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It now costs $350K year to live a middle-class lifestyle in a big city—here’s a sad breakdown of why
CNBC ^ | September 11, 2019 | Sam Dogen

Posted on 09/11/2019 4:02:49 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Here’s a sad reality: In order to raise a family in an expensive coastal city like San Francisco or New York, you’ve now got to make $350,000 or more a year.

You can certainly live on less, but it won’t be easy if your goal is to raise a family, save for your children’s education, save for your own home and save for retirement (so you can actually retire by a reasonable age).

A middle-class lifestyle is a reasonable ask. But thanks to inflation, it has gotten a lot more expensive if you want to have children. The median wealth of middle-income Americans has stayed flat for years, at about $87,140, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Consumer Finances. Yet, prices for things such as housing and college tuition have risen tremendously.

In some major cities like San Francisco, the public school system starting in kindergarten is based on a lottery system, so even if you pay tens of thousands of dollars per year in property tax, your child is not guaranteed a spot in your neighborhood schools.

Coastal counties in the U.S. are home to almost half of the nation’s total population; therefore, this article is directly targeted at folks who need to live in these areas because of their jobs, schools or families.

(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Society
KEYWORDS: cities; middleclass; retirement
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To: dfwgator
Only thing is the Property Taxes can be a bear.

At least it is cheap to register vehicles in Texas (personal property). Which explains why probably 1 out of every 5 cars in Kansas has a Texas tag on it. Because most people have relatives that live in Texas and scam the system.
41 posted on 09/11/2019 6:01:03 PM PDT by Old Yeller (Auto-correct has become my worst enema.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

If Steve Bannon/The Epoch Times is to believed, China is very close to collapse and this is giving them breathing room.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH5QzuzD01A

I hate to admit it but I agree with George Soros, Trump should stick to his guns.


42 posted on 09/11/2019 7:21:24 PM PDT by ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton (Go Egypt on 0bama)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

If you say you need $350k to live a ‘middle class lifestyle’ and median income is $60k it is not a middle class society. It is third world with rich and poor.


43 posted on 09/11/2019 7:41:23 PM PDT by NorseViking
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To: NorseViking

Half of the workers in America make less than $30,000 a year.


44 posted on 09/11/2019 7:43:31 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You can't invade the mainland US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Actually the $350k number is likely on the low side as you also have to find a way to privately educate your kids if you live in one of those hell-holes. So maybe $500k before taxes makes more sense.


45 posted on 09/11/2019 9:17:49 PM PDT by BobL (I eat at McDonald's and shop at Walmart - I just don't tell anyone.)
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To: BobL

There are only so many jobs at Goldman Sachs.


46 posted on 09/11/2019 9:19:13 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You can't invade the mainland US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

“There are only so many jobs at Goldman Sachs.”

True. The ‘other people’ typically get either high-paying government jobs, or a free ride on expenses (particularly housing) in those cities.


47 posted on 09/11/2019 9:24:53 PM PDT by BobL (I eat at McDonald's and shop at Walmart - I just don't tell anyone.)
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To: Flaming Conservative

My daughter and her family live in a double wide. When you get inside she has painted and decorated it to where you totally forget what it is. The fireplace is extraordinary. The master bedroom has a canopy over the bed and it’s bathroom has been transformed into a work of art. complete with skylight. I have been in very few houses that outshine her “trailer trash” digs.


48 posted on 09/11/2019 9:33:48 PM PDT by Starstruck (I'm usually sarcastic. Deal with it.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

So the situation is even worse.


49 posted on 09/11/2019 9:39:35 PM PDT by NorseViking
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To: Starstruck

I don’t doubt it.


50 posted on 09/11/2019 9:40:44 PM PDT by Flaming Conservative ((Pray without ceasing))
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Looking at that budget, the author makes a LOT of high-dollar value assumptions about how ‘everyone’ lives, and what ‘everyone’ spends their money on.

Maybe he’s mistaking middle class for upper-middle class.


51 posted on 09/12/2019 4:45:32 AM PDT by simpson96
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