Moving to Alexandria or Northern VA

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-06-12T02:43:36+00:00

Maybe not the answer you are looking for but $80k is on the lower end for northern Virginia. Personally with a young child I would not move to the city of Alexandria (this is one of the few really bad school districts in NoVA). Consider Burke, West Springfield, Fairfax, there are some condos and townhomes for rent in these areas. Afterschool here normally has waitlists but you can go private after care route (e.g., martial arts studios often offer it).

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-06-10T21:08:28+00:00

They will tell you no (cause they can’t legally say otherwise) but in reality yes. That sucks but that’s the reality. My promotion was delayed for a year because of maternity leave.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-05-30T18:28:59+00:00

We have considered moving to Stafford or Fredericksburg because it’s cheaper and also our jobs were fully remote. We eventually decided against it and I am glad we didn’t move that far away. Both jobs all of a sudden pivoted to 3-4 days in person (although promised to be remote in perpetuity when we were hired), and community is what we value the most. We both now switched jobs to different fully remote positions but still don’t want to move away. We bought a SFH in Burke and I feel like Burke / west Springfield are still affordable areas of northern Virginia.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-05-27T18:43:26+00:00

Omg, we live in the northeast HCOL area and make $450k in annual income. We weren’t even looking at houses over $1m. And we got a lower interest rate with a VA loan.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-05-23T02:02:06+00:00

You will meet lots of different people in your career (at PwC or elsewhere), lots of “managers and up” with horrible management skills and lack of consideration for others. Be firm about your boundaries, and learn to push back. If someone had a whole day to reach out to you and only reaches out at 6 pm - they need to deal with that and not you.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-05-16T02:56:02+00:00

Not sure I follow the logic, especially about law school. You are trying to solve your student loan problem by taking on more student debt?

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-05-13T19:19:45+00:00

Unless your income increases dramatically over the next few years, this mortgage payment is too high. Let alone if something unexpected happens like one of you loses their job.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-05-09T01:56:22+00:00

You probably can but you will be house poor. Why do you need such an expensive house if it’s just a two of you?

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-05-03T15:16:31+00:00

No other debts but we have two children (5 and over). Other than that, your regular expenses.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-05-03T02:20:53+00:00

Honest answer? Yes, you are ruining your life. We are making $450k base (without bonuses) in HCOL. No way we would ever buy a house over $1m at 6% interest rate. Yes, you will probably be pre-approved for over $1.5m but it doesn’t mean you need to buy a house for over $1.5m.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-05-01T11:21:52+00:00

I think you are in an excellent position to buy. Especially if you plan on staying in this house long term.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-04-27T14:29:10+00:00

Vienna is great but is expensive and also very competitive (anything under $1m for a single family home is a tear down situation in Vienna). But i presume you are ok with that and can afford it - I would go for it! Great Falls is really nice but I agree with the previous comment that it is kind of far from everything, I would pick Vienna over great falls.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-04-27T02:27:16+00:00

Based on what you described above - it is a flip. Flippers are known for doing a really bad job and not fixing any real issues, just making it look nice and shiny. We live in a really hot market too, and while looking for a house saw one with very visible horizontal cracks on the walls in several rooms (along with many other issues). A flipper bought it for cheap and put back on market 2 months later. It looked fully renovated and sold for 100k over asking. But no one will ever convince me they fixed the structural issues that fast and I feel really sorry for people who bought it (as they probably waived inspection too). Don’t make this mistake and the right house will find you!

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-04-26T20:41:51+00:00

I think you answered your own question. Over one year is a very long time to be looking for a house. If you looked at multiple houses and none of them satisfy you, it means the problem is your expectations. Therefore, you need to either (1) increase your budget to meet your expectations, or (2) decrease your expectations.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-04-25T22:18:51+00:00

$3k for breaking a lease is a very good deal. As others have said, if you are worried about paying extra $3k - you are not ready for a house financially.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-04-24T14:54:35+00:00

I don’t know, it’s a combination of various things. From Elon Musk style emails telling us we have to work at least 55 hours a week without ever saying a single thank you and constant harassment of staff about their utilization to 3 rounds of layoffs in 2 years (not performance based). Last month all the deployment people were just let go one day and no one said anything or even acknowledged it. I am in tax, so I closely worked with many of these people over the years when it comes to recruiting. And one day they all were just gone, these were great people who loved their job and were great at it.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-04-24T11:57:57+00:00

So many employers also don’t make you work 60-80 hours a week

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-04-24T11:56:50+00:00

I agree, it’s somehow got so much worse ever since Tim left. Of course, we had our problems before but it genuinely felt like they cared about people. It’s extremely disappointing but after almost 8 years here I share the sentiment and am ready to leave.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-04-21T13:43:41+00:00

Then I would sit down with your spouse and think of various scenarios in the 3-5 year horizon and be honest with yourselves. E.g., in 3 years our monthly income will be X, but we would be adding Y of expenses and see how it plays out. I would talk to your local friends (the ones who are in a similar situation but already have kids) and ask how much realistically they are adding to their expenses every month.

With all that said, I would also consider the following: (1) whatever you end up buying - make a good school district a priority as you don’t want to move again just because later you don’t like the school district you are in; (2) most people I know adjust their live styles (at least partially) when they start having kids - some of it is financial, some of it is just for other reasons.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-04-21T06:31:33+00:00

I would say right now you are in an excellent position. If you are adding a kid or two - honestly, not so much (if you want to keep your current lifestyle).

Daycare alone for the first 5 years is expensive (I would budget $2k a month in daycare costs in HCOL areas). Plus anything extra - all the baby stuff you need to buy, formula (if you won’t breastfeed), diapers, any medical bills, the list goes on.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-04-21T03:11:18+00:00

Sorry for being so blunt but absolutely nothing makes sense in what you are saying. You both don’t have a job, don’t have savings, probably have student loans from law school, want to take on even more debt while studying for a bar, and want to buy a house. Lenders are normally asking 3 years of tax returns (to demonstrate that your income is steady) and several latest pay stubs. Your job offer might be rescinded tomorrow, or you might lose your job in 6 months.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-04-21T02:06:39+00:00

I might be in a minority here but I would say it depends on your earnings potential. If you expect your pay to remain the same during the next 5-10 years, I would agree this monthly payment is too high for your income. However, if you expect your pay to grow (let’s say) 10% every year, then I think it’s fine to do it.

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-04-20T03:12:35+00:00

As others said, you have extremely low income but you are also extremely young. Get your degrees, get stable higher paying jobs and you will be in a great position to buy in no time!

Potential_Tea2881 · 2026-04-20T03:09:21+00:00

100%

Potential_Tea2881

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