[benched]

This is a good comment. Of course I've seen a lot of these Microsoft effects on the area first-hand (I worked there for 5 years, well after that was any big advantage, of course). Once again though, I am not trying to say that I have it that bad. What I'm saying is that if my own situation qualifies as doing really well, then there is something very fucked up on a large scale.

[Hydraulix989]

I'm not sure how it is "fucked up" for you at all. Go buy that $400k house that you can afford if you don't like living in a downtown studio. You'll be among the few millennials that own houses. As it stands, you're in the top 5% of earners in the country.

If you want something more extravagant than the linked Zillow home above, then move out of Seattle and remote work out of your own $400k Pittsburgh mansion.

Here's one of many: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5760-Evans-Rd-Export-PA-15...

Sure, the weather is considerably crappier, and the locals aren't as educated as in luxury cities like SF/NYC, but you'll be relatively (in other words, extremely) well off -- cost of living is a trade-off. It's a matter of what you value.

[benched]

No matter how many times I've said I'm not complaining about me, but rather using my experience as an indicator of how things must be in the big picture for many others, people just keep on responding like I'm only talking about me. Is it seriously that hard for people to think beyond self?