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Washington DC losing Millinneals

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There was an article yesterday in the Wash Post about all the millennials who rushed to DC for the designer lattes and the frisson of being in the nation's capital are bailing and going home or to a cheaper city where they can actually maybe buy a house and have a life. The cost of a house in an acceptable area in DC or northern Virginia is 2.7 times the national average, plus other insane costs of living on top of that. The article totally shot down other previous stories in the Post about how wonderful and desirable the area is.

 
Oct 2, 17 10:07 am
won and done williams

Go, Suburbs, Go! Go, Suburbs, Go! Whoooooohoooooooooo!!!

Oct 2, 17 10:14 am  · 
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won and done williams

That or they're trying to escape any proximity with Donald Trump.

Oct 2, 17 10:14 am  · 
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thatsthat

yes yes yes!

Oct 2, 17 10:44 am  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

They are coming to Denver. We have weed yoga.

Oct 2, 17 10:15 am  · 
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tcarchitect1986

It sounds accurate. I am thirty years old (an older millenial). I have many friends who moved to the DC area after college, and none of them ended up buying property in the area. Those who are there still rent, and one couple I know plans on moving out.

Oct 2, 17 10:32 am  · 
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JLC-1

the national average includes biloxi, al, chinook, mt, and aspen,co- don't let it blur your analysis.

Oct 2, 17 10:48 am  · 
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senjohnblutarsky

No one could pay me enough to make me want to commute into DC.  The only way to do it would be to rent near work.  

And this is coming from a guy who commutes an hour to work.

Oct 2, 17 12:31 pm  · 
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joseffischer

Everyone trashes MARTA here in Atlanta, and I had heard great things about the DC metro.  I've now have been to DC a number of times, mostly using the red line.  It's no better than MARTA, but the difference is, there's no way to get into DC at more than 30-35 MPH.  Because of the slow pace and heavy traffic of DC, the metro becomes faster in a lot of cases.  At any event, if I could afford Silver Springs, Georgetown, or something near the zoo, that'd be great... but if I moved, I'd end up being somewhere in Maryland based on zillow costs.


Oct 2, 17 1:10 pm  · 
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tduds

The Metro was pretty great a decade ago, but from what I can tell their maintenance backlog finally caught up to them.

Oct 3, 17 1:44 pm  · 
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I just started taking MARTA to work it's not so bad. METRO goes a lot more places/extensive. However the METRO is expensive, like $4-6 one/way (peak fare hours!). MARTA = $2.50 one/way AND lots of free parking. DC also has the HOV lanes which are more practical than ATL HOV.

Oct 3, 17 5:45 pm  · 
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joseffischer

You should look into the monthly and yearly pass options, they're even more affordable on a per-trip basis. I don't know how I feel about the HOV/HOT lane direction Atlanta is going. They're converting everything to a pay-to-play scenario, where the more traffic exists, the more expensive the lane becomes. They're phasing out the free carpool option, though buses will still use it for free.

Oct 5, 17 1:50 pm  · 
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Like DC was ever a place where people with cash and mobility lived permanently...

Oct 2, 17 1:12 pm  · 
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tduds

I loved DC when I was 24. It's a great place to be 24. It's a great place to be 50 if you're wealthy. It's not a great place to be anywhere in between - class or age wise.

It's a town for miners. Get in, extract as much as you can before it kills you, and go elsewhere to be happy.

Oct 3, 17 1:45 pm  · 
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Quentin

Worked in DC for 3 years after undergrad, I don't miss it. Relocated to Atlanta and like it a lot more. DC is great but expensive (although salaries are higher) and traffic blows pretty bad. Another thing is the suburbs of DC are also pretty expensive. Living in Atlanta is much more reasonable and the suburbs are basically cheap. The condo I just got in downtown Atlanta would go for at least 100k more in the DMV area. I still have plenty friends up there who are staying put. To each their own...

Oct 3, 17 5:42 pm  · 
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The design culture there is way more conservative that NYC/LA etc. What firms in DC do you folks like? 

Oct 5, 17 9:57 am  · 
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