Quote:
Originally Posted by rmay635703
$35,000 in Vermont is different than $35,000 in Wisconsin and
$35,000 in Phoenix is different than $35,000 in Mesa
In Wisconsin you can still find rent all utilities included for $250 a month and ground turkey for $1 a pound
I’m told the difference in cost of living in AZ varies wildly as do wages
Cost of living makes a bigger difference than earnings in how easy it is to make ends meet
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I'd put a qualifier with that. Maybe if you're retired and on a fixed or declining income, but I'm young and my wages are still rapidly increasing. It makes more sense for me to be in a higher income + higher expense area because I know how to minimize living expenses and income scales better.
If I'm taking home $60,000 per year and my rent is $975 (divided by 2), that makes my yearly rent only 10% of my income. My rent could double and my income would only need to go up by 20% for me to come out ahead, with more disposable income. As for food, I scavenge from dumpsters for fruits and veggies, and order in bulk online for dried goods, so that's going to be pretty similar no matter where I go.