Cost of Living calculator?

CJones

CJones

Final Approach
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uHaveNoIdea
With graduation coming up in December, we have the luxury of having a few potential career opportunities to pursue. They are in different areas of the country with varying population densities.

Does anyone know of a good 'cost of living' calculator that would give a good idea of how a salary in location X would relate to location Y? I Google'd it, but there are a ton of c.o.l. calculators to choose from. Anyone got a favorite or one that has turned out to be accurate in your experience? It would be nice to be able to compare small towns with larger cities.
 
long story short - you need to move to wichita. its probably cheaper to be unemployed here than to have a job in some big cities.
 
This sounds to me like multiple job offers, which means congrats!

Any of the cost of living calculators will give you some basic idea. Generally assume that NYC and California have their own economy, for which prices are not reflecting the rest of the world, or reality. The thing is, having lived in both New York City and Pennsyltucky, I've noted that those calculators don't necessarily take other factors into account. For example, when I was looking, a $50,000 salary was equivalent to about a $250,000 salary in New York City. However the kind of house you can afford to live in on the $50,000 salary in Pennsylvania is simply not available in New York City.

While I know they teach you in school to look at all of that, I would also be looking at the bigger factors of where you want to live and which job you think you're going to like the best, especially working environment. That's worth a lot. I had a couple of jobs that I interviewed for and, had I taken them, I'm rather convinced I wouldn't be very happy at them for both reasons. So while in any future jobs I may have I'll be looking at money for certain, I'll be looking at a number of other factors, as well. Besides, don't you want to be somewhere where you can have the RV and make it to all the PoA fly-ins? ;)
 
Post up where you are thinking about going. Probably someone on the board wise to wherever it is.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Besides, don't you want to be somewhere where you can have the RV and make it to all the PoA fly-ins? ;)
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We will make it to some PoA fly-ins weather we have access to the RV or not :)
 
tonycondon said:
long story short - you need to move to wichita. its probably cheaper to be unemployed here than to have a job in some big cities.
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lmfao -- most likely true.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
This sounds to me like multiple job offers, which means congrats!

Any of the cost of living calculators will give you some basic idea. Generally assume that NYC and California have their own economy, for which prices are not reflecting the rest of the world, or reality. The thing is, having lived in both New York City and Pennsyltucky, I've noted that those calculators don't necessarily take other factors into account. For example, when I was looking, a $50,000 salary was equivalent to about a $250,000 salary in New York City. However the kind of house you can afford to live in on the $50,000 salary in Pennsylvania is simply not available in New York City.

While I know they teach you in school to look at all of that, I would also be looking at the bigger factors of where you want to live and which job you think you're going to like the best, especially working environment. That's worth a lot. I had a couple of jobs that I interviewed for and, had I taken them, I'm rather convinced I wouldn't be very happy at them for both reasons. So while in any future jobs I may have I'll be looking at money for certain, I'll be looking at a number of other factors, as well. Besides, don't you want to be somewhere where you can have the RV and make it to all the PoA fly-ins? ;)
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Good tips and all are being taken into consideration. This is an interesting position to be in: One offer is with a manufacturing company in small-town Iowa. The other offer is a warehousing company in a suburb of Atlanta. Lots of variation in the situations.

I'd much rather be in this situation than the alternative of having NO offers. ;)
 
Racheljones said:
If the weather doesn't cooperate you can come get us in the AzTruck :)
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You betcha! :)

CJones said:
Good tips and all are being taken into consideration. This is an interesting position to be in: One offer is with a manufacturing company in small-town Iowa. The other offer is a warehousing company in a suburb of Atlanta. Lots of variation in the situations.

I'd much rather be in this situation than the alternative of having NO offers. ;)
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Definitely the position to be in!

I have no idea what your actual job is going to be like, but as far as living areas are concerned - you've both spent some time in small town Iowa. Cheap to live in, for sure, but if you haven't lived in a suburb of a Bravo before, it might be worth considering trying that for at least a few years for the experience. Then again, I'm the sort who likes to spend time in a bunch of different places to try them out, so it depends on what you two want to do. If you really don't like it, there's no reason why you can't leave and go elsewhere once you get a few years in.
 
CJones said:
Good tips and all are being taken into consideration. This is an interesting position to be in: One offer is with a manufacturing company in small-town Iowa. The other offer is a warehousing company in a suburb of Atlanta. Lots of variation in the situations.

I'd much rather be in this situation than the alternative of having NO offers. ;)
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Suburbs are hard to figure out with any calculator I have looked at. Around big cities, like Atlanta, there is a significant variability of CoL. I almost moved there twice now. Once on the far NW side and once on the NE side of the city. The NE was similar to CoL as to where I live now. On the NW there were some high CoL areas and some that were cheaper. One thing I do that helps me to understand the CoL in an area is to look at housing costs. That is where most of you money goes anyways, so it can really tell you a lot about that place.

But even where I live now there is huge variability in a few miles. My house is valued at $140k, but if I drive 10 miles east my very same floor plan house is going for over $250k
 
smigaldi said:
But even where I live now there is huge variability in a few miles. My house is valued at $140k, but if I drive 10 miles east my very same floor plan house is going for over $250k
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www.zillow.com can help with this sort of investigation. Take the actual numbers with a grain of salt, but I suspect the trends are probably about right.
 
Low cost of living index = Nobody really wants to live there.

Choose wisely.
 
Anthony said:
Low cost of living index = Nobody really wants to live there.

Choose wisely.
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Depends on what you want. Cost of living index is high in big cities. I don't want to live in big cities.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Depends on what you want. Cost of living index is high in big cities. I don't want to live in big cities.
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Neither do I. Well -- perhaps I would -- but the pay would have to be DAMN good.
 
Anthony said:
Low cost of living index = Nobody really wants to live there.

Choose wisely.
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Hmm. I don't know about that. Means lack of job opportunities perhaps, but if you occupy a niche like me...you can find outstanding areas to live which haven't been found by urban refugees yet.

As to the OP, I read the city-data.com forums for info about a prospective area. As with most forums ( ;) ) you get the good, the bad and the ugly. And there are calculators there too.
 
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jesse said:
Neither do I. Well -- perhaps I would -- but the pay would have to be DAMN good.
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Exactly. For me to live in NYC again I'd need to be making at least 5x my current salary, which nobody would pay. But then I'd also live at my mom's apartment (since she spends most of her time out of the country), which might allow me to afford a hangar for the Aztec at HPN or BDR, plus lots of new goodies.

My point to Chris and Rachel was more that if they haven't experienced it, it might be worth trying for a few years just to say they've had the experience. Whether or not they want to stay there is another matter entirely. I already know my answer, but I served 18 years of hard time in NYC.
 
Given the choices, you might want to include the cost of winter in the decision-making process! :rolleyes:
 
Cost of winter is nothing compared to the cost of living in places without it. My guess is you'd like small town Iowa better than Atlanta, from having met you and thinking about who you are. If someone doesn't want to live in small town Iowa it's because they think it will be (or is) boring. If someone doesn't want to live in a suburb of Atlanta (making it cheaper) there is likely a reason.

That said, I visited a friend of mine in Dekalb, and the place looked nice. I don't think she is that wealthy, and she has a nice place.
 
Steve said:
Given the choices, you might want to include the cost of winter in the decision-making process! :rolleyes:
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That is one of the factors. Ideally we would like a break from winter for a while.
 
Steve said:
Given the choices, you might want to include the cost of winter in the decision-making process! :rolleyes:
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That is one of the MAJOR factors playing into this decision. When I went back to school a couple of years ago, my goal for us was 1.) Finish the degree and 2.) Get a job and move south. When the job market tanked last year, our goals changed to 1.) Finish the degree and 2.) Get a job anywhere.

Luckily for us, I happened to find an opportunity in the Hot-lanta area. So there was an immediate opportunity to meet our original goals. WOOHOO! The only problem was when I was talking to H.R. about salary ranges, I was expecting about 5-7% more than what they normally start people out at. DOH! On Monday, I got a cold-call from the company I worked for this summer in Jackson, MN and they said they had created a full-time position for my unique skill set and would like me to come back to work for them. Oh, and they were offering about 10% more than what I was expecting from the Atlanta job. CRAP!

That's when I started looking for c.o.l. calculators to get a better idea of how much difference +10% really made between the two places. Oddly enough, the difference in utility costs make the c.o.l. between the two places pretty close - it costs so darn much to pay for heat in the winters in Minnesota, that it outweighs the cost of paying for a/c in summer in Atlanta. Go figure.

So, here we are. Waiting for the 'official' paperwork to arrive so we can compare benefits, etc. I also have another on-site interview scheduled in Memphis on the 18/19th, so that adds a whole 'nother realm of possibilities.

Like I said -- lots of tough choices to make, and it's a headache to think through everything, but I'd much rather have a headache than no choices at all.
 
smigaldi said:
Suburbs are hard to figure out with any calculator I have looked at. Around big cities, like Atlanta, there is a significant variability of CoL. I almost moved there twice now. Once on the far NW side and once on the NE side of the city. The NE was similar to CoL as to where I live now. On the NW there were some high CoL areas and some that were cheaper. One thing I do that helps me to understand the CoL in an area is to look at housing costs. That is where most of you money goes anyways, so it can really tell you a lot about that place.

But even where I live now there is huge variability in a few miles. My house is valued at $140k, but if I drive 10 miles east my very same floor plan house is going for over $250k
Click to expand...

We're actually looking at the SW side (about 10-15 minute drive from KATL). I was surprised at how quickly it got 'rural' in that area. We're thinking about heading down to the area and checking out the living situation while we're in Alabama for Thanksgiving in a few weeks. It's just over an hour flight in the 182RG - man I love this flying stuff! ;)
 
tonycondon said:
long story short - you need to move to wichita. its probably cheaper to be unemployed here than to have a job in some big cities.
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Yeah, but I hear Wichita has a growing infestation of glider people. I'm not sure I could deal with that kind of rif-raf. ;)
 
TangoWhiskey said:
California is forecasting another 235,000 jobs lost in 2010; Texas leads the list of new jobs for 2010, at 43,000. Move here!

Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/career-wor...2NvbXBhbmllc2Fybw--?mod=career-selfemployment
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My sister and her husband live and teach elementary school in San Antonio. They have begged us to move down to that area. I hit several "monster.com" type sites and spammed several corporate website job-postings, but didn't get much return from them. Unfortunately, not many TX companies come to recruit out of Iowa State. :(

The company that is an option in Atlanta has some operations in the Dallas area, though, so there is potential to end up in the Republic of Texas in the future. ;)
 
kevin47881 said:
salary.com is a site I have used when weighing options.

God luck!
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Ghery said:
www.zillow.com can help with this sort of investigation. Take the actual numbers with a grain of salt, but I suspect the trends are probably about right.
Click to expand...

alaskaflyer said:
As to the OP, I read the city-data.com forums for info about a prospective area. As with most forums ( ;) ) you get the good, the bad and the ugly. And there are calculators there too.
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All great sites, thanks!!
 
did you also compare the cost of housing between Jackson and Atlanta, I can hardly believe they compare. what about hangar costs?.
 
tonycondon said:
did you also compare the cost of housing between Jackson and Atlanta, I can hardly believe they compare. what about hangar costs?.
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Actually, the area we are looking at is far enough outside of Atlanta metro that housing isn't too bad - it's actually a LOT cheaper than Ames, even. We are finding rental houses in suburbia that aren't much more than what we're paying in rent for this 800sf duplex in Ames. (To nip the "don't rent - buy!" comments in the bud: We are planning on renting only for a short period of time until we find which neighborhood/area we want to 'live' in, at which time we will start looking into buying) If I ended up taking the Jackson job, we would probably live closer to Spirit Lake which nudges the housing cost up a bit.

Hopefully if we make it down there at Thanksgiving, we will be flying which will be a perfect opportunity to check out the a/p situation. ;)
 
Don't buy. Not in this day and age. Or buy a vacation house if you must. Rent your primary residence.
 
CJones said:
Actually, the area we are looking at is far enough outside of Atlanta metro that housing isn't too bad - it's actually a LOT cheaper than Ames, even. We are finding rental houses in suburbia that aren't much more than what we're paying in rent for this 800sf duplex in Ames. (To nip the "don't rent - buy!" comments in the bud: We are planning on renting only for a short period of time until we find which neighborhood/area we want to 'live' in, at which time we will start looking into buying) If I ended up taking the Jackson job, we would probably live closer to Spirit Lake which nudges the housing cost up a bit.

Hopefully if we make it down there at Thanksgiving, we will be flying which will be a perfect opportunity to check out the a/p situation. ;)
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Don't go too far outside of the Atlanta Metro
deliverance.jpg


As far as starting wage being a few percent different -- it really depends on your field and how you can make yourself valuable. You may be able to make up that difference quickly.
 
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I'd take Minnesota in a heartbeat. You can always put on a warmer coat or another layer. You can't take enough off to stay cool in that heat. Yuk. Just my outlook. I've heard a lot of really good things about Minneapolis.
 
steingar said:
I'd take Minnesota in a heartbeat. You can always put on a warmer coat or another layer. You can't take enough off to stay cool in that heat. Yuk. Just my outlook. I've heard a lot of really good things about Minneapolis.
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See, I am exactly opposite of that. I would rather be dripping with sweat than be cold. My feeling is that you can put on 15 layers of clothes, but if you have any skin showing at all, you are going to be miserable. In the south, if you get hot, you just slow down and have some sweet tea. People up here think southerners are lazy - we're not lazy, it's just so darn hot that we have to slow down or we'll melt. :)
 
ClimbnSink said:
Don't buy. Not in this day and age. Or buy a vacation house if you must. Rent your primary residence.
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Not being argumentative, just curious what your thinking is behind that idea?

My logic says "Hey, housing prices are at an all-time low right now". Buy low, sell high. If I end up down there, I will be signing on with a company that has managed to GROW for the past 3 years when other companies were shrinking, so I have a fairly good feeling of stability of the company.

I hate throwing money away at rent. I've done it for too long and spent too much of my money fixing up other peoples' properties. I'd rather get some of my sweat (and $$) equity out of the deal at the end.
 
jesse said:
Don't go too far outside of the Atlanta Metro
deliverance.jpg


As far as starting wage being a few percent different -- it really depends on your field and how you can make yourself valuable. You may be able to make up that difference quickly.
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LMAO!!! How'd you get a picture of my cousin Jed?!

That's my thinking as far as salary goes. They have a pretty liberal annual bonus system in place which helps lessen the blow. It's also a pretty 'young' company doing some fairly advanced processing, so it could be a good boat to board as a career starter.
 
Houses are a poor way to share risk
Owning a house is a terribly risky investment, not only because of the volatility of its value, but also because of the high correlation between house value and local economic conditions which also determine labor income. In other worth, owning a house you live in is among the worst things one can do in terms of diversification. Two recent papers revisit some aspects of this.
http://economiclogic.blogspot.com/2009/11/houses-are-poor-way-to-share-risk.html
 
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