Rent for a two bedroom close to the coast is 36k. It just gets cheaper from there as you move away from downtown/coastal areas. That leaves you with 34k for food, utilities, healthcare, and car payment. There’s about 5,000 left over for incidentals at that point. It’s tight but it’s certainly doable.
I agree on your last point. I still think though 70k is way too low an estimate, especially for California.
Rent for a two bedroom close to the coast is 36k. It just gets cheaper from there as you move away from downtown/coastal areas. That leaves you with 34k for food, utilities, healthcare, and car payment. There’s about 5,000 left over for incidentals at that point. It’s tight but it’s certainly doable.