Living and purchasing a home in a very high COL city feels like a marathon. You know that you won't have paid off your home until many decades later, and you ne

Living and purchasing a home in a very high COL city feels like a marathon. You know that you won't have paid off your home until many decades later, and you need to maximize your earnings, while minimizing your risks of becoming unemployed. In other words, it can motivate you to become really good at something, but at the same time inducing a lot of stress. Living in cheap areas, feels very different. I recently move back home, and could pay off my home with two years worth of salary. That's it, no mortgage or anything - just the occasional renovations / upgrades. On the other hand, now that I'm not chained to a mortgage, I need to invest more of my money - in the case I want to move back to somewhere expensive. Job market isn't anywhere near the same, and salaries are much more compressed. Mid 6 figure salaries are unheard-of, unless you own a company. But it doesn't feel like a rat-race, where you need to hustle all the time.