When your state or county mandates free parking or any of the other complaints the parent poster had, let me know.
seattle is always a poster child for this stuff but it really isn't that bad for the upper middle class (anyone with a software job).
it's probably tougher now. but i started my career in seattle proper 10y ago and 2020 was a giant boon. low interest rates, 3k sqft house outside seattle (but still easily drivable to it thanks to reverse commute) for sub-$600k (went under asking) and sub-3% (-> inflation proof)..what a way to spend that salary the 2010s gave me to save up and enjoy the remote career I'd long established.
preparation meets opportunity isn't gonna stop being true even in a "bad" economy.