• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Start Here
  • Work with David
  • Our Services
  • Contact
Young Adult Money

Make more. Save more. Live better.

  • Blog
  • Credit Cards
    • Rewards
    • Cash Back
    • Travel
    • Airlines
    • Hotels
    • Balance Transfer
    • Student
    • Business
  • FREE Budget Spreadsheet
  • FREE Student Loan Spreadsheet
This Just In... Check out the latest travel rewards credit card offers

Moving to a High Cost of Living City: How to Budget

By Rachel Slifka / Last updated: May 17, 2020 / Budgeting, How To, Lifestyle, Millennials, Personal Finance

We may receive compensation from companies mentioned within this post via affiliate links. Read our full advertiser disclosure. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Pin61
Share4
Tweet
Email
Buffer3
Share
68 Shares

 Moving to a high cost of living city? Or considering a move to one? Here's how you can prepare and budget for the move without breaking the bank.Two years ago, I moved from Charleston, South Carolina to Seattle, Washington.

Not only are these two cities literally on the opposite side of the country, but the cost of living is substantially different. In Charleston, my husband and I lived in a two bedroom apartment for $1100 a month. In Seattle, we were looking at a one bedroom loft for over $2000 – and that didn’t include parking or utilities, which were another monstrous cost.

While I didn’t have time to line up a job before we moved, I knew Seattle was a great area for my field. My husband and I packed up our cars and began the long cross-country drive. We were obviously excited for the change of pace and going to a new city, but we didn’t really know what to expect.

I had never been to Seattle before we moved there, so I was really in the dark about the costs associated with living in such a large city. Plus, we were relying on just one income (plus my income from freelance writing) while I was job searching.

Don’t do what I did – if you’re considering a move, plan a loose budget before you go.

 

1) Budget for Your Apartment or Home

 
Housing will likely be your biggest expense, so start with it first.

Chances are, if you move to a high cost of living city, you’ll need to increase your housing budget. How much home can you realistically afford?

Don’t forget to budget in those additional expenses, such as parking, HOA fees, and utilities. If you’re moving from a low cost of living city, you may not realize just how quickly these can add up. Be sure to ask about such expenses before you sign a lease.

 

2) Research Job Opportunities and Pay

 
If you are considering moving to a high cost of living area without a job lined up, do your homework ahead of time.

It can be a scary movie, especially if you don’t have an income source secured. However, with proper planning and realistic assessments of circumstances, you can make the transition as smooth as possible.

Since we moved before I had a job lined up, we knew we had to be conservative in our housing costs, since we wouldn’t know for sure what my income might be.

I also researched the market in depth before we moved. I had a good idea of what companies I wanted to apply for, how much they would pay, and whether it was a hot or cold job market. I knew the market was good, and I could fairly easily find a job with my experience.

Once I landed a job, it was amazing because I was actually offered higher than I would have guessed. Plus, we had budgeted our living expenses so conservatively, so we were able to put my income towards paying off our student loan debt.

In short – be honest with yourself, your skills, and your circumstances. I realize I had a lot of advantages because we have two incomes in my household (plus my side hustle income!) which afforded us a lot more flexibility. If you’re single and moving to a high cost of living city, you may have to make further adjustments. Finding roommates and other ways to share expenses can drastically help lower the cost of living in an expensive city.

 

3) Shop Around

 
In a large city, the options are limitless, so don’t be afraid to spend time shopping around.

Everything from apartments to internet service providers to car insurance can vary in cost. If you’re not certain if you’ve been offered a good rate, ask around or check out AreaVibes, which will help you estimate the cost of living in any given city.

 

4) Eliminate Expenses You No Longer Need

 
The nice thing is, once you move to a large city, there is a ton to do and so many amenities. This was something I didn’t really expect upon moving, but after a few months of living in Seattle, we were able to eliminate a lot of expenses we thought we’d need, but didn’t.

For instance, we were planning to have two cars in the city. But we realized that between parking (approximately $150 a month per car), insurance, licensing, and the higher cost of gas, that it was really unnecessary. Instead of getting a second car, we purchased a used motorcycle for my husband, which he drives when the weather is nice. The rest of the time, he takes the bus to work, which is only $30 a month and is discounted through his work.

We also were able to substantially lower some of our other expenses. We lowered our traveling budget, since we simply enjoy staying in our city more often. We cancel our gym memberships in the summer because the weather is so nice and there is so much to do outside. We cancelled a few of our streaming services because we found we were just busier in a larger city.

 

5) Be Realistic and Compromise

 
Moving to a city is exciting, but it does take some adjustments.

For example, my husband and I realized there was no way we could afford everything we wanted in an apartment, so we had to compromise and prioritize. We realized location was what was most important to us, so we downsized to a one-bedroom in order to afford that.

As much as we didn’t want to downsize our lives, we realized it was a necessary thing to do in order to afford to live in the city.

 

6) Save in Advance

 
While my husband was offered a great promotion, they didn’t pay for relocation expenses. Fortunately, we had ample savings so we were able to afford the actual move and still have an emergency fund.

If you’re moving to a high cost of living city, even if you do have a job lined up, you’ll want to make sure you have plenty in savings. No matter how much you research the cost of living in a city in advance, you’re bound to get some things wrong. For example, we drastically underestimated how much it would cost for us to license and register our car in Washington State (approximately $2000!). Fortunately, we had savings and could pay the bill.

Saving is a great way to be able to afford options. If you’re having a difficult time saving money, you can always consider starting a side hustle to earn extra cash.

Do you live in a high cost of living city? Or have you considered moving to one? What advice do you have?

 

Check out some of our favorite personal finance resources:

Are you getting the best credit card rewards? Check out the top cash back credit card offers (updated daily)

Make extra money: 15 ways to make money from your computer

  • Get our FREE Automated Budget Spreadsheet and our Student Loan Spreadsheet

Get the First Chapter Free!

Student Loan Solution Cover - 3D

Join our online community and get the first chapter of the book Student Loan Solution absolutely FREE!

Pin61
Share4
Tweet
Email
Buffer3
Share
68 Shares

Rachel Slifka

Rachel Slifka is a freelance writer and human resources professional. She is passionate about helping fellow millennials find success with their finances and careers. Read more by checking out her website at RachelMSlifka.com.
Connect:

Comments Policy

Comments, responses, and other user-generated content is not provided or commissioned by this site or our advertisers. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by this website or its advertisers. It is not the responsibility of advertisers or this website to ensure that all comments and/or questions are answered. With all that being said, please comment away!

Primary Sidebar

Credit Cards

  • Best Travel Rewards Cards
  • Best Balance Transfer Cards
  • Best Cash Back Credit Cards
  • Best Business And Side Hustle Credit Cards
  • Best Student Credit Cards

Start a Blog:

How to Start a Blog that Makes Money
 

Top Posts

  • 15 Ways You Can Make Money From Your Computer Right Now
  • When You Should and Shouldn’t Refinance Student Loans
  • How Much Money You Will Need to Make $1,000 in Dividends

Free Spreadsheets & Downloads

  • Free Automated Budget Spreadsheet
  • Student Loan Repayment Spreadsheet
  • The Ultimate Personal Finance Checklist
  • 401k Spreadsheet to Analyze your Options
  • Wedding Budget Spreadsheet
  • 52 Week Money Challenge Spreadsheet and Printable

First Chapter Free!

Join our online community and receive the first chapter of Student Loan Solution absolutely FREE.

If you don't see the email in your inbox, please check your spam folder.

Connect:

Categories:

Search:

Get the New Book!

Student Loan Solution: 5 Steps to Take Control of Your Student Loans and Financial Life is available on Amazon by clicking here, or by clicking on the graphic below.

Make more. Save more. Live better.

Site Directory:

  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Recommendations
  • Finance Tools
  • Credit Cards
  • Insurance
  • Banking
  • Investing

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy

Feedback? Questions?
Contact us and let us know what you think.

Connect:

Search This Site:

Copyright © 2012–2024 Young Adult Money, LLC / All Rights Reserved
Designed by LizTheresa.com / Developed by Nuts and Bolts Media

Manage your privacy

To provide the best experiences, we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.

Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time, including withdrawing your consent, by using the toggles on the Cookie Policy, or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen.

Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Statistics

Marketing

Features
Always active

Always active
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
Manage options
{title} {title} {title}
Manage your privacy

To provide the best experiences, we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.

Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time, including withdrawing your consent, by using the toggles on the Cookie Policy, or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen.

Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
Manage options
{title} {title} {title}