A couple moved from California to the Nashville area in Tennessee to save money and slow down. It hasn't worked out as expected.

In our experience, the housing market in the greater Nashville area didn't feel much different from our previous area in California. Generally, the house prices were about the same in the most desirable areas with the standard conveniences.
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we sat in a one-hour commute of gridlock traffic just to drop my son off at his school. For us, this was another reality check.
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Sure, gas is cheaper — close to $3 a gallon instead of over $4 — but when we're driving more and sitting in traffic, we're filling up the tank more often. All in all, we spend about the same amount on gas as we did in California.
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one of the most unexpected day-to-day costs we've encountered since the move is the grocery tax... we pay a 6% total added tax on our groceries...
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the experience taught us that financial peace isn't just about numbers — it's about fit. In the long term, it's important to consider quality of life over just dollars.

And, the pay differential is large. Then there is the culture shock.

If this keeps up we're all going to be in big trouble.
Does it help that industry is spending so much money on AI and cloud data?

In just the past 4-5 years (2020/2021 to 2024/2025) our,

Household Expenses

Groceries