They earn nearly $200,000. Can they afford to have kids in SoCal?
During their daily walk a few years ago, a Burbank couple brainstormed baby names, settling on one option for a boy and another for a girl.
But the names never got used.
After several conversations and scrutiny of their life goals and monthly budget, Beccy Quinn and Xavier Coelho-Kostolny decided last year to join the growing cohort of Americans who describe themselves as child-free by choice.
Their discussions hinged on two questions: Will we still be able to invest as much time in the relationships we already value? And, if we have a child, can we still live comfortably in the city we love and save enough for travel and retirement?
The answer to both was no.
Coelho-Kostolny, 36, designs 3-D models for video games, and Quinn, 35, works as an actor and writer, and although they earned a combined income of nearly $200,000 last year, her salary fluctuates each year. The couple expect to help care for Quinn’s parents down the road, and they already feel behind on
