are there anything out there better than using Cost of Living to relocate

GarudaMin

I need a better realistic way to calculate COA. Anyone know of any that doesn't consider real estate?

I have found that COA calculators out there doesn't work for me. To give background, let's say I live in Area-A and make $100k. If I relocate to Area-B, according to COA calculators out there, it will be $60k, mostly due to real estate. The problem is since I own a place in Area-A, my real-estate value is actually lower than Area-B. Also, my transportation in Area-A cost less due to public transportation compare to Area-B where I would need a car, insurance, gas, etc.

I normally look at relocation in terms of how much money I would save at the end of year. I can save $20-25k in Area-A then but if job pays $60k in Area-B then I will only save about $5k. Granted, Area-B has better weather and probably better life-style changes (doesn't really matter since I spent most of the time on computer ).

So I need a better realistic way to calculate COA. Or any thoughts you guys have on relocation and COA.
Thanks.

jibbajabba

McDonalds ... They base their prices according to the cost of living ..

msteinhilber

My best advice, don't rely on an online calculator to determine any potential changes to your income and expenditures. If you're seriously considering options in Area B, then it's time to start doing your own research on costs of housing, transportation, groceries and so on. If you are going to rely on an online calculator to consider potential locations, only use it as a preliminary tool and if it looks attractive then verify for yourself. I'd probably set myself up with an Excel spreadsheet and start comparing expenses where I'm currently at and the estimated cost for the same in the area you are considering relocating to.

bermovick

How do you do that level of research though? I could maybe see housing costs since you can usually browse rentals/real estate online, but transportation, groceries, utility bills don't seem like something you could easily find.

Personally I just decide on how much of a raise I want, then convert that to the appropriate area's at Cost of Living Calculator: Compare the Cost of Living in Two Cities - CNNMoney

msteinhilber

bermovick wrote: »

How do you do that level of research though? I could maybe see housing costs since you can usually browse rentals/real estate online, but transportation, groceries, utility bills don't seem like something you could easily find.

Personally I just decide on how much of a raise I want, then convert that to the appropriate area's at Cost of Living Calculator: Compare the Cost of Living in Two Cities - CNNMoney

You can find anything on the Internet.

Transportation costs are easy, since he said there is no public transportation options he would need a vehicle, insurance and fuel expenses. The vehicle can obviously be researched online, once he has some possible vehicle selections they can call various insurance providers for a quote on the region they are considering (premiums will vary by state and sometimes by city) and fuel prices and trends can be found online for any medium sized city and upwards. The vehicle and auto insurance research is something OP would want to conduct anyways, because no cost of living calculator is going to adequately account for the fact they are relying on public transportation now and will be transitioning to driving themselves.

Utility bills are easily calculated too. You can use Google to determine the utility company in the city you're considering and look at their rates. Now with a major climate shift it might be hard to guess how much gas/electric/whatever they might use but one could also call the utility company for some property they are looking at renting or buying and get the average utility costs.

Groceries can be a bit more tedious to calculate... but if you really want to get granular and come up with an accurate calculation, then the data is out there on the Internet.

Akaricloud

Could you expand more on why you don't want this to include real estate?

If you own a 500k house in Area A, were to sell it to move to Area B where houses are 250k, then you have $250k to invest and add to your income. Real estate always needs to be factored in.

GarudaMin

Thanks msteinhilber on your thoughts.
For akaricloud:
Apartment I own in Area-A is the same price as a house I would own in Area-B. Also my yearly maintenance for apartment in Area-A is lower than property fee for the house in Area-B. Utility fee is also lower in Area-A since it's not a house.
Calculators out there shows COA for real estate in Area-A to be 3-4 times higher than Area-B, which is not true to my case. Basically I am trying to find acceptable salary in Area-B for me to make a move.
I guess, ultimately I have to decide: better weather, possible better life style changes, possible better health VS. $30-40K (could be more) extra money in bank per year.