[pc86]

But they were already a programmer, so "low paid regular job" is extremely unlikely. Probably the "worst" they could have done was mid-level dev at a bank in the middle of nowhere making $65-80k/yr, which is certainly doable as half the household income to have a nice middle class life. The math changes in you're in a big city but the income does too.

It's easy to choose destroying your relationships and risking your health when the alternative is poverty. It's not so easy when the alternative is still making twice what the average American makes working in a cubicle at worst.