Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You get a better idea of the COL basing it off regions within each state rather than entire states if you're trying to determine where you can get a better deal.
I live in southern NH which benefits from high Boston salaries and a lower COL. Average income in my part of NH is over 70k and houses are 235k. That is a better income to value ratio than the Seattle area plus NH doesn't have a sales or income tax. WA doesn't have income tax but they have a 6.5% sales tax and a local sales tax that can total almost 10%. Gas is 20-30 cents cheaper in NH as well.
Plus, it seems like they are simply averaging out the best paying jobs with other jobs. Not everyone in Washington state works at Microsoft; if you make $9 an hour there you are screwed and that's the reality for a HUGE proportion of the people there.
Joey the South has larger land area also so what's your point ? Texas is larger than California yet less populated so again what's your point ? Oh yeah your point is California isn't special Lol WOW.Yet it's the only state with 2 world class metros in the same state,Its the center of the internet industry & home to the largest & most important port in the Western hemisphere,I can keep going but i forgot it has everything because of its size.Than you talk like the Northeast is super tiny but in fact it's land area is larger than California smart guy.Cali land area is like 160 something thousand and the whole NE is 180 something thousand so talk facts before making a statement like California is some big land area that's nothing special when Alaska & Texas are way bigger with less population & economy.Hell even Canada is less populated than California & that's a country so you see how i can smell the California jealousy buddy.
California is comparable to World countries, Let that sink in for a minute.
It seems like there are a lot of very rich people and a lot of very poor people here. Wages tend to be higher than other parts of the country, but not enough to compensate for the higher cost of living and the economy seems less diversfied overall. I wonder why - is it because the West is sort of remote, functionally almost like an "island" due to the vast distances over mountainous and arid land? Or is it because of real estate speculation due to the climate and vistas?
I also notice that houses and yards out West tend to be smaller and offer fewer amenities compared to the rest of the country, and are not as well built as houses in other regions. If you account for higher COL California actually has more poor people than Mississippi. This doesn't surprise me; it's pretty much impossible for a young person to be a home owner in California or any Western state.
I think the west coast is somewhat richer than the U.S. average. However, it's mostly because of places like northern California and the Seattle area. From most data I've seen, southern California tends to be a laggard economically - probably because the educational attainment level of the population as a whole is not as high.
Having said that, the fact is that rich and poor are mostly traits of individuals. There are tons of higher income and lower income people in all regions of the U.S. If you are struggling economically in the west, then you may face the same problem elsewhere too. I think if you move to a lower COL area even within the west, then things can improve significantly in terms of affordability. But I also realize that the population and infrastructure becomes very sparse in the west as you head away from the major metro areas. So that is a factor to consider as well.
Joey the South has larger land area also so what's your point ? Texas is larger than California yet less populated so again what's your point ?
I don't know what you're talking about. This doesn't have anything to do with it.
Quote:
Oh yeah your point is California isn't special Lol WOW.Yet it's the only state with 2 world class metros in the same state,
It's the 3rd largest state in the US. One could draw and arbitrary line around the 95 corridor from Boston to DC and that state would have 4 world class metros while still being a geographically smaller state than California.
Quote:
Its the center of the internet industry & home to the largest & most important port in the Western hemisphere,
You can pick and choose to focus on an industry any region excels at to boost its importance in this discussion but NY is more important and influential than every city on the west coast. DC is the Capital and its GDP is higher than the Bay. Philly and Boston are higher than Seattle.
Quote:
I can keep going but i forgot it has everything because of its size.Than you talk like the Northeast is super tiny but in fact it's land area is larger than California smart guy. Cali land area is like 160 something thousand and the whole NE is 180 something thousand
I did not say the northeast is super tiny, I said the northeast megalopolis is super tiny geographically because it is. The northeast megalopolis is not the same as the northeast. The "180k land area" you're speaking of and wrong about is the entire northeast's area. 180k includes water. You said that's its land area. The entire northeast's LAND area is 162k. But none of that matters because the northeast and the northeast megalopolis aren't the same thing.
Quote:
so talk facts before making a statement like California is some big land area that's nothing special when Alaska & Texas are way bigger with less population & economy.Hell even Canada is less populated than California & that's a country so you see how i can smell the California jealousy buddy.
California is comparable to World countries, Let that sink in for a minute.
California's economy is bigger than Antarctica's too. Congratulations.
I think the west coast is somewhat richer than the U.S. average. However, it's mostly because of places like northern California and the Seattle area. From most data I've seen, southern California tends to be a laggard economically - probably because the educational attainment level of the population as a whole is not as high.
I guess it depends if you define rich merely by the number of dollars made or by the quality of life. Let's put it this way. I've shared this multiple times here. I grew up in the Bay Area during the 1990s. My dad worked as an engineer in Silicon Valley, and made good money on paper.
We lived in a 900 square foot 1960s ranch home, had a 1970s TV with a dial on it and no remote, our car was from 1979, and we ate mac and cheese and hot dogs pretty much every night. In the 1990s! I was born in 1990 yet I was pretty much living in the 70s. The only amenity we had that was advanced for the time was a computer.
In the Bay Area you might make $100K a year but you will live close to poverty level. Housing there costs anywhere from 2 to 5 times as much as typical of the country yet you get smaller homes and smaller yards generally speaking.
And despite all the talk of California being super socialist and loaded with freebies the reality is the benefits are very stingy, the schools suck, the roads are too crowded and decent healthcare is not accessible to people without a lot of money. Yet you still pay very high taxes on everything and groceries and just about everything else cost a fortune.
You have to consider that housing costs 2x-3x as much to purchase and about 1.5x as much to rent out West, though, and other things also tend to cost more.
That's dependent on specific place more than specific regions/cities. I guarantee you a place like Chicago is way more expensive to live in than a place like Oroville, CA.
Let me ask you a question: you seem to have already made up your mind on this topic, adding qualifier upon qualifier. Why even make a thread if you already feel strongly about how things are? It seems like a waste of energy.
That's dependent on specific place more than specific regions/cities. I guarantee you a place like Chicago is way more expensive to live in than a place like Oroville, CA.
Let me ask you a question: you seem to have already made up your mind on this topic, adding qualifier upon qualifier. Why even make a thread if you already feel strongly about how things are? It seems like a waste of energy.
That's dependent on specific place more than specific regions/cities. I guarantee you a place like Chicago is way more expensive to live in than a place like Oroville, CA.
The median income in Oroville is $18,500. The median home value according to Zillow is $163k. The Chicago metro median income is $60,000 and the median home value is $186k.
Who cares that the Northeast has water around it,This planet was made how it was made by God's creation Lol,You hate California that much than leave the thread. I know how important Nyc is & ive already tipped my hat to Manhattan but you seem to have an inferior complex in dealing with the monster that California is, Once again California has the 7th highest economy on EARTH,Its on the levels of world countries & yet your bias & envy has you looking up reports on anything to bash California, Get a grip bro because it's not that serious. Lets agree to disagree & accept California being king amongst the rest.
The West is the premier region of the United States, The most urban populated region & the most geographically diverse part of the country, Ethnic wise nobody is a major group out here & like i said many view the West as the place where the American dream is achieved,Even New yorkers move out here to find a better Quality of life & rightfully so,The weather & women are amazing.
Last edited by Kobe25; 06-02-2015 at 11:17 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
