Living in a big city isn't much of a problem, only real difference is that almost all your equity will be in your house / real-estate assets. And that can be ju

Living in a big city isn't much of a problem, only real difference is that almost all your equity will be in your house / real-estate assets. And that can be just fine - in certain areas the real-estate market has performed as well as the stock market, for the past 20-30 years. But it's difficult to retire on that - unless you decide to sell your house, and move somewhere cheap.