<prompt> Human: I worry about money probably more than most people yay growing up poor and having terrible anxiety. Its helped me in a lot of ways because Ive saved a ton for my age 25 and dont necessarily ever worry about money.That being said, I live in Boston. I love it here, it checks off a lot of boxes for me. But the COL is something that is a hanging cloud over my head. I feel weird about putting down roots here and building a network when I will inevitably have to move. Same with other large cities Id probably enjoy living in - Seattle, LA, NYC.Im fairly frugal and have the lowest priced apartment you can probably find on the market 1750 1 bedroom.... But rent keeps increasing. I want to someday have children but dont love the idea of moving to one of the Boston suburbs. 1 bedroom apartments start at 350,000 here. The suburbs dont have much that Im looking for and houses there are incredibly high priced. Ive read conflicting articles about the pros and cons to owning vs renting and Im not sure Im well versed on all of them. The main thing I would want is security. Knowing that I own something and can make changes to it and the rent cant increase the taxes can though.... Id like to purchase a 2 bedroom with a small yard, nothing glamorous, but that just doesnt seem feasible here.So many young people live here and it seems like no one is too worried about it but I think about it weekly. I want to find a place I can settle down in and that just doesnt seem like its here. I think Im worried too that if I move to a lower COL area, I will have to take a pay cut and I might end up even worse off than I am here. But it seems like there would be some good tradeoffs too.Has anyone been in a similar situation? Im looking around some southern cities - mostly Richmond and a couple in North Carolina. Also considering Michigan - I lived in the UP for about 7 months and loved it, though jobs are limited. Any advice appreciated!!EDIT: I currently make around 75k with my bonus, I would say my earning potential over the next 5 years would be around 100k, maybe more, maybe less. I dont have a car, so my only expenses are rentutilities, entertainment, food, healthcare, and household items. This would obviously increase if I had a child.  <response>: Also a Bostonian 23f here. Not sure where you are located exactly but FWIW, if youre paying 900 in rent and saving 65 of your take-home, youre doing extremely well. Im also currently in a 1 bedroom with my boyfriend, which has helped a ton in terms of saving and keeping costs down, but were not even entertaining the idea of owning property until were 30. However, were completely okay with this and enjoy the perks of renting, so its definitely up to personal preference and goals.Cant offer too much insight into the whole housing and long-term expense topic, since I worry about the same thing... Youre not alone there! 