38k in stratford CT?????? Ur crazy... you couldn't live on 38k living in stratford. Where are you getting these bogus figures from? Now compare Westport, CT to Santa Cruz.. or Cos Cob, CT... or Greenwich, CT... Trumbull, CT... Fairfield, CT...

 

here is a comparison. I will try some of those cities you talked about matt so we have a fair comparison

Stratford, Ct 38,000
Bedford, NY 72,322

 

i'm using 38K as an example. which was the figure that was being thrown around.

and for the record you couldn't live in CA for $38K either.

38K in westport ct = $47.5K in Santa Cruz CA

same for greenwich


but santa cruz isn't a rich city. I'd say Danville/Blackhawk has much more money.

So a better comparison to stratford would be something like blackhawk or los gatos/altos.

but keep in mind most cops can't afford to live in the city they work for either.

 

ok, even if we compared Greenwich to Bedford it still shows parts of NY are much more expensive to live in than Ct

Greenwich, Ct 38,000
Bedford, NY 50,210

 

here is the thing.

it's not more expensive. that's not what the calculator is telling you.

it's just saying what the equivalent salary would be at the second city.


so now if we reverse the cities then 38K in Santa Cruz CA = $21K Stratford CT.

 

New Canaan, CT is comparable to Santa Cruz, CA. 1000 difference....

 

Cost of living is not the sole indicator of how rich a city, town, county or state is. In California and NY you are taxed heavily...moreso than in NY. The taxes my wife pays to the city, county and state because she only works in NY is absolutely crazy...God forbid we actually lived there.

Take a state like NH for example...they only tax your property and prepared food. So your house, car, and the meal you ate at the Outback was taxed...but not your salary that was used to pay for those things. Cost of living there is lower because of this...however many of the costs are the same. My parents house for example is only slightly lower in value in NH than it would be in Fairfield, CT.

The wealth that is in Fairfield county is astronomical but the cost of living is not as high as other areas such as California or Westchester.

 

Blah...I'd rather live in CA

Anyway, I didn't realize my thread turned into a cost of living thread :fawk:

Yeap....though I don't know how intimidating I am going to be as a COP....LOL...those who met me knows what I am talking about.

 

The cost of living calculators are an indicator of what you would need to make in another town to keep your same standard of living. It does not mean one town is richer than another, it just means that a bottle of Panteen costs more in another town.

 

I am sorry