[quote=spdrun]What I don’t get is that you can still rent a small place near the beach for under a grand a month if you’re lucky. Drive a cheap, paid-off used car or even a motorbike. Food is cheaper than on the East Coast or in the inland West. No tolls on most freeways. Free beach access, no use fees in summer.

Really the 1000-lb gorilla in the room is health insurance, which is covered if you have a job that provides it, and will become a lot cheaper for freelancers under Obamacare.

Living in SD can be surprisingly cheap if you’re single or a couple w/o kids, especially given that the natural beauty of the area that isn’t replicated in a lot of parts of the US.[/quote]

Very insightful post, spdrun. All true. Kid expenses of every shape and form are the elephant in the room, here. Once kid expenses are over, a parent is finally back to focusing more on their own needs. I have mixed feelings on whether Obamacare will really work out as the PTB are saying it should. This great experiment is going to be interesting to watch, especially the first three years of it … that is, if it lasts that long.