Temperatures have begun to drop in many parts of the US, which usually means more hours spent indoors. Here is something that keeps me busy when I'm bored: a cost-of-living calculator. There are plenty of variations online, but I like the calculator on CNN Money best. Just enter your current salary, city, and state, and then choose a city and state for comparison. The calculator will generate a cost-of-living analysis with comparable salary and expenses including groceries, housing, transportation, utilities, and healthcare.
There will always be personal variables that skew the accuracy of the calculations, but it's a fun way to pass the time and get an idea of how far your salary would go if you lived somewhere else.
Cyberjammies
Jucca
Lanvin
i think that it's kind of hard to use this calculator to really understand since all it does is tell you how much your salary would be in proportion that way and how much you would spend on other things...but it doesn't show you how much your salary really compares to what you could make in the same industry elsewhere which is sometimes really helpful in analyses like this.
1Hmm... am I a moron, or is there no Washington, DC option? I mean, I get they can't put every city on there, but D.C. is kind of a major city!
2I also looked for a Washington, DC option.
So far, this calculator just made me depressed about how much I love where I live, despite the fact that my money would go so much farther so many other places! I'd only be worse off some place like Manhattan. Oh well.
3Holy crap!!! If I moved to NYC, housing would cost 431% MORE Texas!!! holy sh*te!
4more THAN Texas rather lol.. I should have proof read
5Pretty interesting.
6Wow, very interesting.
7yah, i live in NYC and just got a little sick....
8Apparently I should stay exactly where I'm at because it's way more expensive everywhere else.
9I live in D.C. so I can't use this calculator - can you recommend another?
10Utilities cost 92% more in my hometown (Fairbanks, Alaska) than do in here in Seattle... but, if I am reading it right, it says that I'd be making at least $6K more.
11I work in Manhattan and live in Queens and pretty much should move anywhere to get more out of my salary.
12We're moving, but the city we're moving to isn't on here and neither are any cities near it
boo cnn.
13For those who was asking, here is a great calculator:
http://www.payscale.com/cost-of-living-calculator
14you have to pick VA and in there is a Washington, Arlingon, Alexandria. I'm glad it's just about the same to live here as it is to live in San Diego. Now we just need to sell our house and move!
15Great tool, considering my husband and I are planning to move back to where I'm originally from (or close to it) in the next 4-5 years.
16that was very neat. I found out that we live in a very expensive place.
17Being as I live in New York City, almost anywhere I move to would allow me to get more out of my salary. I guess I'm just used to paying a premium for everything. My solution for that is just to work harder, save more, and keep in mind I pay a premium to live in the greatest city. I suppose that is why us New Yorkers are overworked!
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