> Where? Where in the US can someone live on blue collar salary and afford a mortgage? Most places that aren't deep blue cities. That seems like hyperbole but

> Where? Where in the US can someone live on blue collar salary and afford a mortgage? Most places that aren't deep blue cities. That seems like hyperbole but is true. Picking just a few cities, the median house prices/sq footages are: - Houston, TX: $238K, 2031 sq ft - Indianapolis, Indiana: $196K, 1853 sq ft - Oklahoma City, OK: $152K, 1455 sq ft - Atlanta, GA: $399K, 1586 sq ft Each one of these places has a cost of living (excluding real estate) less than 50% that of CA as a whole. All >1M size metros. The most expensive, Atlanta, has a combined monthly payment inc taxes of $1700 a month on a 30-yr. That's $20,400 a year. Median plumber salary in Atlanta is $63K a year, so this would be 1/3rd their income. Once again, that's median salary and salaries rise sharply at mid-career, and median home price.