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I am often amused by those who claim that Santa Fe is unaffordable for anyone who isn't wealthy. Give me a break! So rather than just have us folks tell you what we think the cost of living is here, I figured I'd see what the 2008 city rankings are for the Cost of Living Index. The link is below. You will note that Asheville, NC has a COL Index of 100, while Santa Fe's is 103. That is really close.
Of course if you want low, then you could move to Joplin, MO (COL Index 84) - but then you'd have to live there (with all the other McPain supporters) . And, for example we're a lot more affordable than Elmira, New York (COLI of 127); now there's a place I'd consider!!!!!
I love your post Thanks so much for the link ~ I had looked on another website for a comparison and it stated a greater difference but it wasn't current. I know the prices in Asheville are very high in comparison to other cities and considering the minimum wage difference between Santa Fe and everywhere else it seems that that extra 3 points won't make much or any difference to us, already used to paying a higher cost of living.
I just ran someone moving from Asheville to Santa Fe that makes $60,000 annually.
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Guess it depends upon what source you use. This ones shows Santa Fe to be more expensive than Asheville. I suppose how amused you are over people thinking Santa Fe is expensive depends upon you point of view too. The expensive factor here seems to be housing, but as a realtor you would have no reason to want to skew that statistic.
Vinegaroon is correct, I do not want to skew the housing statistic, and that's why I didn't. The COLI I referenced was the AVERAGE Cost of Living Index, as I believe THAT was the question posed - NOT the Housing Index. If we were to talk just about housing, the statistics show that housing in Santa Fe is comparably more expensive than Asheville. In 2007 the median cost of a house/condo in Santa Fe was $330,000. In Asheville it was $234,372. Nationally it was $359,352.
btw, info on this City-Data site shows the COLI in Santa Fe for 2008 to be 97.1.
As my old statistics prof in grad school was fond of saying "Figures don't lie, but liars figure."
Whether or not an individual can live comfortably or not in any particular place basically comes down to their income and lifestyle choices.
I appreciate the discussion as it is one that goes on constantly GSF. Different approaches to the problem aside, I usually resort to my own experience. I have lived in many different cities and towns across the country, and have visited even more. From my personal experience, it just feels more expensive to live here. My experience in Santa Fe is that the gas is higher here than in Albuquerque, the restaurants more expensive than most towns this size, the rents higher, the housing ridiculously expensive for what you get in land and structure, etc. There is a reason that it is common knowledge here in Santa Fe that if you are buying a high end item like a vehicle, you can save a good chunk of money by driving an hour to Albuquerque. I imagine I will hear some protests, so my pre-emptive response is that you all doth protest too much.
I would like to hear from others that live in and around Santa Fe, or have previously lived here. Does it feel like Santa Fe is more expensive to live in, or is that just a myth?
I live in Austin and have been "pining" for a Santa Fe move now for over 2 years and have to say that Austin maybe even more expensive than SF. For example, you will find very few restaurants (if you like to go out to dine) that charge less than $9 an entree. It's like a rule here. Gas has gone down to $1.97 a gallon in less than a month (if we had a gas crisis, etc. then how come the price dropped so dramatically in the past month? ok, this is just my opinion).
A gallon of milk here has jumped to $4.57 at walmart. I don't mean to be too specific but for those who love to eat chicken, this one is a heartbreaker price wise -- I shopped at the local HEB store (chain grocery stores here in Texas) and found a pound and a half pack of boneless chicken for $8.00. Next to it was "air chilled" chicken $14.00 for about a pound and a half. What the heck is that?! Oh my word. If you use public transportation, express buses are now $1.50 one way and .75 cents regular bus one way. A pint of cream corn at the ever popular Rudy's BBQ is $4.50. I saw a 2/1 "cozy bungalow cottage type" near UT Austin renting for $1,600 a month and selling for.....get this....$489,000, just because it's in a nifty area.
And here is just an example of the real estate market here, and believe me, that house just looks big:
You know, I bet I could ditch my car and walk everywhere (well, most anywhere) in Santa Fe because it's very pedestrian friendly and save a lot of money in the process. Here in Austin, it's horrible. You're walking along in a neighborhood and the sidewalks just end, like they didn't have enough money to finish them. Sometimes you have to risk your life if you take the bus and have to walk home on the street. Just darn pitiful. Geez.
My word, Aspen is waaay too expensive. Give me a teepee or hut in Santa Fe anytime.
Yikes southernjedi, you'll find Santa Fe "cheap" compared to those prices you quoted!!! Except for gas (here it's around $2.33 - 2.40/gal), we've got it made compared to Austin!
Like Vinegaroon, I too have lived in towns and cities all over he country and yes, prices for certain things like gas and big ticket items are less in Albuquerque, where you've got 10x the population and a lot more retail competition. And yes, compared to some other places I've lived, prices here seem higher - but then again it might be more a function of time rather than place, in other words I lived in those other places years ago when everything was cheaper. I just got back from trips to Tucson and the Fort Lauderdale area, and I didn't find much of a difference between those places and Santa Fe in terms of restaurants/ supermarkets/gas (although it seemed a bit more expensive in southern Florida).
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. And, for example we're a lot more affordable than Elmira, New York (COLI of 127); now there's a place I'd consider!!!!!
Thanks so much for the link ~ I had looked on another website for a comparison and it stated a greater difference but it wasn't current. I know the prices in Asheville are very high in comparison to other cities and considering the minimum wage difference between Santa Fe and everywhere else it seems that that extra 3 points won't make much or any difference to us, already used to paying a higher cost of living.
