So Fairfax County is beat by Loudon County as the the richest county in the US. Today’s Washington Post had this article on the top rich counties – measured by the average median income.
“The three most prosperous large counties in the United States are in the Washington suburbs, according to census figures released yesterday, which show that the region has the second-highest income and the least poverty of any major metropolitan area in the country. Rapidly growing Loudoun County has emerged as the wealthiest jurisdiction in the nation, with its households last year having a median income of more than $98,000. It is followed by Fairfax and Howard counties, with Montgomery County not far behind”
Fairfax [that’s where I am] has always been a coveted spot for smart-education hungry immigrants [read, Indians and Asians] and also to the IT companies whove set up base here to work on Govt funded projects. Tons of Defense contracts and hence lots of work, opportunities to swing jobs, buy houses,sell and buy again, and in the process making a neat profit and also inadvertently pushing the demand and hence inching the prices up. The schools are awesome and the funding along with the Parent contributions make Fairfax a wonderful place to raise a kid. With such an increased influx to the area, there isn’t any more space to expand, and hence Loudon county got popular. The commute increased 20 more minutes, and with the affluent pouring money there it really isnt a surprise that it’s shot up well. Montgomery is to Bio-tech as Fairfax is to IT. It also is on par and has a good school system, and benefits. The surprising listing was Howard county. I never wouldve guessed.
“The suburban prosperity has been brought about by people such as Tony Dawood, 46, of Leesburg, who moved to Loudoun County from Pennsylvania to take a job as a civil engineer. He is paid about $130,000 a year and augments his income with business investments.
“The affluence is overwhelming,” Dawood said. His 17-year-old son has developed an interest in golf, an expensive hobby given the cost of $50 to $100 to play on a public course, and drives a new Mitsubishi Montero. It would be considered a nice car for a teenager, except that one of his friends has a brand-new Hummer and another drives a new Cadillac.
“They pull up in my driveway and my jaw drops,” Dawood said.”
Imagine that, and yes, I can attest for it. These kids are not just rolling dough, but are also extremely smart. The SOL scores and their College admissions prove it.
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My boss walks out of cubicle and declares to me and a colleague that over the weekend he bought a 1.5 carat white diamond ring set in platinum for his wife. Costed him $26K, and no, this wasn’t an anniversary gift, nor a birthday gift. He felt he hadn’t bought an expensive one for his wife up until now of his 12 years of married life, and so he went into Mervis with her and picked a rock. He is all of 39 years, runs his own company of 3 years old, and has been in this country for 9 years, drives a BMW, the other car is an Audi, and a family MDX. He is dreaming up a custom home in Fairfax [no, why would I move out and go to Loudon?!]
Oh yea, did I mention he was a desi?
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Richness is good. Rubbing it in? I donno…
ah what?! $ 26K diamond!!! thats too much re and no apparent reason?!
Hmmmm..mann richness can get a “man” all wierd! Good for the wife
Does he have a twin – who is available…
So did he buy a diamond ornament so that he could brag about how much he has and how much he loves his wife to his colleagues? I was just wondering, forgive me.
m – if he is rolling in millions, I guess a quarter doesn’t hurt.
anon – lol. Unfortunately no, there are folks like him around, just keep your eyes open 😉
wh – no issues, he tells us everything, and I mean everything. More than I care to know. Frankly, it bothers me less that he bought the irng, than that he shared that info with us.
I sooo know what you mean! For instance, out here in sunny Singapore, I was thinking of, perhaps, splurging on an iPod video this weekend.
Yeah.
Seriously though, college admissions are never a sign of intelligence, and frankly, if I were you, I wouldn’t be too bothered about material things that other folks might buy. At a certain level, there’s absolutely no difference if a ring costs $26k or $2k, as long as the recepient likes it.
What would matter, though, is the things that folks do with their apparently high levels of dough, and that’s where things might get interesting. For instance, if you’re given $10k, for example, what would you do with it? Buy a diamond ring, or use it for that north-pole-to-south-pole journey you’ve always been dreaming about? It’s always infinitely more interesting to read about people who splurge on these types of projects that require planning, rather than on X goods.
That said, if diamonds such as the one you’ve mentioned create interest in available ladies, then heck, I should include Fairfax or Louden county as a possible emigration destination. 😐
And oh, “Fairfax county has been beaten by Loudon …” Thought I’d return the favour. 🙂
I’m sure that he doesn’t know about your blog, but I can almost imagine what his reaction will be if he ever found out about it.
These blogger word verifications are getting more and more difficult to read. One fine day they might start asking you to complete a spider solitaire before they allow you to comment.
cyd – agreed. I am not a huge ‘girly-girl’. Expensive gifts create unrest in me, and frankly, they are too much of a pain to maintain. But you should consider that emigration, news is that quite a few girls are quite taken with such rocks.
If I had 10K to blow I’d use it on my home, or on a trip. Diamonds are so overrated, imho.
Your favor is appreciated :p
wh – the thought did cross my mind, and hence the anonymity. He probably will not put ‘rads’ and my real name together, not that they are very different, but coz of his analytical skills 😉
lol@word verif – I am hating them myself.
moving to fairfax like asap… lol! wow good for u guys… put some snaps of ur swanky neighbourhood for us deprived souls!
Wow.
Used to work/live in Los Alamos — for the longest time, it was one of the best places to live in the US.
Except for the fact that everything there is controlled by DoD/DoE, it’s a fantastic place. Great people, good money and cool work. Of course, the ratio of Ph.D.s and Nobel Laureates would make you cringe and feel like an idiot, not to mention the high percentage of Jews, Russians, Israelis and East Europeans, but hey.
On another tangent, my girlfriend lives in Hampton and works at Norfolk, and I get a totally different view of things from her. For whatever reason, she hates VA! 🙂
archana – sure thing, come on over. lol@snaps – not a bad idea :p
met – Los Alamos? Ive heard it only coz of the Nuclear Lab there, other than the fact that it’s in middle-of-nowhere New Mexico! So, the place is busting with some high-profile folks eh? Interesting. 🙂
I don’t blame the poor thing – living in Norfolk area would make anyone want to just about give up, if you aren’t the seafaring kind! I was there a few months ago, and it’s way too laid back. DC area is a whole new VA 🙂