I live in one of the most expensive cities in the US, and even with combined incomes of $600k, my SO and I can not afford (nor justify) a 3-bedroom house (median price north of $2M). We also work nonstop and I don’t know how we’ll be able to raise a family with our workload and COL. Looking to relocate and find a new job where I work 40 hours a week so I can raise a family, where COL is much lower but we don’t take a massive pay cut. Does such a place exist?? Or am I looking for a fairy tale?

OP, based on some of the thoughts above, can you save $ for a down payment in your current job, then move to a lower COL area and start raising a family? Feels a bit like there’s a lot of stuff to handle and trying to do it all at once may be more stress than it’s worth. Taking a pay cut means you’ll be paying off your loans longer and saving for a down payment for longer - even if you’ll have more flexibility for family time. So I guess trying to find a balance and establishing a timeline vs one solve may be better.

Wife and I have combined income of $650k in Chicago suburbs (I am in Consulting she is in medicine). We comfortably afford a 1.25M house in a great suburb with great school. Life style is completely up to you, but we have no serious limitations. If it wasnt for student loans we would be banking savings at a high rate. Money isnt the issue here, its weather, state politics, pension shortfall, etc., etc.🤢

Let’s be real. With $600k in income, your problem isn’t that you can’t afford a house and kids, it’s that your spending is out of control. You could make $2M and you’d still find yourself in this mess.

MAKE A BUDGET. STICK TO IT. SAVE MORE.

At 600k you can't afford a lifestyle? Is this a serious question?

OP you’re so privileged. You have no clue what 99% make and they survive everyday.

Even with a 50% pay cut, you guys can live just about anywhere and be very comfortable (minus chicago, Seattle and NYC)

I grew up in Ann Arbor and I truly believe it is the best city to grow up in. Everyone is very educated because being a professor or doctor is very popular here. Very safe, great public and private schools, very cultured, not incredibly expensive either but not inexpensive. It’s such an experience growing up in a nice college town

An income of 600K could easily afford a 2-3M house.

Median home price north of $2M is limited to a few zip codes in this country. You could move a few miles in a different direction and find something more reasonable.

Texas, 4,000sf house 4 bedrooms and a pool less than $400K.

We have a household income of $280,000 in Houston. That buys you a 4,000 sq ft house in the suburbs with very good schools with a high saving rate

Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Charlotte, Houston are all very reasonable COL .

Man everyone outside of the Bay flexing on their home sizes and costs: the Bay area is ridiculously expensive and different. None of us want to pay $2M and I'm sure would happily move to other cities and pay $200-400k for a nice house - but life isn't perfect and straightforward in a way we can suddenly pack our bags and do that.

Please go ahead and look on Zillow/Redfin what a 3br/2ba looks like in Burlingame, San Mateo, Redwood City, etc for context.

DC suburbs are definitely not low cost of living but it might strike the right balance between career and family

I don’t get how you can’t afford it? Using Google’s mortgage calculator the monthly payment on a 30 year fixed at 3.1% and 20% down on a $2.2MM home including property taxes is ~$10k which you can easily afford given your income. Or am I missing something?

People here are so privileged its not even funny. My parents made it work with 55k a year in one of the richest counties in the US and people struggling with 10x that, SMH.

Man I’ve been watching HGTV since lockdown and been thinking of leaving my $800k 2bd/2.5ba condo in LA and moving to Waco, Mississippi, Bozeman, Indianapolis and Raleigh. Would live like a BOSS

TX

Yeah. Literally anywhere except NYC / Bay Area / London.

I want to make a lot of money have a super successful career raise amazing kids and also save all my money

Move out of SF. It’s a shithole and it’s disgusting how expensive real estate is, especially for decades old houses.

Atlanta, GA! Fantastic access to a major airport, you experience all 4 seasons (snow sometimes) and all kind of terrains — 4-5 hours from great beaches with a lots of mountains and trails nearby (AT starts in Georgia), and relatively reasonable COL. $500K can get you a pretty nice home in the suburbs or a smaller 3BD/2BA home ITP