I live in California and pay an effective tax rate of around 35%. I'm single, but I max out my retirement savings (401k) contribution every month. I can save

I live in California and pay an effective tax rate of around 35%. I'm single, but I max out my retirement savings (401k) contribution every month. I can save around $500 per month on top of that as well as 100% of any contracting income that I make, which averages a couple thousand after taxes. My rent is reasonable for CA ($2000/month) for a 40 year old, small house, but it has central heat and air, some remodeling, and a garage. I have a punishing commute, though, which averages door-to-door round trip time of 3 hours per day. Thankfully, my contract work is almost completely remote (would LOVE more work like this!) and I can telecommute two days per week at my full time job. Despite being able to save a good amount of money, actually affording to buy a house is out of the question. Something decent that is close to my work is around $1 million+ and houses with a long commute start at around $600k. I absolutely hate living in apartments and hate cities in general, so I would quit my job before living in a condo, but you could find an apartment here a bit cheaper. I hope that helps...