Cost of Living

13 Stories

10 Most Expensive Cities to Live In

Singapore is No. 1, but 2 US cities make top 10

(Newser) - Thanks to a stronger dollar, New York and Los Angeles just made their way onto a top 10 list, the Wall Street Journal reports, though it may not be a list they necessarily want to be on. They're No. 7 and 8, respectively, on the Economist Intelligence Unit's...

Engineer: I Dodged SF Rent, Live in Spider-Filled Van
Engineer: I Dodged SF Rent, Live in Spider-Filled Van
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Engineer: I Dodged SF Rent, Live in Spider-Filled Van

Rents too damn high, send female software engineer to live in camper

(Newser) - Katharine Patterson has to be very quiet when she's typing at night. Not because she's afraid of disturbing a sleeping spouse or baby, but because she doesn't want anyone in her San Francisco Bay neighborhood to hear sounds coming from inside the van where she lives. In...

Tokyo Falls as World's Costliest City

Inflation makes Singapore world's priciest

(Newser) - Tokyo, rated the world's most expensive city last year by the Economist Intelligence Unit , has dropped out of the top five thanks to the soaring cost of living in other cities, including the new No. 1, Singapore. The city-state was sent to the top of the list by its...

Obama Snubs GOP, Ditches Social Security Cuts

Olive branch to Boehner is rescinded

(Newser) - President Obama is done playing nice with the budget. The White House will be ditching a proposal to curtail Social Security cost-of-living increases, along with other policies that he included last year in an attempt to reach out to Republicans, the Wall Street Journal reports. "This year, the administration...

San Francisco Expensive? Think $4 Toast

Petition calls on mayor to get city's cost of living under control

(Newser) - A group in San Francisco has launched a petition urging the mayor to get the city's cost of living under control—and $4 toast is at the heart of it, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . This all started several weeks ago with a blog post in Venture Beat by...

Average 2012 Prom Tab: $1K+
 Average 2012 Prom Tab: $1K+ 

Average 2012 Prom Tab: $1K+

Average family now spends $1,078 on big dance

(Newser) - If you have a teenager nearing prom age, hopefully you've got good credit. Between dresses, flowers, limo rides, and hairdos, the average family with a teenager is expected to plunk down a whopping $1,078 on prom this year, up from $807 last year, according to a new Visa...

World's Most Expensive City Is ... Luanda?

Civil war has led to staggering prices in Angola's capital

(Newser) - If you thought the most expensive city in the world was someplace like London or New York, wait until you get a load of the prices in Luanda, Angola. A house will set you back $10,000 a month, a hotel room $400 a night, and an SUV rental $200...

Social Security Checks Get First Raise Since 2009

 Social Security 
 Checks Get 
 3.6% Bump 
UPDATED

Social Security Checks Get 3.6% Bump

Raise is first since 2009

(Newser) - Social Security recipients will get something in January they used to get every year: a raise. The 3.6% boost, which is tied to the government's official inflation measure released today, will be the program's first cost-of-living adjustment since 2009. That's because inflation has been so low...

Tokyo Branded World's Most Expensive City

Tumbling rouble knocks Moscow off top spot in expat rankings

(Newser) - Tokyo and Osaka bumped Moscow into third place in Mercer's annual ranking of the costliest cities for expats, the Times of London reports. Geneva and Hong Kong rounded out the top five. Currency fluctuations pushed many European cities down in the influential rankings,which compare the cost of living in...

From Food to Health Care, the Poor Pay More

The economics of poverty mean the poorest pay higher prices for everyday essentials

(Newser) - The economics of poverty are complicated, the Washington Post reports, but it boils down to this: “The poorer you are, the more things cost.” The poor spend more in time, money, hassle, and exhaustion than do the middle class or wealthy on everything from a loaf of bread...

Federal Judges Lose Pay Raise Battle, Again

Financial crisis kills hike, leaves bench feeling shortchanged

(Newser) - Federal judges went without a cost-of-living pay increase yet again in 2008, the LA Times reports. A quirk in federal law prevents judges from getting the automatic raises other federal employees get, and the financial crisis derailed a bill that would have upped their pay by 28%. John Roberts is...

College May Be Out of Reach for Most US Kids

Middle-class families loans grow to cover rising tuition costs

(Newser) - Rising tuition costs are putting college out of reach for most Americans, a new report shows. Since 1982, college costs have gone up 439%, but median family income only 147%. That has forced the middle class to increasingly fund higher education through loans. For lower-income families—for whom public universities...

Mo$cow: World's Priciest City
Mo$cow: World's Priciest City

Mo$cow: World's Priciest City

London second, Seoul third in worldwide survey

(Newser) - Moscow is the world's most expensive city for expats, according to an annual human resource study. A cup of Muscovite coffee can run more than $6, and lodging in the Russian capital can send foreign workers from rubles to rags. London placed in the survey, which compared costs of living...

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