Yeah, look... it's an impossible problem. On one hand you put your finger on it. Your life in place A is completely different then your life in place B so tryi

Yeah, look... it's an impossible problem. On one hand you put your finger on it. Your life in place A is completely different then your life in place B so trying to so that you are paying x% more per sqft and therefore you arre y% poorer is obviously nonsense. Same goes for inflation calculators. This week you spent your money on iPads, international foods, air travel, divorce lawyers and antidepressants. 200 years ago you could have taken that money and bought this many slaves, that much bread and a weekly leaching. Therefore $1 in 1804 is worth $349 in todays money. On the other hand there obviously is such a thing as inflation over time and cost of living variances. You can tell because you can live in a house, eat food and drive a car with a certain amount of money in one place but you can't pay for a the smallest apartment in another place with the same amount.