Personally I've been climbing outdoors for almost 3 years now and have had to buy a rope every year (2 ropes one year actually). I realize I'm not 'typical' of a climber, but I've probably spent $9000 USD total on equipment in the time frame. Mostly new equipment, but also mostly on sale 20-30% off retail price. But even the 'dirtbags' I know may save money by not paying rent, hitchhiking, living in vans, or camping, and still can spend $400-600 a year on climbing equipment
To be honest it’s pretty cheap living here. The little village were in isn’t on the train line to Paris, and it’s not a fashionable spot for parisien weekend houses. It’s just a farm village, with real estate priced accordingly. There’s no way you’d be able to buy so much as a tear down within 50 miles of a west coast city for the price of this house. And it wasn’t anywhere near the bottom end of the market.
You should probably come out for a season to see for yourself.
You’ll build your rack slowly over a dozen years, maybe tricking in a new cam or two and the odd nut to replace stuff you’ve lost. But nobody ever retires cams, and no dirtbag climber has ever decided to spontaneously replace his entire trad rack.
Similarly, as a sport climber, I get a new rope every six or eight years if I’m trashing it, and a new rack of draws every fifteen. It’s not a regular occurrence.
I moved to Fontainebleau specifically for bouldering and am on the rocks 3 days a week. I go through 2 pairs of shoes a year and add a pad to the collection every few years. If I spend $500 on the sport in a year, that’s a big year.
Compare that to something like surfing, where I’ll spend more than that on baggage fees for one trip, and it just rounds to zero on the scale of expensive sports.