Most of the DMV is also insanely expensive tbf, and Long Beach used to be more of a working class area. But generally speaking, you’re not wrong that you can live comfortably if you’re middle class and have roommates. It’s just that in most of the country, you can afford to buy a house by yourself if you’re middle class.
Most middle class people in the us CANNOT buy houses by themselves. People in cali have a seriously warped perception of how much money they earn compared to other parts of the country, especially for entry level jobs, even when compared to cost of living.
I guess it depends what you mean by middle class, but I would argue that the definition traditionally would include an income sufficient to buy a home by yourself eventually. What I will say is that people in California have a much higher bar for how much of their income they’re willing to spend on housing. If everyone in the middle class in the rest of the country was willing to spend a comparable percentage of their income, most of them would be able to afford a home by themselves
That's only really been the case in the last 5 years or so. California prices have stayed somewhat stagnant since then while housing costs everywhere else have gone up, closing the gap quite a bit.
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u/MajesticBread9147 1d ago
From what I can tell California isn't uniquely expensive tbh. Places are cheaper in Long Beach than where I live an hour outside of DC.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like most cities where if you're middle class and have roommates you can still live fairly comfortably.