400k is a little high, but not out of the question, I'd say you're a bit above the threshold for "can't" raise kids (but I'm basing this on SF, not NY, so might

400k is a little high, but not out of the question, I'd say you're a bit above the threshold for "can't" raise kids (but I'm basing this on SF, not NY, so might not fully apply here). I'll run the numbers for SF. Kids in cities are brutally expensive now, but I do think $400k would work. A remodeled 3br/2ba house in a safe but unfashionable part of SF (which is where I live) south of 280 near bart will run you about 1.5 mil. You could go a bit lower if you got something more worn, but it would only save you 200-300k. Monthly mortgage and taxes on that will be about $8500 a month. Then you have daycare expenses for kids, which is high, if you want the kind that allows you to work from 8:30 to 5:30 year round (that's the best you'll do, you might be able to stretch it 30 min on one direction or the other, but not by much), budget $30k each kid. so that'll be 60k, or another 5k a month (the numbers are bad here, but this isn't way off, and I'm erring on the side of expensive). So we're at $8500 + $5000 = $13.5k a month, for $162k a year. Some of this is deductible, not all. Yeah, you should be able to swing this on $400k a year, though taxes will take a bite, and I'm not saying it's easy. Often, one spouse will sacrifice (generally her) career progress to remove the non-deductible 30k per kid, since multiply that by two and it eliminates the first hundred thousand in salary. So $300K with one parent working is far more valuable than $400k with two parents. That's how it goes out here. It's horrendous, but still, you should be able to swing it on $400k. I have noticed some people in the $400k range claim they can't stay with kids in SF but do look down their noses at our south of 280 address... I will agree it's pretty shocking what you get at that income range, but they could stay if they were willing to live where I live, which really is fine. There's a better life out there, though. I have lots and lots of family in SF proper, grew up here, so it's a different equation for me. I want to be sure I'm not coming off as a PNW "you wouldn't like it here, don't move here" type, really, SF's percentage of families with kids is collapsing and we tend to be very welcoming (we get clingy, honestly, and we don't mind when families from outside SF move here, we hate it when they move out!) I just can't say that living in SF with a family is an easy option relative to the other options out there with a straight face, that's all. I mean, you'd be more than welcome here, but I'm not going to act like there's some problem with you if you say "not for me".