The new cost of living calculator - how accurate is it?
http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/ This CoL calc apparently is reasonable. However would like to know from someone who actually did the deed of moving from a low CoL place like Texas/Minneapolis/Research Triangle to high cost place like Bay Area/Seattle. Thoughts, Critics, Comments about the calculator?
This is not accurate at all.
What is totally off, I have never lived out of Texas and would want to hear from someone who moved.
Imo, col basically comes down to real estate. The prices of food don't seem to change all that much, and entertainment in major metro areas is obviously higher but that's just a drop in the bucket when compared to real estate costs. That being said, where you live is basically a consumption choice. So if in renting on the East coast for 2k a month and want to go to the Bay area and rent at 4k a month. I need to net more than 24k for the year at the new job, so like 40k total increase.
State income taxes, property tax, Auto insurance, parking, cost of energy are some of the other expenses to factor in, isn't it?
Negligible relative to the housing delta is my main point. So saying it costs 3x more to live in Bay area compare to Boulder etc, then most of that is due to housing costs. But housing can minimized.
Not accurate. Everyone has a different spending pattern. I spent 1% on healthcare and 50% on mortgage. The calculator does not take this in to consideration.
Agree on this!