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The problem with these studies is that they measure averages. Yes, you can drop a grand for dinner at Daniel in NYC, which makes the average price skyrocket -
by dblock 15y ago
The problem with these studies is that they measure averages. Yes, you can drop a grand for dinner at Daniel in NYC, which makes the average price skyrocket - try to spend a thousand dollars in any restaurant in Austin. The Daniel's in NYC are not an exception, so it seems that the price of food is much higher. But most people live in more normal brackets and my lunch still costs 10 bucks.
- rdouble 15y agoThere was also a recent study that showed grocery bills in NYC were actually less expensive than most other metro areas. I've noticed the same thing after moving from Brooklyn to the middle of nowhere. I paid less at Fairway than I do here, and Fairway had a much better selection.
- tptacek 15y agoCitation needed. Google seems to say that's the opposite of true. The anecdotal warning goes double here, because the NYC lifestyle deemphasizes groceries.
- rdouble 15y agohttp://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/05/26/columbia-study-finds-groceries-cheaper-in-nyc/ http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/05/26/columbia-study-finds-... Anecdotally, I recently took a road trip across the southwest and Fairway was cheaper than similar stores in Tucson, Flagstaff, Moab and Boulder. In Minneapolis things got cheap again but in Northern MN/ND they are about the same (as NYC).
- ebiester 15y agoThat's not surprising in the southwest, due to transportation costs.
- daeken 15y agoI've bought groceries exactly once in the 7 months I've lived in NYC. It's just too damned convenient to go on SeamlessWeb.
- msluyter 15y agoI'm curious if you have any evidence to back up your assertion that high end restaurants are calculated in the averages? In any event, this generates a more detailed breakdown: http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/moving-cost-of-living-calculator.aspx http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/moving-cost-of-l... A few interesting examples (I chose to compare to Brooklyn, since Manhattan was over the top ridiculous): - Austin Brooklyn Home Price $232,059.83 $944,473.13 Rent $926.30 $2,249.13 Doctor Visit $84.28 $105.09 Pizza $10.08 $11.33 Beer $8.43 $9.81 Ground Beef $2.54 $3.39 Etc... Weirdly, optometrists are way cheaper there (94$ vs 56$). Hmm... I'm going to have to co-ordinate my checkups with my vacations...
- dblock 15y agoYou got me. My evidence is anecdotal. But still... I own a 2 bedroom in Brooklyn (1200sqft) with view of the Ocean that's that is less expensive that the number on the top right by 150K$. I definitely think my place is "above average", so these numbers must be skewed by my neighbors that paid 2.7MM$ for an apartment the same size because it had a gold-plated ceiling (Russian Neighborhood).
- potatolicious 15y agoI've moved around a fair bit to a number of different cities, and IMHO these "cost of living comparison" reports are mostly bullshit. One might be able to make some good comparisons about rent, since that's so heavily market-driven... but groceries? I find that the price of groceries varies so widely across any city, or hell, any neighborhood that one cannot possibly make a reasonable claim to "a bottle of beer costs $X", nor "a delivered pizza costs $Y". Take where I'm right now for example - your link has the broad area "Seattle-Bellevue-Everett" - which covers every single neighborhood in Seattle, from the cheapest in the Central District all the way to the most expensive in Belltown. And then it moves north to heavily blue-collar areas like Everett and software-engineer-land like Bellevue. How can any reasonable pricing index be established like that?
- mcdowall 15y agoI look at my tax deductions each month in the UK and sometimes feel like weeping, then I see figures such as 'Doctor Visit ~$95' and take for granted not having to pay for healthcare. Just out of curiosity, was that $8/9 for a pint/litre of beer or a 4 pack. When I was in NYC last year I don't recall it being anywhere near that expensive.