Anyone else live in a low cost of living area?

[gypsymama]

Curious if I'm the only one on the boards living on little to no money LOL. This is sort of a spin off but it's come up in a few threads now. It seems that many people here live in high cost of living areas compared to mine. The grocery thread is discussing grocery budgets in $1000-1500 range and the childcare thread is talking $15-20/hr for childcare, etc.

 

$1500 on groceries would be 50% of our income.

$15-20/hr for childcare is more than my husband makes and he has a skilled job.

 

Just curious to see if anyone else lives in a low COL area. I was raised in a low income family and I don't prioritize materialism so maybe I'm jaded?  

 

 

 

 

[VaKim]

Yep, we do. Our "groceries" for 4 people, 4 dogs, and 8 cats, averages around 800-1000 per month. That includes everything - paper products, animal food, shampoo, makeup, light bulbs, whatever. You can still find a small house or apartment around here for less than 400 a month rent. 

[NCMom]

We do. You could easily rent a house for $400 a mo. A super nice house for $650. You could buy produce from a farmer for half what they charge at the grocery store.

 

The trade-off is that it is a pit. Things like almost no parks (and the 3 that exist are pitiful), certain people actively fight things like a YMCA :glare:, etc.   Yeah it's not worth it unless you are retired, which indeed a large number of the people who live here are.

 

ETA - I'm not sure what living in a low COL are has to do with materialism?  We moved here from a village in in NE with a LOT higher median income. I saw less materialism there, though of course that just my experience.

 

Georgia

Edited June 2, 2016 by Georgia in NC

[Farrar]

I should not read the amounts in this thread. I should not read the amounts in this thread. Not looking. Lalalalalalalalalala...

 

Crud. Now I'm depressed.

 

Signed, High COL resident

[Amira]

I don't right now but I often do. We've lived with a smaller income in several different high COL areas too and we didn't spend that much on groceries and I didn't hire babysitters when my children were young. There are plenty of people on lower incomes in high COL areas.

 

I don't think any of this has much to do with materialism though. Different people choose different jobs, different places to live, and different things to spend or not spend their money on.

[raptor_dad]

I think the low COL thing is all relative. We live in Minneapolis which I consider to be ridiculously cheap... but then the last place we lived for a length of time was Seattle. When DW last looked at jobs she was looking at a different job in Minneapolis, LA, and Toronto. Even Houston was way more expensive for the few urban walkable neighborhoods that we would consider. Yeah, my parents home in rural NC is much cheaper but there aren't good jobs or the types of places we want to live. I think you have to balance COL to earning potential and the optimal match is going to differ greatly based on career.

Edited June 2, 2016 by raptor_dad

[SparklyUnicorn]

Curious if I'm the only one on the boards living on little to no money LOL. This is sort of a spin off but it's come up in a few threads now. It seems that many people here live in high cost of living areas compared to mine. The grocery thread is discussing grocery budgets in $1000-1500 range and the childcare thread is talking $15-20/hr for childcare, etc.

 

$1500 on groceries would be 50% of our income.

$15-20/hr for childcare is more than my husband makes and he has a skilled job.

 

Just curious to see if anyone else lives in a low COL area. I was raised in a low income family and I don't prioritize materialism so maybe I'm jaded?  

 

I know I'm being a nit pick here, but how can $1500 be half of his income if he is making less than $15 an hour?  Unless he is working a lot of overtime. 

 

COL where I am is average except taxes.  Taxes are very high.

[fraidycat]

I should not read the amounts in this thread. I should not read the amounts in this thread. Not looking. Lalalalalalalalalala...

 

Crud. Now I'm depressed.

 

Signed, High COL resident

This.

 

A super nice HOUSE to live for $650!? We pay 3X that much for only a somewhat decent apartment. Not crappy, but not luxurious, either.

Edited June 2, 2016 by fraidycat

[J-rap]

We do.  It has made a lot of things more doable.  For example, we bought our old 100+ year old Victorian home for $16,000.  (We did put money into it!)  That made it possible to pay off all of dh's school/graduate school loans so much more quickly.  The downside is that we plan to move someday to a larger metro area in our state, where home prices will be outrageously higher than they are here.  We will need to move from a medium size home to a very tiny one I suppose.

 

But, we also made other choices that helped.  We chose to have just one car instead of two for many years (most things were walkable); we didn't get cable, air conditioning, etc.  But even these choices would not have been possible in other areas.  Everything just seems so simple here.  Not a lot of choices, most things walkable, children's activities are all very affordable.

[kitten18]

We used to live in Kansas City, that was nice. It was a great place to get started.

[Ottakee]

West is pretty good for grocery prices but most starting wages are $10-12/hour. Even with a 5 year degree I am substitute teaching for $13/hour which is for the most severely disabled students....full lifts, tube feeds, suctioning, etc. Certainly not a no skill job.

 

Housing though is at a shortages, esp rentals and they can easily be $700-1000 for a basic 2-3 bedroom apartment in an OK neighborhood.

[happypamama]

I should not read the amounts in this thread. I should not read the amounts in this thread. Not looking. Lalalalalalalalalala...

 

Crud. Now I'm depressed.

 

Signed, High COL resident

We lived where you live, and COL and general commotion and busyness drove us nuts.  So now we live in a lower COL area, but we have a long commute.  There's only so rural we're ever going to get because of DH's industry, or else he'd be traveling a lot during the week, overnight and such.  No, thanks.  

 

I see $10 an hour advertised at Aldi.  I don't know how that compares to the rest of the country.  A 3BR house would probably rent for about $1200 or so, and would sell for $200K (maybe more if nice, maybe less if a fixer-upper?)?  It might depend on how close you are to Gettysburg.  I'm not sure.  It's been a decade since I looked, and my house is not at all similar to much of anything.

[Guest]

$1500/month would nearly be my entire income :). My mortgage is less than a third of that. But we still have nice parks, free lunches for all school age kids during the summer, amazing libraries, etc. So in some ways it doesn't feel low income. Although, if I didn't have a car, I wouldn't be able to drive the 15-45 minutes to get to most of those things, since there is no public transportation. Then I might be feeling a little different.

[gypsymama]

We do. You could easily rent a house for $400 a mo. A super nice house for $650. You could buy produce from a farmer for half what they charge at the grocery store.

 

The trade-off is that it is a pit. Things like almost no parks (and the 3 that exist are pitiful), certain people actively fight things like a YMCA :glare:, etc.   Yeah it's not worth it unless you are retired, which indeed a large number of the people who live here are.

 

ETA - I'm not sure what living in a low COL are has to do with materialism?  We moved here from a village in in NE with a LOT higher median income. I saw less materialism there, though of course that just my experience.

 

Georgia

 

Materialism is probably the wrong word choice. I'm not thinking of a better word for it at the moment other than 'materialism' in the sense of prioritizing the quality of things. What I mean are lifestyle choices. We chose to buy a smaller, decent home that needed minor repairs and possibly updating instead of getting a larger, newer/nicer suburban home. We keep a decent, older car and maintain it compared to the newer, more expensive cars some people like, etc. I know we live in a low COL area given that there ARE lower cost choices but I'm just wondering if some of it is more based on the fact that I'm cheap  :lol:

 

I know I'm being a nit pick here, but how can $1500 be half of his income if he is making less than $15 an hour?  Unless he is working a lot of overtime. 

 

COL where I am is average except taxes.  Taxes are very high.

 

You're right it's MORE than 50% of his income. Right now he actually is making a lot of overtime with it being summer. Even with the OT it's roughly 60% of his income. Honestly in winter when he's getting regular 40 hr weeks only it'd probably be nearly ALL of his bring home pay.

[Spryte]

Re: low COL areas - aren't the jobs in those area fairly limited, and perhaps lower paying? Does the COL even out taking into account salary differences?

 

We have just moved to a very slightly lower COL area (still considered high COL, but not quite as high as some) We are fortunate in that DH can work from home, and go see clients fairly rarely. We can't move much further from an actual city and keep his job workable.

Edited June 2, 2016 by Spryte

[pinkmint]

This.

 

A super nice HOUSE to live for $650!? We pay 3X that much for only a somewhat decent apartment. Not crappy, but not luxurious, either.

The house we rent is not much more than that amount. However it is not what anyone would consider nice (through in stray dogs, trash everywhere on the street and people smoking weed and drinking brown bag adult beverages). Sometimes you get what you pay for.

[gypsymama]

$1500/month would nearly be my entire income :). My mortgage is less than a third of that. But we still have nice parks, free lunches for all school age kids during the summer, amazing libraries, etc. So in some ways it doesn't feel low income. Although, if I didn't have a car, I wouldn't be able to drive the 15-45 minutes to get to most of those things, since there is no public transportation. Then I might be feeling a little different.

 

We have good resources here too. It's part of why we moved. The area we moved from was a low COL area also but it was dreary since we had nothing in the area to do. We also don't have public transportation since we don't live in a city so that's a factor. City living can definitely alter costs if you have good resources! 

[kitten18]

Re: low COL areas - aren't the jobs in those area fairly limited, and perhaps lower paying? Does the COL even out taking into account salary differences?

 

We have just moved to a very slightly lower COL area (still considered high COL, but not quite as high as some) We are fortunate in that DH can work from home, and go see clients fairly rarely. We can't move much further from an actual city and keep his job workable.

There are entire regions that have a fairly low COL. Some companies pay employees more to move to a high COL area but it's usually not enough to make up for the higher COL.

Overall, the entire K.C. metro area is pretty low COL and there's all kinds of jobs and industries.

Rural areas generally have a lower COL but you don't have to be rural for costs to be lower.

[City Mouse]

I live in an area of low income. $10-12 per hour is a decent job for non-college educated. The local prison pays $14 per hour to start with a lot of overtime available. The highest paid people here work for the state or some government entity, think teachers, police officers, municipal workers.

 

People will only pat $20-25 per day for all day babysitting. Rents are low because most of the houses are old and not in great condition, but cost to buy a house is not so low, but many people live in family homes that have been paid for for many generations which results in low housing costs. Property taxes are very low, but there is state income tax. We are in a very small community and isolated so transportation costs are higher. Prices for individual food items is higher due to the costs of getting stuff here, but food budgets are probably lower because people eat very cheaply (but not necessarily healthy) and often hunt for meat one raise their own. Most people use wood for heating, and can cut their own from the national forest for a small yearly fee. We buy ours from a local guy who cuts it and speed abou $500 yr on wood.

 

However, If we wanted to live a typical middle class lifestyle like we left in Houston, the COL would be much higher.

[Ann.without.an.e]

It must vary within the same state too because I'm also in NC and that's not my situation at all :(

 

 

We do. You could easily rent a house for $400 a mo. A super nice house for $650. You could buy produce from a farmer for half what they charge at the grocery store.

 

The trade-off is that it is a pit. Things like almost no parks (and the 3 that exist are pitiful), certain people actively fight things like a YMCA :glare:, etc.   Yeah it's not worth it unless you are retired, which indeed a large number of the people who live here are.

 

ETA - I'm not sure what living in a low COL are has to do with materialism?  We moved here from a village in in NE with a LOT higher median income. I saw less materialism there, though of course that just my experience.

 

Georgia

 

[fairfarmhand]

I suppose we do.

 

Groceries, not including my dh's lunches, but all meals for six of us except for that is $700 a month. That's paper products, cleaning stuff, hygeine, dog food, etc

 

I do have eggs from my chickens. In summer I can reduce that by probably $40 a week by eating from the garden and the orchard.  In winter, I have a cow in milk.

 

Next fall, when we take our steer to slaughter, I should be able to reduce a bit more because I won't need to buy meat.

 

I live in Middle TN. In season, shopping sales, produce is fairly inexpensive if you're careful.

 

Three of my four kids are over age 10 and so eat as much as an adult.

 

No special diets or anything, but I do cook a lot, most snacks every supper. Lunches are sandwiches or leftovers and cereal is often for breakfast.

Edited June 2, 2016 by fairfarmhand

[NCMom]

It must vary within the same state too because I'm also in NC and that's not my situation at all :(

You probably live in a much nicer part of the state though, lol!

 

Georgia

[Ann.without.an.e]

So I am curious - high cost vs low cost usually just pertains to wages vs housing, right?  Aren't food prices fairly similar everywhere?

Edited June 2, 2016 by Attolia

[Dmmetler]

I hadn't really thought that we did, until DH was looking at a job transfer and we found our $100K house here would cost about $400K there. And that wasn't even moving to a known high COL area like NYC or San Francisco, either. In our case, salary wasn't going to change-DH would have been working the same job for the same company, just in a different place.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 2, 2016 by dmmetler

[QueenCat]

I hear of these low col places but have never had the chance to explore living in them........ jobs for dh are usually in areas in moderate col areas. Just moved to a slightly higher col area but it's still not too bad. Last location was lower for housing but everything else is about the same. You can rent here for under $1000 month but not in areas that are particularly safe. Buying in a nice but not luxurious area requires 250-300k for 2200-2400 sq ft. More than last place but less than the area we lived before that.

[Ann.without.an.e]

You probably live in a much nicer part of the state though, lol!

 

Georgia

 

 

Yes, we have parks and they are about to build one of the best Y's in the nation in a county near us.

[fairfarmhand]

So I am curious - high cost vs low cost usually just pertains to wages vs housing, right?  Aren't food prices fairly similar everywhere?

 

I don't think so.

 

Especially when talking about fresh foods like dairy and produce.

 

It was very cheap when I lived in FL.

 

It's not so bad here in TN.

 

But the further you live from the source, the more fuel it takes to ship it to where it needs to go.

[Ann.without.an.e]

I was curious and when I looked up the COL index for my area, the overall COL was about average but food was slightly above average for us.  hmmm...things that make you think :)

 

I don't think so.

 

Especially when talking about fresh foods like dairy and produce.

 

It was very cheap when I lived in FL.

 

It's not so bad here in TN.

 

But the further you live from the source, the more fuel it takes to ship it to where it needs to go.

 

[kitten18]

So I am curious - high cost vs low cost usually just pertains to wages vs housing, right? Aren't food prices fairly similar everywhere?

No, when we visit family in a low COL area, groceries are about 10-20% less than what I pay.

[knoxinsox]

We live south of DFW, but still considered part of the Metroplex.  Our rent seems high to me...$950 for a 4 bedroom house in a decent neighborhood, but its actually on the low end---I haven't found anything cheaper thats not a total dump.  Its the highest rent we have ever paid.  On the other hand, we are within walking distance to everything, and withing driving distance to Aldi--next town over.  

 

The USDA thrifty plan has us at approx. $645 per month.  That is totally out of the budget.  I have $350 tops to spend on groceries and we eat well. In the winter, we have less grocery money since we have to pay for heating.   We eat mostly whole foods, very little processed food, almost 100% homemade. 

 

I am content with what we have--and so thankful that we have Aldi for all the basics, Winco for bulk foods, and a salvage grocery close to Winco.  We moved here in November from West Texas and my grocery bill dropped from $500ish to $350 or under.  Its just cheaper when you have Aldi available. If I need to, we can eat on $50 a week. Its not full of variety, but bellies are full.  We are not GF, or lactose free, or have any special diet restrictions. Kids are thin and strong and eat like teenagers already.  10 year old can already eat a full Little Ceasar's pizza by himself, so we always make it homemade.

 

I can only think of a few things that we would buy extra--certainly I would not need an extra $300 a month to eat well, unless I was to go all organic and buy expensive cuts of meat.  Granted, we have made lifestyle choices that are not the norm--we don't buy any disposable products except toilet paper, we rarely eat out, I make all of our bread products, zero food waste,etc.  This not only saves $$ but also produces less trash, and helps us to focus more mindfully on what we bring into the house.  And no, I am not leaving any expenditures out---I scan everything for the National Consumer Panel and I have to have all receipts. 

 

There is just so much we don't need. Moving towards a minimalist, zero-waste lifestyle has been really good for us. Its good not to mindlessly consume. Its good not to buy things, just to throw it away, or let it spoil in the fridge, or sit in the closet for a year unworn, to turn around and take it to Goodwill.  But, if someone wishes to trade all that for more convenience, its not my place to police them.  I rejoice with them that they have the extra money to spend on groceries, clothes, etc.

 

I could never afford to pay $15/hour per kid for babysitting.  But if that's the going rate, I am going to start and make more than my husband does working as a manager. I could more than double our income with just 2 kids full-time.  ;-) 

[QueenCat]

Is there a cost of living index somewhere............ col is possibly also subjective...... another poster in this thread used to live 10 minutes away from me, in an area I'd call moderate col and she felt is low col...... so definitely subjective....

[Kalmia]

We live in a "lower" cost of living area in rural Maine. You can get a modest three bedroom house in town on a small lot in the $200,000s. Car insurance is 1/3 of what we were paying in suburban New York. Trash pickup in NY was $36 a month or $1 per bag at the dump. Here a $20/year dump pass is the norm. You can still get a haircut for $20 ($60 last one I got in suburban NY). Gas is lower than NY. Things like drivers ed: $575 here vs. $1000 for my friends in suburban Boston. Our property taxes are a third of what they were in suburban NY. However, we do have excise tax on the car here, which was not a thing in NY. I don't think we have as low cost of living as our relatives in the midwest or south, but we are pretty happy with the savings over suburban NY or suburban Boston.

Edited June 2, 2016 by Kalmia

[gypsymama]

We live south of DFW, but still considered part of the Metroplex.  Our rent seems high to me...$950 for a 4 bedroom house in a decent neighborhood, but its actually on the low end---I haven't found anything cheaper thats not a total dump.  Its the highest rent we have ever paid.  On the other hand, we are within walking distance to everything, and withing driving distance to Aldi--next town over.  

 

The USDA thrifty plan has us at approx. $645 per month.  That is totally out of the budget.  I have $350 tops to spend on groceries and we eat well. In the winter, we have less grocery money since we have to pay for heating.   We eat mostly whole foods, very little processed food, almost 100% homemade. 

 

I am content with what we have--and so thankful that we have Aldi for all the basics, Winco for bulk foods, and a salvage grocery close to Winco.  We moved here in November from West Texas and my grocery bill dropped from $500ish to $350 or under.  Its just cheaper when you have Aldi available. If I need to, we can eat on $50 a week. Its not full of variety, but bellies are full.  We are not GF, or lactose free, or have any special diet restrictions. Kids are thin and strong and eat like teenagers already.  10 year old can already eat a full Little Ceasar's pizza by himself, so we always make it homemade.

 

I can only think of a few things that we would buy extra--certainly I would not need an extra $300 a month to eat well, unless I was to go all organic and buy expensive cuts of meat.  Granted, we have made lifestyle choices that are not the norm--we don't buy any disposable products except toilet paper, we rarely eat out, I make all of our bread products, zero food waste,etc.  This not only saves $$ but also produces less trash, and helps us to focus more mindfully on what we bring into the house.  And no, I am not leaving any expenditures out---I scan everything for the National Consumer Panel and I have to have all receipts. 

 

There is just so much we don't need. Moving towards a minimalist, zero-waste lifestyle has been really good for us. Its good not to mindlessly consume. Its good not to buy things, just to throw it away, or let it spoil in the fridge, or sit in the closet for a year unworn, to turn around and take it to Goodwill.  But, if someone wishes to trade all that for more convenience, its not my place to police them.  I rejoice with them that they have the extra money to spend on groceries, clothes, etc.

 

I could never afford to pay $15/hour per kid for babysitting.  But if that's the going rate, I am going to start and make more than my husband does working as a manager. I could more than double our income with just 2 kids full-time.  ;-) 

 

We manage to live on less for a lot of the same reasons you listed. We're all those crazy non-mainstream things... bfing, cding, NFL, minimalist, tiny house, zero waste, paper free, and on it goes. Some of these no long apply and things are very much still a work in progress for us but we're working on it. :) 

[Scarlett]

We are in a Low COL area. About 45 min from a city in a rural OK town of about 8k.

 

Dh drives to the city for his good paying job.....when he was laid off he could make $20 per hour doing remodel work.

 

The reason we are here to begin with is the house was so cheap. We got one acre with a huge shop and pool 1 mile from a popular lake for 41k. The house needed/ still needs work, but it was a steal.

[AimeeM]

I live in a low COL area. I have a family of five (myself, DH, DD14, DS7, DS4) plus two dogs. We spend about $1200 monthly on groceries, and that does include toiletries, but it does not include eating out.

Although income is obviously reflected by COL to some extent, I don't necessarily think that a lower COL automatically means less money to spend or less money actually spent.

 

Housing prices are much cheaper where we are - as are taxes.

We purchased a brand new build; 5 bedroom, 3.5 bath, hardwoods, media room, vaulted ceilings, etc and a full unfinished basement on a nice lot in a great subdivision for a price that elsewhere, in a higher COL area, would have gotten us a decent apartment. The taxes here are much, much less than up north, too. Gas prices where we are are some of the lowest in the country.

 

It's really relative, though. People are paid here according to the economy here, at least on some level. If we lived up north, where my husband is originally from, the salary for the type of career he has and his background would jump up at least a bit - but the COL would, too, so it would be a wash. 

[Audrey]

Curious if I'm the only one on the boards living on little to no money LOL. This is sort of a spin off but it's come up in a few threads now. It seems that many people here live in high cost of living areas compared to mine. The grocery thread is discussing grocery budgets in $1000-1500 range and the childcare thread is talking $15-20/hr for childcare, etc.

 

$1500 on groceries would be 50% of our income.

$15-20/hr for childcare is more than my husband makes and he has a skilled job.

 

Just curious to see if anyone else lives in a low COL area. I was raised in a low income family and I don't prioritize materialism so maybe I'm jaded?  

 

 

Yes. We live in a very low COL province and a low COL area of it. 

 

Food costs are different here, but not bad and definitely not $1000 for an average family of 4.  I have no idea what babysitting goes for, though.  I never used one and don't have little children anymore.

 

It's not uncommon to be able to buy a 3 bed, 2 bath home of about 1200-1400 sf for well under $100K.  There is a 3 bed, 1 bath 1300sf home for sale in the town near me that is listed at 72K right now. It's nice and in good shape. 

 

Having provincial health care provided also cuts the COL way down, too.  Nice perk. 

[Guest]

After googling, it looks like our city has a slightly above average COL.. Granted, we are a family of 4, 4 dogs, and 2 cats - but our grocery expenses, including animals and toiletries, are much lower than many people are saying. We don't do organic, gluten free, etc. Maybe that's part of it. Our milk is almost always $1.99/gallon whole milk. (For reference, gasoline is currently $2.09/gallon)

[KungFuPanda]

Curious if I'm the only one on the boards living on little to no money LOL. This is sort of a spin off but it's come up in a few threads now. It seems that many people here live in high cost of living areas compared to mine. The grocery thread is discussing grocery budgets in $1000-1500 range and the childcare thread is talking $15-20/hr for childcare, etc.

 

$1500 on groceries would be 50% of our income.

$15-20/hr for childcare is more than my husband makes and he has a skilled job.

 

Just curious to see if anyone else lives in a low COL area. I was raised in a low income family and I don't prioritize materialism so maybe I'm jaded?  

 

Materialism isn't the reason some jobs are geographically specific.  People tend to live where they can find work and feed themselves.  Not every career exists in LCOL areas.  I'd LOVE to move closer to my mother, but there are almost zero white collar jobs in that region.  My children had a completely different childhood from mine because my husband has a completely different job than my father.

[LucyStoner]

Curious if I'm the only one on the boards living on little to no money LOL. This is sort of a spin off but it's come up in a few threads now. It seems that many people here live in high cost of living areas compared to mine. The grocery thread is discussing grocery budgets in $1000-1500 range and the childcare thread is talking $15-20/hr for childcare, etc.

 

$1500 on groceries would be 50% of our income.

$15-20/hr for childcare is more than my husband makes and he has a skilled job.

 

Just curious to see if anyone else lives in a low COL area. I was raised in a low income family and I don't prioritize materialism so maybe I'm jaded?

We live on fairly little in a HCOL area. It's a lot less than we used to live on. We get by because I'm cheap (grew up poor), we are not materialistic and because we came into this (dropping down to one income) with a bit more of a personal safety net/assets than most people at this income level and also because my husband works for an employer with extremely generous medical coverage.

 

We also have a killer deal on our living situation in a walkable, safe suburb. If we had to pay market rate we'd be up a crick without a paddle or at least paying more to live in a worse area. It's not subsidized housing.

 

When we have looked at moving to LCOL areas, parimarily due to housing market factors, we found a few things- fewer jobs available with lower pay and lower benefits and that a lower tax base and smaller population meant fewer of the community amenities and medical facilities that we want and need.

 

While I'm happy we can make it here, I am also looking forwards to our income rebounding once my husband graduates and I am back to working more. At that point, we will be in a high income bracket again but housing wise, we would expect to buy a 1000-1500 SF 3 bedroom house.

[TravelingChris]

I live in a LCOL place but not as low as some of you.  My son has a nice two bedroom apartment that he shares in a safe building in a safe part of town for 800.  You can go much cheaper for older and less safe apartments.  I live in a city and there are many types of job opportunities though more if you are in the technical sector. But we also have manufacturing- Toyota engines, Polaris ATVs, and Remington guns among others.  Property taxes are low, sales tax is high, and there is an income tax.  We have low electricity bills compared to most of the country.  There is plenty to do here.    My dh is probably making less than he would if we lived in DC area, for example.  The extra pay he would get there would not make up for the much higher costs there.  A house similar to ours here would be at least double the price.

[elegantlion]

I live in a low COL, but the area reflects that in what it has to offer. We're going to move this summer and be in a larger town, still low COL comparatively, but our expenses will go up, especially utilities. We'll have more to do, much larger town, but still a bit depressed economically. It's within 30 minutes of a large sprawling city, so some people do commute. 

[Farrar]

I was thinking about the materialism thing... We choose to live where we do, in a very high COL area, so that we can use public transit, walk to things, be in a diverse community... In order to live here, we sacrificed the ability to have a bigger home, more land, manicured lawns and so forth. I always feel like there's a certain materialism to insisting that one needs a large, newish house in a "safe" community with lots of land around it and then spending a ton of money and time on a long commute. I mean, sure, if we wanted to live out there, it would mean a cheaper home, lower taxes, less expensive big box retail more closely at hand, and likely the ability to get housework done for a fraction of what we end up paying here (I often feel like that's the biggest hit that living in a high COL area gives you - groceries may be a little more but home repairs are astronomically higher). But we'd be sacrificing family time and environmental benefits to the commute.

 

Which is not to say that you can't do that... I mean, it doesn't reflect my values, so we don't, and I know I sound judgey above, but I'm really just trying to give a different perspective. We live in a smaller, older home on purpose in order to be in our high COL area. I don't get how that's more materialistic.

[gypsymama]

Materialism isn't the reason some jobs are geographically specific.  People tend to live where they can find work and feed themselves.  Not every career exists in LCOL areas.  I'd LOVE to move closer to my mother, but there are almost zero white collar jobs in that region.  My children had a completely different childhood from mine because my husband has a completely different job than my father.

 

I was thinking about the materialism thing... We choose to live where we do, in a very high COL area, so that we can use public transit, walk to things, be in a diverse community... In order to live here, we sacrificed the ability to have a bigger home, more land, manicured lawns and so forth. I always feel like there's a certain materialism to insisting that one needs a large, newish house in a "safe" community with lots of land around it and then spending a ton of money and time on a long commute. I mean, sure, if we wanted to live out there, it would mean a cheaper home, lower taxes, less expensive big box retail more closely at hand, and likely the ability to get housework done for a fraction of what we end up paying here (I often feel like that's the biggest hit that living in a high COL area gives you - groceries may be a little more but home repairs are astronomically higher). But we'd be sacrificing family time and environmental benefits to the commute.

 

Which is not to say that you can't do that... I mean, it doesn't reflect my values, so we don't, and I know I sound judgey above, but I'm really just trying to give a different perspective. We live in a smaller, older home on purpose in order to be in our high COL area. I don't get how that's more materialistic.

 

This is what I was talking about though. You can live on more or less income regardless of the area. High-COL or low-COL doesn't change your own personal comfort levels and what you want in your living situation. Those are the kind of choices I'm talking about though. I know we are in a low-col area statistically but I wonder how much of that is affected by my own personal choices. We chose to live on little because that is what fits our personal values and our wants/needs. I know there are many families in the area that need more to live comfortably than we do. I wonder how much the difference in perception affects things - like if income levels and personal values about money are making a much larger difference than the col in the area).

 

*And I think some people have taken offense at materialism but it wasn't meant in a judgmental or offensive way. We all have different comfort levels and value different things. I'm not going to ever want a large, new house but that doesn't make it wrong to want one and I'm not saying it does. It's just different that's all. I'm wondering how much that affects things, not judging others for their choices. 

[gypsymama]

I was thinking about the materialism thing... We choose to live where we do, in a very high COL area, so that we can use public transit, walk to things, be in a diverse community... In order to live here, we sacrificed the ability to have a bigger home, more land, manicured lawns and so forth. I always feel like there's a certain materialism to insisting that one needs a large, newish house in a "safe" community with lots of land around it and then spending a ton of money and time on a long commute. I mean, sure, if we wanted to live out there, it would mean a cheaper home, lower taxes, less expensive big box retail more closely at hand, and likely the ability to get housework done for a fraction of what we end up paying here (I often feel like that's the biggest hit that living in a high COL area gives you - groceries may be a little more but home repairs are astronomically higher). But we'd be sacrificing family time and environmental benefits to the commute.

 

Which is not to say that you can't do that... I mean, it doesn't reflect my values, so we don't, and I know I sound judgey above, but I'm really just trying to give a different perspective. We live in a smaller, older home on purpose in order to be in our high COL area. I don't get how that's more materialistic.

 

I wouldn't say that is materialistic. I would say that is less materialistic because you are giving up material comforts to live in the higher-col area. We choose to live with less which means it's cheaper for us to live regardless of the overall col but I wonder how much that is changing my views on everything. (ie: Our lifestyle is so different I could be way off in my perception of the overall col in my area because our lifestyle doesn't allow me to see how much is considered "normal" if that makes sense)

[gypsymama]

We live on fairly little in a HCOL area. It's a lot less than we used to live on. We get by because I'm cheap (grew up poor), we are not materialistic and because we came into this (dropping down to one income) with a bit more of a personal safety net/assets than most people at this income level and also because my husband works for an employer with extremely generous medical coverage.

 

We also have a killer deal on our living situation in a walkable, safe suburb. If we had to pay market rate we'd be up a crick without a paddle or at least paying more to live in a worse area. It's not subsidized housing.

 

When we have looked at moving to LCOL areas, parimarily due to housing market factors, we found a few things- fewer jobs available with lower pay and lower benefits and that a lower tax base and smaller population meant fewer of the community amenities and medical facilities that we want and need.

 

While I'm happy we can make it here, I am also looking forwards to our income rebounding once my husband graduates and I am back to working more. At that point, we will be in a high income bracket again but housing wise, we would expect to buy a 1000-1500 SF 3 bedroom house.

 

That's the kind of info I was wondering about :) I am uber cheap so I think my perception may be skewed so I wanted to see if anyone else was in a lower col area similar to what I am experiencing (or at least from what I was seeing). We also got a great deal on our house and moved into this area with resources to make things easier. We prepared in advance researching to make this happen and intentionally took a major pay cut that dropped us in SES in order to have more time together as a family. Add in some odd values and being insanely frugal and we're able to live on little. I guess I'd started to doubt I was seeing my area objectively LOL :) 

[Farrar]

This is what I was talking about though. You can live on more or less income regardless of the area. High-COL or low-COL doesn't change your own personal comfort levels and what you want in your living situation. Those are the kind of choices I'm talking about though. I know we are in a low-col area statistically but I wonder how much of that is affected by my own personal choices. We chose to live on little because that is what fits our personal values and our wants/needs. I know there are many families in the area that need more to live comfortably than we do. I wonder how much the difference in perception affects things - like if income levels and personal values about money are making a much larger difference than the col in the area).

 

*And I think some people have taken offense at materialism but it wasn't meant in a judgmental or offensive way. We all have different comfort levels and value different things. I'm not going to ever want a large, new house but that doesn't make it wrong to want one and I'm not saying it does. It's just different that's all. I'm wondering how much that affects things, not judging others for their choices. 

 

Huh?

 

My very point was that we made a decision not to go for a large new house and instead go for a smaller, older house. But that meant choosing a higher COL area. There are benefits to our higher COL area, but there are benefits to the more moderate options - and, yes, in our case, the bigger, larger house in the exurbs would have been a lower COL choice.

 

Materialism is a pretty loaded word. But one of the things about COL is that you can take someone in a job that exists everywhere... say, a teacher, and set a comparison. A teacher in a low COL area will make less, but will also pay less in groceries and rent and taxes. The exact same teacher with the exact same job will make more in a higher COL area, but will also pay more in groceries and rent and taxes for the exact same level of home, food, and creature comforts. So then... what's the difference in their material values? I don't see any difference. The things driving the teacher to take the job in a higher or lower COL area aren't going to be a desire to "live on less" - that's nonsense. They're going to be about other things like the weather, the traffic, the culture of the area.

 

Of course, most people aren't deciding between two equal options like my teacher example, but COL is just one factor among many and making more money in a higher COL area doesn't make one more or less materialistic. And making less in a lower COL area doesn't make one somehow better. It is often easier to live in greater material comfort in a lower COL area. But, of course, it totally depends.

[foxbridgeacademy]

We used to live in a lower COL area. Rent was under $700 for a big 3 bedroom (neighborhood was deemed okay but wow if I had known we'd never have rented it). Highest rent in town was $1000 on a new home across from the park. But that's it, only 2 parks, tiny micro library, fast food out by the interstate and rather disturbing crappy areas all over town.  The town just up the road is the one in the news last year for the HIV epidemic. There is very little business and the pay was low, DH had to drive 45 minutes each way to get to work.  

 

The town my mom and sisters live in is a bit better in that it's not quite as run down... yet. Big drug problem but the streets are still 100% safe to walk on at night, but hey you can rent a 2-3 bedroom house for as little as $400 per month(average is around $600).  Of course you don't make more than minimum wage and even then you can't get full time.  

[rebcoola]

It is relative for sure we lived in Western Washington and moved to Wisconsin and the prices for everything were jaw dropping cheap to us. Plus it honestly had the most things to do and was a super clean, great parks, schools, healthcare, colleges.   Now we live in Eastern Washington which is more than Wisconsin but still way cheaper than Seattle Area.  So it seems like every Homeschool meetup their is new mom from Seattle area raving about how cheap things.

Edited June 3, 2016 by rebcoola

[Farrar]

I wouldn't say that is materialistic. I would say that is less materialistic because you are giving up material comforts to live in the higher-col area. We choose to live with less which means it's cheaper for us to live regardless of the overall col but I wonder how much that is changing my views on everything. (ie: Our lifestyle is so different I could be way off in my perception of the overall col in my area because our lifestyle doesn't allow me to see how much is considered "normal" if that makes sense)

 

Okay, I see... I would say I know some people in our high COL area who live on incredibly little. I'm thinking of a single mom I know who has a very crazy deal on a very bizarre crumbling old house because she took care of the elderly owners and all her stuff basically comes from curbside finds and freecycle. She works odd jobs. She doesn't have a car. Or, I know a family who, when they moved here, said she freaked out at how well outfitted all the kids were - raincoats, rainboots, snow pants, special snow gear, etc. etc. because she was like, who can afford this stuff, until she realized that most everyone she knew was getting all that stuff at the thrift store.

 

Of course, we also know people who are more materially driven, who do pay more... And, honestly, we couldn't afford to move into our own neighborhood if we were buying now. It's too expensive. And if we sold our home, it would likely be gutted and subdivided. So our newer neighbors (which is most of them) are paying a lot more for the privileges of city living than those of us who were here longer.

 

So... it's relative. And I think it's relative no matter if you're in a low or high COL area.

[Tsuga]

Curious if I'm the only one on the boards living on little to no money LOL. This is sort of a spin off but it's come up in a few threads now. It seems that many people here live in high cost of living areas compared to mine. The grocery thread is discussing grocery budgets in $1000-1500 range and the childcare thread is talking $15-20/hr for childcare, etc.

 

$1500 on groceries would be 50% of our income.

$15-20/hr for childcare is more than my husband makes and he has a skilled job.

 

Just curious to see if anyone else lives in a low COL area. I was raised in a low income family and I don't prioritize materialism so maybe I'm jaded?

My area was low COL when I was growing up. It got posh. I can't leave the trees. :(