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It all depends on what you consider "cheaper". Single, no kids, renter, let the date pick up the tab - it does not matter much where you are. When you are getting towards kids in school, college tuitions on the horizon, corporate ladder, comforts of life - your location may just depend on your job. We lived in GA/AL/TX as far as "South" is concerned. Neither one was/is cheaper then DC for us.
It's cheaper because there's less job opportunities and the salaries are much less than what you would get up north. It also all goes back to supply and demand.
It's cheaper because there's less job opportunities and the salaries are much less than what you would get up north. It also all goes back to supply and demand.
There are not fewer job opportunities in the South - the South in general is booming economically and it's the fastest growing region job wise AND population wise in the country (excluding North Dakota - I'm talking about whole regions, not just pockets of job opportunities).
There are not fewer job opportunities in the South - the South in general is booming economically and it's the fastest growing region job wise AND population wise in the country (excluding North Dakota - I'm talking about whole regions, not just pockets of job opportunities).
Many of these jobs in the south are low wage working class work, the knowledge class work is far more concentrated in the northern cities for the most part. Again...it depends on what you are looking for. For working class people the south may actually be a better place to live, the CoL is lower, and there is a better flow of jobs. To upper middle class knowledge workers there are generally more opportunities in northeast and west coast. While this is not universal, but for somebody with a graduate degree moving to the south is not as wise unless it is Atlanta, The NC research triangle, or Austin. But moving to DC, Boston, Seattle, SF, or NYC can result in a chain of opportunities that they could not find elsewhere. Some of the jobs and opportunities only exist on this scale in these northern cities.
People don't live in averages... it really depends on your lifestyle choices... If you want a big house, multiple vehicles on a typical salary etc... then yeah the south will be cheaper. If you want a white collar job in the south, it will typically pay less or not be as available, living options for smaller places or walkable places are harder to come by and will sometimes be higher for those type of places down south, as they are often only luxury buildings. Hard to find very basic close to DT studios and 1brs there for example.
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Originally Posted by DistrictSonic
Many of these jobs in the south are low wage working class work, the knowledge class work is far more concentrated in the northern cities for the most part. Again...it depends on what you are looking for. For working class people the south may actually be a better place to live, the CoL is lower, and there is a better flow of jobs. To upper middle class knowledge workers there are generally more opportunities in northeast and west coast. While this is not universal, but for somebody with a graduate degree moving to the south is not as wise unless it is Atlanta, The NC research triangle, or Austin. But moving to DC, Boston, Seattle, SF, or NYC can result in a chain of opportunities that they could not find elsewhere. Some of the jobs and opportunities only exist on this scale in these northern cities.
This.
In most places in the south, nobody would care that I went to Northwestern for example, they would rather hire somebody that went to Auburn, they know what Auburn is and probably have people in the jobs there. It would mean nothing except maybe in Atlanta. Many more places up north or on the west coast would care about that. Plus the jobs I would want don't really exist, again, maybe except outside Atlanta or possibly Dallas (if you consider that the south), that's it. I remember talking to somebody from the south and they thought I was talking about Northwestern State (in Louisiana) ... (serious)
Not that *all* northern cities are like that, even Philly is fairly weak... Somewhere like Cleveland or Cincinatti are certainly not great either... but NYC, Boston, LA, SF, Chicago, Seattle, DC are very large markets and huge cities. It's just where people go these days, whether you like the cities or not, best opportunities exist there. You will still have to fight hard for jobs even in those cities, it is no walk in the park, but at least there *are* good jobs there.
Many of these jobs in the south are low wage working class work, the knowledge class work is far more concentrated in the northern cities for the most part. Again...it depends on what you are looking for. For working class people the south may actually be a better place to live, the CoL is lower, and there is a better flow of jobs. To upper middle class knowledge workers there are generally more opportunities in northeast and west coast. While this is not universal, but for somebody with a graduate degree moving to the south is not as wise unless it is Atlanta, The NC research triangle, or Austin. But moving to DC, Boston, Seattle, SF, or NYC can result in a chain of opportunities that they could not find elsewhere. Some of the jobs and opportunities only exist on this scale in these northern cities.
This is very true. I live in the DC area (Northern Virginia) and the constant growth is becoming more and more of a problem which is why we now have the worst traffic in the country. More and more people, especially young people right out of college, are coming to areas like DC, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco and NYC because there's opportunity.
This is very true. I live in the DC area (Northern Virginia) and the constant growth is becoming more and more of a problem which is why we now have the worst traffic in the country. More and more people, especially young people right out of college, are coming to areas like DC, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco and NYC because there's opportunity.
I live in NW DC....so yeah...I know it myself quite well. Not that I am complaining, the cost savings of not having to own a car is not something most people consider. You will never hear me complain about gas prices.
I was having this debate with my friend, who lives in FL the other day. He keeps telling me to move South because it's "cheaper" and there's "no state income tax." But when I do the math, it seems like I would really be in the same boat. I will compare Connecticut and Florida in my example and show you why it's not financially better to move from a state like CT to FL. Here is the fact pattern, which assumes averages, since we can't possibly account for every unique situation:
A person who makes $75,000 in CT will typically make only $50,000 in FL for the same job.
A home that costs $200,000 in CT will cost $120,000 in FL.
So, by moving from CT to FL, you are likely to take a 33% pay cut, but pay 40% less in housing costs. Not to mention, the standard vacation time offered in southern states from employers is awful. Typically only 2 weeks per year. Jobs up north typically give 3-5 weeks per year to start off. So not only do you take a pay cut, you also get slashed in benefits!
HOWEVER, housing costs only account for about 50% of a person's monthly expenses, while everything else is approximately the same between CT and FL (groceries, health care, transportation, clothing, etc.).
So, really, your total expenses are not being reduced by 40%, but rather only about 20%. So why would someone take a 33% pay cut to only have their total expenses reduced by 20%?
The next argument is "omg but FL has no state income tax." Well, that means that you will pay MORE in federal taxes, because you can't deduct state income taxes or higher property taxes paid (if you're a home owner), and deduct motor vehicle taxes paid. That's why people in CT get MUCH bigger tax refunds every year when they file their returns, if they itemize deductions.
Homeowners insurance in FL is about $360 more per year on average, because of hurricanes.
FL has a higher sales tax in most counties, because FL has county layered sales tax for a max of 7.5%. In CT, the sales tax is 6.35% and there are no county level governments in CT.
And finally, over the long term, if you get a 3% raise per year at your job, the dollars earned over a lifetime in CT would be much more than that of FL. For example, a 3% raise on $75,000 would be an additional $2,250 for the first year. But in FL, a 3% raise on a $50,000 income is only a $1,500 raise for the first year. Keep compounding that over a lifetime, and you will have earned $1.9 MILLION more over a 40-year working period in CT instead of FL! This also means that you can contribute more toward retirement and take even further advantage of compounding on the time value of money in your retirement accounts.
So please tell me, why on earth is it cheaper to move down south from New England. The huge pay cuts, the inability to deduct more state income and property taxes, the often higher sales tax rates, and higher homeowners insurance suggests that most people would ultimately be in the same boat.
Florida is cheaper to live than Conn. But if you need a job, Florida typically pays much less so it may result in a lower standard of living. Texas has a better income versus cost than Florida.
I'm contemplating moving from the northwest to Phoenix. It probably wouldn't pay off if I didn't have investments to carry me after moving to Zona because jobs typically pay much less in Phoenix than Seattle.
It's cheaper because there's less job opportunities and the salaries are much less than what you would get up north. It also all goes back to supply and demand.
In years of HR and recruiting in several industries I have rather experienced the opposite.
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