When household size, income, and major cost-of-living components change, spending patterns arise that greatly affect our lives. Most people understand that the cost of living varies from location to location. Yet, many households move to places where everyday living costs are very different from their present location, without understanding the true impact of a new cost of living on their standard of living. Knowing how much more or less money you will need to maintain the lifestyle of your choice in a new location, will dramatically increase your chance of a successful re-location. Indeed, knowing this before you decide to move may greatly affect your decision.

The four major cost-of-living components are:

Each component can be broken down for detailed analysis. Current, accurate information is critical to this. We recommend my link to Runzheimer International for their personal two location comparison report "PTLC" and "Everyday Expenses." That will give you a good comparison from your location to another without the pressure from other businesses.

Visit my "Community", "Arts, Entertainment & Recreation", and "Schools" pages for more information on our quality of life. Also visit our link to http://www.state.sd.us for more information on South Dakota’s economic outlook, per capita income, etc.