Cost of Living Comparison, Something is Missing!

[admin]

Check out the below cnn.com city comparison tool (recently updated, I believe), and also the link to the company they use for the calculator’s data. Notice that there are very few CA cities listed in the tool and survey. San Diego, LA, Etc. – all missing. Did they choose not to participate to make comparisons with cheaper locales difficult and stop the exodus of people leaving the state?

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html

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[Anonymous]

EG: I want to compare Kansas City to San Diego and cannot find San Diego in the tool, and along with virtually all CA cities, they are also not listed as having participated in the survey!

[Cow_tipping]

More Real estate clerc smoke and mirrors …
However … its completely unneccesary. Rents are what figure in Cost of living, not purchase prices.
Cool.
Cow_tipping.

[BuyerWillEPB]

About 6 months ago, I had to travel to Wichita, Kansas for business. Over one weekend, I checked the Sunday newspaper to see how the housing market was there.

They were advertising BRAND NEW 3 Br./2 Bath / 2 car garage houses for… Get this …

“the high $160,000!”

Imagine that! Being able to actually afford to live. This is a concept lost in CA.

I found many major companies like Raytheon, Boeing, etc. located there too. If the market doesn’t “correct” meaning crash here in San Diego, I would DEFINITELY like to go there. It’s a nice area.

[blahblahblah]

BuyerWillEPB, you can probably afford to live in San Diego but you might not be able to afford to live in a big place and have a new car every couple of years. Even after the prices come down it will still be a very expensive place to live. For me, it comes down to what you want. Do you want a big house on a couple of acres, nice new cars and maybe a boat and motorcycle? Then a place like Arkansas (waaaaay nicer than Texas or Kansas) would be perfect. Or would you rather like to go surfing, hiking, biking, etc… every day and maybe live in a condo and drive a 10-year-old car? Then SD is a good choice. Everyone’s different and there’s no place that’s perfect for everyone…

[PerryChase]

CONCHO, can you not hike and bike in Arkansas?

[BuyerWillEPB]

Concho,

Yeah, I used to do the fun beach stuff, the surfing, and sailing, etc. I have always liked SD alot.

Now I find that I have to work so much, the 50 – 60 hour workweeks, and traffic commutes, that I don’t seem to have time to enjoy those things anymore. I’m killing myself working so much, and for what? I STILL can’t afford to live here in San Diego. It seems inevitable that I will have to move to live a decent life. I can learn new fun things wherever I live.

I have been to Arkansas a couple times. I agree with you, that it has some beautiful spots. The White River comes to mind. If memory serves (maybe I got the river name wrong) we vacationed in a cabin around there, fishing and canoeing. Some good things about Arkansas, sure thing. Although, too many bugs is one bad thing. 🙂

That’s what we in CA have to remember. Every place has some good things and some bad things. We might as well be able to live affordably and enjoy the good things in life.

[blahblahblah]

Yeah, the hiking and biking are pretty good in Arkansas too. But it gets really hot in the summers, cold in the winters and it rains a lot more than it does here. Here in SD those are year-round activities.

[smfj]

BuyerWillEPB, you’re so right. Friends elsewhere think every day’s vacation for me since I live in SD… and while there’s no denying it’s a beautiful place, I spend a lot more time overlooking the fabulous El Camino Real in Carlsbad from my office window than anything else. And the year-round beautiful weather? On most winter days I have no idea whether it’s 65 or 35 degrees outside since I rarely make it out of the office.

[Anonymous]

Add family commitments to the mix – church, sports, neighborhood events etc., and you end up not really doing much of the surfing, biking, dining in the Gas Lamp anyway!

About Arkansas:

What areas/cities there would you recommend? I have never considered moving there!

[PerryChase]

I recommend moving to Houston if you’re going to move to a locale where housing is cheap. Houston is a large city with a lot of employment and great prospects for future growth.

[Cow_tipping]

Houston is a bit on the hot side in summer and hurricanes do whack it occassionally. I like atlanta for somehting in that same size range, and if cmaller is better, NC and SC raleigh, Winstom salem, spartanburg, charlotte, columbia etc.
Get a bit closer to the ocean like wilmington or savannah GA and you can surf all you want.
No bugs in this whole area to speak of, its not in the locust belt. The 17 year swarm has charlotte on the edge on its projection but in 2004 it never even caused a whimper.
Cool.
Cow_tipping.

[blahblahblah]

juice, NW Arkansas is really nice. Very pretty country and more employment opportunities than you might expect. Eureka Springs is beautiful but there probably aren’t many jobs there. Most people live in Bentonville or Fayetteville.

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