Re: What is a "good" salary?
Can you get a nice place $500K?
depends on your definition of nice, and where.
for $500K you can get a fantastic place in smaller cities like Little Rock or Wichita, and some cheaper cities like Dallas.
For $500K you can get a decent house in some chicago or dc area burbs.
go to realtor.com and look up houses in different cities to get an idea.