young adult here (23m) with a normal salary (not FAANG, definitely underpaid but still above the american average). sometimes, i'll find that i'm willing to save costs at the expense of sacrificing my health. among other doubts, i've reconciled with the idea that i'll likely never own property of my own. there's too much debt to take care of and over time, things continue to get more expensive.

i grew up in a modest home. when my parents bought it, it was worth ~100k. not much has changed, we added some stone to the porch and an outdoor kitchen. it's worth nearly a million now. anecdotal? possibly, but certainly not a rare case. on average, how am i supposed to afford a home if the trajectory for a normal suburban life is that prices more than 2x every 20 years? [0]

even so, i find that year after year, i'm losing trust in the future of this country. 23 and entirely jaded. i cannot find it in myself to invest any energy in building a future here. mostly, i'm cynical and scared. i find that most of my friends are the same. was it always like this? is losing faith in your country a rite of passage into adulthood? does it get better over time? will i ever make enough to feel safe? etc.

[0] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ASPUS