I live in Philadelphia because I was nearly bankrupt when I graduated college and I could not afford to move to a new city. Moving home was an option, but I did not want to pay rent to live in a boring Maryland suburb. After graduation I moved into a sick apartment in a "gentrifying" neighborhood with one of my good friends, sold my car and learned how to live an urban lifestyle. As I paid down debt over the past three years my expenses have gone down while my salary has gone up. My neighborhood has grown its residential, commercial and retail tenants while my rent has remailed relatively cheap. Based on my current salary I can afford to save 20%-25% of my net income, while living a baller on a budget lifestyle. It would not make sense to leave now unless I was making a comparable salary in another city.