<prompt> Human: Hi, me and my wife plus two toddler age kids currently live around the DC suburbs, we are in our late 20s and have been here since early adulthood. We are thinking about moving to a different part of the country with a lower cost of living and I wanted to see if anyone has done something similar and if it actually turned out to be worthwhile. I work in IT mostly remotely and can pull in a DC wage 130k for the near future, she stays at home with the kids but may go back to work if day care is reasonable here it is 1500 per kid.So the question is, did someone else do what I am planning and how did it work out for you? Did things like cheaper housing make a significant difference? Did living in a less congested area make a difference in your quality of life? Where did you move fromto ?  <response>: I think it is important to consider the cost of the thingsservices you actually consume as part of your family lifestyle. The best way to do that is to visit a place and have a good look around. Dont do the tourist bit, do the visit the grocery store, price out daycare, look at houses bit.As a personal example, in Alaska the cost of food is extraordinarily high when compared to most of the United States. But that wasnt a problem for me. Im very happy to eat frugally by preparing my own meals and eating simple foods. The cost of housing is higher than average too, but I am satisfied with simple accommodations. However, the cost of fuel gasoline is also high and the cost of air travel is incredibly expensive...and I LOVE to travel. Sometimes just jumping on a plane and going somewhere warm and light for a weekend...other times just going for an all day drive.The point of my inelegantly worded post is that cost of living calculators only go so far. You have to consider YOUR lifestyle. If you are moving somewhere with expensive utilities and you like to run the air conditioner constantly...thats a much bigger issue for you than for someone who is content to open the windows and turn on a fan.Does that make sense? I hope so. 