22-year-old recent grad spends 80% of their paycheck on rent, can't understand how fellow professionals get by on entry-level pay: 'How is this sustainable?'

Many people believe they cannot live in high-cost-of-living areas like New York or San Francisco on a modest salary. I find it somewhat silly when someone claims it's literally impossible to live in these places if you make under $ 100,000. It is absolutely possible to live there on half of that, but you have to be able to make sacrifices. You're probably not going to be living in the coolest or nicest neighborhood if you make $50K in NYC. You're absolutely going to have to live with roommates, splitting the $4000 rent price into something a lot more manageable. You probably won't be able to afford a $500 monthly car payment in a high-cost-of-living (HCOL) area if you're not already making a substantial income. You can't live the same lifestyle  you could live in Chicago or Houston in a high-cost-of-living city, but you can certainly live there if you're willing to be a little uncomfortable sometimes. 

Author image for Emmy Pratt Emmy Pratt
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