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Old 10-19-2009, 09:49 AM
 
Location: Los Altos Hills, CA
36,630 posts, read 67,185,104 times
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I think they factor in Income. Meaning what percentage of the population can afford these things.

Otherwise, as far as groceries and everyday items, Honolulu is more expensive than any of those other cities in my experience. The prices at their supermarkets are outrageous compared to the mainland cause everything is shipped there by boat.
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Old 10-19-2009, 10:55 AM
 
Location: The land of sugar... previously Houston and Austin
5,429 posts, read 14,783,996 times
Reputation: 3672
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frodo2008 View Post
I'm really surprised Houston is on this list. Usually Houston like other Texas cities are on the cheapest places to live list.
For the middle-class or average family looking for an average part of town or the suburbs, Houston is not an expensive place to live.

Look at the methodology of the list. Basically, it's based on living the high life. If someone wants to live in Houston's most prestigious areas such as River Oaks, West University, the Memorial Villages etc... it's going to cost a lot. Those areas are no cheaper (and in many cases are even more) than many other major cities. The list wasn't based on someone living in Katy, Kingwood, Pearland or other suburbs. Add the expensive homeowners insurance and utilities you'd be paying on an older mansion in those most desirable areas, and you'd be dealing with some very high costs.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Frodo2008 View Post
Yeah usually Austin and Dallas are more expensive than Houston. Usually Austin is the most expensive city in TX. Austin is the city everybody brags about. Not many people brag about Houston. It's just a good place to earn some dinero.
I don't think Austin and Dallas are usually much more expensive. They're all reasonably comparable.

Austin is overhyped. Houston has a lot more to brag about, it just hasn't been a media darling like Austin. There's a reason Houston is on this list and that you'd have a pay a premium in those desirable neighborhoods I mentioned... desirable locations in close proximity to some of the best amenities the nation's 4th largest city has to offer that you won't find somewhere like Austin. The prices can't be justified without reasonable demand.
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Old 10-19-2009, 11:12 AM
 
776 posts, read 1,271,404 times
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Houston? Miami? Depends upon where you locate within these two. Some parts are quite affordable.

White Plains? Ha! Two words for this entry as most expensive city: Poppycock.
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Old 10-19-2009, 11:38 AM
 
8,276 posts, read 11,844,640 times
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Default This list..

..is a little flawed; I don't think Houston and Miami are extraordinarily expensive, and Boston is more expensive than Chicago, although they are close.

There is no reason why White Plains shouldn't be lumped in with NYC; this is just splitting hairs..
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Old 10-19-2009, 07:58 PM
 
Location: At the center of the universe!
1,179 posts, read 2,054,057 times
Reputation: 383
Quote:
Originally Posted by AK123 View Post
For the middle-class or average family looking for an average part of town or the suburbs, Houston is not an expensive place to live.

Look at the methodology of the list. Basically, it's based on living the high life. If someone wants to live in Houston's most prestigious areas such as River Oaks, West University, the Memorial Villages etc... it's going to cost a lot. Those areas are no cheaper (and in many cases are even more) than many other major cities. The list wasn't based on someone living in Katy, Kingwood, Pearland or other suburbs. Add the expensive homeowners insurance and utilities you'd be paying on an older mansion in those most desirable areas, and you'd be dealing with some very high costs.



I don't think Austin and Dallas are usually much more expensive. They're all reasonably comparable.

Austin is overhyped. Houston has a lot more to brag about, it just hasn't been a media darling like Austin. There's a reason Houston is on this list and that you'd have a pay a premium in those desirable neighborhoods I mentioned... desirable locations in close proximity to some of the best amenities the nation's 4th largest city has to offer that you won't find somewhere like Austin. The prices can't be justified without reasonable demand.
Austin, Dallas and Houston are very comparable but usually Dallas is slightly more than Houston and Austin is slightly more than Dallas. Since we're talking about TX its splitting hairs because all three are very cheap compared to most U.S. cities. As far as Austin being overrated it's nice that its on the edge of the hill country but as far as the city goes I don't see anything special about it. It seems like an average city to me other than the music scene. The two main differences between Houston and Austin is Houston is flat since it's on the coastal plain and Austin is where the nice hills start and Austin is known for its big music scene. I guess it all depends on what you're looking for because I've been to Boston and I thought it was a very average city too. Austin and Boston are nice cities but they seem pretty average to me. So all the people that place these cities above most other U.S. cities they must be looking for something specific in these cities.
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Old 10-19-2009, 07:59 PM
 
Location: At the center of the universe!
1,179 posts, read 2,054,057 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair View Post
I think they factor in Income. Meaning what percentage of the population can afford these things.

Otherwise, as far as groceries and everyday items, Honolulu is more expensive than any of those other cities in my experience. The prices at their supermarkets are outrageous compared to the mainland cause everything is shipped there by boat.
Yeah I heard the same thing about Alaska. I heard the cost of living is high because they have to ship everything up there.
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Old 10-19-2009, 09:22 PM
 
1,084 posts, read 3,857,086 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MassVt View Post
..is a little flawed; I don't think Houston and Miami are extraordinarily expensive, and Boston is more expensive than Chicago, although they are close.

There is no reason why White Plains shouldn't be lumped in with NYC; this is just splitting hairs..
Quote:
Originally Posted by monkey cabal View Post
Houston? Miami? Depends upon where you locate within these two. Some parts are quite affordable.

White Plains? Ha! Two words for this entry as most expensive city: Poppycock.

i dont know what you think is affordable in miami, when most people make $7-$8 an hour and houses in the hood go for 130k when the avg middle class house goes for 330k in the suburbs , houses in the middle lower middle class areas in the city of miami go for 250k and most of these houses are 2-3 bedroom 1-2 bath houses btw.
the cheapest prices are in homestad,fl miami dade county where you can get a 2 bed house for like 80-90k
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Old 10-24-2009, 08:06 AM
 
Location: Springfield VA
4,036 posts, read 9,208,291 times
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Live in the DC area and have a hard time believing that it's more expensive here than Houston. Boy oh boy what I would give to stay in VA and pay Houston prices for a place. Yeah I heard that Miami is super expensive and that the pay isn't that great. The thing about DC is that the pay is higher here to justify the cost of living.

Here's MY list

1. NYC
2. San Francisco
3. DC
3. Honolulu (tied?)
4. LA
5. Boston
6. Seattle
7. Miami
8. San Diego'
9. Anchorage
10. New Orleans?
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Old 10-24-2009, 12:55 PM
 
Location: Denver Colorado
2,561 posts, read 5,790,153 times
Reputation: 2246
Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair View Post
I think they factor in Income. Meaning what percentage of the population can afford these things.

Otherwise, as far as groceries and everyday items, Honolulu is more expensive than any of those other cities in my experience. The prices at their supermarkets are outrageous compared to the mainland cause everything is shipped there by boat.
I was looking at City Data COL info. didn't look at Honolulu..but glanced at NYC's most expensive zip 10013, Tribeca..and San Francisco's 94104..
94104 over all COL was 499 and tribeca was like 330..Just shows while housing prices are a major component/factor..they are far from the whole COL picture. From what I saw Malibu with a 227 was a virtual bargain comparatively speaking to much of the Bay area..Of course Malibu does have the Bentley Factor going for it..lol..This top San Fran zip code in my quick search through City Data was highest when it came to COL index. The 100 figure is what they use as their US average baseline.

Last edited by Scott5280; 10-24-2009 at 01:16 PM..
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Old 10-25-2009, 12:40 AM
 
Location: At the center of the universe!
1,179 posts, read 2,054,057 times
Reputation: 383
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott5280 View Post
I was looking at City Data COL info. didn't look at Honolulu..but glanced at NYC's most expensive zip 10013, Tribeca..and San Francisco's 94104..
94104 over all COL was 499 and tribeca was like 330..Just shows while housing prices are a major component/factor..they are far from the whole COL picture. From what I saw Malibu with a 227 was a virtual bargain comparatively speaking to much of the Bay area..Of course Malibu does have the Bentley Factor going for it..lol..This top San Fran zip code in my quick search through City Data was highest when it came to COL index. The 100 figure is what they use as their US average baseline.
Yes you're correct SF has the highest cost of living in the continental U.S. Manhattan is real expensive but that is only one part of NYC. NYC as a whole is definitely cheaper than SF. When people are referring to the COL in NYC they are usually referring to Manhattan and not the average for the whole city.
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