You've probably heard someone use the term 'cost of living' or even used the term at some point in a conversation with someone in your Bend or Edmonton houses. A lot of the times it's used when talking about the cost of living increasing. What exactly does cost of living mean and does it have any effect on you if you decide to move?

Let's answer the first question. What is cost of living? Cost of living can be defined, according to Wikipedia, as, "the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living." Basically, what that means is how much it costs for you to live in the city where you live. You don't live in your Bend or Toronto lofts for free. You have to spend money on items such as food, rent, clothing, etc., that allows you to survive. The cost of living amount is determined by something called a cost of living index. This cost of living index theoretically measures the cost of living in cities and measures the differences in prices of services and goods.

Bend's current cost of living index is 111. The national cost of living index is 100 and the cost of living index in Oregon is 112. That means Bend's cost of living is 11% higher than the U.S. average and 1% lower than Oregon's cost of living index average. What that means, to sum it up, is that it costs Bend residents 11% more to live in Bend than it would in a city with an average cost of living index.

Some cost of living index averages we have you can compare Bend to:
New York - 177
Duluth - 98
Portland - 114

The cost of living index for each of those cities varies. As you can see it's extremely expensive to live in New York while living in Duluth is relatively affordable. Knowing the cost of living in certain cities is a good thing, especially if you're thinking of moving and are looking online at an available Mississauga home for sale.

The second question we asked earlier was what effect does cost of living have on you if you decide to move? The answer is it all depends on the cost of living index of the city you are moving to. It might not be worth shopping for Newmarket houses for sale if the cost of living is higher there than it is in Bend. When deciding on moving away from Bend you should research your potential new home city's cost of living index while also looking at Ajax MLS listings to help you make your decision easier.