I think it really depends on how tight you are in your regular budget. For example, if we a had 2k$-3k$ roof emergency, we would take most of it from our cash flow, cutting back "wants" for 2-3 months and maybe raiding the vacation or TV fund. We wouldn't touch the emergency fund proper. Thus I don't consider the emergency fund a big priority for us, because we have a good cash flow, a big dual income, and spare room in the budget. We haven't always had one, and we'll probably use a big chunk on non-urgent home improvements in the spring (windows, living room remodel), instead of waiting another year. In the meanwhile, our real emergency fund will be our personal line of credit.
Medical emergencies are not a factor here because we have universal healthcare, personal insurance for "extras". We also have unemployment (small payout) & disability insurance, so a real emergency would only be a job loss. That's why we don't feel too bad not having much cash laying around.
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