Lowest cost of living- NV, NM, CO, or AZ? (Reno: insurance, crime)

[JLC]

I am retiring in 22 months, and I am in the initial stage of planning a move from San Diego to one of those four states: Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, or Arizona. Not counting the initial price of buying property, which of those four states would have the lowest cost of living? Is there a good Internet site with cost of living comparisons?

JLC

[mario826]

Well, Nevada and Colorado are both expensive, and since you are retired I would try New Mexico since the weather is more bearable in the higher elevation cities. Arizona's higher elevation cities are expensive and Phoenix is too hot and crime is bad.

[JLC]

Thank you for the reply... Seems New Mexico is where I am going to look then, as the places in Arizona I was contemplating were all in high elevation. I was considering Durango and Colorado Springs in CO. The only area I was looking at in Nevada was Reno/Sparks.

JLC

[RedWingsFan]

I agree, NM is probably the best option. You can compare cost of living at salary.com

[JLC]

Thanks, RedWingsFan... I will check that site.

JLC

[JLC]

I found a few cost of living comparison sites on the Web....

I did not realize San Diego was so expensive compared with cites in the other states I am considering. I could retire now instead of June 2008, and still be fine! That being said, the cost of living is higher in Reno than Colorado Springs, Flasgstaff, and Santa Fe, which was a surprise. Albuquerque was the cheapest of the cities I consider moving to, but that was not a surprise.

Seems I am definitely going to scratch Nevada, as Reno/Sparks was the only area I was considering, but I'll keep looking at high elevation places in AZ, CO, and NM. It does look as if New Mexico is, indeed, the cheapest of the four states to live in.

[burdell]

I was wondering if anyone has found a site that breaks cost of living into categories? I'm sure there are paces where housing is high but food is low or insurance is high but energy is low, etc. and everyone's needs and desires are a little different.

In my own case I'll be looking for a house that would be considered condiderably smaller than the norm these days and that tends to skew the cost of living numbers.

[JLC]

Try here:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp

I am still searching for other sites.

JLC

[burdell]

Originally Posted by JLC

Try here:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/movecalc.asp

I am still searching for other sites.

JLC

Thanks, that's the sort of thing I was looking for, please post if you find others.

While I'm here I may as well ask, good source for crime stats and gang activity data other than city-data?

[kaursarjit]

I am considering moving to Reno, Nevada, after my brother moves there from SC to take up a new job.
Is the winter there rough like Buffalo? I have been here in Western New York for more than 5 years and dread each long, cruel winter besides the lack of reliable medical care for my child.