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Financial Freedom => Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) => Topic started by: LittleSeedsOfWealth on March 21, 2019, 09:40:13 PM

Title: Anyone moving from HCOL to LCOL areas and regret it?
Post by: LittleSeedsOfWealth on March 21, 2019, 09:40:13 PM
Say you are working in a HCOL area (e.g. San Francisco) with a decent salary. However, in order to buy a house, you'll still have to work for a long time. If you move to a LCOL area (e.g. Minneapolis), your savings would enable you to buy a house in cash. However, you'll have fewer job opportunities in your field. Would you make this move? If you made this kind of move and regret it, I'm curious why.
Title: Re: Anyone moving from HCOL to LCOL areas and regret it?
Post by: Eric on March 26, 2019, 06:34:53 PM
I think the key part is to have friends and family near the low cost of living place. Picking a city based on a magazine ranking or a spreadsheet doesn't work.

Your financial and life situation are key to this. If you are single, the cost of a shared apartment isn't necessarily worth the trade-offs. If you are starting a family, you want space and being away from bars and nightlife is a plus. Also factor in your savings and asset base. If you have a good amount saved after buying a primary residence, go for it. If you don't have much saved and just paid off student loans, maybe try to work a bit longer in a high cost of living area and try to save a bit more before the transition.
Title: Re: Anyone moving from HCOL to LCOL areas and regret it?
Post by: TravelGirl on March 27, 2019, 04:54:53 AM
I agree completely with what Eric says above, but I think you also need to consider your job prospects.  Some jobs have no issues moving to small cities or rural areas - i.e. work from home, I.T., accounting, etc.  You need to consider how financially stable is the company you are moving there for if there are lower prospects for a new job if that company fails or has layoffs.  Are you confident enough that you could find another job within a certain time frame that you need.
Title: Re: Anyone moving from HCOL to LCOL areas and regret it?
Post by: Sam on March 27, 2019, 12:03:28 PM
Tanya at Busget and The Beach moved from LA to Boise and regretted it. She moved back within a year and she wrote some posts.
Title: Re: Anyone moving from HCOL to LCOL areas and regret it?
Post by: Young And The Invested on April 04, 2019, 08:14:12 AM
I'll be moving from a LCOL to HCOL this year.  I'll be honest when I say I'm scared.