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This a million times over. I've tried to explain this so many times to my friends who insist on making sub $80k in backwater places citing cost of living "adva
by danssig 16y ago
This a million times over. I've tried to explain this so many times to my friends who insist on making sub $80k in backwater places citing cost of living "advantages". Uh, no. A BMW or iPhone will cost about the same in Tulsa as it does in New York City.
- tomkarlo 16y agoAs much as I love New York, this isn't true, at least for the car. The base payment on the BMW will be the same (call it $600 if you buy) but your insurance will be higher in urban areas, you may pay as much as $300-400 a month for parking in Manhattan, and gas is probably higher as well. So that car ends up being 20-30% more expensive in NY vs. a rural area, or even vs. say Los Angeles, where a parking space runs about $100 a month. This is why so few people living in Manhattan have cars - the net cost is well over $1,000 a month and you might as well just rent all the time.
- krschultz 16y agoActually, insurance is not the killer in Manhattan. Parking is. Insurance is a very flexible cost. Although I always assumed that living in NYC, I wouldn't have a car. Take the car insurance, gas, and depreciation costs of the car and put it towards rent and call it even.
- danssig 16y agoFine, some things cost more but my point still stands: national products are the same or almost the same cost.
- rayiner 16y agoFor people in typical earnings ranges, the majority of your income is spent on location-dependent costs: taxes, rent, insurance, food, entertainment, etc, not on discretionary spending like BMWs* or iPhones. *) Also, BMW's only cost you the same everywhere if you pay sticker for a new car. Used cars have significantly different prices in different zip codes.