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This. I split time between the Bay and up in north eastern Ca. Reality is, aside from housing, day to day costs are really no different - gas, food, utilities

This. I split time between the Bay and up in north eastern Ca. Reality is, aside from housing, day to day costs are really no different - gas, food, utilities. I’m fortunate to have that flexibility, but percentages mask a number of things. I was talking to someone recently - with all the “tech” going into the Reno area, housing is getting more and more expensive. The average salary is still in the mid 30k range, however.

s0rce 8y ago
California is expensive overall. However, other places are cheaper. I lived in Central/Eastern WA (Pasco) for a postdoc before moving to the bay and it was astronomically cheaper across the board even if you ignore housing (1800sqft house on 1/2 acre was $280k in 2014). Biggest non-housing difference was no state income tax, so save 7-10%, then pretty much all car/gas/insurance were about half. Food was a bit cheaper but not enough to make a big difference. We didn't go out much since restaurants weren't good but thats not really a far comparison. Where do you live in NE California? I love it up there (and SE Oregon)