San Francisco and New York take the cake for ranking among the country’s most expensive. Ever talked to a friend who lives in one of these cities? Guaranteed, you’ll feel better about your own increasing rent. Countless apartment-renters in these cities and others pay exorbitant rents and yet still continue to haul their laundry to a local Laundromat because they either aren’t provided with laundry machines in their units or even in their buildings.
That preparatory work will go a long way toward decreasing the stress surrounding your move. And if you’re negotiating a cost-of-living increase with your employer prior to a transfer, doing your research is worth the effort.(See Virtual Relocation’s Relo Smart)While cost-of-living Web sites are many, they’re not all created equal. Many cost-of-living comparisons fail to take into consideration the effect that changes in income, housing quality and/or size of household will have upon the availability of disposable income.
Runzheimer International, which specializes in this very subject, recommends that consumers take into account four primary factors when considering cost-of-living changes: housing, transportation, goods and services, and taxes.Each one of these factors contains subcategories. For example, housing includes rent or mortgage payment and interest, as well as real estate taxes, home insurance and maintenance. Goods and services is inclusive of a near-limitless array of subcategories, including clothing, medical care, recreation, restaurants, groceries and more.
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