That's it, we also pay ridiculously high rent and child care costs that are close to double what many others pay. And yes, we do make that choice. But for us the trade off would be moving further out which would mean more travel time each day, which would mean less family time. Right now we're not willing to make that sacrifice...
Agreed! DH needs to be close to his uni in the city, and once he has finished, close to the city as that's where his career aspirations lie. We choose not to own a car so we need to be close to public transport, moving to a cheaper area would mean buying a car, longer commutes etc. It's a tough one.