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Tar Heel country to Golden State

I knew I'd begun acclimating to the Bay Area’s housing market when I heard myself say "$400,000 for a condo? That’s not too bad." It wasn't until a moment later that I thought about the spacious single-family house with a big yard that amount would easily buy in Charlotte, NC, where my fiancé and I had just moved from.
Of course, it's unrealistic to compare prices, but I'm intrigued by the difference in people's ability to buy houses. In Charlotte, most young professionals can afford to buy a condo or townhouse, sometimes even a single-family house, on their own. In fact, if you’ve been there for a couple years, there's a certain social pressure you feel to buy since there are currently so few barriers to doing so.
Now, I listen in awe – or shock, perhaps – to stories of two-income young couples struggling to buy. They raid their savings, borrow from retirement plans and get help from their parents. Even then, their offer may not be as attractive as dozens of others they’re competing with.
Just a totally different housing market, I know. But it's fascinating to observe, though it does make me laugh to think we went completely the wrong way in selling property in Charlotte to hoping to buy in the Bay Area.
--Samantha Peterson