I've said it before -- one way to really save some serious money is to move from a high cost-of-living area to a low (or lower) one. Of course people in New York, Boston, and the entire state of California don't want to hear this (they come up with some pretty creative ideas as to why they can't/shouldn't move), but it's a fact that some cities simply cost a lot more than others.
Here's a post from Forbes that says the same thing -- you can save a ton by moving to a lower-cost city. Their premise is that with the web, you can live anywhere you want, so why not move and save a ton of dough. Here are the main parts of the piece:
For most of us, our biggest expense is the monthly mortgage payment that buys our house. The median house in America costs $210,000. Let's put in a new kitchen, redo the bathrooms and place the house in a good school district. Bingo, $300,000. For this money, you'll get a 2,300-square-foot house on a quarter-acre.
Does $300,000 sound cheap or expensive to you? Depends entirely on where you live, right? You'd say ridiculously cheap if you happen to live in Boston, New York, Washington, the Florida coasts or anywhere in California.
What if you want to live in a grander fashion? Say a 4,000-square-foot house on an acre.
What would that cost you? In Palo Alto, Calif., Greenwich, Conn., Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown or San Diego's La Jolla, easily $4 million. In just as lovely Bend, Ore., where the sky is blue and dry, the Deschutes River trout jump year round and Mt. Bachelor winter powder is bitchin’, maybe $700,000. You'll get more than an acre, too.
Exactly! My point exactly!
The article then goes on to give some additional thoughts/insights that I want to be sure and share:
So why haven't we all moved to Bend? Most of us, I contend, are trapped in old thinking, victims of pre-broadband Web stereotypes. Yes (one's thinking goes) I could "drop out of the rat race" and move to Bend. But the upgrade in lifestyle would cost me in other ways. Limited by the Bend salary rates, I would gain little financially. I might indeed drop my cost of living, but my paycheck would shrink, too. My chance for stimulating work could shrivel, as I find myself out of the professional loop. Worst of all, I’d feel isolated...even bored!
Ah, bunk! This is the 21st century, man! Today you can enjoy the best of both worlds:
1. Live where you want.
2. Get paid like you're in a big city
3. Never be isolated or bored.
This whole line of thinking was previously shared in my post titled Buy a House You Can Easily Afford from the book The Millionaire Next Door and many people commented that there was no way they could buy a house according to the suggestion the book made.
Really?
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You kill me everytime you post this.
It's true. I agree with you.
Until my clients all move, I can pack up the family truckster and head south.
When I'm ready, can we move in with you? That's a sure way to save money. :)
Posted by: Dave Lorenzo | December 07, 2005 at 06:21 PM