What are the best cities to live in for FIRE?
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The cheaper the cost of living, the better. However, it's worth noting than some areas are cheaper to live in for good reason!
For FIRE, I think you want to focus on cities that are a good value for your compensation (not necessarily a specific recommendation of HCOL, MCOL, or LCOL). For example, I know that high finance jobs tend to pay well but are mostly located in HCOL cities. However, if you could keep your salary and move to a less expensive area for the Company, then you would have the "geographic arbitrage" concept that some FIRE folks talk about. This is my personal opinion why some of the Southern Cities (Charlotte, Atlanta, etc.) have been growing a lot. If I'm going to get paid roughly the same salary as someone in New York, why would I pay New York prices when I could pay Charlotte prices?
That was a specific example, but I'd generally say (for white collar professionals) the best bang for your buck is going to be in cities in the South and cities in the Midwest. The Northeast region tends to have expensive cities, and the West Coast region is a similar story.
I am in metro-Detroit. My only complaints are the weather (as it is currently snowing) and the economy is too wrapped up in automotive. However my monthly minimum mortgage payment (on the house I bought right after the bubble burst) makes my friends in DC cry 🤣
I high-key love living in Michigan. Asian food here is better than even just a few years ago. Definitely more diverse than I thought it would be. Too bad mass transit is severely lacking and car insurance is so pricy.
For FIRE, it’s good to start your career in HCOL. This bumps your salary up early so you can save more (if you’re willing to live like a pauper), and qualify for higher loans to buy property. Then move to LCOL.
I started in SF, bought property in CA, then moved to LCOL working remotely. We kept our salaries when we moved. Our HHI is $300k, our CA property continues to appreciate, and our rent is $800/mo in a very nice area.
LCOL only but Amon and Christina from OurRichJourney did it while living in SF.
I would say def not SF, NY, LA or even Chi. Who knows?!?!
I think they are genuine but hard to tell.
But HCOL have huge appreciation on property as compared to LCOL. definitely have to make more sacrifices
Turkey! You get the citizenship 3 months after purchasing a real estate for min. $250k
Phoenix
Thanks for the answers. I'm trying to decide where to move after things open up again. I'm from SF area and have lived in Denver, D.C. and Austin. DC was too far from "home" for me and I couldn't handle the heat in Austin. SF is unfortunately not as affordable anymore.. so I'm looking at Denver, Portland, and Seattle area. I still like the city vibe. But I've been wasting a lot of money/time moving around to find my ideal location to buy a house. Any advice on how to pick a good location to settle? I loved Denver but at the time salaries were lower than I wanted and now COL has gone up there significantly.
PNW is great but don’t do Portland. Affordable housing compared to tier 1 cities, but lots of crime, homelessness, city lacks hussle. Lots of lazy hippies. You will have a nice home, but there will be a homeless encampment across the street. We sold our $1M home last year bc we were sick of living like that when city does nothing and it was best decision we made. Also, no sales tax means property and income have to make up for it. It’s a sucky system for those with high income and high property values. Would rather live in a no income tax state