[snazz]

> I don’t think you’re right about that. Groceries, supplies, movie tickets, restaurants, fuel, transit, medical & dental resources, rent, and so on are all much more expensive in the city. The fraction of things you get on Amazon or through other means that allows paying a low competitive nationwide price is pretty tiny and doesn’t really offer any meaningful advantage to city dwellers.

It's primarily the discretionary, high-tech, and expensive items that are cheaper in a high-cost-of-living place. Want to buy an iPhone or a Tesla or an expensive camera or something like that? Those are all less expensive relative to your income in high-CoL places. Plus, interest rates from savings accounts and many retirement accounts are the same nationwide, meaning that having more total money is advantageous.

[mlthoughts2018]

Inflation is faster in some urban centers though, so fixed interest rates are disproportionately bad for those urban dwellers. While that interest rate might grow your larger starting pile of money faster than it grows someone’s money in rural Nebraska, the gains are eroded more quickly so they don’t translate to purchasing power.

In those cities, your money has to grow fast or the loss of purchasing power is huge.

So I wouldn’t say nationwide interest rates are definitely an advantage for people with bigger starting piles of money in urban areas. It’s complicated.