Cost of living tradeoffs

For better or worse, I’ve only lived in the 3 most expensive cities in the US. I grew up in San Francisco, went to school in Seattle, and then moved to New York. After a stint back home in San Francisco, I’m now back in New York (Brooklyn to be specific).

I’m unfortunately no stranger to the high cost of living. As such, I am 35 and have had a pretty good career overall and still don’t own a home. There are times where I talk to friends who lived in lower cost of living cities and are now buying their second homes and I do get envious at times. It’s nice to own.

At the same time, I don’t regret my decision. One of the trade offs for the opportunity to live in New York in your early to mid 20s is that even with a good salary, you’re typically not saving that much money. I’d imagine it’s similar for those who moved to San Francisco after school.

It’s definitely a pay to play world in SF or NY. In order to experience the big city life and all the best food and bars, you need to open up the bank account a bit. Of course, there’s a lot of pros versus the obvious con in that it’s expensive. You can accelerate your career in these cities. You get experiences that others do not as well.

There’s no right or wrong answer and I have friends that are very happy to not be living in NY or SF. But for Sophia and I, it’s been an awesome experience. The house and property can wait a few more years.