Step 1: Move to Seattle and find a job there. Purchasing power there is 38% higher than NYC. We'll say that your salary stays at 150k, but you'll realistically

Step 1: Move to Seattle and find a job there. Purchasing power there is 38% higher than NYC. We'll say that your salary stays at 150k, but you'll realistically feel like you have 38% more. (Source: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=United+States&city1=New+York%2C+NY&country2=United+States&city2=Seattle%2C+WA https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?cou...) Step 2: Buy a house in Tacoma. Don't buy in Seattle; the market there is in a bubble. Tacoma is an up-and-coming suburb. Cost will be ~300k for a livable house, or 400k if you want a nicer one. (Example: https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Tacoma-WA/49299981_zpid/27362_rid/3-_beds/50000-400000_price/199-1596_mp/globalrelevanceex_sort/47.291136,-122.46696,47.259748,-122.522407_rect/13_zm/0_mmm/ https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Tacoma-WA/49299981_zpi...). You'll have an hour commute but that's not too bad if you're used to east coast commutes and traffic. If you buy a house close to one of the train stations, you can take the commuter train to downtown Seattle so you won't have to drive. Step 3: Save as much as you can for kids' college/retirement/whatever. Sounds pretty livable to me.