Is this salary any good for me in NoVA?

[FindingZen]

If the only debt you have is a car, you're good to go. You can probably live in a relatively luxurious apartment and enjoy yourself pretty well during your off-hours. Just don't expect to be able to buy convenient real estate beyond a modest condo.

[Guamanians]

Originally Posted by CaliTerp07

Are you willing to have a roommate? Where in NoVA are you looking to live?

I only have experience inside the beltway, but I make just slightly more than you do and would not be comfortable without a roommate (luckily I have a built in roommate in my husband!) If you want to live on your own in Arlington, for example, it's going to be tricky to save much money. If you want to live further out, or are willing to pick up a roommate, you should be fine.

Notice the difference in opinions from men vs women

[kutra11]

Originally Posted by tsuric

60.5k salary for software engineer job just got thrown my way. I'm single and 24 years old

Congrats from one IT professional to other!

While others have answered your question, here's some advice that you should consider irrespective of where you go and what you do.

• Do not spend more than you earn. Sounds cliched, but belive me, it is true!
• Start contributing to your 401K right away and max it. Planning for retirement is as essential as planning for today.
• Contribute to an IRA and max it. Planning for retirement is as essential as planning for today.
• Maintain professional integrity at all times. That's essential for success in any organization.
• Be careful of what you post or what others post about you on the internet. You won't believe the number of candidates we have rejected based on what we've found about them on Facebook, MySpace, etc.

Congrats once again!

Regards,
K

[Guamanians]

Be careful of what you post or what others post about you on the internet. You won't believe the number of candidates we have rejected based on what we've found about them on Facebook, MySpace, etc.
Congrats once again!

Regards,
K[/quote]


For example: if you call Kutra11 a fathead then you will be blacklisted from all IT jobs in the DC metro area... he is that powerful

[NOVAmtneer82]

Of course you will be fine. Don't be alarmed by the many posters on City-Data who make it seem like you need to make 100K a year to not be receiving food stamps. Most people in the DC area barely start above 50K and do just fine.

Create a budget (not hard just do it in Excel), keep your bank accounts balanced, don't feel like you have to have everything other people have etc and you will be more than fine.

As far as housing you would be fine in an average 1 bedroom apartment alone even in Arlington or Alexandria but it still wouldn't hurt to have roommates for a year or so. It is a great way to meet people in the area and nice to have some extra company when you come home after a long days work. You can use the extra money you save in rent to pay off some loans (if you have any), bills, etc or just bank it for the future.

The main problem with many people who claim to be "not making it" in this area is that they did very little research before moving here (or just did a horrible job) and therefore picked an option that simply didn't fit well with their salary. Or they came and just simply HAD to live alone, even 1 roommate was too much and thus were forced to pay higher rent rates.

Come down for a weekend. Pick up the CityPaper or Washington Post rentals section, stalk Craigslist and other message boards, believe me you will find a place for a decent price. Sorry for such a long post but I get so tired of people being led to believe that you will be poor on perfectly normal salaries for this area. It just isn't that way if you do your homework and find the right place. Will you be banking 1,000 per month right away? No. But then again I don't know of any young person that is.

Good luck and if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask!

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by Guamanians

Notice the difference in opinions from men vs women

I'm not sure what you were intending by that statement. I am a very frugal, very financially savvy woman. If you want to live in Arlington and rent a 1br apartment to yourself, it's going to be difficult to fully fund your retirement accounts and save money for a down payment on a house (both things I think should be priorities) Some real ballpark numbers:

60k - 20k for taxes = 40k take home (realistically a little higher, but I like to plan for the worst).

-$1500/month (18000/year) rent on a decent 1br apartment in Arlington = $22000 after rent

-$200-300/month ($6000/year) in utilities and bills (cable, internet, cell phone, heat, etc) = $16000 left over

-student loan payments, car payments, any other debts, car insurance, renters insurance, gas, etc = who knows what left over

So now you have maybe $10k to split between retirement and savings accounts, and food/going out/new clothes/etc. It's a lot of money, but not THAT much money, and it would be a lot better if that whole $10k could go into a savings account/retirement. It becomes a lot easier to stomach when you cut those first couple line items (rent and utilities) in half with a roommate, or you move outside of arlington to somewhere where you can find an apartment for much cheaper.

None of those numbers change because I'm a woman. If anything, my husband is the more expensive half of the two of us, because he requires the sports package on our tv!

[CaliTerp07]

Originally Posted by NOVAmtneer82

Will you be banking 1,000 per month right away? No. But then again I don't know of any young person that is.

I think that with a roommate and a cheaper place to live, you can EASILY bank $1000/month on a $60k salary. I did it. Rent is the biggest expense in this area.

[NOVAmtneer82]

You certainly can in some of the cheaper parts of Northern Virginia...I'm talking more about Arlington just because it is where I live and thus the area I am most familiar with. Of course some people like to go out a lot (me) while others are more home bodies. They can probably easily save $1,000 a month on 60K a year with roommates.

[Guamanians]

Originally Posted by CaliTerp07

I'm not sure what you were intending by that statement. I am a very frugal, very financially savvy woman. If you want to live in Arlington and rent a 1br apartment to yourself, it's going to be difficult to fully fund your retirement accounts and save money for a down payment on a house (both things I think should be priorities) Some real ballpark numbers:

60k - 20k for taxes = 40k take home (realistically a little higher, but I like to plan for the worst).

-$1500/month (18000/year) rent on a decent 1br apartment in Arlington = $22000 after rent

-$200-300/month ($6000/year) in utilities and bills (cable, internet, cell phone, heat, etc) = $16000 left over

-student loan payments, car payments, any other debts, car insurance, renters insurance, gas, etc = who knows what left over

So now you have maybe $10k to split between retirement and savings accounts, and food/going out/new clothes/etc. It's a lot of money, but not THAT much money, and it would be a lot better if that whole $10k could go into a savings account/retirement. It becomes a lot easier to stomach when you cut those first couple line items (rent and utilities) in half with a roommate, or you move outside of arlington to somewhere where you can find an apartment for much cheaper.

None of those numbers change because I'm a woman. If anything, my husband is the more expensive half of the two of us, because he requires the sports package on our tv!

You're right that it is expensive around here. I just found it interesting that most of the guys were giving him different advice than you were. The end result is the same though, - housing is the biggest cost. If I were in his shoes then I would get a roommate in Arlington, Alexandria, or maybe DC. The roommate thing is fine for younger guys.