US' middle class: Making ends meet on a single income in one of America's most expensive cities
One young Chinese American family's move to the costly San Francisco Bay Area sees them tighten purse strings to maintain their lifestyle
Calvin Tchiang and Melody Chen are an anomaly. They are one of the few middle-class American families in the San Francisco Bay Area who live on one income and still maintain what they consider a fairly comfortable lifestyle.
The Tchiangs are one of some 47 per cent of families in the United States who consider themselves middle class. Middle-class households in the US are defined as earning US$35,000 to US$100,000 a year.
Recent studies show that the American middle class has been on the decline because of shrinking incomes. A Pew Research study released in spring found that 47 per cent of Americans called themselves middle class. The survey defined middle-class households as those earning between 67 and 200 per cent of a state's median income.
"I think it's hard being middle class in the Bay Area … The idea of being middle class is you don't necessarily feel you're middle class," Chen said. "The cost of living here is so high that you always feel like you're below average."
Read more: China's middle class: top of the world but still not secure
While being middle class in one of America's most expensive cities is not easy, the Tchiangs believe that quality of life is achievable - it just takes some creativity and planning.
"We have to stretch our budget constantly," Tchiang said.
The couple, Chinese Americans in their 30s, met seven years ago in Beijing where they were working. There, they married and had their son Xavier, now 3.
In spring this year, the family moved from Cincinnati, Ohio, to the San Francisco Bay Area to be closer to Tchiang's parents in San Jose. Tchiang's company relocated him upon his request.
Chen said the family knew what they were getting into when it came to costs - the Bay Area is one of America's most expensive areas. San Francisco ranked fourth among the country's 10 most expensive cities this year, according to CBS News. Rent is nearly US$3,000, an average home costs US$820,000, and even a cup of coffee typically costs a hefty US$6. But because of the plethora of successful technology and social media companies including Google and Facebook in the area, salaries are also among some of the highest.
For the Tchiangs, this was a stark contrast to Cincinnati, where homes are among one of America's most affordable. The average annual household income is about US$35,000 and the average home costs US$110,000.
So with the move, the Tchiangs went from being on the upper part of the middle-class spectrum to the lower. Tchiang's salary remained the same.
In order to buy a house, the family did extensive research in areas on the outskirts of San Francisco. They tapped on their networks of friends and family with knowledge of local real estate, and through a contact found that Pacifica, an ocean city some 20 minutes south of San Francisco, had some affordable gems.
They quickly made the down payment with their savings and stock investments, and in April, moved into their new home in the city after renovating the three-bedroom flat.
"We found one of the places that wasn't completely blown out of proportion," Tchiang said.
While a downside to the location was that it added 20 minutes to Tchiang's daily commute, the family was able to live within the Bay Area and just minutes from the ocean.
Still, living in the costly Bay Area meant the Tchiangs had to try to cut back on spending wherever they could.
The purse-tightening began with food. Instead of dining out frequently as they did in Cincinnati, the family started eating at home more often and saving by using discount coupons. Dining in also meant altering their ways of entertaining and getting together with friends. The couple hence reached out to the neighbours and starting inviting friends home for dinner.
The family also controlled their spending by buying for their son second-hand items that he was likely to quickly grow out of.
"We're doing a lot more used toys, used baby toys for the little one, so we can scratch the itch to buy new things," Tchiang said, adding that the couple often surfed the web for bargains.
They also cut down on travel, swapping international trips for more local getaways, including hiking to national parks. Yet this does not mean they have retired their passports completely - the family recently attended a friend's wedding in London.
"We do a lot more of price-to-price shopping and Priceline and Hotwire stuff," Tchiang said, adding that the family has used short-term rental site Airbnb for lodging during their vacations. The couple also kept their Honda Civic sedan, refraining from splashing out on a new car.
I feel like it has become more competitive just to replicate the way I grew up and replicate my parents' standard of living. It feels much more competitive to keep your job to buy the same things
Tchiang and Chen agree that maintaining the quality of life that they grew up with is becoming increasingly challenging, if not totally impossible, on their single income.
"I feel like it has become more competitive just to replicate the way I grew up and replicate my parents' standard of living. It feels much more competitive to keep your job to buy the same things," said Tchiang.
A ski trip for the family now meant going to Lake Tahoe or Reno in Nevada instead of Vail, an upscale ski resort in Colorado, he added.
Still the couple maintains their optimism that with good old-fashioned hard work, their lifestyle will steadily improve. And hard work, they both agree, is a trait that many young Asian Americans have inherited from their parent's generation.
Compared with white Americans, Tchiang said it seemed that "Asian Americans work harder to get less in many workplaces", but that on the bright side, it encouraged entrepreneurship.
With the world becoming more competitive in general, he said he had observed immigrants from the world over, including India and China, fighting to attain or maintain the American dream.
"They are coming with a lot of motivation and they're very competitive," Tchiang said.
"I think you have to be just as hardworking, but you also have to have a bit of luck and a much greater appetite for risk," Chen said.
