Same, but in the slightly cheaper city of Boston. While I do well as a developer (140k+), my partner is an artist and more often makes 10-20k a year. We're stil

Same, but in the slightly cheaper city of Boston. While I do well as a developer (140k+), my partner is an artist and more often makes 10-20k a year. We're still very well off income-wise compared to the average in America, and yet my relatives and friends living in smaller cities, suburbs or rural areas seem to have far easier access to basic amenities. They probably view me as rich (and to a degree they aren't wrong), but my apartment is smaller than their 2 car garage, costs more than their mortgage (my rent is 3x my mother's mortgage, and double my sister's in NC), and has fewer basic amenities. I don't have a car, and the costs of having a reasonably reliable one overall are just too high. The idea of us affording two of them is a joke. I'm saving for retirement, but my partner isn't able to - she can barely afford health insurance. The thought of having kids in this place is laughable. I could rant about all of this for a bit. We're looking at moving to Salem, MA, Berlin, or maybe somewhere else entirely. I lived in Ohio for a few years and it drove me up a wall - so I am hesitant to just go "anywhere cheaper" though.