@Haliffa-It would be so nice to get together in person and commune with my fellow traders.
I have to say that NY is one of the most expensive states to live in and then if your actually in New York City, it is really expensive. It’s because it is a huge city and there is not a lot of space to live which makes the properties expensive. Demand high, supply low equals expensive living.
Honestly, it is always more expensive in the big cities no matter where you go in the states. However, cost of living plays a big part in deference to your salary. For example, I used to live in California for over 12 years. I work from home as a QA Tester and Help Desk Support. My salary in California allowed me to live in a middle-income neighborhood (more on the low end of middle income). Now, I live in Delaware. I kept my same salary, but the cost of living in Delaware is way lower than California. So my California income, goes a long way in Delaware in where I want to live as I could probably afford to live in an even nicer area. Now..here’s another example..I live in Delaware for over 12 years and make Delaware income. I decide to move to California. Since California has a higher cost of living compared to Delaware, my Delaware income is not going to afford me much when I move to California. So instead of a house, I may be downgrading to an apartment, etc. This happens all the time like moving from Miami, FL to Raleigh, NC or San Francisco, CA to Cheyenne, WY and vice-versa. I would highly suggest doing some research on cost of housing comparable to the job just to see how far your money can take you. After that, everything else falls in line.
I will also say to watch out for the different weather systems depending on where you live. The East Coast is notorious for major snowstorms, blizzards, thunderstorms, and hurricanes. NY gets hit the most when it comes to snow because of how far north it is. FL doesn’t get mush snow, but that’s where most of the hurricanes hit. The South and MidWest are big areas for hurricanes, tornados, heat waves, and thunderstorms. The West Coast has to deal with earthquakes because of the fault lines, heat waves, and potential volcano eruptions (there is one in Washington state and there is one in C-Mt. St. Helens, and one in Calfornia Mt. Shasta). The North mostly has to deal with tornados and major snowstorms/blizzards. I guess pick what you can deal with and then go from there. :) Hope this helps.