Would moving help your budget?
June 27, 2009 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under finances
Moving is expensive from the get go, but with the job shortage, some folks are moving when they find a job elsewhere. To help you decide if that move is really worth it, you can use the Money Magazine nifty moving calculator, which can tell you how far your salary would go in another city.
For example, for kicks, I entered my salary, and current city (Portland, OR) then entered that I was moving to San Francisco, which trust me I’m not. I’m the sort who likes to visit SF, but I can’t stay too long (too crowded). Now I’m even more sure I’m not moving there though. The calculator spit out that I’d need to make almost double what I make now, and that my housing costs alone would spiral up 121% more! Holy crap. Which leads me to wonder, is everyone in SF living under a bridge? Seriously, it’s so expensive.
Then for kicks I entered in a move to Albuquerque, New Mexico, since I did indeed used to to live there. The estimates that came up were pretty much on target. I could live on less in NM according to the calculator, and I did. Everything cost less in Albuquerque, especially housing.
The downside of this calculator is that only major cities are listed, so you’ll have to estimate if you’re moving somewhere odd. But still, a pretty handy tool.
[image via stock.xchng]
