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You can live anywhere when working remotely and you’re thinking of living here? I like this city much more than many others, which is why I’ve been here for 10 years, but most people left when remote work became more common because of the HCOL. How much you’d need to make depends on your debt, but assuming no debt, at least six figures.
I made the move from Chicago to DC. Chicago is bigger and cheaper, has better restaurants/nightlife/sports/activities. DC is (only somewhat) safer. Chicago wins in almost every category for me. I still love DC and think it’s a great city but wouldn’t make the move back
Agreed, I’m from Chicago and find DC small and often times the social scene does not live up to the options of Chi. Echoing that it’s only slightly safer, crime here continues to rise so don’t move here thinking it’s a safety blanket. It’s still a city. I would come for a short-term rental to be sure it’s where you want to be full time. After a few years here, I’ve decided I’m moving.
Rising Star
Do not move here if you are single. You’re better served moving to pretty much anywhere else in the country. There are literally almost no beautiful women in DC. Goto NY, Boston, Miami, Atlanta, or somewhere else.
I lived in DC for my entire 20s with tons of attractive female friends. We struggled to find attractive men. The women I watched settle down all “settled,” with either a handful of guys who seemed hot until they started talking, or guys who were objectively unattractive but interesting and/or kind.
My take is that, on the whole, women outnumber men and also are more attractive. That said, you don’t have a bunch of aspiring models and movie stars here so the top 1% of hotness is less common, in both genders.
Cost of living is higher in DC from my experience. I like DC but it is a much smaller city than Chicago, so you might want to think about starting with a short term rental to make sure it is what you are looking for.
DC is a great city, but the entire area, including MD and VA suburbs, is very expensive to live in. It's hard to recommend it to a remote worker since you have so many less expensive options.
Were my wife not a Fed, we would absolutely be looking to go somewhere more affordable.
I did that. I love DC, and I’m a NYer. If you make $250 you’ll find it very easy to live here as in you can live in any high amenity building (renting). DC isn’t cheap, generally, but coming from Chicago you’ll find some cost saving. If you live in less central locations, you’ll find even greater cost savings and can live comfortably on $125k. The further you go into the surrounding areas the more comfortable you’ll get on less. I don’t have a car, I use metro and Uber. But many people think they need a car. DC is one of my favorite cities ever. 38M. Married. Remote work. Attorney.
Glad everyone is calling out that DC is high cost of living. I think for good housing you're not far from Brooklyn, although NY was a long time ago for me. The district government is, on its own, hugely dysfunctional, then you throw in congress's ability to screw with it...
The food scene in DC has improved massively in the last 20 years, but Chicago is arguably the best restaurant town in the country. You won't get bored in DC's culinary scene, but it can't claim to be Chicago.
I moved for Chicago to DC last august and much prefer DC (I lived here before Chicago as well and came back the first chance I got). It’s smaller, feels safer, more sunny days, and easy day trips and access to anything on the east coast. You don’t need a car but if you do, the traffic can be bad but not Chicago bad. DC is home now and I’m really happy here. Cost wise, I would say a single person probably needs to make 100k to feel comfortable, maybe 80-90k if you’re ok with cost cutting.
Grew up in Arlington, left but been back for awhile. This is place has a lot of amenities but is, bottom line, preposterously expensive. I'm lucky enough to have decent income but even our $325K/household doesn't make us "rich." We're sincerely barely middle class in the county (note: we're a family of five, kids are teens). Lot of competition for things like tickets to events, demand makes prices shoot up and you can't compete with the Jones who will do whatever it takes to make sure their kids have the best of everything. We're still here so we can care for my in-laws but, when they pass, we'll be gone the following day.
I like DC, but it’s a very high cost of living area. If you can work anywhere, why here?
COL is really high. Living alone in my 20s, $75-80k is probably the minimum to live comfortably. I probably wouldn’t recommend moving here unless you were getting a big promotion that required it.
COL pretty similar to Chicago. Maybe just slightly more $ but close. So if you’re doing well there you can here too