Cost of Living

[Willing and Unsure]

Does anyone know where I can find information about the cost of living in different parts of the US? I'm drawing a blank as to where to even begin to start looking for that type of information.

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[Lynxie]

I googled the following, without quotes: cost of living US. It brought up a number of sites, including this MSN site, that let you compare cities. This one looked particularly nice because it gives the breakdown of the elements that make up the cost of living (housing, food, etc).

The variations in CoL from state to state amaze me to no end...my husband and I are about to start the processof buying our first home, and prices here in MA are phenomenally high compared with other regions of the country. It just blows my mind that I could get a 5 bedroom mansion in Indiana for the cost of a condo or mobile home here.

Hope the link gives you some of what you're looking for

 

[EJFan]

i'm sure lynxie's link will be all the help you need but i'll stick in my two cents anyway.

usually you can go to a state's website and they'll have a cost of living ratio to the state you're moving from. i don't know if that's true for ALL states but the ones i've looked at have it.

i wanna move to maine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Willing and Unsure]

Thanks for the help. That site is definitely helpful that Lynxie gave.

EJ, I thought about looking at the states websites and all, but I'm not sure yet where I'm going to be moving to. I'm interviewing for jobs and I figure having some knowledge about what to ask for salary is probably a good idea before interviewing since I'm starting some interviews with places where I'm not that familiar with the areas.

 

[My Own Way]

I googled the following, without quotes: cost of living US. It brought up a number of sites, including this MSN site, that let you compare cities. This one looked particularly nice because it gives the breakdown of the elements that make up the cost of living (housing, food, etc).

The variations in CoL from state to state amaze me to no end...my husband and I are about to start the processof buying our first home, and prices here in MA are phenomenally high compared with other regions of the country. It just blows my mind that I could get a 5 bedroom mansion in Indiana for the cost of a condo or mobile home here.

Hope the link gives you some of what you're looking for

LOL!!! Good old Taxachusetts at it's finest Lynxie. I recently moved down to Georgia from Mass and found that a house you would buy in MA for $750,000 you can get here for about $350,000-500,000 depending on the area.

 

[Sins666]

amazing $50,000 here in tampa equals $67,000 in the exact same city in Mass. where I grew up. Astounding.

 

[SweetErika]

Thanks for the help. That site is definitely helpful that Lynxie gave.

EJ, I thought about looking at the states websites and all, but I'm not sure yet where I'm going to be moving to. I'm interviewing for jobs and I figure having some knowledge about what to ask for salary is probably a good idea before interviewing since I'm starting some interviews with places where I'm not that familiar with the areas.

You might have to do a little poking around, but I wonder if it might be worth it to look into city and regional websites (like chambers of commerce) as well. State figures may not be representative or specific enough for your purposes. Here's a good calculator with a ton of cities:
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp

I don't have time to look, but I did see a couple of websites that list salaries for different jobs in different cities though, so those could be a good resource.

 

[Lynxie]

LOL!!! Good old Taxachusetts at it's finest Lynxie. I recently moved down to Georgia from Mass and found that a house you would buy in MA for $750,000 you can get here for about $350,000-500,000 depending on the area.

Tell me about it! At least we're not still living on Martha's Vineyard, though - we spent a year there, and the cost of living was more than double what it is on the mainland part of the state. $150 per week for groceries for two people, $1500 per month for rent for a 2 bedroom apartment (we're lucky we had a constant, year-round rate...seasonal is the norm there), $2.79 per gallon of gas (last year!), etc. The crazy islanders can keep their crazy prices!

 

[Volz]

<snip>
It just blows my mind that I could get a 5 bedroom mansion in Indiana for the cost of a condo or mobile home here.
<snip>

But you'd also be amazed at how much less you would get paid living in Indiana than where you are now.

 

[Lynxie]

But you'd also be amazed at how much less you would get paid living in Indiana than where you are now.

That's why we're still living in MA

 

[Brainboyz]

Tell me about it! At least we're not still living on Martha's Vineyard, though - we spent a year there, and the cost of living was more than double what it is on the mainland part of the state. $150 per week for groceries for two people, $1500 per month for rent for a 2 bedroom apartment (we're lucky we had a constant, year-round rate...seasonal is the norm there), $2.79 per gallon of gas (last year!), etc. The crazy islanders can keep their crazy prices!

That's what it is everywhere here in Southern California. Groceries aren't as bad as long as you stay away from the likes of Albertson's, but I'm paying 2.899/gal here in Orange County...for regular unleaded!