What salary to live in Washington suburbs (VA) comfortably?

[Moknicker]

We are thinking of moving to the US with DH's company. Still waiting for an offer from them but just wanted to get views on what salary range we should have in mind to evaluate the offer.

Living comfortably for us means 4 bed house, two cars, good schools for 2 DCs, some extra classes for them, eating healthily, books, movies and eating out occasionally and putting something away in savings. We are not particularly extravagant but neither are we frugal.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks

It depends what you mean by suburbs. I live about 45mins -1 hr outside DC in Northern Virginia on a good day. You would want to be earning above $150k at least to achieve your list - and that would be without private schooling. But there are some very good schools in the area.

Also, bear in mind that you would likely not be able to buy a house for a while, unless your DH's company helps with the mortgage as you will have some issues getting credit. I am not sure there are that many rental houses on the market - you may have to go for a townhouse or similar.

I am happy to help with advice and links to things. I did it just over 2 years ago with my DH and Ds, who is now 7, as well as a dog. It was hard and still is at times, but we love it here.

hi spamm,
DH will be working in Tyson's corner and we are looking at renting in and around there for the first year.

My DD is 3 and DS is 1.5. Any thoughts on good pre-schools and playgroups much appreciated. Ideally we dont want to do private schooling if we can help it.

Very pleased to hear that you love it. Nervous about the move. Where in the UK did you move from? We are moving from London and Im hoping we will find it slightly cheaper.

I moved from Andover, but previously lived in London.

Some things are definitely cheaper, some more expensive. To be honest, you do not make the move for the money, as that seems to work out to be the samish in the long run.

I found that food shopping was something I really need to learn to do well. The general supermarkets are ok for basics, but fruit and veg is a real hit or miss and is definitely more expensive to buy good stuff than in the UK. In fact, I find that good quality food seems to be more expensive here than in the UK. You need to find somewhere you are comfortable with and has good quality stuff. You will probably end up with Costco for your bulk stuff, Giant or similar for your basics and Whole Foods or Wegman's or Trader Joes for the "nice stuff" and fruit and veg. I love Wegman's - you must find a Wegman's when you get a chance - or Trader Joe's.

We stopped doing the comparison with UK prices very quickly - or you will drive yourself nuts.

With regards to schools, Tyson's is too far for me to give good advice. But I am not sure you want to live there. Traffic is bad and I have not noticed any nice neighborhoods, although they may be hidden. I would consider Reston, McLean, or Great Falls, or come to Sterling - we love it here. You need a good realtor to help you through the process. Ours was worth their weight in gold!

You can start by looking at greatschools.org - it is not perfect, but it gives you a starter for 10. You will need childcare and private schools until they are 6 - they do not start 1st grade until then. If you find a good school with a kindergarten class, it will likely be half day.

I have been very happy with the childcare we had for my ds since we got here. When we first arrived, he started with a chain called KinderCare - it is a franchise and as long as you chose carefully, you can find very well run ones. He has been in 3 different ones while we settled in - we moved to rental and then bought a place. He is now just finishing 1st Grade in a local school and has done really well. Be prepared for a LOT of parent's involvement in school - much more than you have ever seen in the UK, but it is nice. He is starting with afterschool care at his Taekwondo dojang in 2nd grade, and is very excited about that. They pick them up in a limo.

The biggest difference you will find is that if you live in Fairfax county, your smaller kids will start school later in the day.

Loudoun county starts earlier in the day for grades 1-5, then a little later for middle school and latest for high school. Fairfax County reverses that - which we do not believe makes sense: teenagers are heading for the bus at 6.30am, but the smaller kids need to go into childcare even before school, so mom & dad can go to work. At least my ds only goes into childcare after school.

Join the Living in America thread, everybody is nice and helpful. I have not been on there as much recently, but do not be afraid to dip your toe in.

Thank you so much. Very very helpful. We have been told to look at Vienna or Mclean. I had a look online and think Vienna probably works better for us. It is really hard to do this when I havent seen the place.

we lived in Reston and then Sterling and house prices and rents are very high. I'd say 100K minimum.
Vienna is more small towny (and actually has pavements to walk on) but it expensive.
Electrcity bills are very high - you need to use a/c in the summer cos its so hot and humid and the heating is generally hot air ducts. Also pricey.
Eating out is cheap compared to here. Bread is expensive and vile (sugary) and baked beans are very sweet and have pork in. Funny old place.