LIFE IN LOS ANGELES: WHAT A BARGAIN; BASICS COST LESS LOCALLY, GROUP SAYS.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Daily News Staff Writer Ever wonder why so many people in L.A. look so darn good and seem so laid-back? Blame it on economics: L.A. is simply an affordable place to become one of the Beautiful Ones. Fact is, getting a new 'do in a beauty shop, slipping into a pair of jeans and tossing a little wine-and-cheese party here is less hazardous to your economic health than in other major U.S. cities. This upbeat financial report for Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. comes courtesy of some deep economic thinkers - the National Association of Community and Economic Development Research Professionals. The group's quarterly cost-of-living index cost-of-living index n. See consumer price index. Noun 1. cost-of-living index - an index of the cost of all goods and services to a typical consumer consumer price index, CPI , released Thursday, concludes that life in Los Angeles is a bargain. The group priced 59 items in 359 cities around the country. Its shopping list also included serious stuff like housing, health care, utilities and transportation. New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of topped the list as the most expensive place to live: Its cost of living was more than twice the national average. In San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , the cost of living was just 20 percent higher. San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden ? Nearly 60 percent higher. By way of comparison, Los Angeles had a cost of living only 15 percent above the national average. Overall, the L.A. metropolitan area's cost of living ranked eighth among the nation's 25 largest areas during the year's second quarter. Cause for some local boosterism boost·er·ism n. The highly supportive attitudes and activities of boosters: "the civic pride and heady boosterism that often accompany rising property values" New York. ? You bet. ``In a land where image matters, we have created an extremely friendly business climate that allows creativity to flourish,'' said Regina Birdsell, executive director of the New Los Angeles Marketing Partnership. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , we know how to find deals and look good doing it. For example, some beauty salons here charge up to $250 for a cut, but the retail landscape is littered with shops that charge $10 a head, so the average cost is $23.90. In New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , it's $41.40. A jug of wine here is $4.71, and Parmesan cheese a kind of cheese of a rich flavor, though from skimmed milk, made in Parma, Italy. See also: Parmesan is $3.36. OK, they're talking Gallo chablis, not Opus One Opus One may refer to:
``The thing I like about this survey is it's the kinds of goods and services In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility (unless the "good" is a "bad"). It is often used when referring to a Goods and Services Tax. that we all use,'' Birdsell said. ``This is not some strange comparison of martinis to martinis. This is about jeans, hamburgers and haircuts, the things we all use. And when L.A. comes out strong, it's good news for this market.'' But seriously, Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County, notes there are some powerful demographics at work that bring down the area's cost of living. ``In many cases people don't recognize how competitive the market is,'' Kyser said. ``There are a lot of people out there battling for market share.'' Los Angeles Coca-Cola 95 cents Gound Beef $1.37 Parmesan Cheese $3.36 Wine $4.71 Beauty Salon Visit $23.90 Jeans $34.19 Washington D.C. Coca-Cola $1.35 Gound Beef $1.65 Parmensan Cheese $3.78 Wine $6.61 Beauty Salon Visit $29.85 Jeans $36.59 Seattle Coca-Cola 99 cents Gound Beef $1.44 Parmensan Cheese $3.93 Wine $6.04 Beauty Salon $26.42 Jeans $38.32 San Francisco Coca-Cola $1.38 Gound Beef $1.86 Parmensan Cheese $3.84 Wine $4.79 Beauty Salon $27.22 Jeans $41.20 New York City Coca-Cola $1.57 Gound Beef $2.27 Parmensan Cheese $4.41 Wine $6.99 Beauty Salon $41.40 Jeans $38.99 CAPTION(S): 5 Photos, 5 Charts Photo: (1--Color) No caption (2-liter bottle of Coca-Cola) (2--Color) No caption (Levis 505 jeans) (3--Color) No caption (1.5 liter bottle Livingston Cellars) (4--Color) No caption (8 oz. Kraft Parmesan Cheese) (5--Color) Randi Lewis watches as she gets her tresses trimmed at Tortolani Hair Design in Woodland Hills. David R. Crane/Daily News Chart: (1) Los angeles (See text) (2) New York City (See text) (3) Seattle (See text) (4) San Francisco (See text) (5) Washington D.C. (See text) |
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