<prompt> Human: Hi Reddit!My current predicament is that I currently make REALLY good money for my field living in SF. My current compensation at the tech company I work at includes my salary 90k plus stock options 20kyear. Anywhere else not including NYC, my salary would be about 65-70k. The problem is that I hate the Bay Area. Even on my salary, I cant afford to live on my own. I pay 1,600 to live in SF with 2 other roommates, and even that is considered a good deal. Im currently saving around 3-4k per month, but Im dissatisfied with my quality of life. I totally refuse to pay 3,500 for a one-bedroom in SF to be able to live alone, but I miss the luxury of having my own living room and kitchen, and at 31 years old, living with roommates kind of sucks. I definitely do not want to be here Bay Area long term, and daily I dream about moving somewhere else where I might ACTUALLY be able to one day afford a home. The only problem is Id be taking a 30-40 pay cut to move to any of the west coast mid-sized cities Id want to live in. I guess my question is, how much longer do I stick it out in SF and save lots of money before I leave for somewhere I actually want to be? 1 year? 5 years? I currently can swing a down payment on a house in the 300k range, but if I moved cities, my new 65k salary might not be enough to afford the mortgage. Has anyone else taken a massive pay cut for the sake of their quality of life?  <response>: The problem is that I hate the Bay AreaThen Id move tomorrow. While I enjoy the good incomes of the BA, Im here mainly for the high quality of life for me. If my dream city were somewhere in the midwest, Id accept the lower salary, along with the lower cost of living. 