<p>Alamemom,</p>
<p>First off you are making a lot of assumptions. A cost of living calculator compares equivalent salaries across many different areas of the nation. The point I am making is the amount of money you make can be very deceiving and the standard of living gives a more accurate comparison of a family’s financial situation. How much is left after necessities are paid is an important number. Do not make the assumption that I live in a big house, drive fancy cars, eat out, etc… Our cars are over 10 years old (purchased used). Our school district is not rated and our budget failed a few years ago. </p>
<p>You assume living in a high COLA always affords one with better schools and a higher standard of living which is not true. There are lower COLA areas with far better school districts than mine. You are trying to make sweeping generalizations.</p>
<p>I am not jealous. Again another assumption. You are interested in making this a personal argument. I am not.</p>
<p>I was not comparing 53k to 90k. </p>
<p><a href=“http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/[/url]”>http://money.cnn.com/calculator/pf/cost-of-living/</a></p>
<p>Baltimore, MD salary of 80k is equivalent to Austin, TX of 65k for equivalent standard of living.</p>