Six Figure Income (Centreville, Manassas, Woodbridge: apartment, to rent, insurance)

[live_strong28]

Median income in FFX Cty is around 108k....and by its very definition, 50% are above that, and 50% below that.....

If $100k is poverty, then about ~46% of people in FFX Cty are living in poverty and should get assistance.

[qwertman]

Originally Posted by qwertman

yes.

uuuh ooops. Either I misread the first post or you edited it to change the meaning completely. I thought I read something along the lines of "is 100k about the poverty line" and to that I replied "yes"

I myself can't figure out how to edit posts.

[Denton56]

Originally Posted by 05c6400

Just curious if a Six Figure Income is considered living at the poverty line in Fairfax County...

Depends. Do you mean $100,000 or 999,999 or something in between?

If you are single and making $100,000, it's a nice income. If you are married with children and your wife doesn't work, it's not so good.

[05c6400]

Originally Posted by Denton56

Depends. Do you mean $100,000 or 999,999 or something in between?

If you are single and making $100,000, it's a nice income. If you are married with children and your wife doesn't work, it's not so good.

Yes, if you are married with kids and wife is not working... and looking to buy a house within budget not a McMansion.

[novadude]

<40k is poverty around these parts

[athousandlogins]

Originally Posted by 05c6400

Yes, if you are married with kids and wife is not working... and looking to buy a house within budget not a McMansion.

We are in pretty much this exact situation - my husband takes in around 100K, I don't work at the moment, and we have 2 kids.

We do not live in poverty. But we do have to make some sacrifices. We don't have cable. We only have 1 car. We don't have any debt, which helps a lot. We don't go on nice vacations. We have crummy pre-paid cell phones rather than the iPhones we covet I don't feel deprived by any means, but I can see why so many households here are dual income.

As for housing? We have chosen to rent for now, because we like my husband's commute to be short. And we cannot afford to buy anything with a short commute for him. (He works in the Ballston area.) The prices are just too high close-in; the only thing possibly in our price range would be a 1 bedroom condo. And that's not a good choice with 2 kids!

We could, however, buy a townhouse in Centreville or Ashburn or even a SFH in Manassas or Woodbridge if we wanted to. We just don't want to, because of the commute. It's possible to own here even making "just" 100K, but if its a good decision or not depends on your priorities.

[Newk]

Originally Posted by athousandlogins

We are in pretty much this exact situation - my husband takes in around 100K, I don't work at the moment, and we have 2 kids.

We do not live in poverty. But we do have to make some sacrifices. We don't have cable. We only have 1 car. We don't have any debt, which helps a lot. We don't go on nice vacations. We have crummy pre-paid cell phones rather than the iPhones we covet I don't feel deprived by any means, but I can see why so many households here are dual income.

As for housing? We have chosen to rent for now, because we like my husband's commute to be short. And we cannot afford to buy anything with a short commute for him. (He works in the Ballston area.) The prices are just too high close-in; the only thing possibly in our price range would be a 1 bedroom condo. And that's not a good choice with 2 kids!

We could, however, buy a townhouse in Centreville or Ashburn or even a SFH in Manassas or Woodbridge if we wanted to. We just don't want to, because of the commute. It's possible to own here even making "just" 100K, but if its a good decision or not depends on your priorities.

That is really tough and I feel for you, but your kids will thank you for being at home raising them. NOVA has a high cost of living. Y'all would be living like a king in San Antonio on that salary. That is why I came down here. Although the highs have been 102 or 103, but it was good for me to spread my wings and move out of my parents house in Springfield.

[robbobobbo]

Dual incomes certainly help with living well in this area. But as far as how you'd live, and how much you'd have to "sacrifice" on under $100,000?

I'm making in the mid-80K, my wife works part-time and brings in about $6K a year. We have 2 kids. We have a 3BR house, an investment condo, and 2 cars (one a 97, the other a 2009).

"Sacrificing" means the kids go to public school instead of private, our house is small, although it's in Alexandria and 15 minutes from my work, we don't have big flat-screen TVs or cable TV, TIVO, iPhones, $60 a month cell phone plans, gym memberships.... all those things we don't care about. But we can walk into Old Town with the kids and relax by the river or Torpedo Factory, have an ice cream, and enjoy life. We go on vacations, but we economize. I'm astounded to hear how much money some people spend matter-of-factly and consider it a necessary part of living - we've had friends ask "how can you live like that" as if we're living in squalor without 56 inch flat TVs and a media room.

[05c6400]

I agree a short commute is nice and less stress. Having no credit card debt is a bigger help too. However, spending almost half my salary for renting/owning is still extreme... or I my thought process is messed up... And, last vacation was the honeymoon...it has been that long.

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by Newk

That is really tough and I feel for you, but your kids will thank you for being at home raising them. NOVA has a high cost of living. Y'all would be living like a king in San Antonio on that salary. That is why I came down here. Although the highs have been 102 or 103, but it was good for me to spread my wings and move out of my parents house in Springfield.

Yes, but how many people could move and keep the same salary? I could move some place cheaper, but it would be a wash with the drop in salary in most cases.