More expensive or Cheaper City

I wouldn't give that chart too much credit.

Three of New York City's five boroughs are listed individually, and they made the top 5, but the other two boroughs aren't listed anywhere! What's the criteria for inclusion?

Quote: pacomartin

Do you regret your decision? Does it depend on your age?

I'm not sure many people make any "decision." It's more where life takes you.

I.E. If your job transfers you, does that count as a "decision" to move to a particular area?

If you pick a specific area, and move there, OK, that's a decision. But I think in many cases, it's other circumstances that causes a person to move.


For what it's worth, combined and ranked at #16 are Bergen County NJ, where I grew up, and it's neighbor Passaic County, where I now live. Although I lived outside of those two counties for a few years in the early 90's, it was only a couple miles outside. Does that really count as "decision" to leave and return?

What's the source for this chart? What criteria did they use? I'm guessing real estate counts for a lot.

I can't say I'm particularly surprised by any of the rankings, but I am surprised that only three Michigan metro areas made the list (Detroit, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids). It must be a reporting issue.

Oh, and to answer the original question... I don't have a good answer, because it all depends. I guess the best of worlds is a great job in a cheap location and the worst is a minimum wage suck job in one of the big cities on the coast (or its posher suburbs). Except, of course, if you need to have fun.

Quote: fremont4ever

What's the source for this chart? What criteria did they use? I'm guessing real estate counts for a lot.

C2ER Council for Community and Economic Research-is an organization created in 1961. They do these calculations every quarter. C2ER used a composite index based on Grocery items, Housing, Utilities,Transportation, Health care, and Misc. goods and services. There calculations are proprietary, and they sell their reports. You can do a ranking based on any one of these individual items (i.e. Housing alone). I only did a simple ranking without showing the actual numbers since it would be using their data without their permission. Their methodology is complex, but I would assume that real estate is very significant.

Some of the ranking positions are surprising to me. It's long been true that Southern Texas is the cheapest place in the country to live, it's also the most ethnically Mexican of the larger regions of the country. And Honolulu, Manhattan, San Francisco,etc. you expect to be near the top.

But some Eastern cities that have little or no services and very high rates of violent crime are also among the most expensive. You would think that real estate would be dirt cheap. Just what you want in a city: cold, expensive, and violent.

Quote: pacomartin

C2ER used a composite index based on Grocery items, Housing, Utilities,Transportation, Health care, and Misc. goods and services. There calculations are proprietary, and they sell their reports.

Stating that Newark-Elizabeth is more expensive (fancier?) than Middlesex-Monmouth elicits a big guffaw that will no doubt continue as I tell others about this one.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Three of New York City's five boroughs are listed individually, and they made the top 5, but the other two boroughs aren't listed anywhere! What's the criteria for inclusion?

WSJ Blog on this list

This list got a lot of attention last October when it was released. But as the list an the explanation of methodology are for sale at a high price, I can't answer all of your questions. I took off the percentages assigned to each city, as that information is presumably proprietary. Most articles only published the top 10-15 and bottom 10-15..

PARTICIPATING AREAS: Areas included in this survey are those where organizations have volunteered to participate. The number of respondents varies from quarter to quarter, and C2ER makes a continuing effort to expand coverage of metropolitan areas. Any metropolitan area not represented in this report is absent because local organizations have opted not to collect data.


raw data is here

Quote: SanchoPanza

Stating that Newark-Elizabeth is more expensive (fancier?) than Middlesex-Monmouth elicits a big guffaw that will no doubt continue as I tell others about this one.

Newark-Elizabeth NJ received a composite index of 132.8% while Middlesex-Monmouth NJ was graded 127.9%. So the difference is not that severe.

Housing, Miscellaneous goods, Transportation, and Utilities were judged to be higher, Health care was lower in Newark-Elizabeth, and Grocery Items were identical. It is difficult to know the precise boundaries of each area.

Cost of Living does not always reflect quality. A community where home ownership has been relatively long term may have lower mortgages than a community of renters.

I never know how they get this crap. GIGO. Listing Buffalo as more expensive than Pittsburgh is just plain silly. My house in a comparable Pittsburgh neighborhood is less than half as expensive. When my son was in Pittsburgh we would go out to eat at equivalent qulaity restaurants that were double what they cost in Buffalo. Even a hockey season ticket is gobs more in Pittsburgh, as is a football season ticket. I had to go downtown and we had to pay $1 per hour to park here in Buffalo, midday. One of my jobs is to recruit doctors to come to Buffalo, not always an easy task. One of the main selling points is the ridiculously low cost of living here. When I show someone a house and what it costs, they often do not believe me. I work with many nurses who make about $60k per year. In Buffalo they are homeowners.

Quote: SOOPOO

I never know how they get this crap. GIGO. Listing Buffalo as more expensive than Pittsburgh is just plain silly.

It's probably comparing 'greater Pittsburgh' with 'greater Buffalo'. The actual city of Pittsburgh is fairly expensive and nice. Pittsburgh is one of those relatively rare cities where the suburbs are slummy and much more violent than center city.