Where in the US can you live comfortably on $25,000 a year? (neighborhood, calculator)
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Springfield, MO where I live now might work. Well, define "comfortable." I'd say for one person on $25K a year, you could get yourself a nice little house or apartment and get by alright. But what I think is comfortable and what someone who grew up solidly middle class considers comfortable have got to be different.
Sure it can be done but why would anyone want that kind of life?
You basically are not doing anything fun or extra … how does one travel or go to the movies, eat out, or the mall or basically anything on that money, other than necessities?
Seems like a sad life.
There are people out there who don't measure everything in dollars and cents...and are better off than the majority of the population for it IMO.
I grew up in a family that did not make a lot of income and we did not do a lot of paid extras but did a lot of low cost and free extras that were lots of fun. We had to be creative but that made it more interesting. My middle class peers were going to the mall while I was renting a canoe for a few dollars and going out on the lake to volunteer with a fish count.
No, you don't get to constantly travel on a lower income. This is true now for me even with me making a high income--you only get so many weeks of vacation Travel doesn't have to be overseas or states away to be enjoyable and yes, can be saved up for even on a lower income. I know because I did it when I was younger and not making much.
OP is doing work that she enjoys and has a skillset that is in demand all over the US.
A sad life to me is a life measured by how much money one can make, how many 'toys' one can buy, and working in a field/job you don't like because it pays big money.
$25K is a fairly common salary here. I live in a mixed income neighborhood where there are people from doctors to people earning around the $25K mark and in between. The ones who seem the least stressed out are the ones who are working in the factories...
Springfield, MO where I live now might work. Well, define "comfortable." I'd say for one person on $25K a year, you could get yourself a nice little house or apartment and get by alright. But what I think is comfortable and what someone who grew up solidly middle class considers comfortable have got to be different.
This is true. I grew up very low income. My parents never had much money, and we never went out to eat very often, rarely went to movies, and rarely took trips. Most of my childhood fun consisted of climbing trees, making mud pies, building forts, and running around the neighborhood with other kids.
I'm grateful for the way I was raised! My parents taught me that most of the best things in life are free.
Thanks for choosing such a "giving back" career field! Folks like you are appreciated greatly and sorely needed, and the public tends to "forget about them until they desperately need them." Definitely need to be paid much more.
Anyway, I also feel we live in such a materialistic, social media-fueled society these days, that if you look on instagram, you'd think 90% of the folks on there make $150+ annually and travel constantly, or are just wealthy.
A ton of people live on the $25k salary per year, and make it work.
I'd also like to add that you can find some reasonable apartments in decent neighborhoods in much larger cities than I listed earlier.
I did some quick research on apartments.com, and found at least 20 apartments for rent under $500/month in these cities:
Birmingham, AL
Memphis, TN
St Louis, MO
Winston-Salem, NC
Lexington, KY
Baton Rouge, LA
El Paso, TX
Tucson, AZ
Albuquerque, NM
I'm sure some of the apartments are most likely in questionable neighborhoods, but many of them are also in middle class neighborhoods that are very much livable and safe.
Good Luck finding $500 apts in Tucson or Albuquerque you would feel safe in. Rents are not cheap in those cities. Generally if a large University is in a city, rents will be impacted and higher. Both these cities do.
Sure it can be done but why would anyone want that kind of life?
You basically are not doing anything fun or extra … how does one travel or go to the movies, eat out, or the mall or basically anything on that money, other than necessities?
Seems like a sad life.
What is truly sad is how some live to work, versus work to live. Priorities it seems for many are skewed by working hard for "wants' versus satisfaction/enjoyment of the basic needs.
What is truly sad is how some live to work, versus work to live. Priorities it seems for many are skewed by working hard for "wants' versus satisfaction/enjoyment of the basic needs.
What's really sad is living frugally for years or decades without saving any money during that time.
If you make 25k and spend 24k a year on your expenses, you're gonna be pretty sad at 60. If you make 50k and spend 24k a year on your expenses you will "earn" a year off for every year you work. Not bad
I see alot of threads with incomes listed but very few, if any, with an income of $25,000 a year. If you are single, no children, and want to live in a thriving city....let's say population 100,000 + ...be able to afford rent in a safe neighborhood, groceries, utilities etc...where would you move to?
If you're a CNA or similar, have you considered the possibility of living in a separate unit next to some elderly person's home for free rent, etc in exchange for a stipend and caregiving? I think, in places like Florida, there may be a lot of retired who could use simple care giving and don't want to give up their really nice homes which might have in- law units and over the garage apts, etc. Just a thought.
What is truly sad is how some live to work, versus work to live. Priorities it seems for many are skewed by working hard for "wants' versus satisfaction/enjoyment of the basic needs.
Some people choose to live to work though … like me. I also make a lot of $$ because of it.
There are people out there who don't measure everything in dollars and cents...and are better off than the majority of the population for it IMO.
I grew up in a family that did not make a lot of income and we did not do a lot of paid extras but did a lot of low cost and free extras that were lots of fun. We had to be creative but that made it more interesting. My middle class peers were going to the mall while I was renting a canoe for a few dollars and going out on the lake to volunteer with a fish count.
No, you don't get to constantly travel on a lower income. This is true now for me even with me making a high income--you only get so many weeks of vacation Travel doesn't have to be overseas or states away to be enjoyable and yes, can be saved up for even on a lower income. I know because I did it when I was younger and not making much.
OP is doing work that she enjoys and has a skillset that is in demand all over the US.
A sad life to me is a life measured by how much money one can make, how many 'toys' one can buy, and working in a field/job you don't like because it pays big money.
$25K is a fairly common salary here. I live in a mixed income neighborhood where there are people from doctors to people earning around the $25K mark and in between. The ones who seem the least stressed out are the ones who are working in the factories...
This is so true. When did money become the problem solving agent of being unhappy? It didn't.
More money makes people's lives easier--but not happier. Can I tell you how many miserable folks I know who are loaded? A helluva lot.
Money and fancy cars, houses, toys, designer clothes and luxury things make for an empty, sad life, in my opinion. You can breeze easily through life but what does that even mean?
There are people out there who don't measure everything in dollars and cents...and are better off than the majority of the population for it IMO.
I grew up in a family that did not make a lot of income and we did not do a lot of paid extras but did a lot of low cost and free extras that were lots of fun. We had to be creative but that made it more interesting. My middle class peers were going to the mall while I was renting a canoe for a few dollars and going out on the lake to volunteer with a fish count.
No, you don't get to constantly travel on a lower income. This is true now for me even with me making a high income--you only get so many weeks of vacation Travel doesn't have to be overseas or states away to be enjoyable and yes, can be saved up for even on a lower income. I know because I did it when I was younger and not making much.
OP is doing work that she enjoys and has a skillset that is in demand all over the US.
A sad life to me is a life measured by how much money one can make, how many 'toys' one can buy, and working in a field/job you don't like because it pays big money.
$25K is a fairly common salary here. I live in a mixed income neighborhood where there are people from doctors to people earning around the $25K mark and in between. The ones who seem the least stressed out are the ones who are working in the factories...
This is very true. I have, and have known, several people that make great money ($150-$250K+ a year) with 1-2mil+ in equity in their home(s) living in arguably the nicest city in America and it’s painfully obvious they aren’t happy. But they sure do let you know how much they have, and how much better they have it than the rest.
As I mentioned in my previous post I know people living the most basic life in one of the most expensive cites in America and they are some of the happiest people I know. A few of these people I speak of from both sides are all longtime friends and we’ve often been together at the same time. An outsider would spot what I’m saying in a matter of minutes.
Before I met my wife I was getting into my late 30’s and gave serious consideration into selling my shares in my business and living on a very modest sailboat. I actually went as far as talking to my partners, along with friends in the financial world to see where I really stood. My income would’ve probably been in that $25K range from safe, but low yielding investments, along with a side hustle here and there helping friends with different events they put on. Needless to say I wouldn’t change anything now because my wife is greater than anything I ever could’ve imagined and we’re getting ready to start a family. But I will say as I see two mortgage payments, two car payments, all of the expenses associated with both, and what it takes to fund them coming out of our accounts every month I can’t help but think of those I know living a simpler life, especially when we get together.
I guess the point is don’t judge those who took a different path. For all you know they’re more content in life than you regardless of what they may or may not have. It doesn’t matter If you make $25K or $250K, if you can find that inner peace in your life you’ve won in my book.
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Travel doesn't have to be overseas or states away to be enjoyable and yes, can be saved up for even on a lower income. I know because I did it when I was younger and not making much. 
