Those prep school kids grow up to be Brett Kavanaugh. That should explain everything.

how do you portion and freeze? What type of storage?

We budget $610 for two adults and an infant. Last year our monthly avg was $478. But we like to budget conservatively just incase. We don't eat out or order in very much and prefer cooking at home. We absolutely plan weekly meals and do our shopping on Sunday for produce and staples, but typically do a COSTCO run once a month for our backstock items like pasta, flour, paper products/toiletries, and other things that last. We pay attention to meat sales and will buy up to like 6 or 8 lbs at a time for good sales, then portion it out and freeze in 1lb amounts.

Looking forward to your next post in 10 years on how bad the youths in their 20s are.

Literally nothing!

I spent $900 for two of us this month. We get 4 dinners from hello fresh a week which bumps up the price, then we get a mix from TJs/Safeway/Harris Teeter.

Yep same guy said there was a mass overdose death event - which never happened. These people are constantly spreading misinformation

While I whole heartedly endorse the message underlying the OP, I will note that if it was made about the actions of teenagers in NE/SE rather than NW, it likely would have been a far more controversial statement (possibly locked/removed by mods) and have much more push back.

To your rhetorical “is there something in the water”, there literally was lead in the water not that long ago

“The presence of lead in the placenta is an environmental hazard for a person's future. Due to hormonal changes, lead is released during pregnancy into the bloodstream of the mother from deposits in the bones and in the teeth, where it has accumulated for years as a result of a contaminated environment”

I’m not a scientist, so someone else will have to explain if the DC water problem could be related. Put that together with other pollution based on where you live plus other social issues and it’s a pretty bad situation

EDIT: OP meant to say NW.

WELCOME TO DC! Honestly the best advice is to not worry so much - it’s a great city and you’ll get along great. My second-best advice for any young person moving to the area is 1. It’s 100% worth it, especially when you’re young, to live in DC proper. A lot of new folks look at Falls Church, VA on the map and think it’s so close. It’s quite far by area standards and you’ll rarely make the trip into the city. There is so much to do and see and so many people to meet from a huge variety of backgrounds. Save Virginia and Maryland for when you want to settle down and have kids. 2. Housing is very expensive around here. As a young professional/grad student, living with a roommate or seven is just part of the culture.

I'm impressed by some of your spending discipline. $35/month is my budget for coffee beans haha

Or in a car. Or have property that isn’t on a military base. Or get deliveries to your home. Or are a representative. Or a city councilor. Or a family hanging out in front of your home when someone with a gun scooters into you in Shaw. Or if you are at andy’s pizza on 18th st getting pizza on the wrong night. Or on a date night near le diplomate and caught in a crossfire. Etc etc. pointing out a problem exists that shouldn’t feels better then ignoring it completely

Join some Adult sport leagues (DC Fray used to be pretty fun when I was there), read the parking signs carefully when you park in DC, avoid rush hour if possible, some of the best culinary experiences (from an ethnic standpoint) are the hole in the wall places in Nova or MD. Early bird gets the worm!

About $150 on average for one person.

Please share them about NW DC parents.

About $230/month for myself. It took me a little while to get in to the groove of shopping and cooking for one and not overbuying. I love to cook and make most of my meals at home. I usually eat out 2x week with friends

I aim to spend 50-75/week as a single person. I have a Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods and Giant in walking distance, so I tend to go grocery shopping a 2-4 times a week which is nice for getting the right produce and making meals that I’m excited about. I shop sales as much as possible, and don’t make grocery lists, just vibe w what’s fresh and on sale

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They only read OPs mistake in the title and they pulled out their dog whistle.

There is an app called Flipp that carries promotions.

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As a couple I would say we average $600/month generally at Whole Foods, cooking 5-6 nights per week and having the prior night's leftovers for lunch the next day. We don't buy many extra things like snacks, and neither of us are big breakfast people.

I will sound snobby when I say this but I don't look at prices if I need something, and with how much we spend, it hasn't really changed all that much in the past few years so I struggle with how much I hear people talk about how much more expensive everything is. And yes, we eat meat, but try to have a couple vegetarian meals each week.

It's a city of 700k, chances are a crime is happening somewhere at any given time. This sub is like Nextdoor, and a lot of people will post OMG CRIME HAPPENED SOMEWHERE. Don't trust it.

I have lived in DC for more than 12 years, in neighborhoods considered safe and unsafe, and walked everywhere. I lived on streets with shoes hanging from wires. I've never been mugged, shot, or attacked.

DC had a serious crime problem from the 80s to about 2000. Crack was endemic, Rayful Edmond was the biggest dealer on the East Coast. Lafayette Park was a big dealer hangout. DC meant Dodge City. It dropped after 2000 and been steadily dropping, it's ticked back up some post covid but statistically it isnt that bad.

To a lot of people things FEEL worse, not unjustly, but imo it's overblown. I saw someone call Eastern Market metro stop an open air drug market, so I'm just ¯_(ツ)_/¯.

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