Not OP but in the Midwest big companies like John Deere start their engineers in the $60k range (at least when I interned there). The cost of living is just tha

Not OP but in the Midwest big companies like John Deere start their engineers in the $60k range (at least when I interned there). The cost of living is just that much cheaper. My studio apartment while in college in Iowa City was $500 a month for a location just a five minute walk from the campus.