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I can't think of a single low cost of living area of the United States I could stand to live in. So I've learned to put up with the sacrifices (small living/roommates, crowds, competition) that it takes to live in a high COL metro. I'll take a lifestyle over a fatter bank account any day of the week.
Depending on what people prefer in the way of a lifestyle, sometimes they can have both.
I think a place like Columbus, Ohio has that honestly.
The cities of Ohio have really impressed me and surprised me, frankly. I can see why my brother loves living near Dayton. I mean, it's not for me because I don't like a winter that's that long, but I can see why people love that area.
Interesting diversity, urbanity, good public transit, cosmopolitan culture, huge amounts of choice in food, high wages, progressive politics, etc, etc, etc...
It entirely depends on the kind of lifestyle you wanna live. I'm a gay guy in my 20s. Youngstown, Ohio isn't exactly an appealing place for someone in my demographic. I'm pretty limited in the type of environment I can enjoy living in, and that's okay because I don't think 95% of the United States is a worthwhile place to live anyway.
It was never my intention to suggest that Youngstown would have everything you're looking for. But there are, imo, low COL cities that do have what you're looking for. (e g. Cleveland) But most of what you listed is subjective. One person's interesting is another person's boring.
The cities of Ohio have really impressed me and surprised me, frankly. I can see why my brother loves living near Dayton. I mean, it's not for me because I don't like a winter that's that long, but I can see why people love that area.
Yeah, from my research, you get the urbanity, at suburban price in the three major cities. Now, I have no connection there, I know one person, and have never visited, so no reason for me to go. I've already made three moves nearly sight unseen, a fourth would have to be a city or area I have visited many times.
But yeah, if I'm 25, I could live in a walkable area in Columbus, save a wad of cash and visit the coasts often.
I gotta say, you're right, sometimes it is an ego thing. Atlanta is pretty inexpensive though.
Yeah, ego plays a big part in it. Sometimes some people want to feel like the envy of their friends or some may want the prestige of living in a big city.
Yeah, ego plays a big part in it. Sometimes some people want to feel like the envy of their friends or some may want the prestige of living in a big city.
And the envy of friends play into it. Living in DC or Denver, my Texas friends hated on me if I posted anything weather related, even a forecast of snow. Or when I was at the monuments or on a hike. Just human nature I guess.
When I was in college I wanted to live an urban life, the life of a well heeled, well traveled sophisticated urban maverick - think Sex in the City sort of woman. I wanted to live in a loft, decorated in a minimalist style. I wanted to hail taxis or ride the subway rather than the hassle of owning a car. I didn't want a dog, or even kids for that matter. I wanted to hang out in fancy or even not so fancy bars and clubs, I wanted to look out from a tiny patio across the city lights with a martini in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
Now the very idea of that lifestyle makes me shake my head and wonder how I could be the same person who thought she wanted all that. Now I'm living a life that makes my twenty something year old son say "Sorry, Mom, but I don't want a life like yours - I mean, what do you do for fun, work in the yard? Walk the dogs? Paint siding? Go to church? What?"
What I do - and it's actually very satisfying - is first and foremost - live comfortably with plenty of expendable income and free time. I don't have to backpack across Europe - I can fly first class and stay in great hotels. I do like walking my dogs. I actually like working in the yard! (I pay someone else to paint siding, though, and to mow the lawn.) My husband and I love short little trips to wherever, spur of the moment, but we also love sitting out on the patio every evening (not one that overlooks city lights though - one that overlooks a backyard with plenty of trees and windchimes and gardens and bird and squirrel feeders), and we love going to concerts to see bands who all look really, really old to us now but they still sound good! We love trying new recipes together. We love throwing parties for grandkids. We love laying on the living room floor with our dogs. We love sleeping late and drinking a pot of coffee in the morning.
What I'm saying is that to everything there is a season and what we want at one point in our lives we may not want at all down the road. There was a time when I would have loved renting a 400 square foot loft smack dab in the middle of some huge city - but now I want a spacious home with a big yard and with two guest rooms.
I don't think people who want to live in an urban setting with a high COL are stupid. I just think they want different things at this particular stage of their lives than I want, and that's fine.
It was never my intention to suggest that Youngstown would have everything you're looking for. But there are, imo, low COL cities that do have what you're looking for. (e g. Cleveland) But most of what you listed is subjective. One person's interesting is another person's boring.
That is true, it is subjective, and that was kind of my point. It entirely depends on the kind of life you want to live. I wouldn't be happy living outside the few areas I mentioned above, but that doesn't mean they're bad places. My point was that it wouldn't be worth (for me) giving up the lifestyle that can only be had in a few places just for a bigger house and a car, etc. I'm perfectly okay with paying more for a bedroom with a roommate in a "okay" neighborhood here in the city than my parents pay in their mortgage for a nice house. It all depends on what you want.
That is true, it is subjective, and that was kind of my point. It entirely depends on the kind of life you want to live. I wouldn't be happy living outside the few areas I mentioned above, but that doesn't mean they're bad places. My point was that it wouldn't be worth (for me) giving up the lifestyle that can only be had in a few places just for a bigger house and a car, etc. I'm perfectly okay with paying more for a bedroom with a roommate in a "okay" neighborhood here in the city than my parents pay in their mortgage for a nice house. It all depends on what you want.
True dat.
My son, who thinks my suburban life in a small city in Texas sounds like hell on earth, lives in Guam in a tiny town, it's always 80 degrees there, all year long, and he goes scuba diving every day. To me THAT sounds like hell on earth, but he thinks he has the best life in the world, so we're both happy!
There's something out there for all of us. We should all be blessed to be earning and spending our money on what is important to us and who and what we love, rather than hating where we live and what we feel forced to spend our money on.
When mid sized cities compare themselves to better larger cities (like Midwest cities comparing to Chicago or the coasts) they always like to say, well we have a lower cost of living. But really that is not a good reason.
1. Bigger cities have jobs and careers that pay more. I could move to a 3rd world country with a low cost of living, but jobs would pay under minimum wage and the quality of life would be depressing.
2. Even if a home costs more and I would have to get a smaller home, I would still be okay with that because I would be happier in a smaller home, but in a great metro/city. The trade off is worth it.
You're oversimplifying this quite a bit, here. Firstly, not all "low cost of living" cities are the same and it is very possible for many folks to obtain what they're really looking for in a smaller metro area without being forced to put up with increasingly exorbitant housing costs and soul-crushing traffic congestion.
I think we can all reasonably agree that moving from Washington, DC to, say, Richmond, Virginia is not the same as moving to a "third world country." For many people, the Richmonds of the world are a perfectly satisfying urban alternative without the obscene costs involved. And for the certain things that Richmond may be lacking compared to a large metro area, it's a perfectly satisfying arrangement to make a periodic roadtrip to the "big city" to take part in such activities/amenities.
You're certainly entitled to personally disagree, but for most people, cost-of-living will always be top of mind.
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