Comparing CoL on a Resident's Salary

[Zaphod]

funkmstr47 wrote:

Hey all,

Obviously there’s a lot that goes into a rank list, but I was a little bored today and decided to compare cost of living in a couple different cities where I’ve had interviews to see if I could come up with a meaningful way to compare the cost of living there.

To start, I looked up PGY-1 salaries at a couple of the programs I had applied to. I then used a CoL calculator (http://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/) to see how much your salary would have to be in the second city to maintain a more or less equivalent standard of living. For example:

 

City #1:

Salary: $56,970

Equivalent salary for same standard of living in City #2: $43,959

 

City #2:

Salary: $55,800

Equivalent salary for same standard of living in City #1: $72,087

 

I was a little shocked at the difference between the two, since $55k in city 2 seems to go much further than $56k in city 1, and both programs are similar in terms of reputation. But then I got around to thinking – is this even a meaningful way to compare potential cost of living in different cities? Should I try comparing fixed expenses (like rent) instead? How would you best evaluate the difference?

 

Click to expand...

Some sites will show a breakdown by category. It is probably better to look at the expenses you will actually be consuming as you shouldnt be buying but renting, etc...so some locales can be skewed without incurring you much actual differences in living expenses.

[Hatton]

This was true even when I was a resident in 1979-83.  Resident salaries vary very little but the cost of living can vary a great deal.  This is one of the reasons I stayed in the SE to train.  I think it boils down to do you want roommates or a one bedroom apt.

[funkmstr47]

Hey all,

Obviously there's a lot that goes into a rank list, but I was a little bored today and decided to compare cost of living in a couple different cities where I've had interviews to see if I could come up with a meaningful way to compare the cost of living there.

To start, I looked up PGY-1 salaries at a couple of the programs I had applied to. I then used a CoL calculator (http://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/) to see how much your salary would have to be in the second city to maintain a more or less equivalent standard of living. For example:

 

City #1:

Salary: $56,970

Equivalent salary for same standard of living in City #2: $43,959

 

City #2:

Salary: $55,800

Equivalent salary for same standard of living in City #1: $72,087

 

I was a little shocked at the difference between the two, since $55k in city 2 seems to go much further than $56k in city 1, and both programs are similar in terms of reputation. But then I got around to thinking - is this even a meaningful way to compare potential cost of living in different cities? Should I try comparing fixed expenses (like rent) instead? How would you best evaluate the difference?