As regular readers have probably picked up on, I’ve been in the process of relocating once again.  This should be the last move for a very long time, perhaps ever.  I loved my time in the Midwest (and it certainly had its advantages), but I’m happy to be back in New England.  While many costs between the two locations are similar, there are a few differences worth considering.

Housing

This is the major difference.  In the Midwest, people complained about the high cost of housing, but they really had no idea how inexpensive it was.  One woman lamented that “you can’t even get a starter home for under $60K any more.”  I hate to tell her, but a comparable home here in New England costs upwards of $300K.  Out there we built a brand new, 5 bedroom home with all the upgrades for just over $200K.  Here we found a wonderful 4 bedroom home, built in the early 70s, that cost well over twice as much.  My mortgage payment basically tripled.  Higher property value also means that my taxes will be much higher as well.

Gasoline

As a full time telecommuter, I don’t drive all that much.  With the move, my wife is also telecommuting full time now too.  That makes the difference in gas prices much less significant than when we both commuted two hours a day.  Still, gas prices average about 20 cents a gallon more in our new state.  While that amounts to less than $100 a year extra based on our consumption, there is also a psychological factor to paying more for gas.

Utilities

While comparable services generally cost about the same, it’s interesting how different the services we use are.  Many of the differences come from moving from within the limits of a city to the country.  I no longer have water, sewer, or trash collection bills.  I’ve exchanged a monthly natural gas bill for a seasonal oil bill.  My electric bill will also see a sharp decline in the summer, since I now live in a much more temperate climate where air conditioning is no longer a necessity.  Lack of cell phone coverage here also persuaded me to eliminate my personal cell phone, though I still have a business cell phone.

Time

Between traffic and proximity of stores, I find that it now takes much longer to run errands.  My time is one of my most valuable assets, so this change should not be discounted.  My grocery store and Target both went from 5 minutes away to 15.  Even if I only go to the grocery store once a week and Target every other week, that difference still adds up to an extra 26 hours over the course of a year!

Family

Being closer to family was the main reason for our move.  Though distant locales may have their advantages, there truly is no place like home.  Being closer to family means we’ll spend significantly less on travel.  We’ve gone from a plane ride to see anyone to a drive to see everyone.  We’ll also save on childcare, since my wife is now working less.  Even though aspects of our lives are much more expensive now, things like family make it all worthwhile.  Also, having come from New England originally made our time in the Midwest seem like a discount, rather than our current situation seem like an abundant expense.

Cost of Living Comparison Sites

There are many sites that allow you to compare the cost of living between two cities.  According to Sperling’s Best Places, my overall cost of living should be twice as much in my new location, with housing being the biggest factor.  They estimate that housing is 500% more expensive here.  Since my housing is only 3X as much, I expect my overall cost of living to be about 50% higher overall, not 100% higher as they estimate.