I love it here, but if you've been here for a few years before covid you really feel the value difference to a few years ago. I suppose if I just got here today I wouldn't have that comparison.

It's like if your favorite sandwich place doubled the costs due to inflation or cut portions in half. You probably will still say it's your favorite sandwich place, "but it's really gotten more expensive/portions really got smaller lately." It doesn't mean you won't go there or that you can't afford a sandwich now, it's just that every time you go you remember that you used to get a lot more value and it impacts that experience just a bit. Providence is in that stage for me. Comparison is the thief of joy and all that.

My family income is a lot, but the goal posts keep changing here. I actually avoided HCOL areas my whole life because I grew up financially insecure and now I've found myself in one by chance (been here a long time). So I still love it here, but I've had to work through new worries about stability personally.