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When we lived in NYC, my groceries, hba, cleaning, etc. cost about half of what I pay here in a super low income area. In fact, because of the availability of many different markets and pharmacy stores all competing, Walmart prices by comparison were more expensive. That's assuming the shopper takes advantage of sales - not even dealing with coupons which lowered the prices more. Where we are now, coupons are really not a lot of help. The prices are too high and the coupons are only valid at face value.
local college , healthcare costs , buying a car , clothes etc.
in fact our housing costs went up when we bought a 2nd home to retire to in the pocono mountains.
why ?
because we have an apartment in ny and no one lives with us , all the kids are out.
but when we bought a house we needed room to house the whole family since everyone now stays over. now we would have a big house to support if we moved there full time. .
In NYC, an example might be moving from the Brox (which I believe is "affordable") to Long Island (which I think is pricey, but if not, substitute a pricey area).
I'm not talking about moving from NYC to Poconos as Poconos is outside the NYC metropolitian area.
In NYC, an example might be moving from the Brox (which I believe is "affordable") to Long Island (which I think is pricey, but if not, substitute a pricey area).
I'm not talking about moving from NYC to Poconos as Poconos is outside the NYC metropolitian area.
And I'm excluding real estate costs.
Yes, costs can vary in the same metro area. Someone already mentioned groceries and I can attest to that fact. Groceries at the same chain can be much more expensive on Miami Beach compared to Miami. Because of this, I'll sometimes do my shopping when I'm visiting my parents who live in an older Miami suburb. When I lived in Bethesda, MD, groceries also were more expensive than in suburbs 10 miles away. Part of this had to do with the higher rent/real estate costs where the store was located and part of it had to do with the proximity to warehouse grocers in the suburbs.
Another item that costs more in higher COL areas in the same metro is gasoline. As an example, the Shell station near my parents' house is currently selling premium at $2.99 gallon.
So, that's a 40 cents/gallon difference for the exact same gas depending upon where its purchased in the same general metro area. And actually, I've seen it vary by as much as 70 cents/gallon at times.
EDITED TO ADD: Just found another Shell station in the Mid Beach area of Miami Beach where the current price for premium is $3.69.
So now there is a 70 cents/gallon difference between the lowest and highest prices, just as I noted above that I had observed on previous occasions. For those who don't know the area, the four Miami Beach prices above are all within about six or seven miles from one another on Miami Beach, from 71st Street down to 5th Street.
Last edited by MadManofBethesda; 03-16-2015 at 12:06 PM..
Reason: Added prices from another Shell station
03-16-2015, 07:29 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tiredtired
Remember I'm talking about the same metro area.
In NYC, an example might be moving from the Brox (which I believe is "affordable") to Long Island (which I think is pricey, but if not, substitute a pricey area).
I'm not talking about moving from NYC to Poconos as Poconos is outside the NYC metropolitian area.
And I'm excluding real estate costs.
Yes.
I live in an expensive (housing wise) part of town. Groceries, restaurants, gas, etc are all more expensive here than in the poorer parts of the city.
Shopping at City Target costs significantly more than shopping at Target in the suburbs.
When we lived in NYC, my groceries, hba, cleaning, etc. cost about half of what I pay here in a super low income area. In fact, because of the availability of many different markets and pharmacy stores all competing, Walmart prices by comparison were more expensive. That's assuming the shopper takes advantage of sales - not even dealing with coupons which lowered the prices more. Where we are now, coupons are really not a lot of help. The prices are too high and the coupons are only valid at face value.
Exactly, some here are blanketly saying everything is more - like I stated (as you did as well), groceries are much lower here than lower cost areas (and sad to say, the insurance exchange I checked into for where I will probably move is higher than here!)
Outside of real estate costs (mortgage or rent payment), is it more expensive to live in an expensive city as opposed to an affordable city, assuming both cities are in the same metropolitian area?
I am looking at moving from an affordable town to an expensive town. I can calculate what will happen with my cost of mortgage payment, and I can figure out what will happen to the cost of daycare. Both will go up by 50%. I can look at fuel - up probably 10%. Healtcare is unchanged. But I don't know whether my remaining expenses, such as food and household supplies, kids activities, and other monthly expenses will change. In general, do these go up as well?
Do groceries from Safeway (or whatever grocery store) cost more in an expensive town than groceries from Safeway in an affordable town?
Appreciate your feedback
I think it depends largely on the INCOME effect of moving to an expensive city. Top performers in higher-paying fields often get a big boost in an expensive city. People in lower-paying fields tend to lose in expensive cities because the higher cost of living overtakes the higher wages of an expensive city.
if that were true the poverty rate would not be way way higher rural than in cities.
while it may apply to some overall life in the cities for lower incomes seem to be better.
many cities have public transportation , affordable housing programs , city projects for low income and public assistance programs, more opportunity to have more than one job..
it does not mean you get it but they are out there and is one of the reasons folks do better in cities even thougfh costs on some things may run higher.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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I think it depends.
When I lived in Northern Virginia, I lived between two Safeway supermarkets. For some reason I got the circular in the mail for the farther away Safeway but would shop at the closer one, and the advertised prices were not the same. If you have a grocery store nearby that puts their advertisements online, do a comparison with the store's various locations and see if there is a difference.
On the other hand, moving to a small, low-cost town may not have much competition and may price groceries higher than a larger, more expensive town that has several grocery stores competing with each other. Last summer I went to NYC for the day and there were tons of fruit stands around the city selling large packages of strawberries for $1. I'm sure that some less expensive cities nearby don't have that type of competition to sell them that cheap.
Car insurance rates partially go by zip codes so you can call up your agent and give him another zip code and ask what the rates will be. Generally, the higher the crime rate, the higher the cost of the insurance (within the same state).
I find gas prices to be higher in more expensive cities and towns.
I'd say, overall, if the two places are the same size with the same number of amenities, then the more expensive city will be more expensive for most things. But if the more expensive town is bigger with greater competition than a smaller, less expensive city, you might find some things in the more expensive city to be cheaper.
If you compare a big city with a small town, two places I'm intimately familiar with, most things are more expensive in the big city. Food is more expensive, housing is more expensive, transportation is more expensive, restaurants are more expensive.
What you do find in a big city is a wider range of options, so you can find cheap supermarkets and wholesale clubs along with the Whole Foods.
Unless you are comparing exurbs with a car to the city with a monthly transit pass and no car. In this case transportation costs are actually lower with city living than in outlying areas or small towns.
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