Could YOU live comfortably in Metro Atlanta on $50,000 a year? (Lithonia: to rent, health insurance)

[equinox63]

I saw this article on the MSNBC home page and thought it would be an interesting question to pose on the city-data Atlanta forum since location and cost of living were such major factors...

Life Inc. - We are the median: Living on $50,000 a year

Could YOU (and your household) live comfortably in Metro Atlanta on $50,000 a year?

[BobKovacs]

Could "I"? Yes

Could "I, my wife and my two kids"? No way. Of course, if we changed our definition of "comfortably", maybe, but that's a very subjective term.

[ATLTJL]

Precisely!

For a single person? Yeah, I'd say it's fine. To support a family, it would be extremely tough.

I've made a lot less than that, I've made a bit more. I would say that I wasn't "comfortable" even as a single person until I hit the $40k mark. And even then it wasn't like I was jetting off to Las Vegas once a month, that was just where I could stop worrying so much and didn't have to live paycheck to paycheck.

To say the same thing about a family....I don't even know. I'd say a household income of $100k would be about right, but it depends on so many factors (special needs kids? family nearby to help out watching the kids? long commutes to work/school? special dietary or lifestyle needs?). It's a rich tapestry, so it's hard to say what salary is necessary for any particular person.

But for a normal, healthy, single adult....I'd say $50k is just fine. That should cover a nice place to rent, one or two good vacations per year, and eating out or other entertainment with friends once a week or so. If you want to buy a place, you'd have to make a few cutbacks to save a reasonable down payment.

[LAB6120]

If I were single, yes I would be comfortable with 50k. I am married with a child and make 45k- If my home wasn't paid off, we would be in deep do-do. We rarely eat out, have not taken a vacation in about 4 years, only buy necessities but we are healthy and I have survived on less before. It all depends on where that money goes. My biggest expenses are health insurance and childcare.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by equinox63

Could YOU (and your household) live comfortably in Metro Atlanta on $50,000 a year?

My and my household? Perhaps, but that assumes that we can ditch the existing home and also get rid of our other preexisting debt.

I just need a PC and an MP3 player to get by.

[brownhornet]

Easily..and i've done it before with no problems.

[samiwas1]

One thing a lot of commenters on the article didn't seem to get is that the $50k refers to household income, not individual income. It's fairly easy for a single person to live on $50k. It's much more difficult for a household to do so.

[bornjacksonian]

I guess this answer will vary as well because I know someone personally who makes around 54k a year and is living very comfortable being a single mother with 2 kids. She is currently buying her home in a nice area out of Lithonia city limits and her truck is paid for.

[GRS86]

Depends on where in the Atlanta metro you live. I don't think that $50K will go too far ITP. It may be enough to pay all the bills, but you're not going to have very much in the way of disposable income left. In many places OTP, you could live a fairly comfortable lifestyle on $50K.