It came with the assumption that I wanted the same standard of living. But the truth applies the other way. You won't live in a neighborhood with top rated schools (they will be safe), but you can live in a nice neighborhood with a 70k household income. When I bought my first home in 2002, it was a new build and 2800 square feet for around $170K. I was making around 70K. Looking now, that same house I use to live in just sold for around the same price about a year or two ago. The neighborhood is a safe, quiet, place.

Commuting to downtown was only about a 30-35 minute drive.