I grew up in Mississippi. People think I'm joking when I talk about how expensive it was to live there. Yes, rent and housing was dirt cheap in more rural or economally depressed areas (not even so much in the nicer, more suburban areas), but utilities, groceries, gasoline, insurance, and other things all seemed to cost more than they do where I live now, in suburban Missouri. And in Mississippi, the nearest employer was a Dollar General about ten miles away, providing about a dozen people with a part-time, $7.25 an hour salary. A $100k home in rural Mississippi is a mansion, it's going to just sit on the market for a year because nobody making $7 an hour can afford such an extravagant home. There were doctors, professors, successful farmers, etc. who made a decent living there (usually born into wealthy families), but by and large, most people were dirt-poor. Another factor in more rural areas is there are a lot fewer stores and less competition so prices for everyday goods and groceries tend to be higher.

@AccountInactive

3 жыл бұрын

Sounds like you grew up in the delta.

@coopercounts6581

2 жыл бұрын

Missouri Supremacy

@OrderOfTwisted

2 жыл бұрын

From NW MS and this is 100% true.

@malaquiasalfaro81

2 жыл бұрын

Completely agree. I moved to East Tennessee from California. I find that food is twice as expensive here! California had all of its fruits and veggies grown there, and “ethnic” food wasn’t seen as something fancy or different, there was tons of different stuff. Here though, if I don’t want a burger I have to pay quite a bit more, and even veggies cost more but don’t taste as good, so you end up eating out anyway. Very costly

@verde7595

Жыл бұрын

Basically, it's expensive to be poor. Those who have experienced it know this all too well.

The best cost of living calculators attempt to take all of these factors and more into account. It is not a myth - it is just very complicated to allow for all the contributing factors.

@jacksonanderson5288

3 жыл бұрын

Exactly. This was oversimplified and wrong.

12:24 “When you live in California you don’t have to run your heat or air conditioning as much ...”. Maybe in Monterey that is true. Spend some time in Fresno, or Bakersfield or Riverside and see if you will still stand by that statement.

@bettykemp7122

2 жыл бұрын

I live in the Central Valley and while it’s true you need AC for several months, the winters are mild and we turn our heater on in maybe late Nov. and off in Mar. Also houses are cheaper here but wages are lower. Our home is older and we pay about 1,300 a year in property taxes. You’re right, where you live in California makes all the difference.

@TheSpiggle33

2 жыл бұрын

Maryland: *wait you guys can turn them off without dying*

@bettykemp7122

2 жыл бұрын

@@TheSpiggle33 yes, even in the dead of winter we wouldn’t die without heat, it would be uncomfortable ,but not deadly.

@chiarosuburekeni9325

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, he must have been talking about coastal areas. As someone who lives out in the Inland Empire, my air conditioning is on as much as someone from Phoenix Arizona's is.

@jameslaughlin3298

2 жыл бұрын

@@chiarosuburekeni9325 I cleaned my A/C coils with some foamy stuff from Home Depot and now it doesn’t run nearly as much (Hemet). Then gas prices went over 4 bucks. 😖

Great points you made here. Regardless of what state you live in, it is a fact that wages have not stayed anywhere near productivity levels in the last 60 years. I mean, there have to be hundreds of different charts and studies that prove this. All the while corporate profit climbs and climbs quarter after quarter. This is not a right wing or left wing issue- it affects us all. Corporate greed is an absolute cancer on this country.

@Juno212

Жыл бұрын

Very well said 😊 no matter what we to united and stop corporate greed and not argue about other stupid stuff!! Lol

@kylefopma4108

11 ай бұрын

Politicians on both sides of the aisle have sold out Americans for decades! Politicians are in bed with big business and nothing will change until there are term limits and lobbyists out of politics….everyone should be on board with that

@littledebby365

7 ай бұрын

Term limits would be a God send@@kylefopma4108

@csjrogerson2377

3 ай бұрын

You seem to be horribly confused. Firstly the metric of salary comparison is usually against the cost of living, not productivity. In any case productivity dies not rise in step with wages or vice versa. Companies increase their bottom line with other efficiencies too. Secondly, in manufacturing areas, the political map shows the workers are right leaning, thus they are supporting the Bosses/Corporate machine that is screwing them. Seems pretty stupid to me. In other sensible countries, the workers are left leaning. Thirdly, have you forgotten the American Dream - make as much money as you can in the land of opportunity. Where does it say that this wealth should be evenly distributed? Its well know that those with the most money will make more. The less bright, less entrepreneurial, Mr Joe Average will rarely become a millionaire, he will just get by and that's it. Corporate greed is the American way. It's in the American Dream. Nobody ever said life was fair. Grow up.

There's one, major, big thing not being considered here. When people talk about high cost of living, they're generally referring to the cost of living raising faster than the average income. In cities like Portland and Seattle, this factor alone has pushed out most of the locals. The cost of living is also increasing far faster in these places. When I first moved into a 2 bedroom house in SE Portland 10 years ago, it was $750 a month. Within 6 years it was $1550 then I moved out. It's probably more now. AND THAT'S IN SE PORTLAND! That area used to be called felony flats. That's as cheap as you're getting in Portland proper. So yea, no. High cost of living is certainly not a myth.

@scottgrohs5940

3 жыл бұрын

That’s due to the free market, not to wages.

@chengliu872

3 жыл бұрын

In the SF Bay area, a 2 BR for that price would be insane assuming that the place is legally inhabitable.

@Jarekthegamingdragon

3 жыл бұрын

@@chengliu872 keep in mind, that's the cheapest in all of portland in an area that used to not be disireable. Go further in the city and it gets MUCH more expensive, around the same as seattle.

@zuffin1864

3 жыл бұрын

@@scottgrohs5940 free market everywhere in the US is influenced in some way by the government, and some places straight up don't have enough housing for the demand so the price goes up. Government pricing control or housing will just create a different problem. It's all very complicated.

@vanyac6448

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, from what I've seen those tech companies bring in the most qualified people from all over the world. Not that many jobs for locals. So, the tech workers get to live in a nice place and live the American Dream, while old-time locals get the high cost of living without the high wages and have to move out.

I have a house on the TN, KY border. TN has no state tax, KY has no sales tax. If I really want to save money, I could do all of my shopping in KY.

@tompeled6193

3 жыл бұрын

Why don't you do it?

@ItsTrips

3 жыл бұрын

@@tompeled6193 I live on the TN/GA border (Actually live in TN) and we drive across the border to a Costco barely in GA and shop there and pay way lower sales taxes.

@kraziecatclady

3 жыл бұрын

@@tompeled6193 because I'm not currently living in my house due because my job has me working in another state.

@zyx777zyx

3 жыл бұрын

Same exact thing with Washington & Oregon.... Washington has high sales tax & no income tax. Oregon has no sales tax & high income tax. To save money, many people live on the border in Washington and work there, but buy their groceries in Oregon

@sassysassafras

3 жыл бұрын

6% sales tax in Kentucky

When I was in the military, I was at the same grade in California and Texas. The government paid me $2100 a month in CA for my housing, $700/month in TX. I pocketed about $600 a month in CA, nothing in TX because my electric bill skyrocketed in TX because it’s a million degrees in the summer.

@dkroll92

3 жыл бұрын

what part of California were you in? I'm guessing not 29 Palms, Fort Irwin, Edwards AFB or China Lake.

@skydancer2992

3 жыл бұрын

Military doesn't pay state income tax. Big difference between CA and Texas in that respect.

@billkelly3679

3 жыл бұрын

A million degrees? You exaggerate. Only 950,000 degrees.

@pgrant7688

3 жыл бұрын

@@billkelly3679 it skyrocketed then but it’s going to take off even more due to this ERCOT-manufactured disaster from last week. I’m hearing how antiquated Texas’ electrical system is. That is false.

@AccountInactive

3 жыл бұрын

Sounds like you purchased a variable rate plan. Next time around, choose a fixed rate.

I’m from Louisiana, (low cost of living] decided to move to DC [high cost of living] 5 Years ago. Everyone told me I was crazy and it was so so expensive. I got a job making twice what I was making in New Orleans doing the same work with less stress... and my dc apt was actually the same price. Once I factored in no more parking Since I no longer needed a car, I’m saving money on insurance and gas and a car note... add in the small improvements to my quality of life and can’t believe how much better things are here. The benefit of escaping the daily struggle stay stay out of poverty has been priceless.

@soukaryasamanta8073

3 жыл бұрын

I'm not being political, but I just wanted to know, if you miss having the voting Representatives in Congress while in Louisiana. As DC isn't a state, it thus has no voting representation in Congress.

@dalecomardelle

3 жыл бұрын

@@soukaryasamanta8073 yeah it is frustrating especially not having Senators, we do have Delegate Holmes-Norton in the house but she cannot vote outside of committee. I do believe DC deserves statehood, our population is more than two states and financially the district contributes more than 22 states in federal income taxes, yet we have no say in how that money is spent.

@blueskies6475

2 жыл бұрын

Good for you!

@marksauck8481

2 жыл бұрын

One thing about Washington DC is it's the only city in the US that doesn't manufacture any product or produce anything that benefits us. It's a great big money eating machine that benefits all who live in it's four county metro area. The wealthiest metro area in the US that creates more trouble for us then it solves. For that it makes a lot of people very wealthy for doing nothing more then wrecking a lot of people's lives. They don't deserve statehood.

@rudydjielbi6809

2 жыл бұрын

Very nice. I also like your name.

One thing that's overlooked here is that most of the time, high wages in a state are usually concentrated to specific areas, but income taxes are even across the state. One example is New York. The vast majority of high wage jobs in the state are concentrated in the NYC metro area, but the rest of the state is stuck with the same high income, property and sales tax rates (yes some of these taxes are progressive and NYC has special metro taxes, but the rates are still higher than they would be for a person living elsewhere on the same income.) This means that the high tax states overburden low income portions of their state far more.

@cookieskoon2028

3 жыл бұрын

I was gonna mention this. I am a twin tiers native of NY state, and in general people here struggle super hard to get by. I personally grew up and have lived in situations that people only associate with states like WV, but it was all right here in NY (along with comparable terrain). Hurtful part was, when I moved to the south a lot of people had this idea that I was a silver spoon baby just because I came from NY. Nah dude, I lived the Appalachian life, just with a Yankee twist. NY state is HARD to get ahead in when you are already at the bottom. Nigh impossible, in fact.

@squiddi1393

3 жыл бұрын

As a New Yorker, can confirm this is reality. It’s the main big reason why everyone is fleeing when they’re old enough to enter the workforce. New York is a fantastic state for so many reasons, but it’s hardly affordable to the average American.

@patsfreak

3 жыл бұрын

It usually explains why there so much commuter traffic to places where those jobs are. Folks want the high wages but also the lower costs of being outside of those areas. They pay for it in gas. Even in Maine which is a much smaller scale then NYC, there are literal floods of cars leaving the cities to return to the tiny towns a half hour away. The folks who aren't lucky enough to have those jobs are the ones struggling to get by.

@BokBarber

3 жыл бұрын

Yes, I'm also posting as a NY native (mid Hudson Valley) who was forced to move out of NY state due to high cost of living, with taxes being one major contributor to that high cost of living. The HV job market is weak outside of healthcare and very specific market niches, and I wasn't willing to commute two hours each way into NYC just to make a living wage,. I love New York. It's beautiful country full of unspoiled nature, has wonderful towns and cities, and most of my family and friends live there. But the only way I could afford to live in the state is if I got a remote work job that paid far higher than the state average. New York is an amazing place to live... if you have allot of money.

@jumbowana

3 жыл бұрын

Can you hear me crying from downstate IL?

Love your channel, but when your talking at the beginning it looks like your in a hostage video. Blink three times if you get this message and need help

@ostyavoronipopemakaroni9007

3 жыл бұрын

fr fr, he doesn't blink at all

@blindsey1043

3 жыл бұрын

😂

@Marchant2

3 жыл бұрын

YOU’RE. YOU’RE. YOU’RE.

@Cotronixco

3 жыл бұрын

B & C Paranormal - Any advice from any adult with a first-grade level of language education is useless and laughable. Get it together.

@blindsey1043

3 жыл бұрын

@@Cotronixco then u make a video since u can do it better

Groceries are... actually not the same wherever you go. It can very wildly just between cities. I also want to point out how my home state of NY has high taxes in nearly every single category youu mentioned.

@kamX-rz4uy

3 жыл бұрын

That caught my attention too. Travelling around I've seen quite the difference in prices. Cars can vary too. You can save a lot of money buying popular imports further inland. A Honda selling for over invoice in Philly and NY will sell for thousands less in places where domestics still have a decent market share.

@cookieskoon2028

3 жыл бұрын

@@kamX-rz4uy Yep! In a sort of hilarious fashion the very maps he uses to illustrate his narrative actually serve to disprove his claims. Also, forgive my grammar in the initial comment, it was very late. haha

@DanielEShrdlu

3 жыл бұрын

...which is a great illustration of how tax burden is actually a pretty meaningless stat. New York has high taxes in the sense that the headline figures area numerically higher than the taxes in "low tax" states, but that is not driving cost of living. Part of the reason for that is that we actually get a lot of value for our taxes, including robust social services and programs (like heating and cooling assistance, annuities for the blind, paid family leave, free or subsidized child care in parts of the state etc...), to say nothing of the infrastructure in the metro area which is just about the only place in the country you can realistically opt not to own a car (and thereby avoid car payments, maintenance costs, gas cost, insurance cost etc... etc...). If you look through these comments, you'll find plenty of stories about New Yorkers retiring and moving south to lower housing cost regions, buying property and living comfortably off their savings. It's just like the guy says in the video: a dollar is a dollar everywhere, and people in these "high cost" areas have more dollars at the end of the day. That's clear from the figures he showed in the beginning. I am originally from upstate New York and I moved down to the city as soon as I was able because that was the only place I could realistically expect to improve my standard of living, in spite of the "cost of living" being at least double the region where I grew up, including an extra city income tax with a top marginal rate of 8.82%.

@cookieskoon2028

3 жыл бұрын

@@DanielEShrdlu Sounds good when you have the pleasure of a normal middle class life. Now, let me tell you how it is in the real world: this state is too expensive. "Just move, forehead", glad it worked out for you but you got lucky, plain and simple.

@edwardfights4900

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah. His video was pretty bad. My sister moved from New Jersey to North Carolina 10 years ago. She got the same job she had in Jersey and made the same amount. She said it should be so simple for people to understand how cheap it is down there compared to Jersey. The most shocking point in all of this is just how much money she saved since the move.

My personal experience was moving from Idaho to California. My housing was more expensive in California, but every single other expense was cheaper, plus my wages doubled for a similar job. The biggest savings was on my health insurance for myself and my kids. We pay $800 less per month for health insurance in California vs Idaho. My car insurance was about half the price in California too. Definitely more than makes up for the extra $700 per month I pay in rent now Vs Idaho.

Yeah the biggest problem is the expense increasing faster then income. Brooklyn is really bad these days. The minimum wage finally budged from $9 to $15 since 2016. Our parents did just fine in Brooklyn with some hard work back in the day. When Mom says to me “By the time I was your age, I had a home and a half paid mortgage”, I tell her, “YEAH, TRY THAT NOW”!

I live in TX. The property taxes here are outrageous. The toll roads are pretty pricy, too.

@Austin_Schulz

3 жыл бұрын

No income tax tho

@parispc

3 жыл бұрын

@@Austin_Schulz Doesn't matter, that is the point. Tax burdens will always find a way to balance out somewhere, to the point where taxes in Texas are not even that much lower than a state like New York. In turn, you get worse roads, crappy infrastructure that gets destroyed by an inch of snow, bad healthcare, bad wages...

@tmerema

3 жыл бұрын

Trust me, your property taxes aren't as bad as you think. I lived outside Chicago, a modest home in a suburb cost me $9,000 per year in property taxes. In addition, a 100 mile round trip around Chicago on the tollways cost $16 in tolls each time. We paid almost 10% sales tax. As much income tax as many other states. Moved to Mobile, AL and we bought a $100,000 MORE expensive home and pay less for housing each month. In addition I don't have to worry about my home losing value due to everyone with the means leaving the state. This fella's video is sadly misinformed.

@GeographyKing

3 жыл бұрын

$9,000/yr in property taxes is lower than most Texans pay. AL has the same income tax and higher sales tax than IL. Property insurance rates are higher. And AL is not cheap, which is why poverty is rampant there.

@parispc

3 жыл бұрын

@@GeographyKing Alabama also has some of the lowest standards of living in the US

I moved from California to Arizona. I made less money but my standard of living went up. My commute time also went from 90 minutes to 15 minutes.

@JaredJonesAZ

3 жыл бұрын

I'm leaving Arizona for Philly after living here for most of my life because cI can not afford to live here with housing and cost of living exploding from the California migration. Not your fault, but it is kicking out the people who are established here. You guys are victim of the same problem, a complete refusal of any entity public or private to build affordable housing.

@Lerxstification

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly. No needles on the streets, no poop on the sidewalks. No insane homeless bums being coddled by the State of California (or Washington or Oregon for that matter). Everything is not equal, my friend. Insane liberal hell hole cities are a real thing and the governments of those states have put virtue signaling first and the taxpayers LAST.

@bradsully6620

2 жыл бұрын

@@Lerxstification well you have all of that in Philly. Philly is the heroin capital of the USA.

@theplugcharlie7483

2 жыл бұрын

Phillys’ better then California for sure but not sure how it holds up against other places😂

@itsjustme4848

2 жыл бұрын

@Peace Frog almost ALL large cities are Democratic cities. NYC, Chicago and LA of course, but also Dallas and Nashville and Salt Lake City and Kansas City and Tampa and Birmingham and Des Moines and Charlotte and Albuquerque and Louisville and Houston and on and on.

You really can't look at this even by state metrics, since places within a state vary from both an income and costs of housing expenses.

@dbc7772011

Жыл бұрын

So true. Example, anything within a mile of the Pacific Ocean in an urban area is Uber expensive, albeit very enjoyable weather, scenery, dining. Go inland 10 miles, it’s an unbearably hot desert, crime ridden, congested nightmare. Huge difference. Same with coastal cities in FL vs inland. I lived in Ft. Lauderdale on a canal off the intrcstl. Gorgeous weather. Inland 5 or more miles, everyday afternoon thunderstorms, huge temperature difference etc. especially true in Ny also. NYC vs Albany, Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo…. different worlds and cost of living, except both high taxes.

@jlpack62

Жыл бұрын

@@dbc7772011 totally get it. I live coastal in south Florida and know EXACTLY what you're talking about.

@harleyb.birdwhisperer

Жыл бұрын

A better approach might be to go by MSA’s. Defined by the Census, I think. More discreet than states, goes across lines, unlike counties.

@ST19859

Жыл бұрын

@@dbc7772011 That really only applies to the LA area. I live about a hundred miles inland from the Pacific ocean and deal with none of those things

Like a waitress in Montana told me. Poverty with a view. Doesn"t matter where you go.

@petuniasevan

3 жыл бұрын

Or, conversely, "you can't eat scenery", as I heard once.

@MFKraven

3 жыл бұрын

I moved to Montana from Los Angeles, wages in the town im in are competitive with LA wages but with a third of the amount of rent I was paying. 2 br in LA ran me 2300 plus utilities 2 br in Montana is 775 utilities included. and im told its expensive where im renting now. people from Montana will always try to scare you off, but if you can handle cold weather; im talking -30 degree weather, its a cool quiet place to settle down in.

@ImThe5thKing

3 жыл бұрын

@@MFKraven I've lived in MT my whole life and pretty much the only expensive places to rent are Bozeman and Kalispell and their surrounding areas. I have a friend who rented a studio in Bozeman for 900 a month for rent alone, and a friend where I grew up who currently rents a 3 bed apartment with a massive open plan living room/dining room/kitchen area for 600 a month, rent alone

@Will-xk4nm

3 жыл бұрын

@@MFKraven Except the Montana natives hate the Californians that keep moving in. Wages across Montana are also going to vary greatly.

@MFKraven

3 жыл бұрын

@@Will-xk4nm Yeah everyone seems to hate us Californians pretty much everywhere in the US lol but i mean no harm i just want a quiet place to raise my kids.

People I know who have moved south from New York are either retired or semi-retired. They buy a nice house much nicer than what they left up north - with straight cash - and still have money left over. They can have all the toys they’ve dreamed of and enjoy the more moderate winters and lower traffic congestion. It’s a pretty sweet deal for them. One interesting aspect of this is what happened in Montana years ago when wealthy Californians started buying up ranches just because it was the cool thing to do. It drove up real estate prices so much many natives could no longer afford to live there.

@travcollier

3 жыл бұрын

Try Hawaii if you want a really extreme example of this. Boomers with $ pricing out folks who still have to work for a living. Happens everywhere I've been actually (CA, FL, TX, and HI)... but is really obvious in HI.

@frojo9

3 жыл бұрын

I think it all depends on the living situation as well. I've lived in the major northern cities and finding a good neighborhood with decent rent and accessibility to frequent (~15 minute intervals or less) transit was really easy in Chicago. When I came down to Atlanta the deal was to either live in an expensive neighborhood with good transit or a cheaper neighborhood (often unsafe) with the worst transit accessibility in the nation, outside of Houston or Florida cities. It put me in a situation where I either have to invest in a car (HUGE car registration fees, extremely high car insurance in ATL, and large investment in general) or just pay higher rent. Living down here is real expensive.

@BoylenInk

3 жыл бұрын

@@frojo9 Yeah, I lived in Chicago for a couple years back in the mid 90’s and it can be a nice place if you can take the winters and the wind - and all the flat straight lines. In the south there are a couple places NOT to move to: Atlanta is one but I would also stay away from Charlotte, NC.

@frojo9

3 жыл бұрын

@@BoylenInk You and I are one in the same on that opinion. I went to Charlotte a few times and I don't see why people are staying there. I thought I must've been the crazy one when everybody else "loved" Charlotte for more than a weekend.

@joaquinjr2570

3 жыл бұрын

Oh yes my grandparents left NJ. They both worked in NYC and went to Florida to retire. One of the main reason they left was because actually of the weather. (Nobody wants to be old and have to shovel snow and rake leaves) Now they have a nice house in Clermont FL(west of Orlando). They didn’t buy there house cash I believe but the mortgage is very low. One of their neighbors is from Brooklyn and they did exactly what you said.

Why does Wyoming look so good in all these maps

@squid-boy4178

3 жыл бұрын

because only about 300,000 people live there a lot of which are millionaires who have summer homes and stuff

@dugroz

3 жыл бұрын

I would also guess a lot of hard-scrabble hard working people who work hard and earn well (miners, oil workers, ranchers, etc)

@Josh1888USU

3 жыл бұрын

Because the winters are so bad, and there is not a lot of opportunity to make money there. That is unless you jump on the oil and gas roller coaster. It is a nice state though with good people. At least it was when I lived there in Laramie 20 years ago.

@BackSeatJunkie

3 жыл бұрын

Wyoming ONLY looks good in maps.

@HollywoodF1

3 жыл бұрын

There’s a good amount of money there and not much infrastructure.

how is this video 3 years old but every comment is from like 2 days ago?

@elinorris1739

3 жыл бұрын

wait I just realized you have 40k subs now! I was just watching your videos last week and you had only 6k. Nice job dude!

@michaelkopischke8072

3 жыл бұрын

His channel is blowing up. He's been appearing in my recommended feed all the time and I'm sure others' as well.

@wesley4122

3 жыл бұрын

Geography King blew up lol I remember when he had 1.1K subs lol

@canonz6442

3 жыл бұрын

So ture

@canonz6442

3 жыл бұрын

True

Good points. Everyone and every living situation is different. Even though a city such as Portland, OR would never be listed as a cheap retirement city, the numbers work for me because-- 1) Oregon has no sales tax. 2) Portland has relatively low heating and cooling costs owing to milder-than-average weather. 3) Car-ownership is an expense that I wish to avoid in retirement. Thanks to living in a city with good mass transit services, I can.

I think this really depends on your job. If you work online, are self employed, on fixed income retirement, or make your money from investments, you can move to somewhere with lower housing costs and income tax and still keep the same income which would make the cost of living lower. This video assumes that you will be getting a new job when you move and that your pay will change based on the average pay of that location. I moved from California to Missouri and I work online so my monthly expenses went from $4800 a month to $2200 a month and I have a larger home and nicer amenities. My income remains unchanged.

I lived in Manhattan and I’d tell people it was expensive but not as bad as you think. You don’t need a car and food is surprisingly cheap. Housing can be tough but you learn to live with less and enjoy your public spaces more. There are also more social services close by when you need them.

@MrAdriancooke

5 ай бұрын

Maybe it's a good idea to have a car if you are female in order to avoid being attacked on the subway

Hawaii is a particularly odd case - whereas San Francisco might have high wages/high housing costs and Alabama might have low wages/low housing costs, unfortunately Hawaii has LOW wages/HIGH housing costs (and high every other costs, i.e. food, electricity, etc) - so in other words, you had better already be wealthy if you plan on moving to paradise!

@pinkmann8399

3 жыл бұрын

It’s because it’s a tiny ass island.

@billkelly3679

3 жыл бұрын

You have to import everything except pineapple and pork to Hawaii.

@Sir_Pants_Alot

3 жыл бұрын

There's other constraints that inflate the prices there. Shipping to an island is expensive and because of the high desirability (weather, scenery, stigma, etc.) there's people clamoring to be there even with the low wages. If willing worker supply always outpaces available jobs there's no reason to increase the salary for your workers from a businesses standpoint.

@krisconrad1051

3 жыл бұрын

Same with places like North Idaho. The average house in my town is $490,000, but wages here are stagnant. The only reason the prices are getting so outrageous is because of mass influx of people, they are pricing the locals out.

@sayjaibao01188

Жыл бұрын

Hawaii has low wages because most of the jobs are low wage hospitality industry jobs.

Depending on when your house in Tennessee was built, part of your utility bill problem could be due to poor insulation. Back in the heyday of the TVA, electricity was so cheap that it made little economic sense to make houses with well insulated walls and roofs.

@TheBaldr

3 жыл бұрын

I lived in two different apartments in Boone, NC. Because of the high altitude and unique geography, it had harsh snowy winters and hot humid summers. One apartment was a top story not a very insulated apartment, the other was a basement bunker with cinderblocks insulation on all sides. For the top apartment, my bill would be like $30/month in spring and fall but over $100 in winter just to heat it. The bunker stayed between $40-$60/month year-round.

@blueskies6475

2 жыл бұрын

@@TheBaldr sure would like to see the cinder blocks.

The best “tax” comparison state to state is to compare how much each state SPENDS per capita. That tells you how much tax money they raise from ALL sources. For individuals, the tax they pay depends on the type of taxes and the amount they earn. Low wage earners pay the same sales tax rate as high earners, but they usually will pay a lower income tax rate than high earners.

You're right that "cost of living" is much more nuanced than people think. You neglected a couple of things though: The price of energy is quite high in some states (like California). Groceries and services also tend to be more expensive in "expensive housing" areas as well because the price of labor is higher except where other factors cancel it out for certain items. Durable goods tend to be about the same price everywhere though. Wages are only higher if you're in an industry that actually pays proportionally higher wages in that area. The point is that it's highly individualistic. Some people might be better off moving to a lower cost of housing area. Some people are better off doing the opposite. I fell into the latter camp (high cost), but so far it has worked out for me. That said, I have a smaller house and yard than I would have if I lived in the south or midwest and earned half as much.

@ancientpurple

3 жыл бұрын

While the issue of groceries may be true, it is not always the case. When my spouse lived in Orange County, CA and I lived in Phoenix, I was shocked at how cheap groceries were in Orange County comparted to Phoenix. Groceries were easily 20% more in Phoenix than in OC. That is due to the fact that California produces so much agriculture for the US. Dairy is dirt cheap in California (milk on sale was going for $1.89 a gallon). No so much for Phoenix.

@JK-yk1og

3 жыл бұрын

@@ancientpurple transportation costs are also devoid in this explanation. I visit family in AZ and TX frequently also and groceries are much more expensive there compared to CA. Additionally, property taxes are much higher in these states too. So that 0 state tax goes out the window. States aren’t stupid, they’re going to make their money one way or another, everything balances out.

@jacksonoutside

3 жыл бұрын

The top four states by per capita energy expenses are Wyoming, North Dakota, Alaska, and Louisiana. The average person there spends TWICE as much on energy as California, which is #38

@malaquiasalfaro81

2 жыл бұрын

@@ancientpurple completely agree. I moved from the San Joaquin Valley in CA to East Tennessee and groceries are depressingly more expensive here, especially when they don’t taste as good when they were peak freshness

@harleyb.birdwhisperer

Жыл бұрын

California energy is expensive, but the weather is such that rooftop solar is a good solution. I installed 2.5 Kw in 2000, added another 5 years ago.

I think this kind of analysis is really only effective if you are ignoring all factors except cost of living (which you suggest most people only look at tax and housing to determine) however if you do a cost of living adjustment on average wages in certain states for a given industry it is plain to see that cost of living is very real even if marginal poverty rates are high in one area or even if income tax is low in but suplemented by other taxes. So ignoring all other factors cost of living fallacies can be seen as a myth, but overall it is a useful tool for determining where the money you make for doing the same job goes the furthest.

Cost of Living and Cost of Labor are completely different values. Cost of Living is independent of wages and based upon a national average. Moving on from that, the issue here is that you're looking at things on a state-by-state basis, where the cost of living (and for that matter labor) can be very different between different areas of a state. In Tennessee, for example, if you live in the Memphis metro area and earn $60k, cost of living is at 92.3% of the national average, while in Nashville that jumps to 105.7%, a variance of over 13% (source: Economic Research Institute). But where things get interesting is looking at cost of labor. At that same pay level, Memphians make 94.8% of the national average for a similar job, while Nashville residents make 94.9%. What that leads to is that working a standard benchmarked job, your standard of living is going to be notably different in these two cities due to the variances between the costs of living and labor. Also worth considering are states with large rural populations as opposed to those without, which can skew averages in interesting ways (Missouri has an low overall cost of living at 95.3%, but the St. Louis metro area jumps to 108.9% of the national average while Kansas City is at 110.3%). Generalizing by state gives a misleading picture.

@AngelaMastrodonato

Жыл бұрын

This is the smartest response and deserves way more likes

@a.j.figliolini7771

Жыл бұрын

@@AngelaMastrodonato I agree - this is the best comment

If you're in metro LA, you also have to factor in spending 2+/- hours a day of your life sitting in traffic to get to work, the beach, go to a ballgame, etc. This is not an exaggeration. If time is money, and the average person in LA makes $25 an hour, that's $50 a day ($1,500 a month) plus the extra cost of poor gas mileage and stress of dealing with road rage maniacs. I just moved (back) to San Diego after a decade of LA. My rent dropped 30% and quality of life increased 70%.

@FreewayBrent

3 жыл бұрын

San Diego is great! So many fantastic districts, each with its own unique character (Gaslamp, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, Hillcrest, North Park, South Park, La Jolla, University Heights, Bird Rock, Normal Heights, Kensington, and more). The foodie scene is great, as well as the coffee and beer scene. Plus you have some great suburbs with nice downtown areas (such as Encintas, Carlsbad). San Diego is definitely much more than just a place to soak in some sun and sand, and see some animals at the San Diego Zoo where all the tourists mostly stick to.

@weldin

3 жыл бұрын

Idky people would actually chose to spend 10 hours a week solely commuting to make 60,000 a year when they could just move somewhere else and keep that time to themselves. I’ll never understand this.

@mojavedesertsonorandesert9531

3 жыл бұрын

Only if you work far?

@koonteriskool

3 жыл бұрын

I love how people from LA think that they're the only ones commuting to work in the US. That's basically the norm anywhere in the square shaped states where each town is like 100 miles apart.

@FreewayBrent

3 жыл бұрын

@@koonteriskool The difference though is that you're not sitting in grinding stop-and-go to stop-and-crawl conditions for up to 2 hours each way, unlike in LA where that's pretty much the norm on the majority of the freeways there.

I find it refreshing for a geographer to talk about the real world. When I majored in geography a lifetime ago all the professors talked about geographic theories instead of the world.

Kyle, great video!! I'm sure you've got all the details to backup the points you've made here, but I think it's awesome you made this complex topic so concise for so many people!

The whole point is there going to get you one way or another

Never mind all that, what we really want to know is. What was the cost of that shirt?

@tolumnia

3 жыл бұрын

Well, in 1982 it was probably $4.99

I think it's also worth mentioning that COL needs to be evaluated on an individual basis. I lived in Texas for 5 years, and when I moved there I considered whether I thought I would live in Texas forever, or not. Being in the beginning of my career, and having no other ties to Texas than my job, I decided that it was unlikely that I would live there longterm. After having looked at the cost to purchase a house vs. rent in the area around my job, it made more sense to rent a cheap apartment, avoid paying the high property taxes, and not spend those few years throwing my money at the interest on a 30 year loan. It's also worth noting that not all items are subject to sales tax. Some states exempt certain food items, clothing, etc. It's important to understand your spending habits, to accurately assess the impact of differing sales tax rates.

Glad to hear you bring up transportation expenses, they are a huge portion that I see underrated in these discussions. When gas prices go up, people tend to use more public transportation, but that doesn't change the many thousands of dollars annually spent on car payments (if applicable), insurance, maintenance-repairs, depreciation, taxes and registration fees adding up to over $700 per month according to AAA. We should invest in better public transportation.

Living in Southern CA. I find food, auto parts, much cheaper in Southern CA. then in other parts of the U.S. I retired at 54 here, working hard, having a plan, and being fruegal! No car payments, by all my beer on sale. Everything is close by.

@raytownloc

3 жыл бұрын

Based on your name I'm curious what part of Southern California you are talking about. Because Barstow and Newport Beach are not the same place.

I think a better term to consider is Standard of Living. I moved from CA to TX and even though my property taxes are higher as a %, I still get Waaayyy more for my money. My 2 bed apartment in CA was $2600. My 3 bedroom house that I own with a yard an all is a mortgage payment of $1500.

I strongly disagree with your final assumption that the cost of living is the same no matter where you live. Food, gasoline, utilities, taxes, and housing vary GREATLY by geography. Wages will also vary greatly by geography but it is not a wash between the two.

The US definition of "poverty" is faulty.

@pieceoflintifoundonthefloo554

3 жыл бұрын

yes but the crime is the part that makes it bad, not the housing itself

@gfdthree1

3 жыл бұрын

Noone born before 1900 would ever consider anyone poor today.

@ObamaoZedong

3 жыл бұрын

@@gfdthree1 Exactly, even the homeless of today have technology beyond the wildest dreams of someone from any previous century.

@JCPRuckus

3 жыл бұрын

@@ObamaoZedong - That's a really interesting point if you're making it on r/showerthoughts, but it doesn't mean much in the real world. "You are rich in ways that someone 100 years ago couldn't imagine", is pretty well beside the point when you remember that we live *now,* not 100 years ago. I mean, if I could take all of my modern conveniences back 100 years (and have them function), then sure. Because I could literally get rich 100 years ago if I could just, say, charge people to come watch $5 Blu-rays on a cheap flat screen TV. But those same things are borderline worthless today, because everyone has access to them. Poverty is only relative to the context of the time you live in. What passes for commodities at one era may be different from another, but what remains true is that the poor have to make due with the cheapest commodities of their time. There's a cooking channel on here. Can't remember the name right now, but he makes lots of recipes from old cookbooks, and tries to make modern versions of things like original formula Coca-Cola or original recipe KFC... Anyway, he's got some Depression era cookbooks with lots of recipes using stuff like lobster and crab meat. Because back then lobster and crab were cheap. So that's what poor people ate. But today we'd say that they were eating like kings. So it goes both ways. Which is why there is no meaningful conclusion to be drawn from comparing eras in that way.

@ObamaoZedong

3 жыл бұрын

@@JCPRuckus I think the point is gratitude. You don't know what you've got till it's gone. As long as you've got food in your belly and a place to sleep, you've got your fair share to be grateful for. Flush toilets? Medicine? Access to global information in the palm of your hand? Now THAT'S practically a gift from the gods. Poverty is a state of mind. If it wasn't, buddhist monks who have no money, no posessions, and sleep on the hard floor would be the most miserable people in the world. Instead, they're the happiest.

When I was in the Air Force, I was stationed in California, Texas, Illinois, Maryland and DC. The only places I could save big bucks on groceries by going to the commissary on base was in Maryland and DC. The other places were similar priced on and off base. Even now, I'm retired in Virginia and groceries are about the same, except for meat, as off base. The North Eastern US has a lot of people and very few farms; that is my explanation. I would also like to point out that retirees, and to an extent those who work from home, find in very important to find inexpensive housing since their income doesn't change depending on where they live.

Very interesting video. I'd add in Auto Insurance rates as well. I remember way back when I was a college student, at first I was living with my parents in MA, and I was paying about $1800 a year for car ins. I then went to school in North Carolina, and I decided to switch to that State. The fees for registration and a new license were a fraction of the cost in MA, there was no excise tax on my car in NC like there was in MA, and my car insurance was 10X lower at $180 a year. For a struggling college student, this was a HUGE increase in the amount of money I had just for one thing, the car. I noticed something interesting about Oregon and Washington State. Oregon has about 10% income tax, but no sales tax, while it's the opposite in WA, no income tax, but a 10% sales tax. I wonder which one would come out cheaper, or if would truly be a wash?

Good to see someone who kept their 1970's shirt.

Very interesting take. So basically you have to take in account the intangibles…stuff like attractions, nature, and vibe.

EXACTLY!! This is precisely how my logic works. I think the greatest motivator is that we can get a better Quality of life in some areas vs others. You can get a much nice home in the south for the same amount of money as opposed to California. So, you're spending just as much, but you're getting more for your money.

@Statalyzer

3 жыл бұрын

And for most jobs, the lower pay isn't going to be *that* much lower - you'll still come out ahead.

@dubreil07

3 жыл бұрын

Spending money on a bigger space means nothing if you’re broke so no it’s actually more close to equal.

You truly are the Geography "King." Every week my parents tell me I pay no taxes compared to them. I moved to NC, they still live in PA. I try explaining my income tax is nearly 2x theirs, but my property taxes are lower... So combined with the fact that the are older and own a more expensive house, it evens out. Maybe this video will help explain.. they don't listen to me 🤣🤣

@173jaSon371

3 жыл бұрын

There are websites now that will calculate damn near anything if you know the proper numbers to put in the right places. Not wanting to listen or figure it out at this point is just laziness!

I love your "regular guy" persona, with no unnecessary glam or affectations. Just the facts, in a lighthearted way. Thanks for your hard work.

@nitedreamer23

11 ай бұрын

Kyle's the best! I love his no-nonsense, unpretentious style.

I lived outside Boston in 1980. A sign in the subway said "Avoid a taxing experience". Under it someone wrote "Move to New Hampshire". Quite a few people did. Now I'm hearing that facilities and assistance for elderly people are very limited in New Hampshire. You don't get what you don't pay for.

I have lived in Los Angeles and West Virginia making the same amount. In Los Angeles I paid $2,000 for a 2 bedroom apartment and I had to park on the street. In WV I pay $2,000 for a 7 bedroom house with a 3 car garage. Everything from taxes to gas to groceries is cheaper in WV.

@joez3706

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah but then you have to live in crappy WV 🤷🏻‍♂️

@AccountInactive

3 жыл бұрын

@@joez3706 Never been to WV huh?

@joez3706

3 жыл бұрын

@@AccountInactive yes, I have.

@froggodoggo79

3 жыл бұрын

What do you do for a living? I thought about moving to WV but I assumed there were absolutely no jobs there. Nothing that could earn a living anyway.

@bcubed72

3 жыл бұрын

@@froggodoggo79 Maybe he deals Oxy for a living? Cheap cost of living, and plenty of job opportunities.

I’ve lived in several states and I’ve found that cost of living is roughly the same. Some things cost more, some cost less, wages are higher in some places, lower in others. When I moved from NYC to Knoxville, TN everyone said “it must be so much cheaper to live in Tennessee!” Nope. Housing was cheaper, but that was all. In New York, we didn’t have to have cars ... 2 monthly metro cards cost less than 1 car payment and insurance. Groceries were cheaper in NY because of competition and because there’s no grocery taxes. My license fees and other business-related expenses were higher in Tennessee. Utilities cost more as you mentioned because of constant A/C use. The kicker is that I could only realistically charge 1/2 what I used to charge per hour, so my income was halved. Ultimately, you’re better off living in an area where you can earn a higher income, even if you have to dedicate more money to housing.

Interesting info. Have you done (or would you do) a water table map with herbicide/pesticide useage overlays ? I'd be curious to compare "health related" issue maps, ie: obesity, cancer, etc

I just discovered your channel and I’m so glad I did! It’s really fun watching your videos, it gives me a happy feeling. And I think your shirt looks sharp!

@GeographyKing

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Welcome to the channel!

I just moved to north Georgia from California and agree that produce was generally cheaper in California than here in Georgia, although they have sales here where the prices are comparable to California prices. Other stuff like canned foods, dairy and meat are about the same. I did a tax analysis of all the states and looked at three types of taxes, income, property and sales much like you do here in the video. I found our the same thing, that they all balance out. Those six states that have no income tax have a higher sales or property tax. Looking at the overall picture when it comes to taxes though, Wyoming has the lowest taxes than any other state. Their 4% sales tax and 0.6% property tax are incredibly low considering they have no state income tax. New Jersey and York have the highest overall taxes. Other than that the rest of the states pretty much balance out like you mentioned in the video. By the way, one of the cheapest places in the US is in California in Alturas County. Also most inland communities of California have housing costs in measure with the rest of the country. One thing you left out though are fuel prices. California is about $1.50 higher per gallon for gasoline or diesel than Georgia.

Somethings to consider about Missouri where I live versus California; Electricity is much cheaper in MO than CA. Gasoline is much cheaper in MO than CA. Sales Tax is cheaper in MO than CA State tax is lower in MO than CA. Housing is much higher in CA than MO. Water is a lot cheaper in MO than CA. Natural gas is cheaper in MO than CA. Property tax in CA is held as low as it is by law. It’s still higher than MO. Especially when you consider it’s a percentage of the house value and there is a large difference in housing costs between the two. I think the median wage is more telling than the average wage. I make 50% more in wages in MO then I did in CA. A good portion of that is due to natural wage increases. However, my wage didn’t drop at all when I moved from CA to MO. So that was a de facto wage increase. My wages in CA weren’t considered below average in CA and we’re about average for MO at the time. This is all completely anecdotal... The fact is the cost of living is higher in CA. The wages may or may not be higher. Minimum wage in CA makes living there a lot harder than living on minimum wage in MO. And yes, buying a pizza in CA takes a smaller percentage of a paycheck then it does in MO. I think those other things that cost a lot more in CA than MO also leave a lot less of a percentage of discretionary cash available to purchase other things too. The cost of living is a lot lower in MO than CA. I think that’s a very different argument than wages or standard of living.

@franzwagner4403

3 жыл бұрын

If we’re only talking about money, you definitely made the right choice to move to Missouri. But for the average person, moving to MO would mean a lower wage, since the median income in California is 30% higher than Missouri. So for most people, moving wouldn’t be beneficial.

@Ryarios

3 жыл бұрын

@@franzwagner4403. Is the cost of living in CA less than 30% higher than MO? I Don’t know. I mean my house would probably cost an extra $100,000 in CA. Maybe more for a comparable neighborhood. Commutes are much shorter here than CA which makes the difference in cost of gasoline worse. The list goes on. I really don’t know. I do know that I would have never been able to afford a house in CA nearly as easy as I could buy one here. I had pretty much accepted I would never own a house in CA. Maybe if I wanted to move to a cheaper location and find another job. Plus, I don’t have 12 million people who all want to be in the same spot on the freeway as I am....😬

@franzwagner4403

3 жыл бұрын

@@RyariosHousing costs are way higher in the California metro areas compared to MO, so a similar priced house in CA will be smaller than a house in MO. And unlike taxes, a house is not “lost money” but an investment. So it really depends on what you want. You want to make a lot of money but don’t mind living in a smaller house? Move to CA (plus the weather is great...). If you’d rather have a big house but make less money, then MO is the better option.

@Statalyzer

3 жыл бұрын

@@franzwagner4403 The problem with just comparing median income is that it doesn't account for the distribution of the types of jobs. If you move from CA to MO and keep your exact same job, are you going to make less? Yes. Are you going to make so much less that it fully counteracts how you will also be spending less? Probably not.

I live in New York City. Groceries and retail goods cost at least double here.

@johnnyquist8362

3 жыл бұрын

San Francisco is like that. Restaurants are plentiful and delightful, but very expensive. Groceries and entertainment also have high price tags. But I have no air-conditioner or snow shovel. Never need 'em.

@istvanpraha

3 жыл бұрын

Depends where you are. If you are outside core Manhattan or Williamsburg, ie the rich areas, stuff is the same price or even sometimes cheaper as everywhere else. Source - my life and having lived in a couple nyc suburbs as well and not seeing any price differences unless you’re talking about Whole Foods in Manhattan or some avant- grade non-chain place in Williamsburg

@gregthebaritone

3 жыл бұрын

@@istvanpraha I lived/lived in Washington Heights/Inwood -- definitely a poorer area, and prices are typically higher here than in Midtown or even the Upper West Side. I think the local shops prey on people's inability/cost to go elsewhere. When I lived in Queens, the prices were cheaper than Manhattan, but definitely more than outside of the city.

@novadhd

3 жыл бұрын

well sure they are passing their high rent , food transport cost to the customer

You are very level-headed and I appreciate your analysis. You're right, across the US we end up paying similar taxes/fees just in different ways. I like how you do not explicitly state that this is a "left vs right " vid. At the end of the day I think this should make us all feel a little bit more united on these fronts. I am a pilot so i end up travelling a lot so i see the EFFECTS of this stuff first hand although I may not always know the cause. We are one nation under God and fact like these help us remember.

@rvsteve583

3 жыл бұрын

yes, i agree. very astute observation.

@dingusdingus2152

2 жыл бұрын

Sales taxes are what is referred to as regressive, because they affect low income people disproportionately. The lower your income, the more they hurt

@EntropyCrisis

Жыл бұрын

Kyle hit on it, but didn't explicitly say it. Cost of living is relative so use it to your advantage. If you can move to a high cost high salary location early in your career and rent while building salary, you can then pivot to medium cost, buy a home and build equity while increasing your high salary. Then you sell your medium cost home that has appreciated, buy a mansion in the South, and have a huge advantage salary wise even without increase. Basically a map of your 20, 30, 40s. There's a lot of variables I left out, and at the end of the day only you know what is best for you. America is still the land of opportunity, and she desperately cries out for productive people full of efficiency and potential to wrangle the bronco.

I did like your presentation; I bought a house in Chicago in 2000 sold it in 2008 at a $80K loss. It took 18 months to sell it, then there's unbelievable crime street gangs rule. Property taxes were $4,700 when I bought that house they were $10,200 when I sold it!

I’m sorry I have to vehemently disagree with this whole video. Service jobs pay roughly the same everywhere in the country. I went from making $24/hr in Los Angeles and saved vigorously for 5 years. Moved to Michigan last year making $25/hr and immediately was able to buy a 4plex for $310k that would have cost 1.2 million in California. Yes the amount I work pull in for rent would be much higher but I never would have been able to afford the down payment for the place. I hate the snow but I love not renting a 1 bedroom for $1500 in the hood in Los Angeles. Produce was the only thing cheaper in California. DMV, sales tax, income tax, gas, eating out is all cheaper elsewhere. Love your other videos but as a native Northern Californian happily enjoying my life in the Midwest this video is just out of touch and uses a lot of generalities. Most of my coworkers in LA commuted 60-90 minutes each way to work. How’s that working out with $7 gas?

@jakenessirio7886

10 ай бұрын

Congratulations on your move! Even though it has worked out great for you I think that it's more of an exception, than the rule. If the service costs the same in LA and in Michigan then a lot less people per Capita can afford that service in Michigan, which means less jobs opportunities for that service job, which means some people making the same move as you wouldn't be able to find a job and would have to find another job with less pay.

@loganreidy7055

10 ай бұрын

Not to mention higher income and property tax on top of that

@mattmatt6572

10 ай бұрын

California is just poorly run.

@DeadCat-42

8 ай бұрын

Moved the Cincinnati from FL in 2016. Love it here, it's got everything a really big city has but the people are really nice. Lost my wallet the first day. Someone tracked me down online using my driver's license and returned it! I love Cincinnati

@DeadCat-42

8 ай бұрын

And frankly, the winter was short and wet more than cold.

Your channel is superb and this particular vid is really outstanding. You may not be an economist but you could teach many of them a thing or two. I've live in San Francisco since the mid-sixties and I'm as happy as can be about my home. Real estate appreciation is really appreciated.

the real question people have to answer is "how do I want to be taxed?" I prefer a higher sales tax to a high income tax. that way if I want to keep more of my money, I can buy just necessities and decide whether I really want whatever luxury items like a new laptop or other non-essential things.

@wim0104

3 жыл бұрын

low income tax = high property tax

@paulvaughan2744

3 жыл бұрын

The issue with a high-sales tax is that it's somewhat regressive. Poorer individuals end up relinquishing a higher share of their income under a sales tax regime than wealthier folks.

@dirtymike3329

3 жыл бұрын

@@paulvaughan2744 No doubt Paul. The flip side is if you are smart with your money you can make the tax ststem beneficial for you

@Statalyzer

3 жыл бұрын

Property tax has some of the same problems - it's always funny to me when people act like Property Taxes don't affect the poor because they rent. It still drives up the cost of rental housing.

Graphs: 1:41 - Two bedroom rental unit wage 2015 2:00 - Top state marginal individual income tax rate 2016 2:51 - Percentage of people in poverty 2013 2:58 - Poverty rates of the total population by county 2014 3:07 - Percent of people receiving SNAP (food stamps) 2013 3:17 - General aid on a percentage of state general revenue 2014 3:25 - Median household income in the United States 2015 4:50 - Average monthly residential electric bill 2012 6:35 - How high are sales taxes in your state? 7:24 - Mean effective property tax rate on owner occupied housing 7:34 - Property taxes on business inventory 2011 9:38 - People living in poverty 2000&2010 P.S. I wish he had more updated graphs, and graphs on a more linear timeline. The fact is that things change overtime. A story can be manipulated by drawing the best data from one place and time and comparing it to the worst data of a different place and time.

Great discussion, and good to see someone bringing up the small details. I'm a geographer, and for a while was working in Alabama with a company doing GIS work. I was pulled down that way from the same promises of a "low cost of living" only to discover that wasn't the case. And from a few other expenses not quite mentioned here. With the power bill, I noticed that the AC would be running, but the house would just refuse to cool down. Come to discover the poor housing regulations for construction and insulation were to blame. Single pane windows, un insulated ducts, no wonder the power bill was always so high. Living in a city that had a large military presence was also an issue, those folks stay for short stints, and as such the rentals always upcharge to the folks coming in for a short stay on a DoD contact. They could continue to get away with charging rents that were comparable with Portland OR and Seattle at that time. Sure, a house purchase was cheaper (If you could get approved)... but... rentals... rough. Sales tax on groceries..... (Madison county would add on it's own tax as well, to come up to 11.5% on groceries) I would pay $30 a month on just sales tax on groceries. People in Washington complain about some sales tax on groceries... but when I look at the monthly expense it's all of $3 since they only tax sugar snacks. These "lower costs of living" myths are fairly dangerous, as it took a great deal of effort to move away from Alabama because my discretionary income was so low. Come to find my discretionary income was much higher in Montana and Washington, to the point I was able to put myself through college round two. Housing costs, these two can be very misrepresented when you look at it from a State polygon vs. a county polygon. Missoula County housing is surprisingly high for a "cheep state" like Montana, while in Washington, you cross a county line like Pierce to Thurston, and it's a night and day difference...... until the telecommuters discover Thurston County that is.... Thanks for the videos, I know these were posted years ago, but I wanted to jump in and say thank you and share.

Thanks for this terrific channel - I enjoy the great variety of topics. The one scenario that goes against the “It’s all a wash” is in retirement where the income piece is fixed. Of course, you mentioned this:). I was able to retire a bit early for the reasons you list - mainly housing cost.

Groceries are pretty much the same? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Please provide some supporting statistics for that claim.

@TEHSTONEDPUMPKIN

3 жыл бұрын

Sales tax will skew things slightly from state to state, but unless you live in Alaska or Hawaii, staying inside the continental United States, the difference between the 48 is negligible.

@TheBorathon

3 жыл бұрын

"Pretty much" or did you forget that generalization statement

@t_c5266

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheBorathon generalization and gross misstatement are 2 different things. "pretty much the same" is a gross misstatement.

@samuelmorales2344

2 жыл бұрын

@@TEHSTONEDPUMPKIN I don't believe this is true. Transporting food costs money. The longer the trip, the more gas, and longer hours for truckers. Proximity to resources will always benefit the community that is closest granted if demand exists. In sparsely populated distant places, the costs should be predicted to be higher, even within the same state, thus wages have to be higher to adjust to the that general cost of living. This is not from a high wage economy either. Just input costs.

I mean this in the most complimentary way...you have adopted the Chattanooga accent! From a fellow Chattanoogan 😁 Thank you for this video. It is what I have always suspected.

I don't necessarily agree... and it looks like you were selective in your stats. Yes, property tax rates are higher in other states than in California, but if the value of your California residence is triple what it would be in Texas, then you're still paying more. On the other hand, you use average monthly utility cost, which makes sense, but it hides the high utility rates in California. Are you going use a rate or a monthly cost? First, if you live in a high cost of living area you will pay more in federal income tax. Second, food costs aren't the same all over the country. Supermarkets in high cost of living areas have much higher costs as well, which they pass along to consumers. The same goes for a lot of things: cars, health care, clothes, etc. Third, have you seen the gas taxes in California? They're the highest in the nation and the special California blend of gas costs even more. Yes, if you retire and sell your house in coastal California you can buy a nice home in Florida and have a lot left over. You know why? Because you bought that house in California 20-30 years ago before housing costs went crazy. What works for retirees now won't necessarily work for retirees 20 years from now.

@questionyourself718

3 жыл бұрын

yeah he really made a lot of mistakes in his calculations. as much as i love his geographical knowledge, he cetainly didnt study economics.

@karlstrauss2330

2 жыл бұрын

Property taxes in CA are comparatively low… for now. CA is hemorrhaging middle class tax payers left and right and if trends continue they will try and eliminate Prop 13 and jack up property taxes.

@keikekaze

2 жыл бұрын

@@karlstrauss2330 "CA is hemorrhaging middle class tax payers left and right." Really? And your reliable source for this assertion would be . . . ?

@karlstrauss2330

2 жыл бұрын

keikekaze I used to live there for over 20 years and I saw the exodus occur in real time with my own two eyes. CA has become a state with lots of rich people and a huge underclass of poor people with very little in the middle.

@keikekaze

2 жыл бұрын

@@karlstrauss2330 But you didn't literally see that, because there was no exodus. I've lived in California all my life: the population here was about 10 million when I was born (in 1949); it's 40 million now. There has been no "exodus," of the middle class, or of anyone else, from the state, despite the insistence of some dubious media who want this myth to be true. People leave every state in the U.S. every year, but in the majority of states, the ones that are gaining population (like California), they're more than replaced by new arrivals. Yes, it's true that California--also like every other state in the U.S.--now has a top tier of the very rich and a huge population of poor people, with a middle class in decline. This has happened, but it didn't happen because anybody did or did not move anywhere else. It happened as a result of 40 years of the very rich (now generally supported, or at least enabled, by "both" U.S. political parties) making war on the middle class, stealing the profits from their labor, busting unions, refusing to pay their employees living wages, refusing to pay their own taxes, demanding endless tax cuts, and generally grabbing everything they could possibly grab for themselves. This is not a problem unique to California; California isn't even the best example of it. It has happened everywhere.

Ok I cant stop watching , I'm hooked and for once KZread suggestions were amazing!!!

Id prefer to pay sales tax over income tax.

@travis1240

3 жыл бұрын

Depends on whether you are working or retired.

@powerofk

3 жыл бұрын

@@travis1240 Not just this - sales tax is fairly regressive. What I mean by this is that poorer people end up paying a higher percentage of their income on sales tax than the middle class and the wealthy. Why is this? It's due to staple items, clothing, etc. In general, only groceries and prescriptions are free from being taxed (and when I first moved to New Mexico, the state also taxed groceries). And poorer people pay more of their income already on necessities like clothing, hygiene items, etc.

@bobbywise2313

3 жыл бұрын

@@powerofk My argument against sales tax being regressive comes from growing up extremely poor. My parents were poor and uneducated but smart with their money. They actually paid almost no sales tax. In Texas real food is not Taxed. We ate mostly beans and potatoes so no food tax All of my clothes was hand me down or from yard sales. So no sales tax on clothes. We had no heat or A/C and the Texas summers were hot. I remember my dad getting gas one day. Dad was looking across the street at a man trying to take his swamp cooler out of his window. He was replacing it with a window A/C unit. My dad drove over and gave him a hand. My dad then asked the man if he would interested in selling his swamp unit. He told my dad he could take it. The motor didn't work. My dad had a motor he had been saving for when the opportunity to us it came. So that swamp cooler was free. My dad was always good at swap meets and garage sales. He was good at talking people down. But he never had to pay sales tax on the items he purchased.

@mojrimibnharb4584

3 жыл бұрын

@@bobbywise2313 That's a very long way to say you were so poor you evaded direct taxes. You still paid, though, because everyone you bought from paid sales taxes before. Worse, food isn't tax exempt everywhere.

@bobbywise2313

3 жыл бұрын

@@mojrimibnharb4584 Yes, I was speaking from my experience in Texas. I am not in favor of food being taxed. The point was my parents paid very little sales tax. This was perhaps because we could not afford new things. But shopping at yard sales also helps the people who are selling. It is a win, win. I always had clothes and shoes. If people are smart they can avoid sakes tax by doing this. The rich will always buy new and expensive items. I also think luxury items should be taxed higher. The rich can find ways not to pay income tax, but they will have they will purchase their expensive clothes and jewelry. But this idea will never find tractions. Most people prefer having the IRS take their money.

I wonder how the rise in work-from-home roles will impact this?

@AustinSevener

3 жыл бұрын

i think most companies will adjust their offers based on the location of the potential hire, but there are sure to be edge cases where people benefit

Great video! Another thing to consider when looking at utilities is the cost of gas. Most people in my state (MN) heat with natural gas vs electricity.

I fucking love your maps. Like, seriously. Not just the ones in this video. I love those maps in the background, too.

As someone who grew up in North Carolina who now lives in Washington State, I agree with you. I have seen two quite different areas first hand, but at the end of the day the struggle is still the same.

I would add two things: one, if you own a home in California or another state with high real estate prices then sell the home and move to a state with lower real estate prices, you will be able to afford "equal" or "better" housing. Also, if you want to buy a house and you have been saving to do so, housing could be more affordable in other markets. Two, if you want to start a business with a fixed amount of capital, it could be easier to do in a state with lower wages.

@AdamSmith-gs2dv

Жыл бұрын

So true. We bought a house here in Tennessee with two apartments and 4 acres of land. We only paid a little bit more for it and our property tax is a fraction of what it was for our much smaller house in NY

Excellent video, I actually learned from it too.

This is very insightful. Thank you! My husband and I are thinking of moving to California from India where his family live and people keep telling me that the cost of living is too expensive there and to not go anywhere near there because of the homeless problem. There's homeless people everywhere not just California. I'm from rural south west Missouri and yes most people I know from there are living paycheck to paycheck and you'll see there's tons of trailer parks dotted everywhere and drug related problems even in very small towns.

@cyborgblowfish4875

Жыл бұрын

Vanessa, Private equity is targeting the housing market to make huge profits. If they see a housing shortage somewhere they buy up all the houses and turn them into rentals to raise prices even further. Last year on average most people paid $65,000 above the asking price.

Yeah, I've been playing with this concept... Found it's more about income and what's done with it to grow it than anything else...

Please, come to nyc and see what that cost of living gets you. I promise my $2000 /month rent isn't as comfortable a living situation as that $1300 / month mortgage payment in Texas. Manhattan is where you go to get stuck. That's it.

@gregdaweson4657

2 жыл бұрын

Please stay in NY! No one wants those voting tendencies moving to their small town.

@danw6014

2 жыл бұрын

@@gregdaweson4657 thank you.

The map that shows how expensive electricity is, look at the south-east. That's Duke Energy doing that. It's a monopoly in the south-east, and the states refuse to allow any competition. There are some "other" power companies around, but they all rent their electricity from Duke and tack on more cost, so it looks like competition. My power bill in the winter is 5 times what it is in the summer ($75 summer/ $400 winter). I run the AC throughout the summer and keep it as cool as I can stand in the winter, but still get a $400 per month power bill in the winter. FUCK DUKE ENERGY!

@samatoid

3 жыл бұрын

The highest costs per kilowatt hour are in the Northeast and to a lesser extent California. The South has very low electricity rates. For instance Massachusetts rates are about 50% higher than Tennessee's. I live in NY, but electric bill probably averages $1000 year round and I have sprayed in foam insulation (on of the most effective).

@awsomo53

3 жыл бұрын

Get solar.

@zuffin1864

3 жыл бұрын

Screw the government! They are all complicit in this power scheme!

I am glad you put this out there. The KEY is to make as much money as you can in a low cost of living area. Also there are some things that are legitimately less expense in lower COL area besides homes, such as daycare centers, car washes etc.

My wife was an RN while we were living in Lovelock, Nevada. She got excited when she learned she could make twice the salary in California. I took me awhile to convince her that not only would it cost us at twice as much to live in California, she would have to drive about ten times as far to even get to work. In Las Vegas, you can expect air conditioning costs of over $300 a month in the 6 hot months and almost as high in the 6 cold months. There are some nice weeks, but no nice months in Las Vegas.

I left Indiana and came to California in 1969, couldn’t stand the Midwest mentality back then being a gay man, it wasn’t safe. I found acceptance, better weather, diversity of topography and landscapes, ocean, mountains, desert and a quality of life I never imagined. I’ll never go back ! Went around the world for 11 years, lived in 8 countries and came back to California. Quakes or fires I’m staying. I really enjoy your site, keep going !

@ericochoa4271

10 ай бұрын

Ha I'm the opposite. Lived in california all my life and left in 2022. I couldn't stand the mentality there. It's obey the media, obey the government, and shut up or else your the crazy one. I moved to Iowa and I can finally afford to live alone. I see myself leaving the midwest someday but I will never go back to the oppressive and expensive shit hole that is california.

@ChristopherFodor

8 ай бұрын

Lol good riddance

@johnmeszaros3827

8 ай бұрын

@@ChristopherFodor and to you too !

@ChristopherFodor

8 ай бұрын

@@johnmeszaros3827 get hate crimed

this video gave me a new found anxiety

I work at a Lowe’s in Louisville and make $21 an hour I looked at what I could expect to make in the same position in a different district (Los Angeles) and the position only paid about $2-3 more. I share a 1100 apartment in a safe neighborhood with my friend and only have to pay about $500 a month including my utilities. If I even considered doing the same in even the valley or outside of L.A. county I would pay more than double what I am right now. $2-3 an hour more doesn’t equate to double the cost in rent. I really enjoy my time in Southern California but for the wages I’m making here and how little I have to pay in rent I can easily afford to travel and vacation multiple times a year with the extra income I save by living in Kentucky. Not to mention the Low sales tax. Yeah the property taxes are higher but I rent and it doesn’t seem to make a major difference in how much I pay in rent. Gas is also at least $1 cheaper a gallon anytime a year than in other large cities like L.A. or Chicago. Even the McDonald’s out here is cheaper than in those cities. If someone is lucky enough to land a job and find a decently priced home in one of these highly desirable cities maybe this argument could be made but not so much for your average person. I mean most the people I’ve graduated with have been able to get approved and or purchase their first home in less than 4 years after getting out of high school. Even I could afford a mortgage on a home out here. I know you’ve spent time in Louisville and know it’s not that bad of a place to live in. It’s not California but it’s also not Mississippi. There are enough pull factors and room for growth to justify staying here.

@sayjaibao01188

Жыл бұрын

Lowe's doesn't pay much period. The good thing in California is there's so many different types of high paying jobs you can't find in kentucky.

@jesseslayton4079

Жыл бұрын

@@sayjaibao01188 that is true if you’re in a specialized career field but not so much if you’re just living a normal life.

If one is struggling with finances, one should not have a car payment. Buy a reliable car for around $2500 like we've all had to do at some point. Also, I'd rather have a high state sales tax than a high income or property tax. I can control my individual spending. Then there's investment opportunities with the added savings that more than offset your "more money for Medicare" argument. Just my two cents.

I don't think that its all a wash, but it does all depend on what you're doing with your money

Given the higher tax federal income tax rates on high earners, living in a high cost high wage place isn't such a clear cut good deal. I have a federal civil service job and the additional locality pay isn't enough to make up for the higher cost of living in certain places. For people like me, or military members, being assigned to a high cost area is a real burden and one of the reasons I see many GIs retire rather than take an assignment at the Pentagon for example.

@AdamSmith-gs2dv

Жыл бұрын

And the state income tax scales with it as well. There is a reason people are fleeing states like NY and IL for Tennessee

Great video, I always like to look at things from a percentage prospective, how much of your income goes out of the door in all your tax expenses, and as you said no matter where you go in the US it kinds of evens out unless you are retired.

I’ve been thinking about this again. Salary vs housing cost can vary greatly by location. In my little home town in rural Wisconsin, public school teachers start at $41,314 and the average house sells for $125,000. In LA County, teachers start at $53,600 but home sales average $920,000. Even excluding the fabulously expensive homes, teachers would need to pay at least 10 times their salary for a home. In my home town, it would be 3 times, which is about what it should be. So yes, teachers make more in LA, but not nearly enough more to make home buying affordable.

I'm a flight attendant and I make the same salary wherever I choose to live or be based.

@AccountInactive

3 жыл бұрын

Oversize escort. Same here! I get to live in an otherwise inaccessible or unsustainable part of the country where there are quite literally no jobs because there's no people 😁

Cost of living does change dramatically, depending on your life situation. For example, if you work remotely in a state with low/no income tax but high cost of vehicle ownership, you could save a lot of money even if the wage isn't that great. If you are looking to retire, you should pick a state with really low property and sales taxes, since those are the only 2 things you're really ever going to be losing money on for the rest of your life.

Kyle, i've been watching your videos for a short while now and I have to say, you wear some very interesting shirts in your video and I do mean that in a good way. I lean towards the Mid-Century myself with my wardrobe so I like the look. Also I do enjoy the content on your videos. It's very interesting information that most people either don't think about, or they think about it but don't know the "why's". Keep up the good work man!

One problem I see with this theory is that at an individual level it often is cheaper to move to a state with lower income tax and property prices because for most professional jobs the salary would not decrease significantly by simply moving from say Boston to Dallas. It’s more of an urban/rural divide that would cause a salary change not a geographical state to state one because big cities are typically competitive in terms of salary

Ive tried to explain this to my friends in WA before too. Just because it costs less to get a house in the south doesnt mean youll live better. Unless you have a good education and have a good paying job lined up your quality of living is likely to be way worse moving to Mississippi from Seattle. Like.. idk why people think rent is 500 a month in Mississippi. Its because every ass job out there pays federal minimum wage and likely isnt even full time. Unless you can catch a kushy 6 figure job youre not living better just because rent is cheaper.

@explorenaked

3 жыл бұрын

I've used a quote for many years: "Financial success is not how much money you earn but rather how much money you save". From what I have seen in the U.S., and I've seen a lot, is poor people are susceptible to bad habits. For example, I cannot tell you how many times I've seen minimum wage employees standing outside their minimum wage jobs smoking. Smoking is expensive no matter where you live. So you are absolutely right. They can move to a cheaper area but unless they change their habits they are not going to have anything to show for the move. U.S. average cost of one cigarette is .3325 cents. Average consumption is 14 per day. That's nearly $1700 per year. Over 30 years @ 7% interest that's $173,524 of savings. I could go on and on but I think you get my point. Your comment is spot on. Changing location doesn't make that much of a difference. However, if smoking brings them happiness, then I'm okay with that just as long as they don't blame anyone else for their lack of money.

@susanmaggiora4800

3 жыл бұрын

Gary Collier I’m poor & roll my own cigarettes. It makes me smoke a bit less & I only spend about $30 a month on tobacco. It’s not free, but I just don’t see movies at a theater once or twice a month & wait till it’s on Netflix & watch it (I have a friend’s password, I don’t pay for that either😉).

@donswier

3 жыл бұрын

Good thing about Washington, California and other scenic states: We don't feel obligated to take an expensive, days-long trip outside our region to have vacations. Some of my favorite memories are day trip destinations just a few hours away.

@653j521

3 жыл бұрын

@@explorenaked Where do they get the 7% interest? Are they supposed to be playing the stock market? I get your point but your figures are wildly unrealistic.

@explorenaked

3 жыл бұрын

@@653j521 Well if you call mutual funds playing the stock market then you are correct. I personally don't. And no they are not wildly unrealistic. In fact, most financial planners would call 7% incredibly conservative. Do a little research and you'll find most respectable mutual funds have easily hit a 7 % return over the past 10 years. Is there risk? Of course, but buying cigarettes or fast food, in my opinion, is far more risky than a mutual fund. To each his own.

I just feel like when the rents are no longer affordable for solidly middle class families, we have failed.

Geography King: Groceries cost the same wherever you live... Canada: Hold my beer.

@crazykev6491

3 жыл бұрын

Alaskans and Hawaiians are stocking up on that beer. 😂

@riverraisin1

3 жыл бұрын

It's not true at all. Less competition between Grocery stores and also proximity to population centers drives food prices. In other words - if we got and you want it and can't go somewhere else to get it cheaper, you'll pay our price.

I noticed this when I moved from NJ to FL years ago. When you take into account all the different factors (pay, mortgage/rent, gas, food, taxes, utilities, etc) It all evens out in the end.

My question has always been; Where the hell does the manager of the Taco Bell in Hollywood live? They can't pay him/her enough to sustain a living if she/he lives anywhere close to Hollywood. Yeah, a lot of people in LA make enough to comfortably live there, but the low wage service workers...what do they do? I would like to add that my mom moved from VA to TN in the early 2000s. She wanted to know what the difference in actual tax payments would be between the states, so she started keeping very good records on household and personal expenditures for a year in VA, then did the same after moving to TN. The result; She ended up paying slightly less in TN than she did in VA. A moderate Income tax combined with a moderate sales tax is still more expensive than a high sales tax with no income tax. I would like to add that TN has historically had much lower deficits than VA, despite having no income tax.

@MichelleNovalee

3 жыл бұрын

In the ghetto

@blacksquirrel4008

3 жыл бұрын

And Tennessee taxes food and medicines!

@edwardfights4900

3 жыл бұрын

Probably with other people in a terrible apartment where he can do his meth.

@travis1240

3 жыл бұрын

commute really far, work three jobs, or have a spouse that makes a lot more than you do.

@lucasmccomb5638

3 жыл бұрын

Live with their parents

This is spot on. Wish I didn't move from NY to SC. Should have waited until I was retired to do so.

I like your maps and information. wonder if you could combine all the situations you mentioned into a single map?

@blindsey1043

3 жыл бұрын

That's a genius doing to much

The conclusion was very smart. Btw is there a chance to make a video on simple costs of living to average income ratio? That would be interesting to see which state wins