[hyperpape]

I live in an area where $3600/month is more than the median income.

Hell, five years ago, I was supporting myself, my wife and a kid on about something like that.[1] It was rough, but just barely manageable.

[1] "Something like that" because I was making significantly less, but had some familial advantages (I was driving a car in decent condition that I got from parents when I was younger, parents bought the kids lots of clothes, and of course I had a safety net, which is huge--not having that would've moved me from constant stress to full blown panic).

Edit: Ohhhh, I forgot the EITC, which makes a big difference. That nudged us a lot closer to that line back then.

Still, where I live, $3600 a month would be fine for a single person who didn't have enormous health care costs (and I know that's a real "aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln?" comment. Retirees are pretty likely to have big medical bills).