How did people justify that cost? Was 6k ”more affordable” back then? Was there more money to spend?

> Was there more money to spend?

In California, there certainly was. The US economy had already started its decline, but from such a high that well-to-do Americans hadn't noticed. By contrast, because Europe had had to be rebuilt after WWII, the general populace had benefitted far less from the postwar boom.

In 1982, my family had a relatively comfortable middle class existence, but buying a home computer that cost (at the time) about half as much as a one-bedroom apartment would have been absolutely unimaginable to my parents. The ZX81 they bought for me cost £99.

Well, some people needed it for work, or for university. Some people got it from work to be able to work at home. Others may have had experience with 8 bit machines and had money when the PC hit the stores.

My parents saved up for years and then kept the same computer for years more. It was normal to have a machine for 10 years, and just one per household.

Upgrading with a hard disk, a second floppy drive, or upgrading the graphics card was common.