cant speak for the greater country but my part of it is pretty good though not so much for me personally. America, PNW.
there’s a lot more jobs here - mid 1980s was when the tech boom hit our area, but real estate prices are very high as well, ~$600k for the area, ~$800k for where I live. it’s basically unaffordable to live here unless you make 6 figures - anything less than that is struggling.
I’m working on a van build so I can move to a more favorable state as I do not make anywhere near 6 figures. got about $40k in it now and probably another $25k to go, roughly.