How good is 5000$ postdoc salary at frederick maryland

[payel1986]

Hi, I am not sure whether this forum is an appropriate place to discuss the topic. But I could not find anything else. Please forgive if the topic seems inappropriate here. My husband has been offered a postdoc position from one of the premier NIH affiliated labs located at frederick, maryland. They offer a stipend of 59,900$ pa before deduction. As we googled a lot about the place and the apartment rentals, it came out to be very costly. Even a 1 BHK does not come at less than 1000$. Can anyone highlight after tax deduction, how much will be the monthly take-home and wheather that would be enough for a family of two? We are from India, never been to the US before and so it is indeed hard to have a concept of expenditure. Can anybody help, please!

[TakeruK]

Here is a good tax estimator: https://www.taxbrain.com/tax-estimator.asp

 

Note that depending on your visa status, you may not be eligible for as many deductions as a resident American citizen. I know that as non-resident aliens for tax purposes, my wife and I must file as "Married, filing separately", which does not allow us to claim better tax deductions. That is, your husband may have to file his taxes as if he were a single person. Non-resident aliens also cannot claim the "standard deduction".

 

Actual tax paid would really depend on your personal circumstances but I think estimating about $10,000 is reasonable, so you would have about $50,000 after deductions. The monthly take-home would then be about $4100/month. I think if rent is around $1000-$1300/month, this would be enough income for two people. But that's based on the spending that my wife and I do and it might not be the same for others. Hope that was at least helpful though.

[payel1986]

Thank you so much, TakeruK  ...your advice would be indeed helpful for us. We are neither extravagant nor very outgoing, so hopefully we will be able to do with.

[rising_star]

It sounds like plenty to me. If you're comfortable with public transportation, you may be able to live a bit further away to save money on rent.

[payel1986]

Hi Rising-star, many thanks for your response. Do you reside nearby Maryland? Can you please highlight about the availability of public transport in a suburb like Frederick? It appeared from google streetview that the place is far from being a city-type and every person owns a car. Since we will be relocating by december, it would be quite snowy and we are wondering about whether public bus service would be available or not. We are from tropical country and don't have least idea about the lifestyle during harsh winter. Please advise!Thanks!

Edited October 19, 2014 by payel1986

[rising_star]

I'm not familiar with the area, Payel, other than having visited there once. It's in the Baltimore-DC metropolitan area so there's definitely public transit. I'm sure whomever is hiring your spouse will be able to provide you with local resources to look into. If that doesn't work or you're impatient, you can also check the city-data forums online for information.

[Vene]

I can't speak specifically about Maryland, but public transit certainly doesn't stop in the winter.

 

Also, first order of business once you get there should be to buy good coats and boots.

[payel1986]

Thank you guys, for your nice suggestions . I found the people on this forum to be pretty helpful. Wish you all d best!

[bhr]

Ok. I lived in Frederick a few years ago, and worked there more recently (if your job is with NCI or out at Ft. Detrick, I know the area even better).

 

The good news: you can survive on 60k gross in the area. It's cheaper than Baltimore or Washington, being about 30-40 minutes from both, so finding a nice apartment near work for <1k is possible (though you will need to pay more if you want to be in the "right" part of town or have any real perks (I paid $1200 or so for a 1br in a semi-new luxury complex.) You can save money by going north or west, but that adds a longer commute (and you get into areas that are very white and right wing, which poses its own challenge).

The bad news:  you will likely need a car. There is public transport, but it's incredibly limited (this is a suburb, so there isn't a real downtown area where you can live and work). Maryland taxes are incredibly high, so that will eat a chunk of your salary. Traffic is awful. Cultural opportunities are limited without going into the cities.

 

The great news: There is a very strong research economy in the area, so your next job hunt can keep you local. You can get into DC easily enough (or to Rockville and the Red Line). One of the best breweries (Flying Dog) and restaurants (Volt) in the country are in Frederick. You are 40 minutes from two major cities, and can do an easy day trip to NYC or Philly as well.

[payel1986]

Hi bhr, I don't know how to thank you  . You provided so many informations I can't believe! Yes, my husband's pdf offer is from NCI at ft. detrick and it would be nice to find an apartment nearby so that we can commute via the shortest route. We will not be able to afford a car at least 4-5 months after relocation. Can you tell any safe neighbourhood nearby? Which apartment you used to stay in? Are you currently a postdoc there at NCI? If yes, you probably can tell where most of the postdocs stay there.Thanks again!

 

Ok. I lived in Frederick a few years ago, and worked there more recently (if your job is with NCI or out at Ft. Detrick, I know the area even better).

 

The good news: you can survive on 60k gross in the area. It's cheaper than Baltimore or Washington, being about 30-40 minutes from both, so finding a nice apartment near work for <1k is possible (though you will need to pay more if you want to be in the "right" part of town or have any real perks (I paid $1200 or so for a 1br in a semi-new luxury complex.) You can save money by going north or west, but that adds a longer commute (and you get into areas that are very white and right wing, which poses its own challenge).

The bad news:  you will likely need a car. There is public transport, but it's incredibly limited (this is a suburb, so there isn't a real downtown area where you can live and work). Maryland taxes are incredibly high, so that will eat a chunk of your salary. Traffic is awful. Cultural opportunities are limited without going into the cities.

 

The great news: There is a very strong research economy in the area, so your next job hunt can keep you local. You can get into DC easily enough (or to Rockville and the Red Line). One of the best breweries (Flying Dog) and restaurants (Volt) in the country are in Frederick. You are 40 minutes from two major cities, and can do an easy day trip to NYC or Philly as well.

[bhr]

Hi bhr, I don't know how to thank you  . You provided so many informations I can't believe! Yes, my husband's pdf offer is from NCI at ft. detrick and it would be nice to find an apartment nearby so that we can commute via the shortest route. We will not be able to afford a car at least 4-5 months after relocation. Can you tell any safe neighbourhood nearby? Which apartment you used to stay in? Are you currently a postdoc there at NCI? If yes, you probably can tell where most of the postdocs stay there.Thanks again!

At the time I lived in Frederick I was working in telecom (b2b sales) and living on the other side of town, so where I was won't help. That said, the base itself is near Hood College (a small liberal arts school) and surrounded by apartments for students and military personnel. Willow Ridge is close to the base and nice. I would avoid the complexes right on rt 40, though they may be better for busses/shopping. Going north gets rural (and cheaper) very quickly, but I'm not sure about transportation. Honestly, there are probably resources either on-base or at NCI that can help with a relocation

[payel1986]

Thanks a lot, bhr...I will search on the basis of your suggestions now

[Crucial BBQ]

I live in Howard County, MD.  While I have never lived in Frederick, I can vouch for what BHR is saying.  

 

The Missus works at NIH in one of the biology-related labs.  While NIH is capable of handling BSL 4, Ft. Detrick does BSL 4 on a regular basis and NIH has given Ft. Derrick the responsibility of handling the samples from the current Ebola patient at NIH.  Not sure what kind of work your husband is going to do, but be aware that BSL 4 is a bigger part of Ft. Derrick than it is at NIH.  (and no, I am not one of those who are paranoid of Ebola.  Just thought you might want to know incase you already didn't). 

[flm0003]

Congrats on the job offer.  That salary would be doable in Frederick.  I'm a lifelong Maryland resident and have visited the town many times.  Frederick and its county have become "exurban" which is happening to a lot of formerly rural areas that are about an hour away from a major city.  There are more established / older portions of Frederick that are more affordable, and many newer developments that try to be more upmarket.  In this state, apartment complexes are often much more expensive than renting an apartment in a residential dwelling.  I can't speak to Ft. Detrick in particular, but in general the place to find apartments for rent by private owner is frederick.craigslist.org.  If you would prefer an apartment complex, I recommend apartmentratings.com.  And yes, the vast majority of people in the Frederick area will need an automobile.