Choosing Your City

Choosing where to live is one of the highest-stakes decisions you’ll make. It affects your finances, career, relationships, health, and daily happiness. AI can process hundreds of data points to help you make this decision with clarity instead of anxiety.

Your City Comparison

Help me compare cities for relocation:

My situation:
- Current city: [city, state]
- Current salary: $[amount] ([remote/on-site/hybrid])
- Household: [single / couple / family with kids ages...]
- Must-haves: [list non-negotiables]
- Nice-to-haves: [list preferences]
- Deal-breakers: [list what you won't accept]

Cities I'm considering: [list 2-4 cities]

Compare each city across:
1. Cost of living (housing, groceries, transport, utilities, taxes)
2. Salary equivalent (what my income is worth in each city)
3. Job market for my field: [field]
4. Safety (violent crime, property crime rates)
5. Climate and weather patterns
6. Healthcare access and quality
7. Schools (if applicable)
8. Transit and walkability scores
9. Social/cultural scene
10. Future outlook (is the city growing or declining?)

Show me a side-by-side comparison table and a weighted
recommendation based on my must-haves.

Cost-of-Living Deep Dive

Calculate my monthly budget in [new city] vs. [current city]:

My current monthly expenses:
- Rent: $[amount] for [bedrooms]
- Groceries: $[amount]
- Transportation: $[amount]
- Utilities: $[amount]
- Insurance (health, car, renters): $[amount]
- Other: $[amount]

Show me what each category would cost in [new city] and calculate
the net monthly difference. Also show the salary I'd need to
maintain my current lifestyle.

✅ Quick Check: You found a city with great cost of living but it ranks poorly for “things to do.” How important is this? (Answer: More important than you think. Research shows that people who move solely for financial reasons often experience “relocation regret” within 6-12 months if the lifestyle doesn’t fit. A city with affordable rent but nothing to do leads to boredom, isolation, and spending money on travel to escape. AI can help you find cities that balance cost of living WITH lifestyle — they exist.)

The Decision Matrix

Build a weighted decision matrix for my city comparison:

My criteria and how important each is to me (1-10):
- Cost of living: [weight]
- Job market / career growth: [weight]
- Safety: [weight]
- Climate: [weight]
- Social scene / things to do: [weight]
- Proximity to family/friends: [weight]
- Schools (if applicable): [weight]
- Healthcare quality: [weight]
- Transit / walkability: [weight]
- [add your own criteria]: [weight]

Cities to compare: [list]

Score each city on each criterion, multiply by weight, and show me:
1. The ranked results
2. Which criteria are driving the outcome
3. How the results change if I shift my weights
4. Any "deal-breaker" flags (cities that score below 3 on any must-have)

✅ Quick Check: You’re torn between two cities that score almost identically on your matrix. How do you break the tie? (Answer: Visit both if possible — even a 2-day trip reveals what data can’t: the “feel” of a city. Walk the neighborhoods, eat at local restaurants, take public transit, and notice how people interact. If visiting isn’t possible, join local subreddits and Facebook groups to get the resident perspective. AI can help you plan an efficient city visit that covers the most ground in limited time.)

Key Takeaways

• Cost-of-living differences between cities can make the same salary feel 50-90% higher or lower — always calculate salary equivalent before deciding
• “No income tax” states often compensate with higher property or sales taxes — compare total tax burden, not just income tax
• A weighted decision matrix prevents deciding based on a single factor (cost) while ignoring others that matter to your daily happiness
• Visit your top choices if possible — data tells you the facts; visiting tells you the feel
• AI can run unlimited comparison scenarios in seconds, adjusting weights and factors to show how different priorities change the outcome

Up Next

In the next lesson, you’ll use AI to find housing in your target city — neighborhood analysis, remote apartment hunting, lease review, and strategies for securing a place before you arrive.