Living alone is nice, but...

[ShyBoo81]

Probably a reason I don't live there haha

Im from SoCal and sometimes wish I didnt live here for that same reason

 

[Cottontail]

I paid $700/mo for a 2 bedroom apartment in Wichita Falls. I don't think I could have afforded $1600 and I make quite a bit, at least I think. My house payment now is only a little bit more than $1000 and it is a huge house. You could try look at a small house, I don't know how it is in the big city though so maybe that is bad advise.

This is a rough time to be looking for a house. Or an apartment. I'm in western Washington, which has become a stupidly expensive place to live--not as bad as Southern California, but we're getting close. In the nine years since we bought it, our house has approximately tripled in value. Our mortgage payment is less than the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in this area, which is just...insane. Wife and I both work and make decent money, but I truly don't know what we'd do for housing if we didn't already have a place. Our jobs are fairly portable. We might leave the State. We both grew up here and love the area, but the cost of living has just exploded, and wages/salaries haven't kept up.