'Nothing is ever enough': Despite two incomes, Vancouver couple find homeownership out of reach
May 27-Before filling their cars' gas tanks, Morgan and James Curtis of Vancouver do the math. Can the family stretch half a tank until next payday? At the grocery store, their shopping cart is often filled with only items on sale. Family outings with their 2-year-old are often to parks and other free attractions. Nonessential purchases are a thing of the past.
The Curtises' earnings as a teacher and restaurant worker don't stretch far enough to sock away money to buy a home, they said, and that's meant they have put other goals on hold.
For many Clark County residents, housing and living costs have turned life's milestones into moving targets. According to a November report from Coldwell Banker, the real estate franchise, 71 percent of aspiring homeowners said they've postponed at least one major life decision, such as having children or pursuing career goals, until they can afford to purchase a home. That's the case for the Curtises.
"Every time we feel like we've gotten ahead and can purchase a home, something happens - rising grocery or gas prices or just life happening, then suddenly we are 10 steps back and having to work even harder to get to that place again," Morgan Curtis said. "But at that point, the place that was once good enough isn't anymore. It doesn't matter the effort you put in, nothing is ever enough."
A moving target
Morgan and James Curtis have always dreamed of owning a home. But they said that the goal has become increasingly out of reach, despite years of hard work and financial and personal sacrifices.
The couple, both 31, have lived only in apartments. Their rent for a three-bedroom apartment in northeast Vancouver has spiked nearly 40 percent since 2021, from $1,450 in 2021 to nearly $2,000 under their newest lease agreement.
Morgan Curtis said that although the couple feel fortunate not to have been completely priced out of the area, their rising living costs continue to erase any financial headway they make.
The couple started to earn better incomes in 2022 after Morgan Curtis secured her first teaching job and James Curtis transitioned into blue-collar work. Just as they started to build their savings, Morgan Curtis became pregnant. Any money they had hoped to save went to cover expenses for their expanded family. Then, in 2025, James Curtis lost his blue-collar job. Although he found a job at a local sports bar, it pays half as much.
To stay afloat, the family has made deep cuts to nearly every part of their budget.
"We are very intentional all the time and try to preserve what we can," Morgan Curtis said. "At this point we can't make any more cuts without impacting our lives. The next thing we'd have to cut is going down to one car and with our jobs that wouldn't be feasible in the long run."
Morgan Curtis, who has a master's degree, said she feels like having a stable career is no longer enough.
"Six or seven years ago, my salary alone would have qualified for a home loan in Clark County," she said. "Now I feel the same as I did when I was making $20 an hour."
Delaying life
In the early morning sun on Friday, the Curtises' 2-year-old daughter, Amelia, zips down the slide in their apartment complex's playground. She lands safely in her mom's arms, who twirls her through the warm spring air while her dad watches nearby.
According to the Coldwell Baker report, 1 in 3 surveyed Americans are delaying having children in order to purchase a home. A survey by The Harris Poll for NerdWallet found more than 400 parents said they do not plan to have another child because of the rising cost of living.
"We would love to have more children," Morgan Curtis said. "But we want to afford a life and home our children would deserve."
The rising cost of living prevents many Americans from having any financial cushion.
Nearly half of people in American families cannot afford the true cost of living and are constantly in a state of catch-up, according to data from the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
The Curtises have two incomes, as well as earnings from a small online business James operates, yet Morgan said the family probably falls somewhere on the lower end of the middle-income bracket.
"As a teacher, I'm fortunate with the salary I have right now but even then things are difficult to afford," Morgan Curtis said. "Both of our salaries only go so far."
A November report from the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, stated that the affordability crisis has not spared middle-class families, with one-third of Americans making between $56,000 and $170,000 annually struggling to afford basic necessities.
James Curtis dreams of opening up a food truck with his friends. But like 1 in 5 of those surveyed by Coldwell Banker, he has concerns about making any career moves because of the cost of living.
The family has considered moving out of Vancouver to find more affordable housing. But the couple are hesitant to pull their daughter away from her support system.
"Do we stay in Vancouver? Or do we move elsewhere so we can finally afford life?" Morgan Curtis said.
As a teacher, Morgan Curtis said she sees how the affordability crisis squeezes so many other hardworking families across Vancouver.
"People are struggling to meet basic needs. It's so heartbreaking," she said. "But it's not due to people not trying. ... People are working so hard behind the scenes to make it for their families, and yet, it's still never enough."
This story was made possible by Community Funded Journalism, a project from The Columbian and the Local Media Foundation. Top donors include the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund, Patricia, David and Jacob Nierenberg, Connie and Lee Kearney, Steve and Jan Oliva, The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation and the Mason E. Nolan Charitable Fund. The Columbian controls all content. For more information, visit columbian.com/cfj.
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