> In the US, is it cheaper to live rurally? Yes, sort of. You can find housing much cheaper outside the cities. Some services are cheaper, though not if you

> In the US, is it cheaper to live rurally? Yes, sort of. You can find housing much cheaper outside the cities. Some services are cheaper, though not if you are "too rural," so the rest of what I write here will apply more to suburbia and semi-rural areas and not the truly "out there" rural places (where few people live anyway). There are problems with living outside major cities, though. Work is often harder to come by, and pays less too. Companies justify this by saying the cost of living is lower, but this only makes sense for the fraction of your income you actually spend while living there. If you move out later to a more expensive area, you're in trouble because you were being paid at the "low cost of living" rate all along. On the other hand if you spend everything you earn (or more), having a low cost of living is good. A second problem is much more acute in the UK than the US: cost of transportation. Gas, cars, and regional trains are somewhat affordable in the US, whereas in the UK they are quite a bit more expensive. National Rail fares have increased faster than inflation in many recent years, resulting in protests just two weeks ago [1]. For example, an annual pass from Tring to London, which takes 1'15", now costs about 6000 USD. That's a significant reason why living way outside London is not that cheap despite the inconvenience.