Renting in the District, Gangnam Style

I feel sorry for Emmy, a British Bulldog profiled in a Washington Post article yesterday about the competition for renters among DC's new luxury apartment complexes.  

Emmy's job is to bounce between the apartments of millennials who want a bit of fur to pat after a hard day.  That's right, tenants "will be able to pick her up in the lobby, take her upstairs to their apartment or for a walk, and return her as they would a library book, a DVD or bowling shoes."

Emmy's place of bondageemployment is 2M, a new apartment complex developed by the William C. Smith & C0.

Yup, this is what luxury looks like when its marketed to millennials.  Age-appropriate symbols of luxury.  Your kitchen will have granite counter-tops and stainless steel appliances.  You'll have cupcakes delivered on your birthday (from Georgetown Cupcakes of course because you could also end up on TV).  And, the concierge will drop off your dry-cleaning while you're out hustling for a date with your wing-lady Emmy in tow.      

Emmy's just the latest feature designed to make an apartment building--in this case 2M--stand out in the sea of granite counter-tops, rooftop decks, and cupcakes that has become the new DC.

What does all of this say about the DMV as a whole?

First, the District is becoming an attractive place for the wealthy to live.  This wasn't the case even 15 years ago.  1-bedroom apartments at one of the new luxury properties profiled in the Post article, for example, ranged from "$1,786 to $2,347."  The range was even higher for 2-bedroom apartments--"$2,315 to $3,145."  That's right, some people are paying more than 3k a month for a two bedroom apartment. 

But, poor and working class people haven't gone away--someone still has to work those minimum wage jobs.  In fact, it's an open question whether the region is actually getting wealthier or whether the city is simply catering to the wealthy at the expense of everyone else.  And, this brings us to our second trend.  As the city gentrifies, working class and low income people who used to be able to afford to live in the city are now heading to the 'burbs.

Of course anyone who's tried to buy or rent in the close-in suburbs knows that rents aren't much of a bargain there either.  So, poor and working class people frequently settle outside the beltway, or even further afield, in the exurbs (think Gaithersburg in MOCO).

A new distribution of wealth and poverty is emerging in the DMV.  We'll keep tracking it here, and hoping Emmy finds a real owner. 

Watch Out Francis Underwood. MOCO ain't afraid to throw you off the platform!

Oh, that poor Francis Underwood.  First, his mistress turned on him, then his chief of staff got bonked on the head by a former prostitute.  And, let's not even mention that little unpleasantness in the parking garage during the first season.

Francis' latest nemesis?  The Maryland House of Delegates.  They just gave him a new pair of Francis Underwood cufflinks.

At this point you non-DMV readers (I suspect I can count you all on one hand, but I love you all!) are probably wondering where I'm going with this.  It turns out that House of Cards isn't actually filmed in DC.  It is filmed in Maryland, mostly in Baltimore, Harford County, and Annapolis. 

And, those poor sods who produce House of Cards tell us they'll have to get in a bread line leave if they don't get another round of tax credits.  That's right, the guys who brought you Francis Underwood are playing hardball.  They are threatening to move production out of Maryland and find some pretty row houses elsewhere if the requested tax credits aren't forthcoming.  Keven Spacey even came to Annapolis to make the case. 

According to the Washington Post Maryland is allowed by law to allocate 7.5 million to movie/TV production in the state.  Last year a special dispensation was passed that allowed greater amounts of tax credits.  With the one time additional allocation, House of Cards got 11 million in tax credits in its first season and 15 million in its second season.  It is now asking for more credits in its 3rd season, although the Post reports the production company hasn't stipulated how much it will need. 

Which brings us to Delegate C. William Frick (D-Montgomery County).  No, he didn't off anybody.  But he did swat the ball back in the House of Card's court with a loud thwack.  Specifically, he introduced an amendment (read it here) to an unrelated bill  that basically gives the state the right to use eminent domain to seize production equipment of film companies who leave the state after having received the tax credit.  And, it passed easily. 

So, which Francis Underwood should we support?  I'm going with Frick.  I doubt he'll off his opponents, for starters.  I also expect he's thinking about the state's interests more than the House of Cards Production team is.  In fact, I haven't seen anything yet to convince me that House of Cards is losing money.  At some point, corporations, even those in Hollywood who can usually get away with this stuff because everyone assumes they are progressive, need to suck it upbehave more responsibly. Contributing to the Maryland economy while also making a profit should be enough.  The Maryland folks who work on your crews are just as important as your investors.  Do you really need another yacht? 

Corporate welfare is unattractive, even if Kevin Spacey is the one whipping the votes in support of it.   

Place, Longing, and the Wheaton Rec Center

 

This morning I read in the Washington Post that the Montgomery County Council voted NOT to give the Wheaton Recreational Center historic status.  Although advocates said the building's pagoda style roof made it special, the council ultimately disagreed.  The county can now tear the building down (likely) and build a new, updated rec center.   
 
 So, this morning I decided to head over to the center to see what all the fuss was about and take some pictures.  Full disclosure, I'm not from MOCO and had never been to the Wheaton Rec Center before this morning.  I'm also skeptical about battles to have particular buildings deemed historic.  It is often the go-to tactic of people resistant to change of any type.  When I lived in DC, for example, several people in my neighborhood tried to have our local Giant designated as a historical structure.  The building wasn't historical--it was a dumpy brick block with the charm of a paper cut (see it here)--but they were willing to use any available weapon to prevent redevelopment of the property.    

Fortunately, the Wheaton Rec Center was nicer than my old Giant, and prettier than I thought it would be.  That's not to say it hasn't seen better days.  It has.   

Ultimately, though, I don't have a dog in this race.  My visit did remind me, though, how much heart and meaning all of us invest in particular places.  It's never the bricks and mortar that people love.  It's not even the architecture in most cases.  Rather, its the association to other people, particular events, or even a mood of a certain time or place.

Hell, Led Zeppelin played at the Wheaton Rec Center (we think--attendees might have been too stoned to remember the right location).  There were probably lots of girls screaming over a shirtless Robert Plant, and just as many guys playing air guitar to Stairway to Heaven.  I'm too young to have seen the bad boyz of Led Zeppelin, but I can imagine how stoked I would have been if I had, and why I might never want to see the building go. 

Purple Line Follies--Snarky but Revealing

Last Wednesday, Washington Post metro columnist Robert McCartney wrote an editorial in which he shared some unwelcome news with the Town of Chevy Chase---the Town is not, as was previously thought, the center of the universe.  

Ok, he didn't say that.  He was far more polite.  He suggested the town should stop spending its tax money on lobbying to have the Purple Line moved from its current route and instead work to lessen its impact.  The line's route has now been approved by federal, state, and local governments.  It isn't likely to move. 

Well, not surprisingly, the Town of Chevy Chase didn't like that.  No, it didn't.  Not one bit.

On Saturday, the Washington Post's editorial page gave its "Local Opinions" space to Jim Mich, a resident of the Town of Chevy Chase. Mich wrote in to say that McCartney was wrong--the Town is indeed the center of the universe.

Ok, Mich didn't say that either.  But he was miffed that McCartney had stereotyped the Town's residents as "a bunch of rich people who don't know what to do with our money."  He also suggested the state could learn something about "sticking to a budget" by watching how the Town manages its money.

When I got to that line in Mich's letter I thought to myself "Oh no he didn't!"  So, naturally, I kept reading.  And, what I found was revealing.

Mich stepped outside of the normal parameters of Purple Line critique (that it will put children in harm's way, cut down hundreds of trees, cost too much, and increase traffic) and said what this is really about--stopping development.   

As Mich argued, "The driving force behind the Purple Line is the people who want it to provide a catalyst for more development. This is a development issue, period, and we would be remiss if we suddenly took a back seat to the development industry which, left unchecked, will run amok to the detriment of residents."

So, what to make of the anti-development sentiment here? 

My first reaction is that trying to stop development in this region is akin to thinking you can stop a barn fire by closing its doors.

According to Census quick facts the District added nearly 45 thousand people between 2010 and 2013.  That's a percent change in the population of 7.4% (in the US as a whole the percent change was only 2.4%).  Census quick facts for MOCO show greater than average growth as well.  Between 2010 and 2012 the county added almost 33 thousand people (a percent change of 3.4%).

You can't blame developers for numbers like these (and I say this as someone who blames developers for a host of things).  The DMV has a lot going for it--plentiful, well paying jobs being one of the main draws.  So, stopping the purple line won't stop population growth.  However, not building the line in the face of this growth will make it harder to move around the inner suburbs.

In light of these trends, the Town of Chevy Chase's opposition to the purple line seems more like a 'the rest of you be damned' sentiment than a garden variety 'not in my backyard' one.       








   

Random MOCO Pic of the Day 3/22/14

Today's addition--cranes and trucks and recyclables, oh my!

These pics are from the Montgomery County Transfer Station, where you drop off your large recyclables.  The last time I saw a crane this big it was at a shipyard in Belfast.  And, how about all those old school fatty TVs at the bottom of pic 1?  

How do people get by on less than a living wage?

Yesterday I provided some living wage figures for the DMV.  In MOCO, a single adult needs to make at least $13.20 an hour to make a living wage.  A single parent with one child needs to earn $25.02.  I concluded yesterday's post by noting that discussions about a living wage are so important because a lot many people don't make one. So, how do people get by when they DON'T make a living wage.

Let's look at what people do to get by in terms of housing.  I focus on housing here because as the author's of the living wage calculator note, housing (and childcare costs) tend to be higher in metropolitan areas. 

In densely populated parts of the DMV (e.g. downtown Silver Spring, Columbia Heights, Ballston), people with low wages often double and triple up in one bedroom apartments.  This happens in 2 bedrooms too, but not as often.  Why?  Well, for starters, there just aren't as many 2- and 3-bedrooms in the DMV as there are 1-bedrooms.  And, their scarcity makes them more desirable, and thus more expensive.   

In my last apartment in DC there were two families who lived in 1-bedroom apartments in my building.  One family included 2 parents and 1 child.  The other had 2 parents and 2 children.  I don't know what their wages were, but I do know that squeezing into a 1-bedroom apartment was what they had to do to afford to live in our neighborhood in the city.  Even the small houses in the area cost upwards of $800,000.  I understood why they were willing to make the squeeze.  The schools were good and access to buses downtown was literally out our front door.  But, it was a sacrifice too.  A 1-bedroom with 3 and 4 occupants is definitely cozy, but exceptionally crowded.  There's too little closet space, not enough privacy, and only one toilet for the all of you.   

Millennials do this teaming up as well.  Although many of the millennials flocking to DC are young professionals, it is useful to keep in mind that being young and professional doesn't mean you can afford DC's luxury rents (Numbeo puts the average 1 bedroom rent in the city center at $1,984.38).  This is especially the case for interns and entry level staffers on the hill, and almost anyone at any level working for an NGO.  There's a reason a lot of millennials haven't left the nest, or have returned to it.  They can't afford to rent.

People do this in the suburbs as well.  There, though, the house is what gets piled up with people.  In households where people don't make a living wage, it is not uncommon for multiple generations of families live together under one roof.  Sometimes, families will also rent out their basements, or even single rooms.  Housing costs in DC's suburbs are lower than in the city, but they are still high, especially when compared to suburban locations in smaller cities, or in cities that aren't experiencing urban booms (e.g. Cleveland or Detroit). 

For people who don't make a living wage, the idea of a nuclear family in a single family house is just that--an idea. It isn't a reality, or likely to be one anytime soon. 
 

What's a 'living wage' in Montgomery County? the DMV?

Although there are hundreds of definitions out there for a living wage, they are all variations on a simple theme.  A living wage is supposed cover the basic cost of living (housing, healthcare, daycare, food, etc.).  

The DMV is an expensive place to live (see my earlier blog post about how much it cost to buy a house in the DMV).  But, how much do you need to make to cover the basics here?  My gut says 'a lot', but my gut isn't good at math. Fortunately, MIT has a handy living wage calculator.  Let's take a look for the DMV shall we?

A couple of caveats.  First, a good benchmark for thinking about these wages is to consider the federal minimum wage--currently at $7.25 an hour.  Second, the calculations from the site are also conservative.  That is, the actual or real living wage may be higher in some places.  The site's authors' note, for example, that the calculator "is likely to underestimate costs such as housing and child care" in metropolitan areas (i.e. the DMV).  Finally, it is useful to keep in mind that a living wage is NOT a middle class wage.  This is the wage you need to get by on.  It only covers the basics--specifically: food, child care, medical costs, transportation, taxes, and an 'other category' for emergencies.  What's not covered?  Entertainment (going to the movies), vacation (a trip to the beach), savings (for a rainy day), education (tutoring, private school, college for you or the kids).  

So, let's start with a comparison between DC, Maryland, and Virginia.  (the table below is created from data selected from the website, which includes much more detailed data).

Place	Living Wage	Adult	Adult, 1 child	2 Adults, 1 child
	Hourly wage	$13.68	$26.37	$23.54
DC	Annual income	$28,454	$54,842	$48,959
	Before taxes
	Hourly wage	$11.79	$23.41	$21.04
Maryland	Annual income	$24,515	$48,696	$43,757
	Before taxes
	Hourly wage	$10.54	$20.77	$19.49
Virginia	Annual income	$21,927	$43,200	$40,543
	Before taxes

A few patterns emerge.  First, DC has the highest living wage, followed by Maryland and then Virginia.  Second, the living wage is higher for a single parent with one child than it is for 2 parents with 1 child.  Why, you might ask?  Well, single parents usually HAVE to rely on child care.  In 2 parent households childcare costs can be eliminated because one parent can stay home with the child. This doesn't always happen, of course, but it CAN happen. 


Now, let's look at how areas within Maryland stack up against each other.  To capture the state's diversity, I'm including a rural, suburban, and urban place. 

Place	Living Wage	Adult	Adult, 1 child	2 Adults, 1 child
	Hourly wage	$7.70	$18.59	$16.21
Garrett Co.	Annual income	$16,013	$38,672	$33,715
	Before taxes
	Hourly wage	$13.20	$25.02	$22.66
Montgomery	Annual income	$27,464	$52,049	$47,135
	Before taxes
	Hourly wage	$11.24	$22.88	$20.51
Baltimore	Annual income	$23,373	$47,595	$42,667
	Before taxes

Not surprisingly, MOCO is more expensive than rural Garrett County.  But, it is also more expensive than Baltimore (city).  For people who live in the DMV this won't come as a surprise.  Many people commute from Baltimore to DC because it costs less to live there.  In this regard, even though MOCO is a suburb, its proximity to DC is both a blessing (all those free museums) and a curse (high cost of living).

Finally, a couple of points.  MIT wouldn't be coming up with a living wage calculator if most people made one.  We have these kind of nifty tools precisely because many people don't make a living wage--especially in expensive metropolitan areas like the DMV.  Second, the federal minimum wage--$7.25--simply isn't enough to live on anymore, even in rural Garrett County (though it isn't far off).

In  my next post I'll talk about how people get by in a context where they don't make a living wage.  See you soon...