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Comment by MeetingsBrowser | Hacker News Reader

> 85K - you can live everywhere besides the coastal US cities comfortably.

This is far from true. There are plenty of expensive places to live away from the coasts

Only if you seek them out (ski resorts and such). I've lived in both of the most expensive major inland cities (Chicago and Denver) and $85k is plenty in both, even for a small family.

Honestly these days even the MCOL (medium cost of living) interior cities like Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, Charlotte, etc. would be tight on 85K especially with any dependents.

Our family lived in HCOL places like Boston and LA before returning to Cincinnati a few years ago. It’s still cheaper than those but wow… I remember it being a lot cheaper when I left. Since we returned it’s gone up even more. Some neighborhoods went up by as much as 25% in the last 5 years and are not coming down.

I’ve been convinced for years that the inflation numbers are cooked. Or at least “massaged.” I don’t understand how people with only near median salaries live. It’s amazing there aren’t riots.

And yet, the majority of people in those cities make less than that amount. Like Charlotte the median HOUSEHOLD income is $82K. Median wage is ~$53k. As someone making below the median, I don't understand how people are making so much more money and not feeling rich. We have house, boat, golf carts, kids in private school, decent cars, take multiple vacations. We didn't even get lucky and buy cheap housing with low interest, our interest rate is 7.5%. We certainly aren't stacking lots of savings and sometimes have to juggle bills, but we have a lot going on and aren't even making the median right now. But once you drop much below our level, if you don't own anything you actually get a lot of assistance.

>> house, boat, golf carts, kids in private school, decent cars, take multiple vacations

PNW dweller here, ^^^ this feels _insane_. average private school tuition for a single child is above $25k, nevermind kids pural! :O

Midwest here. It is insane. Private school isn’t much cheaper here. I’d have to see the numbers or I call BS.

I make roughly triple the median income in my MCOL area.

I own a modest 3b2b house.

My mortgage plus daycare for two kids alone costs $78k/year (~$6.5k/month)

Cbus has been designated as the "Silicon Valley of the Midwest" in recent years, and the prices have reflected. Fortunately, you can make FAANG or coastal money if you have the right skills, even though our fellow "real" Silicon Valley devs might not want to admit it.

How long ago was this? In the last 5 years rent has increased dramatically in many of the historically LCOL cities.

How many kids did you have when making $85k in Denver?

Just as important is when.

In 2000, very possible

In 2010, probable

In 2026, unlikely

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