> Cost of living. Its the cheapest place in the US to live.
When I lived in a "low COL town" that wasn't in the midwest (about 2 hours from a major city of any kind and about an hour in various directions from a couple small cities) people would say this all the time... "Sure I'm only making 60% of what I could be but my CoL is so low!!"[0]
But my rent was still over $600/mo + utilities for a 2-room apartment (each). There were some really bad options for sub-$300, but you were living in a sub-$300 apartment. You can make this choice anywhere.
Gas costed the same it costs everywhere else
Walmart prices were walmart prices.
Restaurants were typically cheap but that's because they weren't amazing - the population couldn't afford to sustain an high-end restaurant. There are cheap restaurants everywhere.
I felt like it was cheap compared to outliers like seattle and the bay area, but not cheap on its own. I'm interested in how this might be different from the midwest. What kinds of products or services stand out to you as significantly contributing towards a low CoL?
[0] With remote the bit about 60% is no longer as accurate, but it's what a lot of people said at the time, and some of them still make comparatively little and say they're fine because of the low CoL.
The $1300/mo apartment I have in the midwest would easily cost $3000+ in SF/LA/NYC. Three bedrooms, 2000 sq ft, two stories. I live alone. I can afford it easily.
Median home values. My state: $152k. CA: $551k. WA: $393k. NY: $305k.
Gas absolutely does not cost the same as everywhere else. In my midwest state, the average today is $3.05/gal. In California, $4.65. WA: $3.85. Even in IL, which is "expensive midwest" for sure, its $3.37.
Electricity: my state, $0.135/kwh. CA: $0.226. NY: $0.196. There are some generally high COL states like WA which have pretty cheap electricity.
"There are cheap restaurants everywhere". Even McDonalds charges more in different states. Its not the same! My state, a Big Mac costs $4.10. CA: $5.11. WA: $4.67.
Amount of paid sick/parental leave depends on the company. Overtime laws are if you work more than 40 you get paid time and a half or double for wage workers, and minimum wage is probably the federal minimum wage.
It depends on "where", in any city. You could certainly find a 2BR in somewhere like MSP or Chicago, but it won't be near the downtown core, and you'll have some interesting neighbors.
A couple years ago, myself and two friends were living in a 6Br/2.5Ba house for a total of $1900/mo. So, $633 each, and while the house was a little cold in the winter and the neighborhood wasn't exactly the cultural center of the midwestern city, it was a short drive to somewhere more interesting, and we each had two bedrooms. And no, it wasn't a mansion; it just had a really strange layout, and a couple of the "bedrooms" legally weren't "bedrooms".
You can find it. But oftentimes kids coming right out of college come to big towns with this idealism of "i want to live in a high rise apartment, in the downtown center, go out with friends every weekend". Every time I have that conversation, I encourage them: do that for a year. You'll have the money. But year 2: think more critically about saving money, move further away from the "hip" areas. And still go out every weekend with your friends!
Top 50 covers a lot more than you'd think! The Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington metro is actually the 16th largest, and there's plenty more midwest cities included as well. But you are of course right that $600/month is widely less than what you'd be paying in any of the high cost coastal cities
When I lived in a "low COL town" that wasn't in the midwest (about 2 hours from a major city of any kind and about an hour in various directions from a couple small cities) people would say this all the time... "Sure I'm only making 60% of what I could be but my CoL is so low!!"[0]
But my rent was still over $600/mo + utilities for a 2-room apartment (each). There were some really bad options for sub-$300, but you were living in a sub-$300 apartment. You can make this choice anywhere.
Gas costed the same it costs everywhere else
Walmart prices were walmart prices.
Restaurants were typically cheap but that's because they weren't amazing - the population couldn't afford to sustain an high-end restaurant. There are cheap restaurants everywhere.
I felt like it was cheap compared to outliers like seattle and the bay area, but not cheap on its own. I'm interested in how this might be different from the midwest. What kinds of products or services stand out to you as significantly contributing towards a low CoL?
[0] With remote the bit about 60% is no longer as accurate, but it's what a lot of people said at the time, and some of them still make comparatively little and say they're fine because of the low CoL.