‘No Drama’ Obama will dwell in Kalorama
The Obama family will remain in Washington, D.C., for at least a couple more years, and now we know where they’ll live — in a rented, 9-bedroom house in the Kalorama neighborhood. That’s the neighborhood I would choose, if I lived in D.C. and money were no object.
I want to go to there
The Obamas are staying in the District so their younger daughter, Sasha, can finish out her last 2 years at Sidwell Friends School.
I feel sort of a kinship with Barack Obama because we have a few things in common:
- Barack and I are less than 2 years apart, which means that we’re not really Baby Boomers, no matter what demographers say, and we’re not quite Gen Xers, either. And I suspect that Obama is disappointed that we’re going to hand the presidency to yet another Boomer next January. I’m bummed about that, too. Do we really need a president who was born in the 1940s?
- Malia was born on the Fourth of July, and so was my son.
- Malia will attend Harvard, and my son attends a college whose name begins with an H.
Nirvana in Kalorama
From kindergarten through high school, Nathaniel and I took father-son trips every spring break. One of those years, we spent a week in D.C., and our happiest day on that trip was the day we got lost in the Kalorama neighborhood, gawking at the embassies and the diplomatic residences and the grand houses, and occasionally straying into Rock Creek Park.
It’ll take lotsa moola
The New York Times says the estimated rent on the house is $22,000 a month. As a rule of thumb, you’re not supposed to spend more than 25% of your before-tax income on rent, so this implies that the Obamas expect to earn at least $88,000 a month. And don’t forget that tuition they’ll pay to Sidwell Friends School and Harvard.
The financial picture is similar if the Obamas were to buy the house. The Times says it’s worth about $6 million, so if the Obamas plunked down 20% and got a jumbo 30-year fixed mortgage at 3.85% for $4.8 million, then their principal and interest would be $22,502 a month. Plus taxes and insurance.
I’m sure the Obamas will fare fine financially — he can hit the speaking circuit, and his memoir will be a best-seller, as he’s an excellent writer. But, man, that rent!
