What cities are VLCOL, LCOL, MCOL, HCOL, VHCOL?

[mrshandy]

I think I saw threads like this before on the nest but not on GBCN.

What do you consider each?

[mrssavy42112]

Someone posted on here a website where you plug in your zip code and it determines it for you. Not sure what it uses for it's criteria. Also not sure how to answer since I can only speak for area around me that I know of.

[catbus]

Jul 31, 2012 13:36:35 GMT -5 @esquirefish said:

VLCOL=somewhere midwest
LCOL= also midwest or in the south
MCOL= Seattle, Miami
HCOL= Boston, Chicago, DC, San Francisco, etc.
VHCOL= NYC/London/Tokyo

I thought the COL in SF is actually higher than NYC... (I could be wrong). I know they're at least on par with each other. SF is a MF'ing expensive place to live.

[Deleted]

I think VLCOL and VHCOL are indisputable. Anywhere where you can buy a 4 bedroom house for under 100K is VLCOL.

Manhattan (I wouldn't even say all of NYC) is VHCOL.

The middle is debatable and probably depends on neighborhood.

[phunluvin82]

Hmmm...so before this I would have said NOLA was prob MCOL, but now I'm thinking maybe it's LCOL?

[kershnic]

Jul 31, 2012 13:42:02 GMT -5 @iheartcosmos said:

I think VLCOL and VHCOL are indisputable. Anywhere where you can buy a 4 bedroom house for under 100K is VLCOL.

Manhattan (I wouldn't even say all of NYC) is VHCOL.

The middle is debatable and probably depends on neighborhood.

I really don't think it's just about housing. In live in the NYC metro area but not Manhattan, and while I could buy a 1bedroom condo for $400k which would be laughable in Manhattan... I still pay the same prices as Manhattan dwellers for restaurants, drinks, groceries, etc. I'm sometimes floored by how low basic things like drink prices are in other parts of the country.

[eightangryreindeer]

Um, all of the cities?

[simpsongal]

If DC is HCOL, no way Chiacgo is HCOL.

Otherwise, I generally agree w/the above classifications. Northern NJ is HCOL too b/c of the property taxes and home prices (but you asked about cities...)

[mrshandy]

Jul 31, 2012 13:48:29 GMT -5 eightangryreindeer said:

Um, all of the cities?

LOL

[y4m]

DC and San Francisco do not belong in the same classification.

[kershnic]

Yeah, I'd be curious about other expensive but not a city places (like the tristate area I'm sure around other hcol cities like San Fran or LA? Are there others?)

[h]

You can compare cost of living here: www.bestplaces.net/col/

100 is the US average. My city is 102, which I would say makes it MCOL. Boise, which someone listed as LCOL, is 104. NYC is 159. DC is 135.

I would say VLCOL is going to be a rural area in the South or Midwest. Most decent size cities are LCOL or MCOL, even in the South.

[raangoli]

I always find this Cost of Living Comparison tool fascinating:

cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html

[mrssavy42112]

Jul 31, 2012 13:51:40 GMT -5 v said:

Jul 31, 2012 13:47:27 GMT -5 kershnic said:

I still pay the same prices as Manhattan dwellers for restaurants, drinks, groceries, etc. I'm sometimes floored by how low basic things like drink prices are in other parts of the country.

Where are you shopping? If I go even to Hoboken or Jersey City (HCOL places) to grocery shop, I pay like half of what I'd pay in the city. The grocery stores have sales and take coupons and everything! And suburban restaurants, bars, etc. are definitely cheaper on average than places in the city.

I don’t know if this is what you meant, but I’d hardly call Jersey City or Hoboken suburban. The further you go out of the city, the lower the prices. I’m sure that’s true for any city. Everything from rent to groceries to restaurants are more expensive in NYC, then lower in JC/Hoboken, lower in Secaucus, lower in Bloomfield (where I am now), lower in Union Twp, lower in New Brunswick…you get the picture. I don’t feel that there is a huge price difference from NYC to Hoboken (unless you’re going to the Upper West Side or something).

[h]

Jul 31, 2012 13:53:33 GMT -5 kershnic said:

Yeah, I'd be curious about other expensive but not a city places (like the tristate area I'm sure around other hcol cities like San Fran or LA? Are there others?)

I just looked up the suburb in Northern VA that my ILs live in on that website, and the COL is listed as 212--significantly higher than NYC, DC, etc. I am sure the same is true of places like Greenwich, Westport, etc.

[noonecareswhoiam]

So is HCOL based totally on real estate prices?

Because Chicago has the higest sales tax and gas prices in the country. And our food is taxed! We even have an entertainment tax if something comes out of a vending machine. So while real estate may be cheaper here than DC, there are other factors that figure into COL.

[kershnic]

Jul 31, 2012 13:51:40 GMT -5 v said:

Jul 31, 2012 13:47:27 GMT -5 kershnic said:

I still pay the same prices as Manhattan dwellers for restaurants, drinks, groceries, etc. I'm sometimes floored by how low basic things like drink prices are in other parts of the country.

Where are you shopping? If I go even to Hoboken or Jersey City (HCOL places) to grocery shop, I pay like half of what I'd pay in the city. The grocery stores have sales and take coupons and everything! And suburban restaurants, bars, etc. are definitely cheaper on average than places in the city.

OK, maybe you have me on groceries (I shop in Hudson County too.) But for instance I don't find the new Harlem Target to be any pricier than Jersey City. And if you work in the city you're going to end up eating and drinking there too, plus I still believe restaurants and such are just as expensive.

[mrshandy]

Jul 31, 2012 13:55:25 GMT -5 raangoli said:

I always find this Cost of Living Comparison tool fascinating:

cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html

That is cool. Thanks for sharing.

[kershnic]

Not to take over the conversation with NYC, but yes, the idea that JC is a suburb makes sense for people who hate to ever leave Manhattan, but it is a city of several hundred thousand who can take a 10 minute subway (PATH, but its the same thing...hell, you can pay with a metro card) ride into Manhattan.

[mrssavy42112]

Jul 31, 2012 14:06:52 GMT -5 v said:

Jul 31, 2012 13:56:38 GMT -5 mrssavy42112 said:

I don’t know if this is what you meant, but I’d hardly call Jersey City or Hoboken suburban. The further you go out of the city, the lower the prices. I’m sure that’s true for any city. Everything from rent to groceries to restaurants are more expensive in NYC, then lower in JC/Hoboken, lower in Secaucus, lower in Bloomfield (where I am now), lower in Union Twp, lower in New Brunswick…you get the picture. I don’t feel that there is a huge price difference from NYC to Hoboken (unless you’re going to the Upper West Side or something).

What I meant is that I don't agree with her that groceries, drinks, restaurants, etc. in the NY metro area but not in the city cost just as much as in Manhattan. I didn't call JC or Hobo suburban.

And yes, there is a huge price difference between Hobo and Manhattan. My apartment would probably be considerably cheaper if you moved it 500 meters west, my groceries would be way cheaper (which is why we sometimes go to the Hoboken Shop-Rite for our big shopping trips -- but the $12 toll to get home kills me), income taxes would be way lower (no city resident tax!) etc.

Oh man, if you think the Hoboken Shop Rite has good prices, then you really must be paying a lot. The next time that you're there for grocery shopping (if ever), go to the SR in Union City (Columbia Park). Much better prices, although the people aren't as nice.

I agree that real estate & possibly groceries would be cheaper in Hoboken or other areas around there, but I have to agree with PP that things like restaurants aren't much cheaper. Then again, that all depends on where you choose to go.

ETA: kershnic Yeah, I see what you mean. It's all in the eye of the beholder. I have an older friend who back in the 70s moved out of Brooklyn to go 'to the country'...i.e. Union City, NJ. Real country!

[kershnic]

+v+ - I pay more to commute in and out of the city (bus to PABT) than I would pay for city income tax. And I could easily pay the same in rent in Harlem/Wash Heights/Astoria as I do where I live now. But I get a little more space and easier parking (which effectively enables me to keep a car I don't want to sell.)

However, I don't disagree that it is more expensive to live in Manhattan below 110th than most other places in the metro area or country. I just think that's a really narrow definition of what is VHCOL.

[Deleted]

Based on that website:

Millburn, NJ (a suburb) is 242.
NYC is 159.
(I live in a town that is 150)
The town I want to move to is 199 (hence why we arent moving there).

[phunluvin82]

Jul 31, 2012 13:54:12 GMT -5 h said:

You can compare cost of living here: www.bestplaces.net/col/

100 is the US average. My city is 102, which I would say makes it MCOL. Boise, which someone listed as LCOL, is 104. NYC is 159. DC is 135.

I would say VLCOL is going to be a rural area in the South or Midwest. Most decent size cities are LCOL or MCOL, even in the South.

I'm 97. MCOL? LCOL?

[Deleted]

Jul 31, 2012 14:06:13 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

Jul 31, 2012 13:55:25 GMT -5 raangoli said:

I always find this Cost of Living Comparison tool fascinating:

cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costofliving/costofliving.html

That is cool. Thanks for sharing.

This is kind of funny. It says I would basically need to double my salary to move from MN to NY-Manh, but my housing would be 248% more. How would that even work?

[njohnson1972]

Yeah for living in 88? And the coolest city? 8-D

[mrs.jacinthe]

My COL is 111. However, based on the cost of housing here, I'd probably put us in a HCOL. We pay more than 2x what we did in our LCOL area for a house 50% smaller.

[h]

Jul 31, 2012 14:18:44 GMT -5 phunluvin82 said:

Jul 31, 2012 13:54:12 GMT -5 h said:

You can compare cost of living here: www.bestplaces.net/col/

100 is the US average. My city is 102, which I would say makes it MCOL. Boise, which someone listed as LCOL, is 104. NYC is 159. DC is 135.

I would say VLCOL is going to be a rural area in the South or Midwest. Most decent size cities are LCOL or MCOL, even in the South.

I'm 97. MCOL? LCOL?

I am hardly the expert, but I would say that is probably MCOL. I would probably put low at below 95 and very low at below 80 or so.

[mrssavy42112]

Jul 31, 2012 14:25:05 GMT -5 h said:

Jul 31, 2012 14:18:44 GMT -5 phunluvin82 said:

I'm 97. MCOL? LCOL?

I am hardly the expert, but I would say that is probably MCOL. I would probably put low at below 95 and very low at below 80 or so.

I'm at 133 (moved from 149). So that's HCOL? I didn't think it was that bad.

[cookies]

I'm at 129 and my job is requiring me to relocate to a 171.

[h]

Yes, relative to the rest of the country, I think 133 is HCOL, though not VHCOL. Honestly, though, COL varies so much even within a city (especially within a large metropolitan area), that I think it is difficult to put a number on it. And whether you perceive a place as HCOL depends a lot on what you are used to. My DH thinks any place where he can buy a single family home for $500K is LCOL because that is not possible where he grew up. To many people, paying $500K for a small starter home is insane and qualifies a place as HCOL. Both perceptions are probably off.