True that. According to the first chart, my wife and I park pretty high up in that parking lot, but we're solidly middle class here in eastern Massachusetts. You cannot live in any of the towns that surround us . . . well, on three sides, anyway . . . if you don't park on that top floor---and you don't park your Rolls on that top floor at that.
And I'm sure cats who live in Manhattan, LA, and San Fran have it even worse.
Most people around here live in Jackson county Michigan due to the lower cost of living here but work in Washtenaw county where pay is better.
They have higher wages, but expenses are higher there, so it all works out. They are fundamentally no better off than we here in the heartland who are paid less.
Both my sons make more than I do, (both more education as well), but both also live in some high-priced areas.
“And I’m sure cats who live in Manhattan, LA, and San Fran have it even worse.”
I live in the east bay of SF, make 55K a year, and I’m barely making it, as a renter with no debt, and less than a mile commute.
I’ve given myself two years to get out, and I’m looking seriously at Alaska right now.