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I grew up in NoVa, went to Richmond for college, lived in Richmond briefly after graduating before moving back to the DC area. Richmond is a nice place and it's sort of your typical small-to-mid-size metro area but for me, I found it to be very different from DC. Some people on here get upset at that, I'm not saying Richmond resembles some town in Alabama but it is very different from NoVa imo but not in a bad way.
It just really comes down to what a person wants, what they like, their job, etc.
Would agree. Richmond is not really like DC at all.
Hey, guys...the question wasn't about Richmond being 'like' DC. It was about lower cost of living cities not being overrated . Also, Richmond is a city so of course it doesn't feel like NOVA. NOVA feels more like western Henrico country . Alright, no more hijacking for me.
Hey, guys...the question wasn't about Richmond being 'like' DC. It was about lower cost of living cities not being overrated . Also, Richmond is a city so of course it doesn't feel like NOVA. NOVA feels more like western Henrico country . Alright, no more hijacking for me.
Nothing alike at all, other than proximity. Thank you.
If we are talking about rating cities and COL, we should think about what we want to spend our money on. In my lower COL city, my rent is much less expensive than it would be in many other cities. It just so happens my city also has a huge abundance of professional and amateur theater offerings which is something in which I could never take advantage of attending in a higher rent city.
So using this as an example, the city with the lower COL definitely has the advantage for me, for someone else that may not matter at all. Of course it goes without saying, besides rent the cost of food and other necessities are less expensive as well. That also allows me to be able to afford more activities offered here.
Maybe the key here is how much the lower COL city has to offer the individual. It is certainly not true that all higher COL cities have much more to offer than lower COL cities in every category. It all depends on what one is looking for.
The Midwest is much better in the Great Plains for low cost of living areas. The Great Plains has VERY VERY LITTLE public land, meaning next to no outdoor recreation opportunities at all. You basically have to know people that own land and ask their permission to even access many rural areas. That is an alien concept to most Americans who like being in rural areas outdoors.
Just because it is overrated to you doesn't mean it's overrated. Heck, I have the financial means to live a comfy life pretty much anywhere and I still like having a more moderate COL. Aside from going to the beach (which is not something I really find that exciting) or spending just a day skiing in the rockies, there is nothing anywhere more expensive that I do not have here, just as great or sometimes better. We have great restaurants, great museums, great shows, great schools, great healthcare, great parks...and I comfortably live in a great house in a great area and have plenty of discretionary income to have experiences, travel, etc. And I never have to sit in ridiculous traffic and I enjoy my four seasons. So to me, high COL isn't worth it, even though I can afford it. And, in our particular high income fields, the money is better here relative to COL. Much much better. We paid off our student loans in about 3 years. Our friends in CA spent 15+ years paying off the same loans. They had less money to play with.
I was raised in a very high COL area (southern CA), and now live in a high amenity, moderate COL area. Life is much easier having a very reasonable mortgage payment on a property that meets my needs well in terms of size, location and other features. That situation would never have been possible where I grew up.
On the career side, there is little difference in typical compensation levels and job availability between the two areas. Atlanta has plenty of recreation and cultural assets, and is a quick flight or reasonable drive from a vast number of other places when I want to get away. There are plenty of midsized to major metro areas especially across the South and Midwest that feature both a lower cost of living and are not lacking in quality of life amenities.
If we are talking about rating cities and COL, we should think about what we want to spend our money on. In my lower COL city, my rent is much less expensive than it would be in many other cities. It just so happens my city also has a huge abundance of professional and amateur theater offerings which is something in which I could never take advantage of attending in a higher rent city.
So using this as an example, the city with the lower COL definitely has the advantage for me, for someone else that may not matter at all. Of course it goes without saying, besides rent the cost of food and other necessities are less expensive as well. That also allows me to be able to afford more activities offered here.
Maybe the key here is how much the lower COL city has to offer the individual. It is certainly not true that all higher COL cities have much more to offer than lower COL cities in every category. It all depends on what one is looking for.
Quantified ratio of what's important to you, imo. For a 25 year old kid that wants to be with the "hip" crowd and around the latest and greatest, ok, the coast works.
45 with a family, why not Columbus or Indianapolis?
I was raised in a very high COL area (southern CA), and now live in a high amenity, moderate COL area. Life is much easier having a very reasonable mortgage payment on a property that meets my needs well in terms of size, location and other features. That situation would never have been possible where I grew up.
On the career side, there is little difference in typical compensation levels and job availability between the two areas. Atlanta has plenty of recreation and cultural assets, and is a quick flight or reasonable drive from a vast number of other places when I want to get away. There are plenty of midsized to major metro areas especially across the South and Midwest that feature both a lower cost of living and are not lacking in quality of life amenities.
Yeah I think life priorities change. I grew up in small/medium town Texas for most of my life and I reached an age where it was "hey if you're gonna do this, it's now or never." So I found a job in DC and it was wonderful. Got a better job in Denver, and it's been wonderful. Greenville, was probably not the best idea for us, but guess what, we can move.
I wanted that lifestyle where I lived close to downtown in a walkable area, shopping and bars near by. Came close in DC, but settled on an outer burb as the price difference just didn't make sense. That's why I brought up Columbus, as I think that city has that, at a reasonable price. And I'd do it, even with a family.
But, I"m flexible and versatile. A suburb close to a major city absolutely works for me.
Yes, I absolutely did smoke and drink and have been known to do that on occasion my entire life. I'm enjoying a glass of vino as I type this!
My son moved to Austin a few years ago and has loved it for a long time - he's a bar tender one block off 6th Street in a historic bar there. But he's called me a few times recently bemoaning the lifestyle - he just turned 30. He really can't see partying the rest of his life. He does love the area though so I don't expect him to move back to Tyler (NE Texas as you know) but I do think he's disillusioned with the urban, partying lifestyle at this point.
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. Also, Richmond is a city so of course it doesn't feel like NOVA. NOVA feels more like western Henrico country 
. Alright, no more hijacking for me.
