I live super cheaply because I don't make much money, have never made much money, and will never make much money. But I have a big house in a quiet, safe, walkable area. My husband built a recording studio in the attic. I have a nice office for writing. We have a formal dining room, a parlor, a fantastic backyard with a treehouse, a really nice deck, and a pergola with a patio and a goldfish pond which we turn into a greenhouse each winter. We can walk to bars, restaurants, the library, a grocery store and pharmacy and almost all municipal services. I could not be a writer if I lived in an expensive area. I don't know how people spend thousands each month on their rent. I don't make that kind of money, and neither does my husband.