New York pays: wages are 30% higher here

[Jimmyboger08]

They ought to be.

[ogplife]

Originally Posted by MStant1

By the time I retire Social Security will be even more worthless than it is now. However that's kind of my plan.

I plan on inflating my salary here in NYC, then when I want to start a family (8-10 years from now?) move to a cheaper city while trying to convince the job I am worth my same salary if not a raise in the new city.

Great post. New York has and always will be the best city in the world , but if you are 35 and struggling with a "middle class" salary you have no one to blame but yourself because financially your dollar would stretch much farther in many other places. If you are rich (household income 500,000 and up IMO) there is no other place I could imagine wanting to be (that I have seen).

[Glitterific]

Originally Posted by UpstaterInBklyn

Those numbers are way off.

I became suspect with the claim that Houston is 92% cheaper. That means that $50,000 in NYC has the same buying power as $4000 in Houston?! A $100,000 salary in NYC equals an $8000 salary in Houston?!

Anyway, I checked. maybe you read the numbers wrong. Here are numbers I got from the same source. They seem more realistic.

Dallas: 44% cheaper
Houston: 48% cheaper
Austin: 42% cheaper
Atlanta: 32% cheaper
Philadelphia: 44% cheaper
Boston: 22% cheaper
Washington: 1% more expensive
Chicago: 23% cheaper
San Francisco: 14% more expensive
Los Angeles: 5% cheaper

*crosses SF off of possible future cities to live in*