Arkansas who claim they "feel sorry" for people who live in Manhattan--do you think New Yorkers care?

Here's what I like about living in the wealthiest county. Our taxes may be high--when compared to towns in poor areas, like the South. But compared to the other top wealthy metro areas our taxes are low. Compare our taxes to NYC, Stamford CT, California, etc. There's a reason corporations are moving here like crazy, and the reason is we have the amenities of more expensive cities but our taxes are (relatively) low.

[NOVAmtneer82]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

Seriously! I think these stats go a long way towards convincing people unfamiliar with the area that it must be chock full of historic neighborhoods replete with posh boutiques and wine & cheese bistros... *whistles innocently*

And how exactly would that be an inaccurate representation? Those of us that live in the nice parts of the region do have posh stores and wine and cheese shops plus a lot more right down from our houses/apartments. Not all of them are in historic neighborhoods per se but that doesn't really have anything to do with the relative wealth of an area.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by NOVAmtneer82

Not all of them are in historic neighborhoods per se but that doesn't really have anything to do with the relative wealth of an area.

LOL, very true. There are lots of historic neighborhoods where I used to live in Buffalo. Which is a nice way of saying old, worn out buildings on a decaying street.

[Alicia Bradley]

Originally Posted by NOVAmtneer82

And how exactly would that be an inaccurate representation? Those of us that live in the nice parts of the region do have posh stores and wine and cheese shops plus a lot more right down from our houses/apartments. Not all of them are in historic neighborhoods per se but that doesn't really have anything to do with the relative wealth of an area.

Where are they? In A.) DC proper, B.) Old Town Alexandria, C.) select parts of North Arlington (and maybe Shirlington Village), or D.) some indoor mall? (Ok, I'll give you Bethesda, but this is the NoVA forum, after all. )

C'mon, name someplace. There's no reason that, say, über-wealthy McLean doesn't have these sorts of places in its strip malls - again, I don't have a problem with strip malls, per se. Rehab them and put nice buisinesses in them and - voilà! AB approved. (Hmm... this may be difficult to explain if you've never spent much time in a truly (commercially) yuppie not-close-in suburb. )

My point was that a very, very large number of people from all other parts of the nation would perceive NoVA to be one huge historical/quaint area with massive numbers of independent high-end dining and retail options scattered throughout. Not just in, say, two close-in neighborhoods and a gigantic indoor mall that also sports an an Aéropostale and a Claire's Accessories.