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St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner, and you know what that means: Irish pubs, corned beef and cabbage, and wearing just about everything green.
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It may come as a surprise to some of you that, around the turn of the 20th century, the Irish (along with other immigrant groups) faced discrimination in many corners of American society. Fast forward just a few generations and, thankfully, Irish people no longer face such discrimination.
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In honor of this progress, and of course St. Patty’s Day, let’s do a cost of living comparison between three US cities with heavy Irish presence: Boston, MA, South Bend, IN, and Savannah, GA.
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It might not surprise anyone to learn that Boston is by far the most expensive region of the three. According to the cost of living calculator tool, Boston has a cost of living score of 147.1, whereas South Bend is 88.8, and Savannah is 92.0. So, Boston is 47.1% more expensive than the national average, whereas the other two areas are 12% and 8% less expensive, respectively. That means if you are earning $100,000 in the home of Notre Dame, you’ll have to earn more than $165,000 per year just to keep the same standard of living in Boston!
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Now let’s break down the cost of living differences in each region:
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Unsurprisingly, housing is FAR more expensive in Boston compared to Savannah and South Bend. A little surprising is that there isn’t a huge difference in food costs between the three regions.
So, if you want to celebrate in an American city with deep ties to Ireland, you have a few choices, depending on your budget. Each city has its own unique charms, benefits, and drawbacks. No matter where you stay, we at COLI say, Slainté!
To learn more about other products or how your organization can become a data collection participant for the Cost of Living Index visit www.coli.org.
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