02-19-2017, 09:34 PM
"For any set budget, I'd argue you can eat much better in a major diverse city like NYC/SF than you could ever eat in KW."
All things being equal, there are more choices in a bigger city than a smaller city. In Toronto, there are a plethora of choices of restaurants at every budget. That's not true in a smaller centre. I think it's a fair point: if you're a young grad starting out, and want to do things on the cheap, there are more opportunities in a big centre to do that.
I question the "groceries" line item for the same reason. I have no doubt that the average household in San Francisco spends more on groceries than the average household in KW. But there's a lot more opportunity to scrimp in a big city with many more options for groceries on a budget, and food prices are less in the U.S. than Canada generally.
It's totally bizarre and disingenuous not to reference transportation costs. After housing, that it is a household's single biggest line item. It costs about $10,000 a year to operate a vehicle in Canada and, while you can do it for less, it is still a significant cost, and going without a car is (unfortunately) not very common in Waterloo Region. It is worth a lot of foregone salary to live in a place where one can avoid the cost of a car.
All things being equal, there are more choices in a bigger city than a smaller city. In Toronto, there are a plethora of choices of restaurants at every budget. That's not true in a smaller centre. I think it's a fair point: if you're a young grad starting out, and want to do things on the cheap, there are more opportunities in a big centre to do that.
I question the "groceries" line item for the same reason. I have no doubt that the average household in San Francisco spends more on groceries than the average household in KW. But there's a lot more opportunity to scrimp in a big city with many more options for groceries on a budget, and food prices are less in the U.S. than Canada generally.
It's totally bizarre and disingenuous not to reference transportation costs. After housing, that it is a household's single biggest line item. It costs about $10,000 a year to operate a vehicle in Canada and, while you can do it for less, it is still a significant cost, and going without a car is (unfortunately) not very common in Waterloo Region. It is worth a lot of foregone salary to live in a place where one can avoid the cost of a car.