[alistairSH]

I'm in suburban DC (Reston/Dulles area). $200k gets you a 1-bedroom condo in an older building. $400-$500 buys a nice older town-home. It'll be smaller (1500sqft with small bedrooms). For a small single-family, $500+. For a modern single-family home, you'll need $700k or more.

If you want to live inside the Beltway, add 20%-50% to those figures, depending on neighborhood.

All those will be in livable, reasonably safe neighborhoods with decent public schools. I'm sure there are options that cost less if you look hard enough.

FWIW, I chose "nice, older town-home" for a bit under $500k. That's on two mid-career, white-collar salaries. We have enough left over to max our 401ks, take vacations, etc. The loss of one income wouldn't drive us to homelessness, but it would hurt. I walk to work, bike to grocery store, and my spouse has a 7 mile commute (it's also bike-able, which she does occasionally).