I think that the issue is that most people do not make enough money to live comfortably, stash some away, and not worry. For example, if someone wants to own a home in a major cosmopolitan city in the United States, then they must be extremely wealthy.

If you can't afford a home in "a major cosmopolitan city" then you probably shouldn't be there.

All major cities in the US have 50-70% of the population as renters. Let me deliver the news.

I wasn't making a distinction between renters and home owners.

The majority of employment opportunities in certain fields are in "major cosmopolitan cities", so being skilled in these fields obliges people to live there, whether it's financially comfortable or not.

The point is if it isn't financially comfortable then you probably shouldn't stay.

I'm not sure that I follow your point. What would you have people do instead? It seems to me that having a home in a place one wants to live is part of basic prosperity.

Yes, I'd like to have a home in London but I don't earn enough so I adjusted my expectations. I could try and bend reality by living in a bedsit or taking a long commute but neither of those results in a good life. It's much better to adjust your expectations to your income.

This is a staggeringly naive opinion.

That is a staggeringly empty comment.

>As long as I have enough to live comfortably, stash some away and not worry I'm good, I don't need more.

If I was single and had no dependents, I would need very little to make myself feel comfortable. But with dependents, I feel as if I need to however much I can to ensure their security. That means the living in the best neighborhood I can afford, cultivating a network that can be useful to them in the future, having sufficient income for legal/health matters, and passive income if I become incapacitated.

And this feeling is compounded by the fact that the numbers indicate that if the kids don't get funneled into the "right" tracks, then they will fall further and further behind in society as the wealth/income gap grows and it becomes that much less likely for them to be able to catch up.

It's always a trade-off too. More money and status means more time-investment, more responsibility, more stress.