Ideal Places to Live and Cost of Living?

I hear ya on that one. We seem to stay broke all the time, with the occasional night out, but not often. In the States we had a car, paid insurance, bought a LOT more, ate fancier foods, and even smoked ourselves senseless for most of that time (we quit 3 years ago), and still had money.

We have a couple friends who are out all the time, off to this concert and that.. all the 'big' festivals, drinking every weekend, etc. I just wonder how people manage to do it.

It's a hard one if you don't know what their rent to income ratio is, as that's the major one that will affect your cost of living. Like my parents seem to believe I should be absolutely minted because I have a high salary, but that's because when they paid a mortgage they paid £300 a month but I pay more than 3 times that in rent which greatly cuts into my income. Also, I pay £400 a month in freaking student loans and my DH pays £500. My travel card is £150 a month on top of all that, and council tax is £120.

What I'm saying is, I don't know how anyone copes or is able to afford kids, the deductions on my salary are absolutely freaking appalling when I see it on my pay slip. I know I'm really really lucky and I don't have to really worry about money for day to day stuff or things like clothes or a few drinks on a Friday, we're definitely not on the breadline, but I would like to save at some point, buy a house, have kids, go on a holiday which isn't a trip to the US for cheap or a minibreak in Europe and it all just seems really difficult. Things will turn a corner when DH starts working full time next month, but it's been a really long 5 years with him being a student and me paying for everything out of my wage, it's also quite stressful being the breadwinner. Finances are tough! (not that I'm not grateful for everything we have )

A bird shat on me on my walk in this morning. I got most of it out of my (pale turquoise, 100%, handmade by me, grrrr) coat but there's still a darker patch by the hem.

And if one more person says "oh but it's good luck!"...  I'll just get the good luck fairies to pay the dry cleaning bill and keep me warm while it's in there then, shall I?

I won't be one of the ones saying it is good luck. It is gross and annoying. I've had it happen before, and you have my sympathy.

It's a hard one if you don't know what their rent to income ratio is, as that's the major one that will affect your cost of living. Like my parents seem to believe I should be absolutely minted because I have a high salary, but that's because when they paid a mortgage they paid £300 a month but I pay more than 3 times that in rent which greatly cuts into my income. Also, I pay £400 a month in freaking student loans and my DH pays £500. My travel card is £150 a month on top of all that, and council tax is £120.

What I'm saying is, I don't know how anyone copes or is able to afford kids, the deductions on my salary are absolutely freaking appalling when I see it on my pay slip. I know I'm really really lucky and I don't have to really worry about money for day to day stuff or things like clothes or a few drinks on a Friday, we're definitely not on the breadline, but I would like to save at some point, buy a house, have kids, go on a holiday which isn't a trip to the US for cheap or a minibreak in Europe and it all just seems really difficult. Things will turn a corner when DH starts working full time next month, but it's been a really long 5 years with him being a student and me paying for everything out of my wage, it's also quite stressful being the breadwinner. Finances are tough! (not that I'm not grateful for everything we have )

We paid $380 a month in a safe, clean neighborhood in the States, for a huge 2 bedroom apartment. Here we are paying £375 a month for a place a third of the size. The cost of living and the fact no one is hiring me is what has made us decide to head back to the States next year. As much as we both love it here, especially hubby being 'home' with family and friends, we're better off financially there and can actually do a lot more fun things, and save money for the future.

We paid $380 a month in a safe, clean neighborhood in the States, for a huge 2 bedroom apartment.

That's very much specific to your area of the States. I don't know anywhere where you could rent even a tiny bedroom in a house share for that little...

We paid $380 a month in a safe, clean neighborhood in the States, for a huge 2 bedroom apartment.

Where may I ask in The States did you pay that much for a huge apartment? I can't think of anywhere in the country where it would be that cheap.

Where may I ask in The States did you pay that much for a huge apartment? I can't think of anywhere in the country where it would be that cheap.

It was in southern Indiana. While I realize a LOT of states have a higher cost of living, and bigger cities in every state have a higher cost of living, this was a smaller town (big enough for a Walmart and a Kmart, but not a huge town) so I am sure that had a big deciding factor in the price.

I do realize that is peanuts compared to so many places, but I was simply pointing out we can live less expensively in the area I grew up in, in the States. Nothing more.

I do realize that is peanuts compared to so many places, but I was simply pointing out we can live less expensively in the area I grew up in, in the States. Nothing more.

Ahh gotcha. I was just curious that's all--even where my mum lives in the middle of nowhere (in the forest with bear and turkeys) upstate New York you have to pay like $800-$900 to rent out a floor of a house that's been converted to a flat.

I've seen 1 bedrooms around $400 in Montana but that was a long time ago.

We paid $380 a month in a safe, clean neighborhood in the States, for a huge 2 bedroom apartment. Here we are paying £375 a month for a place a third of the size. The cost of living and the fact no one is hiring me is what has made us decide to head back to the States next year. As much as we both love it here, especially hubby being 'home' with family and friends, we're better off financially there and can actually do a lot more fun things, and save money for the future.

Where may I ask in The States did you pay that much for a huge apartment? I can't think of anywhere in the country where it would be that cheap.

It was in southern Indiana. While I realize a LOT of states have a higher cost of living, and bigger cities in every state have a higher cost of living, this was a smaller town (big enough for a Walmart and a Kmart, but not a huge town) so I am sure that had a big deciding factor in the price.

I do realize that is peanuts compared to so many places, but I was simply pointing out we can live less expensively in the area I grew up in, in the States. Nothing more.

When I lived in Wabash, Indiana I paid $200 a month for my apartment an it was a 1 bedroom, decent living room size wise, bathroom was ok size wise, kitchen was ok size wise. an for I was paying it was a steal I lived in a safe & quite neighborhood I had a cop who lived across the street from me as well. one of the advantages of living in a small town. if I hadn't met my Dh an moved here to the UK I probably would still be living there now.

Ahh gotcha. I was just curious that's all--even where my mum lives in the middle of nowhere (in the forest with bear and turkeys) upstate New York you have to pay like $800-$900 to rent out a floor of a house that's been converted to a flat.

I've seen 1 bedrooms around $400 in Montana but that was a long time ago.

I didn't mean to sound crappy with the 'Nothing more' bit, but re-reading it, it does come across that way.    I remember in '90 or '91, having a penpal (back in the OLDEN days before it was all done online  ) in California who shared an apartment with three other girls and they were paying $1500 a month, even then. Indiana is quite cheap in comparison to most states, other than the bigger cities.

When I lived in Wabash, Indiana I paid $200 a month for my apartment an it was a 1 bedroom, decent living room size wise, bathroom was ok size wise, kitchen was ok size wise. an for I was paying it was a steal I lived in a safe & quite neighborhood I had a cop who lived across the street from me as well. one of the advantages of living in a small town. if I hadn't met my Dh an moved here to the UK I probably would still be living there now.

That is a great price for rent.

I didn't mean to sound crappy with the 'Nothing more' bit, but re-reading it, it does come across that way.    I remember in '90 or '91, having a penpal (back in the OLDEN days before it was all done online  ) in California who shared an apartment with three other girls and they were paying $1500 a month, even then. Indiana is quite cheap in comparison to most states, other than the bigger cities.

No worries .

I can one-up that apartment story--I had 3 friends who shared an apartment in Manhattan. They paid about $1,500.....EACH!   $4,500 a month in a highrise in the upper east side.

Not to turn this into a debate but...
I'd much much rather pay that $1500 in Manhattan and get to live in the city than live in a small town for cheap. To me, it's well worth it. But it obviously depends on tour personal preferences and priorities. For me, a sml Midwestern town sounds pretty awful, no matter how cheap. I lived in a really crappy apartment in Bed Stuy (the rapidly gentrifying part) and paid $700 just for my room, living with two others. I consider that fairly cheap.

Not to turn this into a debate but...
I'd much much rather pay that $1500 in Manhattan and get to live in the city than live in a small town for cheap. To me, it's well worth it. But it obviously depends on tour personal preferences and priorities. For me, a sml Midwestern town sounds pretty awful, no matter how cheap. I lived in a really crappy apartment in Bed Stuy (the rapidly gentrifying part) and paid $700 just for my room, living with two others. I consider that fairly cheap.

Ha, I agree, I spent my entire life waiting to get out of a mid-sized town, now I have about four cities in the world I'd actually live in, and rent in them goes from high to astronomical. It's totally worth it for me, but it's not for everyone and I respect that.

If kids are a priority for you, or if you have a career which isn't focused around a particular industry (like for instance finance) and if you're a homebody, then I can see why small towns would be so attractive.

From my point of view I spent a week in Springfield Missouri for work and by the Wednesday I wanted to shoot myself, the restaurants were terrible, you could walk from one side of the city to the other in half an hour, there was about four shops, the bars were totally naff, there was no proper theatre but for what I pay now for a one bed I could get a downtown 4 bed, 2.5 bath loft apartment http://www.springfieldloftapartments.com/Lofts/DOWNTOWN%20LOFTS/101/gallery.cfm?Building=DOWNTOWN%20LOFTS&Apartment=101
Everyone kept telling me how lovely and quaint it was, but it just made me crazy.

I don't know if things will change for me as I get older, I suspect not as I am "so" urban focussed, I really like the idea of bringing up independent streetwise kids, grass and fresh air is so overrated (yah, I'm probably a terrible human and will be a terrible mother)

 I love listening to everyone's ideas about what they need in a place. That, and hearing about apartments that cost $380/month. I'm from New Jersey. With one of the highest costs of living in the US (if not the highest) that simply does not exist!  

(Modified, created "Ideal Places to Live" thread  )

Ha, I agree, I spent my entire life waiting to get out of a mid-sized town, now I have about four cities in the world I'd actually live in, and rent in them goes from high to astronomical. It's totally worth it for me, but it's not for everyone and I respect that.

If kids are a priority for you, or if you have a career which isn't focused around a particular industry (like for instance finance) and if you're a homebody, then I can see why small towns would be so attractive.

From my point of view I spent a week in Springfield Missouri for work and by the Wednesday I wanted to shoot myself, the restaurants were terrible, you could walk from one side of the city to the other in half an hour, there was about four shops, the bars were totally naff, there was no proper theatre but for what I pay now for a one bed I could get a downtown 4 bed, 2.5 bath loft apartment http://www.springfieldloftapartments.com/Lofts/DOWNTOWN%20LOFTS/101/gallery.cfm?Building=DOWNTOWN%20LOFTS&Apartment=101
Everyone kept telling me how lovely and quaint it was, but it just made me crazy.

I don't know if things will change for me as I get older, I suspect not as I am "so" urban focussed, I really like the idea of bringing up independent streetwise kids, grass and fresh air is so overrated (yah, I'm probably a terrible human and will be a terrible mother)

Also not to turn it into a debate, but this makes it sound like a person would ONLY choose to avoid a big city if they are uneducated enough to only have a crap job, want to crank out babies by the bushel and stay home all the time.

It sounds as though everyone is thinking I am talking about a little town of 30 toothless mountain folk. Granted, the population is just under 20,000, but there is a wide variety of office jobs (including finance) to be had. Not everyone is working the fields with their mules.

I never said it was the ideal place to live, but it is relatively crime free, there have only been three or four murders in 10 years, you CAN get fresh air and sunshine but not have to go more than 3 minutes to get milk or bread if you forgot to pick it up.

There are pros and cons to big city life, little city life, small or big town life, or living out in the boonies. I am content in any of those settings. It is personal preference for where a person wants to live and the lifestyle he or she chooses to live. Like I said, I can be just as happy in the hustle and bustle of the bigger city, or living on an acre of ground in the middle of nowhere. It is choosing to be happy with your surroundings. The story I told just HAPPENED to be about that particular apartment costing that particular amount compared to the size and price of the flat I am in now.

I get what your saying Tama! I'm pretty content in most places, which I've had to learn to be with all them moving around my family did (Dad was in the Air Force). I have to say though that I do enjoy a slower pace of life now though. In my early 20's I did the partying and shopping and had fun in all the big cities...Now though, I enjoy getting into a big city but I don't enjoy club scenes as much anymore except when I feel like dancing. Funny enough, I love the idea of sitting with friends over a cup of coffee or glass of wine. The perfect location for me is a place that's far enough out to drown down the noise, but close enough to make the big city fun and easy to access! I think I would love to go out more, but like everyone else, my pockets always seem to be empty and now with hubby losing his job, I don't see the sky raining money in my world any time soon! 

Whoa! I didn't mean to start a huge debate about small towns, toothless mountain folk, terrible city mothers with their terribly independent children or anything like that.  I'm just complaining 'cause I'm broke! I'm sure I'm not the only one, but it's frustrating. I certainly wasn't rich in the states, but I lived in a pretty big city and could afford to go out and do stuff. Now I've moved closer to the city, but can't afford to go out to do stuff, so it kind of sucks.

In reference to rent prices, when I was at Uni - I graduated in 2004, so this wasn't the dark ages - I paid $175 a month for a big one bedroom duplex in a small Texas town. True story! I shared it with a boyfriend, so it was dead cheap. Our landlord was an elderly lady who either had no idea how much she should be charging or just wanted to help out some poor students.  Still, I was bored to tears so I didn't mind paying a lot more to live in the big city, so I can see your point, CB. I loved living in a small village here in the UK, but it was a very scenic one by the sea, so that definitely makes a difference, in my opinion.