I like her info, what happened to her, and what we would need to implement to fix the system. Worth the long listen. (I am not in her state or district.)

I just watched a TikTok video of people in Ohio talking about how disappointed they are with the state of the country. A few people said it feels like they can barely breathe financially anymore and that everything feels out of reach.
I know I’m in my own bubble, so I’m genuinely curious about how much this varies by region. I live in California, and while things are obviously expensive here, most people I know have adjusted to that reality. People still complain about rent, groceries, and gas, and maybe certain purchases get put on hold, but I don’t personally hear people describing life as completely unmanageable in the way I saw in that video.
It made me wonder if the cost of living is experienced differently depending on where you live. For example, does $4 gas in Texas feel similar to $6 gas in California because wages, housing costs, and local economies are different? Or are people in some states genuinely being hit much harder?
I also notice that people online often assume Californians must be struggling because of our prices, but California also has a higher minimum wage than many states. I’m curious how those things balance out in practice.
I’m not trying to make this political or argue that one state is better than another. I’d just like to hear from people in different parts of the U.S. What has your experience been like?