What’s the definition of cheap?

Value is in the eye of the beholder...borrowing the saying that relates to “Beauty”, I’m going to apply it to cost of living and what’s deemed as “cheap” in my eyes. Lately I’ve been pondering my cost of living. I live in one of the top 5 “expensive cities” in the nation and am feeling like I’m not getting much for my money. The more I browse other cities real estate, the more I think, “Man, that’s cheap! I need to move!”

Of course, real estate isn’t the only gauge of how expensive or inexpensive a city really is (though housing eats up the largest share of a person’s budget); one has to factor in gasoline, groceries, health care, commute time (I think this can be valued as an actual “cost”), utilities, and taxes. If I only look at expenses as a reason to relocate, just about anywhere else looks pretty good if I exclude New York City and San Francisco!

Let’s look at two sample cities I’ve either visited recently or have had my eye on.

Phoenix –

This isn’t a city I’ve thought about relocating to (the weather is too extreme in the summer – imagine what hell would feel like on any given day), but we have family who live in the area and we recently visited them. From gasoline to groceries to property, the cost of housing is 56% less than where I live, making this city seem “cheap” in my eyes (other expenses are only about 10% less). Notice I used cost of housing since that’s the largest expense for most people, including myself. Groceries and everything else is only slightly less, but housing eats up the largest part of my budget. However, I did fill up my car a few times and their gasoline was 70-cents cheaper per gallon. Again, I slapped myself in the head and said, “Wow! That’s cheap (compared to $4.13 per gallon that is.)”

Now, someone moving from Omaha, NE may not think Phoenix is “cheap” at all. Using the CNN Money calculator to compare two cities, someone moving from Omaha would need to make about 9% more income. It’s all in where you’re moving from or to and what a person’s current cost of living gets them in determining what’s “cheap.”

Colorado Springs –

I haven’t been to Colorado in years, but my memories of this state are of grand beauty. I do have family that live in both Colorado Springs and the Denver area and both members rave about how great Colorado is, but just focusing on cost of living and not other factors, the cost of housing alone is 55% less! Now this might be due to the housing bubble bursting, but other expenses are about 14% less (groceries, health care, utilities, etc.) making this a very reasonably priced city.

Interestingly enough, someone moving from Kansas City, Kansas would save about 18% on their utilities by moving to Colorado Springs. Housing and all other costs are about the same if not close to 2% less (I’ll be honest and say I’m kind of shocked that Kansas City is more expensive.)

I don’t want to pick on the mid-west (much of my family is from the Kansas-Nebraska area) but let’s face it, at some point most mid-westerners want to get the heck out of Dodge and head towards, you know where, Colorado!

Which leads me to looking at these cities more closely and not just examining the cost of living, which of course is very appealing. Weather is definitely a deciding factor when choosing some place new to move to – Phoenix is too hot in the summer and Colorado may be too cold (41 inches of snow kind of freaks me out!)

The “vibe” of the city is also very important. Phoenix is very suburban – lots of sprawling housing communities and strip malls. It’s a bit “truck-country” as well with folks going out to the desert to “shoot” or ride their Gators. I’m an outdoor person, but this is not very appealing to me at all.

As for Colorado Springs, like I mention, I haven’t been there in years. The comments on BestPlaces.net are surprisingly negative. I’d have to visit a few times to really get a feel for the city, but I’m sure there’s a place in Colorado I’d love. 🙂

Of course, if I do become a California Transplant, I’m guessing there will be locals who will moan and groan (California transplants are sometimes picked on a bit in other states, probably because they go around saying, “This place is so cheap!” for a year or two.)

I don’t intend on relocating out of California anytime soon, this was just a study in what’s cheap from  a personal point of view.

Do you live in a reasonably priced city? Or do you dream of moving someplace else?