For me personally, if I were married and had two kids I wouldn’t dream of living in the San Diego area (or any other “glamour city”) on less than $200K per year (remember what those CA state taxes do to you, nevermind the high prices of everything). And that’s the bottom of the barrel bare minimum. Obviously, it can be done, but at what price (unless you bought a house you’re comfortable in 10 years ago)? Sure, you can buy a house using a funky mortgage that’ll ultimately bite you in the ass, or you can rent for the rest of your life. And you can cut corners every which way you can, but then what’s the point? You want to enjoy living where you live, right? And then how about the stress? I know it’s a cliche, but stress is a killer, or so I hear.
Frankly, I don’t see how single people live comfortably on much less than $100K per year here. And I don’t consider myself a spendthrift, either. But after taxes, housing, etc. it really adds up here in “America’s Finest City.” Don’t get me wrong, I love it here and have no plans on leaving. But I would not live here or anywhere else where I had to constantly think about finances. It wouldn’t be worth it to me. I’d rather live in Charleston or Memphis and sleep at night. But that’s just me.
