The truth is you need a good income. I moved here from NY with a good salary and cash from the sale of my house to put down, in 2016. Even though my income here is about 25% more, it costs more than that to live here. We are not struggling, but I can feel it. Things since 2016 have only gone up. Gas, groceries, sales tax, restaurants, drinks, utilities. All more.

It depends on the industry, but mine in particular pays me way more here in CA than I would make in a state with a lower cost of living, so it all kind of evens out for me.

As a 26yr old, Roommates lmaoo 💀

Realizing I don’t need a ton of space to be happy. My husband and I both work remote and are very comfortable in our ~1,000sf condo. Even in the older, closer in suburbs, most houses are less than 2,000sf. A far cry from where I grew up (Louisiana) or where I started my career (Dallas).

As a parent with two kids, Not very well. Cost of kids on top of inflation feels like a treadmill for me; each year has pretty much felt progressively the same; not able to save as much as I want, not able to do nearly as much as I want. I guess I’m feeling a bit old and want better for my kids and that’s seemingly further away than ever even though both me and my wife make more than before over time it’s not really translating that much better on our wellbeing.

Budget, having a good job or two, having roommates or 2 family income.

You will need to have a good job. One that pays well. Know where to shop for groceries, etc. It's doable.

We work our asses off and have side hustles on top of our full time jobs.

Jobs pay way better here.

I'm a California native and we are retired. We bought our home 41 years ago, so housing is not an issue for us. We live in the Inland Empire, I've lived in LA county, but it's not for me...too crowded. Starting off here nowadays would be very hard. We couldn't afford our own home if we didn't already own it. But we live at the base of the San Bernardino mountains and I love it. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.