I'm in my 30s as well -- I make a great tech salary and own small house that cost me a ton to buy. I pay a lot in taxes. I support a family of four off of my

I'm in my 30s as well -- I make a great tech salary and own small house that cost me a ton to buy. I pay a lot in taxes. I support a family of four off of my salary. At the end of the day we basically live the same lifestyle that I grew up with, and my dad was a police officer, my mom a public high school teacher. Our house is smaller than the one I grew up with, the local public schools are about the same quality. I'm not complaining, because I'm staying in the Bay Area for a reason: I believe that my good tech salary can be an amazing tech salary if I build the right skills, climb the right ladders. I think it's a chance for upward mobility. But it's a tough call when I ponder what my life would be like if I took a slightly lesser paying job in a more reasonable area of the country. So, anyway, my point is that you can make the case that "you can afford it, your fellow Californians deserve it," and I'll roll my eyes because no one makes decisions that way. If I had to pay 10% more each year in taxes, I'd definitely be out of here. The other options are just way better at that point. So, there's a point where I'm simply going to move instead of pay. You can lecture me about what I ought to do all you like but I have a family to take care of, and our standard of living matters to me. Yes, we'd be fine with less money, but I want even more for my family and I really don't feel bad about it.