I kind of don’t understand it when people feel like they’re trapped where they are and can’t move to another city to live.
Sometimes it’s their family holding them to that spot, their job, their friends, and/or .. well, themselves (fear of the unknown).
It’s just a city. Heck, it’s just a country.
If somewhere isn’t agreeing with you for whatever reason (e.g. high cost of living sucking up your otherwise generous 6-figure salary), then consider moving.
Seriously. Consider. Moving. Elsewhere. Where. It. Is. Cheaper.
“I can’t move” is really code to me for “I don’t want to move, but I don’t want to say that I don’t want to move because then you’ll judge me or tell me to STFU and stop bitching then.”
(True.)
All you need to do is find a job in another city or state/province that has a LOWER cost of living, but a higher delta between your income and needs.
Take for instance everyone who is crammed into Toronto here….
Toronto is like this massive city that has swallowed all the other counties and regions around it into one big soul-sucking entity called “The Greater Toronto Area” or “GTA” for short.
For everyone who works in Toronto, and feels totally angry at the high cost of living, the overpriced $800,000 shacks that people seem to be desperately throwing themselves into debt for, why don’t you leave?
It’s just a bloody city. There are other cities out there.
It becomes even more imperative that you leave if you are in a job that pays minimum wage.
I mean what do you have to lose? You are making MINIMUM WAGE but spending the MAXIMUM in expenses just for the privilege of being in THIS particular city.
For everyone else who is above minimum wage, the same rule applies — can’t you leave and go to another city, find a similar-paying job, and live with a much lower cost of living?
If you are able to leave and find a job elsewhere (even at a lower pay), but by working out the numbers you actually save more per month, why wouldn’t you leave?
(Unless of course you don’t want to, in which case, do not tell me: I can’t leave.)
This situation makes me think of people in other high-priced cities like Vancouver, New York City, or Los Angeles.
Figure out the delta between taking a lower-paying job in a cheaper city, versus staying where you are, and then come to peace with it.
Otherwise, my only other suggestion is to lower your expectations and assume that you are never going to be able to afford a house, the white picket fence, 3 kids, and all the things you feel you need just because of the city you live in.
