Living in the Suburbs or Country Is Cheaper Than the City, Right? Here’s a Shocking Reality Check

When Joe Karasin and his wife moved from Chicago to the tiny town of Bolivia, NC, to be closer to family, he thought he could count on one thing: that it would be cheaper than living in a big city.

Karasin—who runs a marketing firm and works remotely—wasn’t keen to leave the Windy City’s conveniences and culture behind. But he was looking forward to having more space and saving on living expenses in Bolivia.

“My family members seemed happy there,” he said.

They moved out of their 1,300-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment overlooking Lake Michigan into a 2,000-square-foot, four-bedroom house with a yard. That’s when they got their first inkling that this move might not save as much money as they’d hoped: Their new rent was $2,950 a month—which was $250 more than what they paid in Chicago.

The couple also had to reclaim the car they had loaned to a family member. The Grand Cherokee’s lease payment was $400 a month, and the insurance ran to $120.

Based on housing and travel alone, Karasin and his wife were already paying $770 more per month to live in a small Southern town than in the country’s third-largest city.

“We thought about it and were like, ‘We’re not even saving money,'” he says. “Why are we here?”

Why moving out of the city isn’t always more affordable

While urban dwellers often assume that moving to the suburbs or country will offer more space, more greenery, and more affordability, those who make the leap are often surprised to find that this conventional wisdom doesn’t always hold water.

“Though buying in the suburbs may translate to savings on housing, it is important to consider the whole picture if you are hoping to make a money-saving move,” says Hannah Jones, economic analyst with Realtor.com®. “Depending on where you live, moving to the suburbs may or may not be the more affordable choice.”

Generally, the biggest metros are pricier than their surrounding suburbs.

“In the 10 largest metro areas, suburban homes are an average 24.2% less expensive than homes in the urban core,” says Jones. “On a price-per-square-foot basis, suburban homes are an average 23.2% less expensive in these large metro areas. For example, in New York City, suburban homes were 49.5% less expensive overall, and 43.3% less expensive per square foot than homes in the metro’s urban core.”

Yet for smaller metro areas, the suburbs—and sometimes even the surrounding countryside—tend to be more expensive than the city.

Realtor.com listing data shows that in 65 of the 100 largest metros, suburban homes were more expensive than urban homes. Yet some of this difference is due to larger homes in suburbs. On a price-per-square foot basis, suburban homes are more expensive in just over half (53) of the 100 largest metros.

In particular, smaller metros in the Midwest tend to see much higher-priced homes in the suburbs than in the city. For example, in Toledo, OH, homes in the urban core cost $114,144, while homes in the suburbs go for more than double that, at $299,569. Even homes in rural areas around Toledo cost more than those in the city, at $200,052.

The hidden costs of suburban and rural living

Another sizable cost of living in the suburbs and more bucolic rural settings is the work commute—which may very well involve owning a car, an expense often not needed in a city.

“Many large cities offer efficient public transportation,” Jones points out. “The cost of commuting, whether via public transit or car, can be quite pricey and should be considered when evaluating a move to the suburbs.”

While Karasin had expected his car would be an extra expense outside the city, he points out, “The car wasn’t the ‘aha!’ moment. The utility bills were.”

Karasin was bewildered when the couple were told they would need to cough up a $450 deposit to get their electricity turned on. They’d rented their house after seeing it online and hadn’t asked too many questions, and therefore didn’t realize that the home was part of an “electricity co-op.”

Karasin says to this day he isn’t quite sure what that meant. He just knew that his electricity bills were significantly higher in Bolivia than they ever were in Chicago.

“I went from paying around $50 a month in Chicago to anywhere from $140 to $210, even in months where we didn’t run the AC,” he says. “The co-op would also constantly send emails like, ‘It’s peak usage, so try not to use so much electricity,’ even though it’s 97 degrees out and 110 degrees inside the house.”

When he managed to reach someone at the co-op to question his high bills, he was simply told that the co-op would “save money in the long run.”

“Save money for who?” he asks. “Who is saving money? Not me.”

What’s missing from rural and suburban areas

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans moved farther out from urban centers, adding upward pressure on home prices. It has also strained these sleepy towns’ infrastructures.

“They still have only two-lane highways,” Kararsin says of Bolivia. “Yet people are moving there en masse.”

Patti Natiss, director of strategy and emerging markets for Suburban Jungle, which helps city dwellers pick farther-flung communities to move to, warns that there might be curveball costs that an urbanite hasn’t considered. This may include an annual fee to park at the commuter train station, or having to support not just one car, but two.

There is also the question of convenience. After all, time is money.

“Too often people look at train schedules and say, ‘Great, 40 minutes on the train.’ But there’s so much more to it,” notes Natiss. “If you can’t get a seat on the train or a spot in the parking lot, that 40-minute train ride might not [be so great].”

New arrivals might also not factor in the expense of driving farther to grocery stores or even a decent restaurant.

“It was 20 minutes to the grocery store, 30 minutes to get to a vet, 45 minutes for any kind of entertainment,” Karasin says.

He estimates he’s paid “thousands” of dollars in gas for the 10 months they lived in Bolivia.

“We got so spoiled in Chicago,” he says. “To be able to go to Wrigley Field for a ballgame, or to the aquarium or a museum. There is every kind of restaurant you want within walking distance. But in Bolivia, if you wanted a steak, it was 45 minutes for an average one. All the restaurants were just kind of OK. It was hard to justify the expense of driving to any of them.”

To add insult to injury, Karasin says the meals weren’t any cheaper than the delicious ones they got in Chicago.

Their yearlong lease couldn’t end fast enough for this couple. They left town two months early, moving back North, to Michigan near Flint. But their goal is to return to Chicago.

Until then, Karasin warns people thinking of making a similar leap from city to country to explore their options carefully.

Their move to Bolivia was a “mistake,” he says. “It’s one I won’t make again.”