My life is more expensive than your life

A brief dispatch from my visit to California.

Have you noticed that people can become almost competetive about how their region stacks up when it comes to prices? I went into a Safeway the other day here in California and was shocked at how much more expensive many things, especially dairy products, were than my own local Acme in the Northeast. My father and I started speculating about why that was. "Real estate," he said. "Rents are higher, so prices have to be higher."

Okay, I'll give him that. I'm sure his neighborhood Safeway pays a lot more per square foot than my neighborhood Acme.

But then he said, "And fuel. Gas costs more here, so transportation costs more, so prices have to be higher."

Hold the phone! There's always this assumption that gas costs a ton in California. But the prices at my dad's favorite 76 station are almost exactly the same as the Sunoco near my office where I buy most of my gas.

Californians also love to talk about how high car insurance prices are, how hard it is to get a car past inspection here, and how high licensing fees are. Well, I've met more than one New Jerseyite who believes THEIR state has the worst auto fees and most rigorous inspection.

What's my point of pride? Childcare! I'm sure San Francisco and New York have more expensive childcare than my city, but whenever I read an article that talks about the cost of childcare, they always say things like "in metropolitan areas, some parents pay as much as $6000 per year for childcare." Ha! I pay more than that for only two days a week of childcare.

What about you? Do you believe your state or region has the others beat in terms of cost of living?