It's funny to see your comment in reply to gsibble, because that line of thinking is probably what brought him there and why he's now disappointed. If you're making $92k in San Francisco or $43k in Dallas then rent and food is exactly where most of your money is going. It depends on what you compare it to, but if the cost of housing is almost triple the national average and the average income only double the average then you'll have a better chance of driving three BMWs in Nashville then you would in Silicon Valley (although I wouldn't get my hopes up for either).