I moved out of NYC to a more affordable state for this very reason. In 2009 my health care costs and rent were nearly all of my take-home pay. I had a kid on th

I moved out of NYC to a more affordable state for this very reason. In 2009 my health care costs and rent were nearly all of my take-home pay. I had a kid on the way and it was going to be even worse, so I moved. Now my healthcare costs, while still significant, fell by 50%. I also rent a 3-bedroom house for about half as much as I paid for rent on a 1-room apartment. With those savings, I can afford to fly back to NYC when I need to as often as I like. (FWIW, I now live in Nashville. I also don't have to fool around with NY+NYC income taxes, which are also significant - plus their nice little 'unincorporated business tax' just for freelancers like myself.)