Living in an expensive city you cannot afford = lifestyle creep. I recognize this isn't a popular view but we are living in a white-hot employment market with

Living in an expensive city you cannot afford = lifestyle creep. I recognize this isn't a popular view but we are living in a white-hot employment market with tons of employers offering remote work. You could move to Chicago, which has better public transit, pay nearly half that in rent and get free Pre-K.