Free Money Finance Top 10 Most Hated Posts/Themes: #2 Moving to Save Money

Now we're getting to the topics people REALLY hate! ;-)

Virtually no one likes my advice regarding saving money by moving. For examples of what I mean, see these posts:

• Move, Save Money, Become a Multiple Millionaire -- All in One Step

• Yes, Moving to a Cheaper Cost-of-Living City Can Make You Rich

• How Moving to a Cheaper Cost-of-Living City Can Make You Rich

• 8 Cheap Places You'd Want to Live (And How to Find More)

• Top Jobs: Where the 6-Figure Jobs Are

Now let me make a few comments that will hopefully make my position a bit clearer as well as make this topic a bit less hated:

1. It's your life and your money. If you want to spend it living in an expensive city, that's your choice.

2. It's a LOT more expensive to live in some cities than others -- there's no way to argue with the math. And, yes, the salaries may be higher in these cities, but they are no where near being high enough to make up for the big cost-of-living differences. (If you don't believe me, read through my posts listed above.)

3. There are other, non-financial reasons to live in one city rather than another. Maybe you want to be able to buy a cheeseburger at 3 am. Maybe you like the "culture." Maybe your family lives there. These all may be worth something that you can put a dollar amount on. And whether or not you've thought about it, that's what you're doing -- saying it's worth paying more to get these benefits of living in a certain city.

4. You may "like" living in one area of the country or one city and think you won't like living elsewhere. Then again, maybe you will like it elsewhere. I've lived in rural Iowa, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Nashville, and Grand Rapids.  They've all been different, but I've liked living in each one (for different reasons.) I think when people say they couldn't live outside a certain city that the real story (for most people at least) is that they really just haven't tried very many alternatives.

5. In the end, it's just an idea -- just like all my other posts. You can take it or leave it. However, if you do open your mind a bit to the possibility and if you run the numbers, you'll see how much you can truly save by moving to a less expensive city.

Comments

[mapgirl]

FMF, there is nothing you can say that will convince me to move out of a major city. I put a high, non-monetary value on cultural attractions I can't get anywhere else but the city. (Did you know the only Da Vinci in North America is at the National Galleries in DC, which are *FREE*? Her name is Ginerva di Benci. Oh yeah, Kiri Te Kanawa rarely plays Podunk, USA.)

hahaha

I found that when I did live in a smaller city, I was always running to a bigger city for the weekend. I prefer to live in an expensive city during the week and escape to cheaper weekends out of town on the weekend. I suppose it still doesn't balances out, but I love the life I have in the city.

[FMF]

Ha! Very funny!

But you can't find a good hog show in a big city. Now there's culture for ya!!!!

[Foobarista]

A few points:

1. Often, "the math" is done poorly. A recent study used a baseline of a 2500 square foot house in a "middle management neighborhood" as its benchmark. All this benchmark proved was that land is more expensive in some parts of the country than others, since a 2500 square foot single-family house in a good neighborhood in Manhattan costs millions, while costing 1/10th in other areas. Also, my personal experience with living in supposedly uber-expensive Silicon Valley is that my "consumption basket" costs about the same here as it would in other parts of the country: housing would be cheaper, but utility bills would be vastly more expensive, and many types of things we like (like ingredients for Chinese food) would be hard to find. I suppose I could live in a much bigger house with "acreage", but our lifestyle isn't centered on this sort of thing - and bigger houses and more land equals more maintenance and sundry expenses.

2. For me: cheaper vacations, and lots of opportunities for day-trips. A trip to Yosemite in winter costs about $150; we like to go and hike the valley floor in winter when there's no people. In other areas, natural beauty is just a short drive away, and is available all year. Who wants to live in a hermetically sealed house and spend winter watching TV because it's too awful to go outside? I wouldn't.

3. "The math" doesn't take into account the fact that certain careers are best persued in certain parts of the country. Silicon Valley is still the best place for a lot of tech-related work. Finance: NYC. Movies, TV, computer gaming, and other media: LA and NYC. Government/bureaucracy or government-related work: Washington. The "star system" drives up real-estate prices, but it also means that many things you talk about on this website, such as changing jobs to drive up your salary and starting with a high salary, are far easier in these cities than in cheaper areas where the number of employers in your field are fewer.

[Skott]

I can sleep on a park bench in Central Park for free, and with the money I save there I can take in the Museum of Modern Art EVERY DAY! so take that, FMF. :)

[FMF]

You big city spendthrifts are so cute! ;-)

[Foobarista]

So, FMF, can one live in a big city and be respected by you as NOT being a "spendthrift"? Of are all those who live in cities stupid, money-wasting people by definition?

An emoticon doesn't make an unpleasant remark "humorous".

[FMF]

You need to lighten up.

And anyway, who cares if they're respected by me or not?

[Jeremy]

I love living in the country (village of only 480 people), not because it is cheaper than a city, but because I enjoy the peace and quiet. Our place that is on a small lake, if it was located in a typical suburb it would easily run between 2 and 3 times what ours cost, not to mention our current property taxes that are virtually nil. Nothing beats coming home from work and sitting out on the deck that overlooks the lake, surrounded by nothing but the sound of birds and wind through the trees. That is worth more than any salary increase or entertainment value added by living in a city.

One thing that is different though I guess, is that when we take vacations, we usually go to the city. Whether it is Chicago, NY, London, etc. Most people who live in or near a big city go out to the country or have a second home on a lake for their vacations/weekends.

It's all different strokes for different folks. I personally enjoy the very low cost of living and the solitude of living in a very rural area and to visit the city on weekends or when we want to get away as opposed to doing the opposite.

[Foobarista]

Once you enabled comments, you created a "community site". The first rule in a well-functioning community is people should respect each other, and your dismissive post was frankly poor blog etiquette. Maybe you want to encourage a more "rough-and-tumble" atmosphere in your blog comments, but I don't think this is your intention.

I know some bloggers only like "amen corner" comments that slavishly agree with the blogger, but they tend to be rather uninteresting blogs.

[Meaghan]

I live in NYC, and my annual spending is under $20K a year.

Am I one of those 'cute' big city spendthrifts?

Or maybe you think I could live in the midwest on $10K a year?

I love your blog, but on this particular subject I think that you're the one who needs to open their mind a little.

[Diane]

Why are some people so sensitive to this issue?

I think the main point here is that you should make a deliberate decision on where to live based on your values, not just because you grew up their or because your family still lives there.

For the record, I grew up in Southern California, spent 5 years in the Army moving all over the place, went to San Diego for college, moved to Minnesota and lived their for 12 years and now we are back in LA. Every place has their good and bad points….

And lastly, I don’t plan on spending the rest of my life in So Cal…too many people, cars, noise, crime, and home prices are insane - half-million buys you a shack. No thanks!

[English Major]

Couldn't do it. I could maybe move to a smaller city, but out-of-city life is, to me, intolerable.

Partially this is because many of the things I want can only be had in a big city—an abundance and variety of museums, theaters, music venues, galleries, &c. You can always find cheap food and entertainment if you're looking.

I always wonder how the fact that I don't own a car or pay car insurance or maintenance factors into my expenses, and the fact that I can hang out in the Met all afternoon for a quarter (the "suggested donation" is really only for tourists).

So partially, I am, in fact, willing to pay for cultural opportunities, and partially, I wonder what other factors affect the math.

[LAL]

Wish I could move outside a big city. I hate the price, the commuting, pretty much everything. I do think it's easier to make a living in a cheaper COL place. Hopefully for me in another 5 years we'll be in a cheaper COL, selling our nicely appreciated home, and buying something for about the same price but much nicer.