Denver Colorado, so, yes, plus our housing increases over the past few years seem to be a bit more insane than other metro areas (looks like it might be slowing this year). I'm really kicking myself for not buying when I moved here. The area I came from was somewhat depressed on the east coast, but I could have easily picked up a neat row home there for ~$100k-$150k.

Overall, I'm struggling to justify paying 2x or 2.5x for a home here over just moving somewhere much cheaper and sticking to remote work / consulting where I can find it.

There is a lot that I like about city living (being able to walk everywhere), but I'm having a harder time justifying the cost of it now. And the job market is pretty solid around Colorado right now.

+1. I'm closing on a house soon. 1000 square feet for less than $150,000, in the South Hills area of Pittsburgh.