[westopher]

I'll play on this one. I'm a chef, my wife is a nurse. We pay 1480 a month, and are moving to a house with 2 fenced yards and will be paying 1600 a month, all bills included. The house is divided into 3 but is massive so I'd say our floor space is around 1200 sq ft. Its 100 years old, in good shape and on a bus route in kits. I cringe to think of what 1200 square feet with a yard would cost me in kits per month with 100k or so down payment. We are fairly decently paid for a young couple and I couldn't imagine the lifestyle change if we were to buy something of similar size/quality. No more M3 with new toys for it every month, no more dinners at our favourite restaurants, no more trips to whistler, no more nearly debt free life, (other than my mortgage in edmonton) no more nice clothes, new snowboard gear, etc. I can't comprehend what people believe they can afford in Vancouver. 100k household income does NOT mean a 500k condo is within reach although it seems people are getting into that situation all the time. Being house poor is something I will never allow to happen to me, I enjoy things and doing things way too much.