My wife and I make okay money in a middle class area, but, due to a combination of good luck, and contrived to circumstances, we recently got to watch a college football game in the stadium’s super executive corporate sponsor level suite. It was awesome. Open bar, amazing catered food, and people networking all around me who are clearly in the c-suite of their respective companies. I had a list of crazy things I was going to say if someone asked me what I did, but it never came up.
Also grew up poor. But, wow, I wish earning over $100k was enough for vacations and hobbies in Seattle… I make around $150k, have a tiny home, and have only had one vacation since before COVID. I mean owning a home at all is pretty significant here, I guess.
I could probably do better if I moved far enough out of the city, but I’d lose a lot of conveniences that would cost me lots of time and money mostly around transportation, parking, shopping, etc. I do have a few hobbies, but most of my hobby time is used in home maintenance because it’s a 118 year old home… These days it takes about $250k around here to really start to have extra money for nice vacations and hobbies.
Dunno why you got downvoted. Shit’s expensive. We’re doing pretty good, but live in a very plain, 60 year old home, no new cars, but we do manage a decent vacation once every other year or so. I don’t understand the “carefree” attitude being described with a $100k salary, we have to budget, plan expenses, and any big bills are still a surprise and an unhappy event.
We don’t live in major metro area, or even in the suburbs of one.