Exactly. Once you cover the essentials, everything above that is cash in your pocket. People say "oh my god, housing is double in the Bay Area"? And yeah it

Exactly. Once you cover the essentials, everything above that is cash in your pocket. People say "oh my god, housing is double in the Bay Area"? And yeah it is. But if you're renting and it doubles from $2,000 to $4,000, that's an extra $24,000 post-tax per year. If you're getting a salary bump of >$36,000 per year (pre-tax) then you'll still be ahead paying double for rent.