COMPARISON OF CITIES-COST OF LIVING (COLA)

Relocating for education, a job, or for other reasons involves more than
cramming your clothes in a suitcase and throwing your goldfish in the
backseat of the car. Research enables you to familiarize yourself with
prospective cities and geographical regions to analyze and compare cost of
living, jobs prospects, climate, entertainment and social life, rental rates,
home prices, education, crime, shopping, public transit, and more. These
sites offer you a chance to look at different cities as you explore the prospect
of relocating. Although I have several sites listed, use the first site for this
comparison.
http://www.bestplaces.net/
http://www.city-data.com/
http://www.moving.com/real-estate/compare-cities/index.asp
http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/savings/moving-cost-of-livingcalculator.aspx
http://www.areaconnect.com/crime/compare.htm
http://www.townhunter.com/TownHunter/home.aspx
Some of the information may not be exactly the same on the various sites.
You may have to evaluate the findings differently. For instance, instead of an
actual number, you may instead get a percentage higher or lower. Keep in
mind the goal of this activity. To find out what to expect if you were moving
to a new location. Choose cities in four major geographical areas of the
country.

CITY COMPARISON TABLE

FOCUS

CITY 1
Los
Angeles, CA

CITY 2
Duluth, GA

Population

3,804,503

People

Male 49.6%
Female
50.4%
110.9 Health
cost
8.5%
unemployme
nt
9% sale
taxes
$421,700
63.5% higher
Best city
for sleep
Most &
least risky
places for
identity
theft
Most
competitiv
e public
college
The most
single city
Best
baseball
city
Comfort
index 60
148 Crime

Health
Economy

Housing
Rankings
(list your fav 5)

Climate
Crime

41,256

CITY 3
San
Francisco,
CA
807,755

401,927

50%
50%

50.7%
49.27%

49.5%
50.5%

102.6

114

110.9

5.3%
8%

4.4%
9%

7.8%
7%

$316,100

$875,100

$245,200

Most
irritation
prone
cities
Most
energetic
city
High gas
prices
Sleepless
city
Best
place to
live

Healthiest
city
Most
playful
city
Best
rested city
Best city
for seniors
Best
airport
connectio
n

CITY 4
Miami, FL

Hurricane
city
Most
stressful
city
Most
popular
city for
vacation
Most
energetic
city
Most
difficult
city

37

75

30

138

66.7 violent

83.9

Education
Transportation
Cost of Living
Religion
Voting

rate
$12,346 per
student
62% car

$13,443

55.7 property 61.6

$15,796
$10,414

92% car

37.3% car

69.10%

180; 63.5%
higher than
average
53.10%

131
65.8%

243; 142.6%
higher than
average
35.31%

119; 18.7%
higher than
average
39.76%

69.91%
Democrats
27.8%
Republics

64.2%
34.50%

85.3%
13.0%

61.45%
37.91%

Crime

Write your findings here for the cities you compare. Conduct your research
on four different cities.

NEWSPAPERS NATIONALLY (Some international as well)

http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/