Where to live

Portugal

Portugal has a great cost of living (although that advantage is diminishing as more people move there). The price I pay for this is the language barrier, cultural barriers, and social barriers resulting from those.

It is easy to immigrate here. You can move with a US job. You can become a citizen after 5 years.

Cities

• Braga
• Porto

Canada

Canada is relatively similar to the US in culture and speaks English. Montreal is more different. French is the predominant language, so it is printed on signs exclusively. Menus are in French. People speak in French by default, although I haven’t come across anyone who can’t speak English. Some speak better than others.

Taxes are very high — $58,000ayearon$135k salary — and immigrating is difficult. You must move for a Canadian job.

Cities

• Montreal
• Vancouver

US

City	Income Taxes (%)	Income Taxes	Income Tax Premium	Income Tax Premium (Monthly)	Cheap 1BR Rent	Adjusted Cheap 1BR Rent	Sales Taxes (%)	Hottest Average High	Coldest Average Low	Average Snowfall	Average Rain
Seattle	24.88	33588	0	0	1600	1600	10.25	77	38	5	38
New Orleans	27.7	37395	3807	317	1200	1517	9.45	92	48	0	64
Denver	29.06	39231	5643	470	1600	2070	8.81
Chicago	29.25	39488	5900	492	1600	2092	10.25	82	22	35	38
Cincinnati	29.7	40095	6507	542	1200	1742	7.8	86	25	15	44
Milwaukee	29.95	40271	6847	557	1300	1857	5.5	80	18	45	35
St. Louis	30.24	40824	7236	603	1200	1803	8.99	89	25	16	42
Pittsburgh	30.48	41148	7560	630	1400	2030	7	83	24	28	38
Minneapolis	30.86	41661	8073	673	1200	1873	8.025	83	10	52	32
Philadelphia	31.23	42161	8573	714	1300	2014	8	86	27	13	47
Baltimore	32.45	43808	10220	852	1200	2052	6	88	31	19	42
Portland	33.22	44847	11259	938	1300	2238	0	83	36	3	43

The cities that have lower housing costs seem to mostly make it up in taxes. I also notice that the cities with lower costs of living seem to have older apartments. If you want the newer apartments, the costs are similar to more expensive cities. I’m not sure what the toll of cold weather might be. I know it won’t be fun, but how will I cope with it? Will other factors outweigh it? Will other factors also outweigh the costs?

This table definitely doesn’t tell the whole story, but it’s going to take some time to understand how much is actually missing. For example, Portland has a sophisticated network of bike trails and a transit system that outclasses its size. What are those things worth? Something, but it’s hard to quantify what. The bike trails plus the mild weather could lead me to bike a lot which would give me something fun to do and improve my health. That could easily be worth $11,000 a year.

Then again, could I get most of the benefit of those things with what Seattle has? It’s hard to say.

I’ve also considered Vancouver, Washington, which is attractive because it would give me the Washington income tax of $0witheasyaccesstoPortland.Ultimately,Ido{n}^{\prime }tthinkthisisagreatoption.DowntownVancouverisprettybasic.Itdoes{n}^{\prime }tseemtohaveagrocerystore.AccesstoPortlandwouldbechallenging.Iwouldhavetocrosstheriveronmybikewhichputsmeeitherridinginthemiddleofaninterstateoronabridgeovertheriver,mybikeputtingmybodylevelwiththerailing.(No,thankyou.)Itseemslikeitmightbeworththe$11,000 premium to live inside Portland instead.

This entire exploration has highlighted how relatively cheap Seattle is if you’re not poor and looking for an urban place to live. The lack of an income tax means that I get a break of at least $3,800bylivingthere.Allthecitiesthataredesirable(sorry,NewOrleans)andthatpeopleclaimare"cheaper"thanSeattleareonlycheaperifyoucansomehowavoidpayingincometaxes.AcitylikePittsburghforexamplethatisoftencitedasanaffordablelargecitybecomes$500/month more expensive than Seattle if I factor in my tax burden there. A city like Portland, which is nearly as expensive as Seattle to begin with becomes nearly $650/month more.

But analyzing it in this way — as a decision based purely on my own economic best interests — runs counter to my ideals. I want to live in a place where everyone is better off. The thing about driving a city or state on sales taxes instead of income taxes is that it disproportionately burdens the poor. That’s wrong, and I would like Washington state to institute an income tax. Do I want to live in a state that runs this way? Would it be better to go to a state where I will have less money but where people in general are happier and better off? Probably, although I think Portland shares many of the same problems as Seattle. Seems that an income tax — even an extremely high one — is no silver bullet.

Chicago

My thoughts on Chicago

Neighborhoods

• River North
• Near North Side
• Wicker Park
• Lincoln Park
• Lake View
• Andersonville
• Ravenswood
• Albany Park
• Rogers Park

Milwaukee

My thoughts on Milwaukee

Neighborhoods

• Third Ward
• Walker’s Point
• Washington Heights
• Lower East Side
• Riverwest
• Shorewood

Minneapolis

My thoughts on Minneapolis

Neighborhoods

• North Loop
• Northeast Minneapolis
• Uptown

Pittsburgh

My thoughts on Pittsburgh

Neighborhoods

• East Liberty
• Golden Triangle (Downtown)
• Shadyside

Philadelphia

My thoughts on Philadelphia

Neighborhoods

• Cedar Park
• Rittenhouse Square

Portland

My thoughts on Portland

Neighborhoods

• Arbor Lodge
• Boise
• Eliot
• Sullivan’s Gulch
• Goose Hollow
• Brooklyn
• Buckman
• Hosford-Abernethy
• Kerns
• Milwaukie
• Richmond
• Sellwood-Moreland
• Sunnyside

Seattle

Neighborhoods

• Roosevelt
• Genesee
• Admiral
• Ballard
• Queen Anne
• Fremont

Other Prospects

• The Netherlands
• Germany
• England
• Scotland