(Source for median rents: 100 most recent craigslist rental listings in each city.)

Similarly, prices exclusive of rent (food, entertainment, etc.) in MajorMetropolitanCity are about 1.5 to two times the prices in MediumSizedCity. MajorMetropolitanCity is about a two hour drive from MediumSizedCity.

I make, after taxes, about 8X dollars per month. I work from home, so I can live in either city. I would like to be making more, but I'm pretty sure I'd need to be living in MajorMetropolitanCity to command a higher rate (say, 10X to 12X) -- and I'd probably not be able to telecommute, which I've come to enjoy. On the other hand, if I should lose my current job, it'll be far harder to find another in my field in MediumSizedCity than in MajorMetropolitanCity.

I previously lived in MajorMetropolitanCity, but I was paying less than X dollars per month rent, so 2X seems pretty high. My friends all live in MajorMetropolitanCity; I don't really know anyone in MediumSizedCity, but I enjoy the way everything seems so inexpensive there. Being temporarily back in MajorMetropolitanCity is giving me serious sticker shock.

There's much more going on, socially and culturally, in MajorMetropolitanCity than in MediumSizedCity, and I'm worried I'll get bored and feel I'm "missing the party" if I live in MediumSizedCity. The sort of women I'm attracted to are more abundant in MajorMetropolitanCity too. On the other hand, I've mostly depleted my savings, and would like the chance to build them up again by getting an inexpensive place in MediumSizedCity. And I'd of course be able to afford a much nicer "crib" in MediumSizedCity, and avoid terrible traffic.

I also need to find a place to rent soon, which rules out extensive shopping for bargains in either city. So where do you think I should be looking to rent?

I ate a bee.

dg ate a bee.

I mean, I'd go with MajorMetropolitanCity. You can find an apartment for below the median. All of the other benefits of MajorMetCity outweigh the lower sticker price of MediumSizedCity.

I always manage to find groovy apartment for X (instead of 2X) dollars per month in Major Metroplitan City.

It's one of my talents! (But if it weren't, it would be necessary for me to grow it.) I bet there are some nice smaller towns that I could stand to live in... but so far I just haven't been to any. For me, it's either the city, or somewhere cool like an island or the top of a mountain; I'm not exaggerating at all when I say the suburbs give me a sense of intense dread. Weird, but just one of my eccentricities.

I've put in the legwork - and worked, worked, worked the network/connection card - and always found something kind of amazing. It's worth it.

Taz, can I hire your talent-services? I have a painful rent here, and just spotted that I could be renting THIS instead, and would actually save money every month as it's 3.5k cheaper than where I am now. :(
gård, kolmården
The commute would be a pain though.

Heh... It's a villa, dabitch. You'd have to start wearing jodhpurs and riding boots with estate pearls... and your hair in French twist! Nah, it just ain't gonna work with my dabitch mindimage. Sorry.

Hahahaa! Fair enough, lets find something more urban chic!

I also vote for MajorMetropolitanCity. The only advantage of MediumSizedCity is price, and you won't be happy there. Like taz, I have always been able to find a deal if I look hard enough (note that this can take months). And seriously? I've always lived in very expensive places and I usually pay about a third of my income in rent and still live quite happily.

What cali and taz said. I actually find it much easier to live on the cheap in a more expensive MMC than a less expensive MSC. For me, part of that is greater exposure to wider variety and opportunities. A year ago last April, I moved from Portland, OR to SF. I actually pay less in rent and utilities and food here than I did there. The only increase I've experienced has been in transportation and entertainment and both of those have been minimal at best, especially with a monthly MUNI/BART pass.

The compromise is that I had a beautiful one bedroom apartment in PDX and lived alone. Now I live an even more stunning abode but I have roommates for the first time in 15 years. For some, the quality of living shift would be huge in that sense, but I didn't move to SF to have a showcase home and as long as I have the inner sanctity of my bedroom for retreat, I'm a happy gal.

The upside is that there's alway something going on and I've got loads of friends and aquaintances who are immediately accessible, so my social life, if anything, has needed to be trimmed for the first time since I left the last MMC that I lived in.

Also, while entertainment can be much more expensive, there are often ways to get the priciness into a reasonable range if you're willing to be flexible and/or invest a little time and social elbow grease. MMC's tend to have cheap seat nights or two for one nights for plays, etc. than MSC's in my experience. And if you like to go out and drink/play pool, etc., finding a few places to become a regular and friendly face at will likely reap you benefits rather quickly.

And to answer your last question, both places I've lived down here have run around $650 - rent & utilities. Both are rent controlled and I found the first place through Tribe.net and the second through craigslist.org.

Ah, ok, I should add that bad experiences with roommates (including one who literally belived he was the Prince of Mexico) and a desire not to impose my sometimes odd hours on others rules out roommates/housemates.

And I'll emphasize that I haven't the time to look around; I need to move fast.

Finally, I'm rather risk-adverse, generally, and so am leaning towardm MediumSizedCity.

Do you drive? That's a huge consideration when deciding to live MajorMet. I have friends who found that bargain apt. in the Major, but ended up paying an enormous amount of money to "house" their car.

When I last lived in MajorMetropolitanCity, I didn't keep a car, instead relying om MMC's relatively cheap taxi cabs.

I now have a car, and have grown rather fond of having one.

Despite some sacrifies you may have to make, and it sounds like you are still in the position to be able to make them, move to MajorMetropolitanCity now. MediumSizedCity will still be there when you need it.

I'm pretty risk averse as well, and I live in MSC (kind of) rather than MMC because of it. I work at loving MSC (Baltimore), even though I love DC (MMC) more.

Here's my logic: MMC will be there when you need it. Move now to MSC, save, spend the time to look for both the place you want and the job you want in MMC.

Also, the lower cost of living sounds thin as a reason to live in MSC until you really start to think about what that means. A nicer place to live, nicer food to eat, a nicer part of town, etc etc. In my case, I can afford to buy a house in Baltimore (note to self: get right on that) which is something that I would like to do, but I can barely afford to rent a decent place in DC.

Good luck.

Private to omiewise: Baltimore's a very civilized town. I once lived in Homewood right acrosss from The Beach, and found it pretty convivial.