What's the cost of living in your city? (with calculator)

[Locut0s]

Here an interesting link I came by while posting another thread. It allows you to look up the cost of living in your city. Vancouver has one of the highest costs of living in NA.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=Canada&city=Vancouver

What is the cost of living like in your city?

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/

[loli phabay]

1. no idea as we are four miles from the nearest paved road.

[bluedigger]

2. You win.

[Locut0s]

4. Lol, that would put a crimp in things lol. Is it nice out there? nt.

[PasadenaTrudy]

3. Mine's not listed

Los Angeles is though, and I can tell you it's pretty high. Not as high as San Francisco.

[Locut0s]

5. You are right San Francisco ain't cheap...

According it that they just edge us out by a hair. Though it depends of course on the specific category.

[politicat]

6. Without rent/mortgage... Not bad.

Being in the middle of the country and a hub of the rail network helps a lot on consumer goods.

But local rents are outrageous even for the relatively high rent for the state. (College town, plus building multi-unit housing has been really difficult for about 25 years, so the rental market remains exceptionally tight regardless of the general economy.)

And even after the crash, housing prices barely budged. New houses (2 bedroom, 2.5 bath paired houses, with unfinished basements and 2 car garages) in my neighborhood start at $250K (plus a hefty monthly HOA fee). The cheapest resale house I've seen in the last 3 years was $190K (and needed its wiring and roof replaced) average is $230K for something in need of serious work; $275K for mechanically/structurally sound, carpet that isn't spawning new species and appliances that both work and match.

[Locut0s]

7. I'm sure those are high prices. But an average looking house here can be $1 million...

It's hard to find anything within 10 mins of the city for even $500,000 and we are talking ugly run down places. It's gotten better than a few years back when even a bare lot of any type was over $1 million.

[politicat]

8. They're high for this location, and within local history (which is important.)

When I moved here 13 years ago, rent on a 3 bedroom house was $600. That same house now goes for $2400 a month -- 400% in 13 years is all demand, very little inflation. I live in a small (15,000) city that was a coal-mining/agricultural village in 1900; it barely grew until the 1970s when it became a bedroom community for the university town 15 miles to the west and for the major metro 30 miles south; in the past decade, it has become a small city of its own. It's totally visible in the architecture and the street planning -- most of the streets are straight with narrow lots, and outside of the new developments, houses come in two distinct layers -- old brick or frame Edwardians and craftsman bungalows, or 70s ranch and split-levels. There's nothing in the middle.

Those are the cheap houses out in the small-city burbs -- anything closer to the university or the city starts at $300K for a small 1 BR condo and rises rapidly. Mobile homes on rented lots go for $200K -- and not new mobiles. Generally, mobiles do not appreciate; their value drops with each year. Except in a tight market. I bought this house in 2000 for $80K -- my new neighbors just spent $300K for the house my former neighbors abused the hell out of. And we're in what can most delicately be called a "ready for gentrification" neighborhood. Better neighborhoods start in the $500,000K range. (I happen to like my small, walkable city, and am generally content with it, and the advantage of my crappy neighborhood is that it is actually an easy, straight shot by bus and bike into the university, but I don't share this knowledge. I like my colleagues and students, but I like them much better when I can get away from them.)

Colorado still has a lot of open land and counties who are willing to give away the store up front in the hopes of future tax revenue. The sprawl sucks, and makes traffic awful, but if somebody's willing to commute 45-90 minutes (and people are) they can get a house in the outer ring.

[Locut0s]

9. Yeah that does sound expensive for the area!...

Especially those rental prices, ouch. And of course you have to factor in median incomes and living expenses to know the real cost. I wasn't trying to one up your or anything lol, just that I find it difficult to know what is and is not expensive anymore with the ridiculous bubble we have going here the last several decades.

[politicat]

12. Didn't think you were.

And don't take it as thread-stalking, but I noticed some of your other posts -- perhaps you're starting to think about picking up stakes?

I may be projecting, but I see some similarities between the things you're posting and things I was not quite articulate enough to express 16 years ago when I pulled stakes and headed out of my childhood Dodge. I didn't know how to read a city or a neighborhood (and back then, a high speed Internet connection was slower than my phone, and hardly anywhere had much local data online). I also didn't have anyone to talk to about even thinking about relocating. I had a damp degree and had spent the last several years deep in the suckage of a long recession that feels remarkably like a precursor to this one.

If you are thinking about it, or thinking about thinking about it... Here's what I wish someone had told me. Striking out for your own personal territories will be awesome in all senses of the word. Sometimes terrifying, sometimes fabulous, usually somewhat crazy-making.... And worth it. But I also wish there had been a FAQ for picking a place to transplant. (The first city I picked was a very, very bad fit.) Just having the knowledge to gauge walkability and cost of living and sense of place would have been very helpful.

[Locut0s]

13. Thank you very much...

Yes I do plan to pull up stakes soonish. However probably not for another year or so due to financial issues and the fact that I need to finish my IT diploma and I have a stable place at home here to finish said degree. But it's high time I did before I set down permanent roots, I already have to some degree and it's not healthy.

[PasadenaTrudy]

14. I know someone

who just bought a total fixer upper, only 873 square feet, for $450K here in Pasadena. Luckily, her boyfriend works in construction and can do all the work...but still! I'm sure she only put like 3.5% down payment, being a first time buyer. No thank you! I'm staying in my apt!

[Locut0s]

18. Yeah many prices in places in California mirror ours here. nt.

[Art_from_Ark]

16. Are prices that high in Richmond?

When I toured Vancouver, someone suggested I buy a house in Richmond if I ever seriously considered living in the Lower Mainland. However, after seeing how Richmond would be really susceptible to various acts of Nature's wrath, I didn't think it would be worth it.

[Locut0s]

17. Depends on what you are looking for...

If you are looking for a 3 floor (3 bedroom 2 bath) detached house, I don't think you will find anything under 900,000. If you are looking for a 2 story house that's a bit smaller you may be able to find something in the 700,000 range. It's possible to find cheaper stuff but it's not easy. A quick look at the MSL listings only shows one property in Richmond under 500k, this one:

http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=13358047&PidKey=-1335134824

And there are few in that range anywhere in Vancouver. There are many more opportunities if you are willing to live in an apartment or townhouse though.

[Art_from_Ark]

19. I certainly wouldn't want to pay that sort of money for a place in Richmond

If there is ever a major flood, earthquake, or tsunami in that area, Richmond would get hit hard. Plus, there's the noise from the airport.

[Locut0s]

21. LOL true. Me and my colleagues used to joke...

I used to work for NCIX (computer retailer) in an Asian mall in Richmond. Me and my fellow colleagues used to joke that we would race each other out of the building if there were ever and earthquake. Last one for himself, winner takes all

We are sourly underprepared for the big one here in Vancouver. When it strikes there will be carnage

[Blue_In_AK]

10. Not bad here

Index
Consumer Price Index (Excl.Rent): 101.21
Rent Index: 47.64
Groceries Index: 103.67
Restaurants Index: 84.21
Consumer Price Plus Rent Index: 75.37
Local Purchasing Power: 141.75

[BainsBane]

11. here

Consumer Price Index (Excl.Rent): 92.36
Rent Index: 40.66
Groceries Index: 92.87
Restaurants Index: 74.99
Consumer Price Plus Rent Index: 67.42
Local Purchasing Power: 131.84

Note that their post of comparison is NYC.

[Dash87]

20. It just said "Overflow error" and then redirected me to the "You Are an Idiot" website.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

22. Results for Tucson AZ.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/city_result.jsp?country=United+States&city=Tucson%2C+AZ

[Locut0s]

23. Ohh nice...

You guys are downright cheap compared to us:

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Canada&country2=United+States&city1=Vancouver&city2=Tucson%2C+AZ

Though I suspect if you factor in health care and other musts it's a different story.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

24. That is a big reason there is many (surprising I know) that WANT Obamacare.

But coming from Joplin MO, this place is way more liberal that they think they are.