[sokoloff]

Disagree. $300K/yr with $10MM in the bank will absolutely feel rich.

The reason people with $300K household incomes in Boston/NYC/Silicon Valley don't feel rich is because out of that $300K, they're buying housing and saving for retirement/college/rainy day. Take that away, and $300K spendable is a fairly luxurious lifestyle.

[bilbobagends]

I suppose it depends on what feels rich. The kinds of places you go when you are actually rich cost thousands or tens of thousands of dollars a day, and they have shops where most of the stuff costs tens or hundreds of thousands, and everyone around you is carrying, flying, driving, or sailing things that cost hundreds of thousands or millions.No one I know who makes 300K (after tax) - unless they have a net worth that is in the 10s of millions - feels rich.

[dasil003]

There's a huge difference between $300k/year and $300k/year with 7 figures in the bank. The latter means you can afford a down payment on decent property anywhere, which means you are actually making an investment instead of pissing everything away on rent.

If you don't feel rich at that point you need to get your head straight. Obviously there is always someone richer, but you are deep deep into the 1% of the richest country in the world and you need to be thinking about your greater life's purpose.

[newshorts]

Disagree disagree.

Live anywhere near Silicon Valley and tell me 300-400k/yr is rich. You'd be lucky to get a nicely located condo at that income level.

[ryandrake]

I live in the Bay Area, and $300-400k/yr is an unfathomable amount of money. Get a grip! You're talking about the top 1% of incomes in the country.

[newshorts]

I live here too. We looked at a condo, near Mountain View two weeks ago and the mortgage would have been 10k/month.

You need a minimum of 120k, just for your house. Pre tax you’re looking at a minimum viable salary of 300k.

How is this unfathomable?

The entire row of condos sold in less than a week.

[sokoloff]

It's not just $300K/yr of W-2 income being discussed; it's that combined with a net worth of $10MM. You could pay cash for that ~$2 million condo and still have $15K/mo to spend after tax. No need to save for retirement (that's what the $8MM is already covering) or college (break off a bit when that time comes).

If that situation feels "minimum viable" to someone, I don't think their primary problem is money-related.