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Or, you can play the pyramid scheme game in the high cost area and hope you win. For example, buy a house in the bay area before 2010, it'll be paid off by the

Or, you can play the pyramid scheme game in the high cost area and hope you win. For example, buy a house in the bay area before 2010, it'll be paid off by the time you retire and because of Prop 13 the property taxes will never go up and you can happily retire there. But snark aside, this is a good point. If you keep all your budget percentages the same, then living in a high COL area you can save/invest more and still also have more spending money left over for hobbies or travel.

muzz 9y ago
Snark aside, you rightly allude to housing as an investment rather than an expense. Even those who bought post-2010 are still up by varying amounts, although those amounts are all likely 6 figures given the median home prices and recent increases. One doesn't need to pay off house. Upon retirement, just sell it and cash out and move to a cheaper area.