So it's another example of a choice people make. As with most of these situations there's a right answer. In this case if one can one should choose to invest in their 401Ks and such. But it's still a factor of not having an apples to apples comparison in these conversations between low income and high income people living paycheck to paycheck.
https://patch.com/california/san-francisco/how-much-it-costs...
On your other question, I was a carless city dweller for many years. And yes I would fill in the blanks with rental cars on occasion.
Alternately, the densest cities can allow for a car-free lifestyle with rentals for out-of-town trips. However, the costs might be the same as owning a standard sedan. ($30-40k). I won't consider this bottom of the barrel at all.
* Renting a 3 bed near work (financial district) will cost around $70k/yr
* a nice car (a BMW M3-ish) + a cheap van (costs around $20k/yr
* Ordering in everyday costs $40k/yr
* Nice vacations and trips will easily cost $30k/yr
total = $160k/yr
wage = (250k x 0.7(taxes)) - 30k (401k, HSA) = $145k/yr
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Yep, I can totally see how allowing common types of 'tech-people life creep' will quickly lead to a paycheck-paycheck situation. I only outlined the macro-costs, and those still add up.
Of course, this also clearly outlines the main savings a person can make:
* Save on rent. always. 33% of your wage is a recommendation for poor-americans. Don't rent at 33% if you're making $250k (70k -> $35k)
* Cook if you can or pickup from your local street vendor, not doordash.($40k -> $15k)
* Buy a cheap car, or none at at all.
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It also outlines why a subsection of HN has been shouting about urban infrastructure reform in the US.
Higher density, more middle housing and better public transports allows for more housing supply, more walkable amenities and car-free lifestyles.
* Car free = save 15k/year (assume 5k for ubers, car rentals when needed, public transport)
* More walkable density = cheap food downstairs (NYC is an excellent example of this)
* More housing = cheaper rent (the biggest culprit)
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The numbers are staggering. I haven't added any of the extra costs that come with emergency medical care or children (except food and living). $250k is the top 5 percentile of households the US. Unless America makes its infrastructure efficient and sustainable, the current framework will bankrupt literally 95% of irresponsible spenders in HCOL regions in the US.
Worst of all, the cities are ugly, the concrete landscape is hellish and the hedonistic treadmill quickly catches up, as the new luxuries start feeling no different than a Motel or a Corolla.