[overcast]

Rochester 43.76% cheaper. Super cheap living here, tons of good food, cocktails, great lakes, and 15 minutes to get anywhere across the entire city.

[seanmcdirmid]

Are computers, cars, overseas trips, etc...43.76% cheaper also?

[JBReefer]

Fully loaded cost of cars absolutely are, when you include parking, tickets, insurance, bump and tap damage, etc.

Keeping a car in a megacity is usually around $10k a year, from experience with both it's dramatically cheaper in upstate New York.

[seanmcdirmid]

I live in LA, and it costs me far less than $10k a year. My insurance is $100 a month on a new entry-level luxury car, but that has more to do with me being out of country for 11 years. Cars do tend to be nicer here than upstate New York (well, upstate defined as being north of westchester county); so a lot of Mercedes CLAs and such. Gas is more expensive maybe, but I guess it depends on how much you drive (I live next to work, so I drive only a few times a month).

I'm always amazed at how cheap parking is in LA, $6 for a day in Santa Monica not that far from the ocean. If this was any European country, it would be much much more. Heck, it is cheaper than even Beijing.

I've done the calculations, and everything except rent is fairly comparable to a third tier American city. Heck, food in LA is much cheaper than say Spokane where my sister lives. So in California, you have taxes, and that's about it. If you think $100K in Rochester is like $200K or even $150K in say NYC, that is a heck of a lot of extra taxes and rent.

[ryandrake]

Are you guys still scraping ice off your windshields? Usually that stops around June, am I right? :-)

[overcast]

It's actually pretty damn hot here this week, 90 and humid as hell right now. But yes, long winters, but noticeably milder the last few years. Fall is the bomb though.

[ceejayoz]

All the more reason to work remotely! (You can also probably afford a house with a garage out here...)

That said, last two ski seasons sucked.