| Sure. People have wildly differing opinions of what "comfortably livable" means. To me, sharing an apartment without a dishwasher is not comfortably livable. A decent apartment anywhere between SF & SJ will run ~$3k or more, and $130k is ~$6k/mo after tax (this is assuming single, no mortgage, no kids). Minus another probably $1k for student loans, another $1k for retirement or home purchase savings, that leaves $1k/month to live on. The numbers are rough, but my point is you can either "live comfortably" and spend everything, or live like a spartan and save money. To someone without attachments (no spouse, no kids, young) this probably is living comfortably and it's a boatload of money. To someone else paying for childcare for a couple kids and trying to get into a good school district, it's not so comfortable. There are certainly ways to hack the system, most notably to live somewhere outside the RBA (Morgan Hill, Petaluma, Concord/Antioch/etc). The Bay Area can be your oyster at $130k, but only if you have no monthly obligations but your own breath. |