My first year out of GT in the early 2000's, I made $70K before bonuses (thanks to a friend's dad talking me into a career in finance instead of engineering/going to grad school). I shared a 4 BR/3 BA house in Smyrna with two other buddies. My share of "all in" (rent, utilities, internet, cable, landscaper, house cleaner) was less than $800 a month. The three of us felt like kings, and we had more than enough to go out and do whatever we wanted.
Today, you can't even get a one bedroom apartment in Smyrna for less than $1500...and that's before utilities, cable, internet, etc. I bought a place back in 2018 and live in Old 4th Ward now. 1 BRs are going for over $2K in this area! There's a new development across from my building where STUDIOS are going for over $2K.
I see all these young people in my area and wonder how they can afford the lifestyle they have. Surely not everyone graduated from GT with an engineering degree (Payscale says the average 1st year GT engineer makes around $80-90K), and even at that level of salary, monthly expenses is eating into a large portion of their take home pay.
Luckily, I got all my wasteful spending habits out of my system (minus my saltwater fishing trips and hiking trips
) when things were a MUCH smaller portion of my take home pay than they are for new graduates now.
For you young people having to financially navigate your way through life in this era, I wish you nothing but the best. Seems very nerve wracking.
