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Comment by mulderc | Hacker News Reader

I used to be rather poor so the difference is more pronounced. I've enjoyed a high salary for some time now but I'm still reeling from the change.

Being Canadian, I have access to public health, but if I get sick with even minor things, it'll take up my whole day. Now, if I get sick, I'll just pay the ~$200 fee to see a private doctor for 15 minutes, get what I need and get out.

Dental is not covered by public health, so there were at times I delayed treatment because I couldn't afford it.

I used to live in Vancouver where people will tell you they have good public transport but it's a lie. It's really only if you live along the skytrain corridors because the busses are always late and it's always raining. So if you don't have a car, you're wet, cold, late, and miserable. Now I just pay for Uber. Better yet, I just live downtown and I can walk wherever.

Going to the grocery store when I was poor was also difficult. Thinking about what I can afford means spending time comparing prices or even stores, and compromising on the meals I wanted to make. Now I just throw everything I want into the cart and I don't even look at the price tag.

Being poor sucks and there are countless more examples.

I also used to live in Vancouver and took transit all the time. I never needed to own a car while I lived there. Could the bus system have been better? Almost certainly, but it's still far better than other places I've lived since. How many similarly sized cities in North America can you name with better public transit?

You have reached a solid threshold where your basic needs are met and you have various luxuries that make life comfortable. From here on out you’ll have diminishing returns on the money/life improvement axis.

That’s because you’re already above where money would constrain you. The vast majority of people are not. I suspect you know this.

I assume the person posting that is already there by the sounds of it.

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