I guest kinda tired of Californians being the sole yard stick all of the US is measured by. I think it sucks to live like they do too. It sounds very stressful to live on the edge like a lot seem to.

But like my very poor sister can match you. I'm very middle class and can match you as well in anything but part-time work and rent control, but my rent has never been a significant burden for me. I take a week off every quarter on top of the standard set of holidays. I take off just to spend time with my kid at her school and it's fine. I know I'm pretty privileged, but given you brought up wealth like that, you're talking about pretty privileged Americans in California. My health insurance for me and family is $200/mo. It would $70 if it was just me. These kinds of benefits have been super common over my career.

There are a lot of Americans in less cool states who have a pretty decent life setup. It really varies by state. Like I don't even have student loans because there's a series of state granted scholarships in my home state that effectively mean that attending a state college is tuition free for residents, although you gotta figure out books and lodging.