Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 16:01     Subject: Re:Aren't cost of living differences really just housing?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So if your salary in the middle of nowhere, as a nurse (let's say), is 50k a year and your salary as a nurse in NYC is 200k a year, those 150 dollar jeans are going to seem ridiculously expensive on a 50k salary but not so much on a 200k salary. Even if each nurse puts 40% towards housing.... which will of course cost way more in NYC... think of what is leftover for cheerios, clothes, plane tickets, car payments, etc for nurse 1 as opposed to nurse 2.


On $200k, who is buying $150 jeans.


(Looks around, raises hand...)


I was gonna say.... our combined HHI is about 225 and I don't think 150 dollars is unreasonable for a pair of jeans once a year? What am I missing?
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 14:52     Subject: Re:Aren't cost of living differences really just housing?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So if your salary in the middle of nowhere, as a nurse (let's say), is 50k a year and your salary as a nurse in NYC is 200k a year, those 150 dollar jeans are going to seem ridiculously expensive on a 50k salary but not so much on a 200k salary. Even if each nurse puts 40% towards housing.... which will of course cost way more in NYC... think of what is leftover for cheerios, clothes, plane tickets, car payments, etc for nurse 1 as opposed to nurse 2.


On $200k, who is buying $150 jeans.


This is one of the funnier "DCUM is so out of touch" comments I've seen. In seven words the poster has managed to insinuate both that $200K HHI is a low number and $150 jeans is a high number.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 14:42     Subject: Aren't cost of living differences really just housing?
Anonymous wrote:We moved to a LCOL area and literally everything is cheaper. Gas, food, clothes, restaurants, childcare, any type of service, etc. Weirdly, the LCOL doesn't impact wages as much. Let's say COL is 20% cheaper. DH and I make only about 5% less than what we did with a higher COL.


Ditto. Our kids are daycare/preschool age and that difference is probably the most significant one behind housing. Like $1000 lower per kid per month. Groceries are on average cheaper, but it really depends on where you shop. Same with restaurants. Also we’ve been having some repairs and renovations done to our house here and everything is cheaper than similar work in DC.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 14:35     Subject: Aren't cost of living differences really just housing?
Anonymous wrote:Childcare in Arlington is at least $1000 more per month than in Ashburn


Yeah. I’ve also noticed COL differences in the DC area between close-in suburbs and suburbs further out from the city center without even looking at housing. Childcare, groceries, vehicles, even restaurant prices.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 13:57     Subject: Aren't cost of living differences really just housing?
Just go charlete NC and 12 dollar beers and $60 steaks was not cheap
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 13:55     Subject: Aren't cost of living differences really just housing?
We moved to a LCOL area and literally everything is cheaper. Gas, food, clothes, restaurants, childcare, any type of service, etc. Weirdly, the LCOL doesn't impact wages as much. Let's say COL is 20% cheaper. DH and I make only about 5% less than what we did with a higher COL.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 13:50     Subject: Re:Aren't cost of living differences really just housing?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:So if your salary in the middle of nowhere, as a nurse (let's say), is 50k a year and your salary as a nurse in NYC is 200k a year, those 150 dollar jeans are going to seem ridiculously expensive on a 50k salary but not so much on a 200k salary. Even if each nurse puts 40% towards housing.... which will of course cost way more in NYC... think of what is leftover for cheerios, clothes, plane tickets, car payments, etc for nurse 1 as opposed to nurse 2.


On $200k, who is buying $150 jeans.


(Looks around, raises hand...)
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 13:37     Subject: Aren't cost of living differences really just housing?
Childcare in Arlington is at least $1000 more per month than in Ashburn
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 13:19     Subject: Aren't cost of living differences really just housing?
Anonymous wrote:We live in the Midwest now, and things are cheaper across the board. Parking, everything related to childcare, kid activities, camps, groceries, restaurant meals, therapy, taxes, gym membership, pool membership, etc.


But are salaries generally lower or about the same as the coasts? Moreover, I think the costs are just different. DH and I own a SFH in Arlington, which is expensive, but own one 10-year old car, which is paid off. People in the Midwest seem to spend less on housing but a fortune on cars.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 13:11     Subject: Aren't cost of living differences really just housing?
^ also gas
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 13:11     Subject: Aren't cost of living differences really just housing?
We live in the Midwest now, and things are cheaper across the board. Parking, everything related to childcare, kid activities, camps, groceries, restaurant meals, therapy, taxes, gym membership, pool membership, etc.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 11:46     Subject: Aren't cost of living differences really just housing?
No, its literally everything.

How old are you?
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 11:39     Subject: Aren't cost of living differences really just housing?
Yes. I also discovered this when I lived in a LCOL area of Georgia for a few months in 2020. Everything in Target was give or take 50% less than the DC area.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 11:23     Subject: Re:Aren't cost of living differences really just housing?
Yes. The same products have lower prices in Pennsylvania than in DC.
Anonymous
Post 06/07/2026 10:57     Subject: Re:Aren't cost of living differences really just housing?
Anonymous wrote:

On $200k, who is buying $150 jeans.


This doesn't seem crazy to me, especially if the jeans are constructed well enough, and cut timelessly enough, to last 5x longer than a pair of $50 jeans.