If you live in one of the major metros where the jobs are, your rent may be very high (<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theatlantic.com&#x2F;business&#x2F;archive&#x2F;2014&#x2F;11&#x2F;why-its-so-hard-for-millennials-to-figure-out-where-to-live&#x2F;382929&#x2F;?utm_source=SFFB&amp;amp;single_page=true" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theatlantic.com&#x2F;business&#x2F;archive&#x2F;2014&#x2F;11&#x2F;why-its-...</a>), which means that your runway that sounds like a lot isn&#x27;t, &#x2F;especially&#x2F; if you have to deal with an extended job search. This is obviously less of an issue for many decent or better developers in the current market, but this can&#x27;t necessarily be said of adjacent positions.<p>Unemployment benefits in the US are both incredibly stingy and time-limited.<p>Another thing is that there is a strata of people who fall into the donut hole: they make too much to get ACA subsidies, and too little to get a reasonable plan (<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;kff.org&#x2F;health-reform&#x2F;issue-brief&#x2F;the-coverage-gap-uninsured-poor-adults-in-states-that-do-not-expand-medicaid-an-update&#x2F;." rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;kff.org&#x2F;health-reform&#x2F;issue-brief&#x2F;the-coverage-gap-un...</a>) If you get stuck with a major condition in that situation, you&#x27;re going to be in a lot of trouble, not to mention that even the insured may not have everything covered. Medical bankruptcies are the most common in the US still: <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cnbc.com&#x2F;id&#x2F;100840148" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cnbc.com&#x2F;id&#x2F;100840148</a><p>&quot;Even outside of bankruptcy, about 56 million adults—more than 20 percent of the population between the ages of 19 and 64—will still struggle with health-care-related bills this year, according to NerdWallet Health.<p>And if you think only Americans without health insurance face financial troubles, think again. NerdWallet estimates nearly 10 million adults with year-round health-insurance coverage will still accumulate medical bills that they can&#x27;t pay off this year.&quot;<p>So yes, in the US, you absolutely need your own safety net.