50 grand today won't get one far...or ahead. But one might be able to feed themselves and pay rent. Staying single would be a must though.
Now that depends upon where you live init. A lower middle class person in New York, is upper middle class or above in many other states. Why do you think people are fleeing California and New York?
Let me put it to you this way, so everyone can see-------------> How much does it cost to buy a brand new house in California? How much in Georgia?
Why is the disparity so much different?
Housing materials are close to the same, and California actually has large tracks of desert that nobody lives in, so then why?!?!?!?!?!
I could answer it for you, but you would not believe me, you would say I am sort of right wing nut. Therefore, investigate it yourself. That is the best way to put yourself on a course of self enlightenment.
Do not think for a one second, that none of us ever believed at one time, as you do today. We DID!
And do NOT think we just changed our minds out of the clear blue sky. We learned!
But here, I will give you some info to start you on your path, and what to look for. If the law of supply and demand dictates the cost of the product, then why in California, are there not massive amounts of homes being erected, which by all economic logic........lower the price of homes-)
Now, that is not to say homes are not being erected, but not enough to over saturate the market, causing the prices to go down. Every builder in the country should be there making a financial killing.
Your job, should you decide to discover reality, is to find out WHY this is not happening as it does most everywhere else, in These United States-)