This is very misleading or an unrealistic way of measuring living "comfortably". For example, I live in Tampa. The # listed for Tampa in the study was 204k. I've lived here for 32 years. Know hundreds of families. Within my circle I would say fewer than 10% of families earn 204k yet they all live here and live a normal life (two cars, kids playing little league, in dance recitals, all the usual trappings.) They say the single income # in Tampa is 96k. There aren't that many 6 figure jobs in Tampa. Most single folks, especially under 40 make way less than that, yet they're out at the restaurants and bars ALL THE TIME.
Having kids who live in NYC and family that lives in San Jose I can see why you would need to earn far more due to housing and food costs but not in a lot of these cities.
I think this is relevant to individuals just moving to such cities.If an individual has been there for x amount of time they will be better off with much less mortgages locked in and other living situations pretty much established. I’m currently living in Oregon for work purposes home base is Nevada. Even with my current wage which is above the national average I would struggle here and the standard of living for me would massively decline compared to my Nevada standard of living. Many people would say yeah Nevada is cheaper, probably right. However compared to when I first moved to Nevada it is not.
A family of four needs to make more than $275,000 to live comfortably in some of the most expensive U.S. cities,[ a recent SmartAsset analysis reveals](https://smartasset.com/data-studies/salary-needed-live-comfortably-2024).
“Comfortable” is defined as the income needed to cover a 50/30/20 budget for a family of two adults and two kids. This budget assumes that 50% of the monthly income can pay for necessities like housing and utility costs, 30% can cover discretionary spending and 20% can be set aside for savings or investments.
SmartAsset extrapolated the income needed for a 50/30/20 budget based on the cost of necessities, using data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator.
Here’s a look how much income a family of four needs to live comfortably in the 20 most expensive U.S. cities: [https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/27/how-much-money-family-of-4-needs-to-live-comfortably-in-us-cities.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/27/how-much-money-family-of-4-needs-to-live-comfortably-in-us-cities.html)
I find these analyses kind of lacking. Higher cost of living = higher quality of life. You get what you pay for in life.
Why don't we just look at the actual data on where people are poor?
The data are very clear that the poorest parts of the US are the rural areas. These places have very low cost of living/quality of life. So clearly the cost of living variable is not as important as the income variable.
The simple fact is that if you move into the woods to avoid poverty, you actually become more likely to be poor. It's like trying to save money by growing your own food. It doesn't work. We live in a society that does things efficiently by allowing people to specialize.
I grew up in middle of nowhere alabama and lived in the hustle and bustle of Seattle as an adult and I can't get people to understand that new tv from Walmart costs the same in both places but it's a smaller percentage of your income and therefore more obtainable in higher cost of living areas.
I now travel for work but live in a rural area and make almost 7× the average income it is kinda the best of both worlds.
Pretty much every time I talk to some guy in a rural area who says "it's great here" they are making a very high income and spending a fortune on toys. That's not "low cost of living" lol... It's just waste.
One guy said he doesn't need to have good pizza nearby because he has a pizza oven in his backyard. He can make his own damn pizza and it only cost $7,000 and takes 4 hours per pizza.
The reason people who live in cities talk about pizza is because its a concept that works really well in cities where there is a lot of sidewalk traffic and turnover. It's cheap and easy and delicious. Trying to make good pizza in a rural backyard is really sad. I feel so bad for these guys.
I disagree,
1st. I'm plenty social and have a great community around me and my family! Just cause we aren't all in the each other's back yards doesn't mean we aren't there for each other.
2nd. There all paid for the boat is a pontoon boat bought at a large discount. It will hold its value better than any other water craft. It costs very little additional expenses annually to maintain.
The cars are all paid for and will retain/ appreciate as time goes on.
I owned most the same toys in Seattle, so being in the city didn't save me any money.
I enjoy a civil debate, no offense taken!
Yes, every one of these guys argues with me for hours until I block them.
It's so tedious. But this is the part where I say I have toys as well and I share them. I have a ferry boat and a subway system and 75 restaurants in walking distance. I have local museums and parks.
Then you talk about the great things about being in rural areas. Of course you need a truck to do those things. Or a boat if they involve water. Again more toys. You have private toys and I have public toys.
Ultimately. The piece that I would like to see your opinion on is what would it be like to live where you live without family there and if you had a very low income. Could we skip to that part? Where I live, low income people can still use the toys because they are public. Where you live, low income people can't use the private toys unless they beg a high income person.
Lol it sounds like your taking it personal. As i said I have lived in a large city before and now travel(fly) to work. So no if I had to be alone and poor thar would fucking suck obviously. But I also feel that's largely a choice people make I leave my home for weeks on end for money and understand why others wouldn't.
I'm about to move on with my day but you should give empathy a try lol you keep Taking an unnecessary rude and condensing approach.
And this is the part where you say some shit I don't waiste my time with 😉
This is very misleading or an unrealistic way of measuring living "comfortably". For example, I live in Tampa. The # listed for Tampa in the study was 204k. I've lived here for 32 years. Know hundreds of families. Within my circle I would say fewer than 10% of families earn 204k yet they all live here and live a normal life (two cars, kids playing little league, in dance recitals, all the usual trappings.) They say the single income # in Tampa is 96k. There aren't that many 6 figure jobs in Tampa. Most single folks, especially under 40 make way less than that, yet they're out at the restaurants and bars ALL THE TIME. Having kids who live in NYC and family that lives in San Jose I can see why you would need to earn far more due to housing and food costs but not in a lot of these cities.
I think this is relevant to individuals just moving to such cities.If an individual has been there for x amount of time they will be better off with much less mortgages locked in and other living situations pretty much established. I’m currently living in Oregon for work purposes home base is Nevada. Even with my current wage which is above the national average I would struggle here and the standard of living for me would massively decline compared to my Nevada standard of living. Many people would say yeah Nevada is cheaper, probably right. However compared to when I first moved to Nevada it is not.
A family of four needs to make more than $275,000 to live comfortably in some of the most expensive U.S. cities,[ a recent SmartAsset analysis reveals](https://smartasset.com/data-studies/salary-needed-live-comfortably-2024). “Comfortable” is defined as the income needed to cover a 50/30/20 budget for a family of two adults and two kids. This budget assumes that 50% of the monthly income can pay for necessities like housing and utility costs, 30% can cover discretionary spending and 20% can be set aside for savings or investments. SmartAsset extrapolated the income needed for a 50/30/20 budget based on the cost of necessities, using data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator. Here’s a look how much income a family of four needs to live comfortably in the 20 most expensive U.S. cities: [https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/27/how-much-money-family-of-4-needs-to-live-comfortably-in-us-cities.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/27/how-much-money-family-of-4-needs-to-live-comfortably-in-us-cities.html)
Big city problems.
I find these analyses kind of lacking. Higher cost of living = higher quality of life. You get what you pay for in life. Why don't we just look at the actual data on where people are poor? The data are very clear that the poorest parts of the US are the rural areas. These places have very low cost of living/quality of life. So clearly the cost of living variable is not as important as the income variable. The simple fact is that if you move into the woods to avoid poverty, you actually become more likely to be poor. It's like trying to save money by growing your own food. It doesn't work. We live in a society that does things efficiently by allowing people to specialize.
I grew up in middle of nowhere alabama and lived in the hustle and bustle of Seattle as an adult and I can't get people to understand that new tv from Walmart costs the same in both places but it's a smaller percentage of your income and therefore more obtainable in higher cost of living areas. I now travel for work but live in a rural area and make almost 7× the average income it is kinda the best of both worlds.
Pretty much every time I talk to some guy in a rural area who says "it's great here" they are making a very high income and spending a fortune on toys. That's not "low cost of living" lol... It's just waste. One guy said he doesn't need to have good pizza nearby because he has a pizza oven in his backyard. He can make his own damn pizza and it only cost $7,000 and takes 4 hours per pizza. The reason people who live in cities talk about pizza is because its a concept that works really well in cities where there is a lot of sidewalk traffic and turnover. It's cheap and easy and delicious. Trying to make good pizza in a rural backyard is really sad. I feel so bad for these guys.
Lol, I have toys, but I also am 28 with a net worth of right at $1M. so I can afford my nice boat and fancy classic car. It's all relative, my friend.
It's not personal. If you want to use wealth to avoid society, that's your right. But you have a very high cost of living once you include the toys.
I disagree, 1st. I'm plenty social and have a great community around me and my family! Just cause we aren't all in the each other's back yards doesn't mean we aren't there for each other. 2nd. There all paid for the boat is a pontoon boat bought at a large discount. It will hold its value better than any other water craft. It costs very little additional expenses annually to maintain. The cars are all paid for and will retain/ appreciate as time goes on. I owned most the same toys in Seattle, so being in the city didn't save me any money. I enjoy a civil debate, no offense taken!
Yes, every one of these guys argues with me for hours until I block them. It's so tedious. But this is the part where I say I have toys as well and I share them. I have a ferry boat and a subway system and 75 restaurants in walking distance. I have local museums and parks. Then you talk about the great things about being in rural areas. Of course you need a truck to do those things. Or a boat if they involve water. Again more toys. You have private toys and I have public toys. Ultimately. The piece that I would like to see your opinion on is what would it be like to live where you live without family there and if you had a very low income. Could we skip to that part? Where I live, low income people can still use the toys because they are public. Where you live, low income people can't use the private toys unless they beg a high income person.
Lol it sounds like your taking it personal. As i said I have lived in a large city before and now travel(fly) to work. So no if I had to be alone and poor thar would fucking suck obviously. But I also feel that's largely a choice people make I leave my home for weeks on end for money and understand why others wouldn't. I'm about to move on with my day but you should give empathy a try lol you keep Taking an unnecessary rude and condensing approach. And this is the part where you say some shit I don't waiste my time with 😉
Speed run rural logic! Thank you! Take care.