I wasn't thinking ivy league or bay area while writing this, actually. I was thinking cities like Kansas City or Austin or Cincinnati. Family-sized housing in t

I wasn't thinking ivy league or bay area while writing this, actually. I was thinking cities like Kansas City or Austin or Cincinnati. Family-sized housing in those cities is definitely a lot more affordable than the bay area but you still need a 4-year degree (and probably two - via your spouse) to comfortably afford one. Median household income in the Midwest states is 40-60k. A 4-year (in-demand... engineering etc) degree gets you 60-80k starting. Save up for 2 < x < ? years to get a 3/4-bed house 30 mins from your job near good schools. Tbh housing in the midwest is still not super cheap if you want to be within 45 mins of jobs/stuff. You really have to put yourself out of commuting distance to get to property that's really superciliously cheap.