Saving money by moving to a "HCOL" area?

[Willers]

Yup, we live in one of those towns.

 

[Helena]

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The question is... less expensive as opposed to what ?

I hear about retired Americans moving to developing foreign countries to save money.

But when the details are given... they could have moved to lots of areas in the USA and saved more money.

.

 

[RobbieB]

I saved a lot of dough by living "over the hill" from the bay area, but paid my dues commuting.

Now that I'm retired I live where the "bay goes to play"

It all evened out in the end -

 

[Teacher Terry]

We enjoy the festivals, free music, etc. But tourism brings more traffic. We stay off freeway and often walk downtown for festivities.

 

[W2R]

Yes, a tourist area can have its challenges. We've learned to manage the chaos during the peak seasons when the population doubles and really take advantage of shoulder seasons and weekdays. I totally understand why it isn't for everyone.

When still working we used to leave the area every year for the last week of Carnival, leading up to Mardi Gras. The congestion, traffic and general insanity around here is over the top and simply beyond belief during that time.

But in recent years we have just hunkered down instead. I actually like it now. Mostly we just stay home. We live 1/2 block from a major parade route, and when there is a parade I can hear the sounds of the brass bands and jubilant crowds off in the distance, from right here in my easy chair. It makes me smile to think of everyone having fun down the block, even if I don't actually want to walk down there and join in the revelry and madness.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

.

The question is... less expensive as opposed to what ?

I hear about retired Americans moving to developing foreign countries to save money.

But when the details are given... they could have moved to lots of areas in the USA and saved more money.

.

I think you are right, except for health care. If the ACA had not come along we were considering moving outside the U.S.in large part due to health care costs and availability.

 

[JPatrick]

You have to know where to shop. Yesterday I bought 5 oranges for a $1, from Cal Poly farmers market, made two fresh squeezed orange juice for less than a dollar. 4 corns for $1. Large onions for 50c a pound. I paid $5 for a bunch of stuff. Unbelievable. HCOL area here.

Great buy, but did the seller have big dark glasses and look kind of shifty?

 

[Fedup]

Great buy, but did the seller have big dark glasses and look kind of shifty?

No they are young students from Cal Poly. They are gratefull that I help them with their study program. It’s a win-win situation.

 

[WyomingLife]

For those who might consider this, I was recently looking at a list of the least crowded ski areas. Here's the top ten:

10. Moonlight Basin - Montana

9. Crested Butte, Colorado

8. 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort - Washington

7. Sugarloaf - Maine

6. Revelstoke - British Columbia, Canada

5. Sun Valley - Idaho

4. Steamboat - Colorado

3. Grand Targhee - Wyoming

2. Big Sky - Montana

1. Telluride - Colorado

That's an interesting list. You posted it from a recreation perspective, but it is also interesting to look at from a "living in the vicinity" perspective.

Grand Targhee is nestled between Wyoming and Idaho; viewed from Idaho, the western face of the Grand Teton is drop dead gorgeous.

Unfortunately, that area (even on the Idaho side) is generally quite expensive from a cost-of-living perspective. Don't quote me on this and with respect to the Wyoming side, but I read recently that Jackson had the greatest income disparity in the United States because of the spread between billionaires and commoners living there.

There are areas with a much lower cost of living in the Rocky Mountains that have both smaller ski resorts as well as reasonably ready access to some of the famous destination ski areas noted above -- though not necessarily when the wind is howling, the snow is blowing, and the interstate is closed.

 

[Chuckanut]

A guy I know retired from a teaching job after 30 years. He taught in a rural district about 40 miles from the Big City - usually at least an hour's drive each way. They had a couple of acres of land, used wood from their property to heat the house, had deer in the back yard, etc. etc. etc.

Upon retirement they decided that the things they wanted to do were - theater, live music, college and pro sports and enjoying eating out at places that made unusual food, walk to cafès and wine bars to meet friends, and do it all in a walk-able distance from home. They also wanted to be near a major medical center. So they sold their two acre spread for a very nice profit and bought a spacious condo in the Big City.

Now they volunteer at the theaters so they see the plays for free, take advantage of senior discounts, eat at HH and off-peak prices, and sometimes a few days go by before the car leaves the garage. Oh, they were able to sell their 2nd car.

Their condo with it's property tax and monthly fees is expensive, but they enjoy it and they spend far less on their past times than if they still lived in the rural area. They have a very nice view out towards the mountains that are near where they used to live.

So much for "Best cheap places to retire" lists.

 

[Souschef]

Closer to Santa Barbara is much nicer, I would move out of Ventura County if I was living there. All I could think of is heat. My sister still has a house there, but she might sell them when and if the tenant moves out.

That is true if you live in the eastern end like Simi Valleyor, in Ojai
Where we live is 10 miles from the ocean, so we get the influence without the fog.

 

[Midpack]

I sure hope we can find a way to keep expenses in line when we move to a higher COL city/state too. Hard to imagine how that could be with a higher COL and a considerably more expensive home, but we expect to enjoy the new city, and the OP gives me some hope. Thanks.

 

[Bamaman]

We are very conservative and live in a ultra LCOL area. In our travels to HCOL places, I just don't want to spend that much money to live somewhere with a lower quality of life. We have a great lake house across town on a beautiful deep water lake. Our city home is very large and was purchased as a foreclosure for a great price.

My sister had a 2 bedroom condo in a premier HCOL Rocky Mountain community, and boy did those Aussies pay big money to rent her place. She traded up to a 3 bedroom townhouse in the same condo development.

Sis got tired of fighting the Rocky Mountain weather and knew her skiing days were numbered. She sold the condo the first of 2008 for an absolutely ridiculous amount. She took part of the money to buy a megamansion in the North Carolina mountains in a golf/equestrian neighborhood. And she bought a Learjet 45 to fly to the mountains. And they are perfectly happy since many retirees from her city are close by.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I sure hope we can find a way to keep expenses in line when we move to a higher COL city/state too. Hard to imagine how that could be with a higher COL and a considerably more expensive home, but we expect to enjoy the new city, and the OP gives me some hope. Thanks.

You can compare city to city costs by category on bestplaces.net. I picked Castro Valley, a Bay Area suburb and Oklahoma City, just at random, and most of the difference is in housing -

https://www.bestplaces.net/compare-cities/castro_valley_ca/oklahoma_city_ok/costofliving


In our HCOL area, I spent under $40 on groceries last week, mainly 10 pounds of chicken breasts on sale for $1 a pound and around $20 for 30+ pounds of assorted produce at a Filipino market.

 

[Willers]

You can compare city to city costs by category on bestplaces.net. I picked Castro Valley, a Bay Area suburb and Oklahoma City, just at random, and most of the difference is in housing -

https://www.bestplaces.net/compare-cities/castro_valley_ca/oklahoma_city_ok/costofliving


In our HCOL area, I spent under $40 on groceries last week, mainly 10 pounds of chicken breasts on sale for $1 a pound and around $20 for 30+ pounds of assorted produce at a Filipino market.

According to that calculator, the town from which I moved is 35.5% less expensive to live in than my current residence. That's about a 50% error for us. I guess those free calculators may be worth what we pay for them...

 

[REWahoo]

According to that calculator, the town from which I moved is 35.5% less expensive to live in than my current residence. That's about a 50% error for us. I guess those free calculators may be worth what we pay for them...

That calculator does look suspect. This one from Bankrate appears to be more accurate, at least for the two comparisons I tried: https://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/moving-cost-of-living-calculator.aspx

 

[Teacher Terry]

Except for the past 20 years I have lived in LCOL places. What they have in common is crappy weather and a lack of things to do. These places can be beautiful but I have really gotten spoiled with a mild 4 seasons and no humidity. I am not a big city person but enjoy having a variety of things to do. We are MCOL. Luckily we bought our house before prices skyrocketed. I also cannot live somewhere too conservative. I need my tribe.

 

[brett]

We considered moving to a smaller city two years ago. Not for the COL, but for the lifestyle.

So very thankful that we did not. DW had some serious medical issues that would have required mulitiple five hour or six hour trips (each way) for specialized medical treatment and a hospital stay.

 

[Willers]

We considered moving to a smaller city two years ago. Not for the COL, but for the lifestyle.

So very thankful that we did not. DW had some serious medical issues that would have required mulitiple five hour or six hour trips (each way) for specialized medical treatment and a hospital stay.

Sorry to hear that. I hope she is OK. This is the one major risk in our decision. We have great orthopedics (we've both needed them), but limited resources for some major diseases. We decided that if one of us were to, for example, get cancer, we would consider moving to an area where we could be in the network of a specialist, e.g. Mayo, MD Anderson.

 

[HFWR]

We are very conservative and live in a ultra LCOL area. In our travels to HCOL places, I just don't want to spend that much money to live somewhere with a lower quality of life. We have a great lake house across town on a beautiful deep water lake. Our city home is very large and was purchased as a foreclosure for a great price.

My sister had a 2 bedroom condo in a premier HCOL Rocky Mountain community, and boy did those Aussies pay big money to rent her place. She traded up to a 3 bedroom townhouse in the same condo development.

Sis got tired of fighting the Rocky Mountain weather and knew her skiing days were numbered. She sold the condo the first of 2008 for an absolutely ridiculous amount. She took part of the money to buy a megamansion in the North Carolina mountains in a golf/equestrian neighborhood. And she bought a Learjet 45 to fly to the mountains. And they are perfectly happy since many retirees from her city are close by.

If I had the resources to afford a megamansion on a golf course, and a Learjet, COL wouldn’t be keeping me up at night...

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Here is a related article some may find of interest:

Cost of Living Is Really All About Housing -

"The third map shows the cost of living difference based just on housing or rents. The quick takeaway is that differences in living costs across metros seem to be driven almost entirely by the huge differences in housing costs. "

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2014/07/cost-of-living-is-really-all-about-housing/373128/

I have looked at the Consumer Expenditure Report by category and our expenses just aren't that much different in most categories except for housing, and some are even lower. YMMV. It is easier to spend more here if we shopped at Whole Foods, bought designer clothes and ate at expensive restaurants that may not even be choices in LCOL areas, but we don't, so our nonhousing costs are not too high. We shop at outlet and ethnic markets for groceries, Costco for clothes and eat out at ethnic places like the ones in Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

We have lived in HCOL and MCOL environments (We now avoid LCOL). What we found is the HCOL area offer more amenities and better services (Fire, Police, Recreation, infrastructure (While Still not the best), Transportation, access to healthcare, etc.) well above LCOL areas. From personal Experience we Much prefer MCOL and HCOL areas.

 

[Fedup]

I have only lived in HCOL areas since I’ve becoming an adult. This is one area I will not skim to save money.

 

[FI_RElater]

That's an interesting list. You posted it from a recreation perspective, but it is also interesting to look at from a "living in the vicinity" perspective.

Grand Targhee is nestled between Wyoming and Idaho; viewed from Idaho, the western face of the Grand Teton is drop dead gorgeous.

Unfortunately, that area (even on the Idaho side) is generally quite expensive from a cost-of-living perspective. Don't quote me on this and with respect to the Wyoming side, but I read recently that Jackson had the greatest income disparity in the United States because of the spread between billionaires and commoners living there.

There are areas with a much lower cost of living in the Rocky Mountains that have both smaller ski resorts as well as reasonably ready access to some of the famous destination ski areas noted above -- though not necessarily when the wind is howling, the snow is blowing, and the interstate is closed.

last month when in Jackson, we saw the listings in the windows.... surprisingly there were some out aways that weren’t totally crazy, but not in Jackson proper. and I’d hate to have to go over the pass (..can you say “10% grade” anyone?; nice view at the top though) to get to Victor, which really doesn’t have anything. I was kind of surprised that Wilson wasn’t more built up...until I saw the prices that they wanted.

as for skiing, I would suspect that Whitefish in MT, Bachelor in Bend, or even Steamboat would have relatively good access/limited population at a lower cost than some on the list

as for Breck... most of the service employees would be in Frisco /Dillon. There were places just outside that were available, not necessarily “cheap” but not costing all appendages, and Frisco has the hospital, shopping, cheaper amenities ....although Eric’s is good place for food and Broken Compass for craft beer in Breck

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I have only lived in HCOL areas since I’ve becoming an adult. This is one area I will not skim to save money.

We lived in SoCAL for 13 years and loved it. We were near Laguna Beach. We left to go live for a few years in the Caribbean on a Sailboat. Unfortunately housing is cost prohibitive.


With the exception of Housing and Vehicle licensing we found SoCAL very economical to live, access to everything and near perfect weather. If property was not so expensive we would move back in a Heartbeat. Till then we will continue to live in the next best area.