Originally Posted by
rickair7777
$100K is bare-minimum pay to support a family these days...you might also get a couple dirt bikes, an RV, or a ski boat out of the deal but you're not going to have a vacation home in the mountains or a big house in a nice neighborhood. Unless you plan really well, you will still be looking at college loans for the kids too.
The only place where a regional pilot can actually get ahead on $100K is in one of those nice rural towns that happens to have a nearby pilot domicile. $100K can get you a ranch house and a few acres in place like that, where prices are lower due to the lack of higher-paying jobs.
Don't get me wrong...I make near the highest 50 seat RJ FO pay in the industry and know I am underpaid...but reading statements like these two paragraphs above really makes me wonder just what kind of lifestyle are you living or seeking?
Call me crazy, but I don't aspire to have a "vacation home in the mountains" or a "big house in a nice neighborhood". A 1600 sq ft, 3bd/2ba ranch on a quarter acre is what I grew up in and I would be totally satisfied raising my family in one. Guess my priorities are just different...