I will recommend getting a house in the 300k-400k range. If your income is only 100k before tax, then you will feel a lot of pressure when you get a 500k house. You need a reliable car down the road, eventually you will need to send your kid to preschool, and then when he reaches school age you will need to pay for all those curriculum lessons, and most importantly you want to still enjoy your life. We live in Houston, which is a pretty cheap place compare to other mms. Our house is close to 400k, then we spent about 20k on various renovation projects and 40k on furnitures and electronics. I am glad that we did not get a 500k house, so I can still drive a nice car and enjoy shopping for clothes every other day :-) Our combined income is significantly higher than 100k, and since we only have 150k loan, I want to pay the house off in 3 years. I think quality of life does make a difference in Houston.

how come you gg can get that much after tax each month. my income is about the same as your gg, but after 401k, health incurance, health savings plan, and child daycare saving account, etc, i don't get that much compare to your gg... luckily, my gg can bring more $$$ home than I do... otherwise, I won't be able to shop for clothes after the mortgage and utility bills.

no no no... there are lots mms here have more $$$ than i do. I am still looking for deals from Jcrew and BR... haha