We ditched the priciest US city to buy a home in small beach town – we only save $45 a month and regret our decision

AFTER spending a decade building their life in the Big Apple, a young couple has packed their bags and moved to a quiet beach town in Maryland – but the change to both their lifestyle and spending habits came as a surprise.

Less than one year later, they missed city life and regretted purchasing their home, finding that Maryland lacked both excitement and affordability compared to NYC.

Business Insider/Haley Paskalides

Haley Paskalides and her husband decided to pack up their life in New York City and move to a small beach town in Maryland[/caption]

Business Insider/Haley Paskalides

The New Yorkers quickly came to regret their decision to buy a home away from city life[/caption]

Business Insider/Haley Paskalides

The Paskalides were disappointed by both the stillness of their new life as well as their lack of savings[/caption]

Haley Paskalides and her husband had built a picture-perfect life together in New York City, but in their mid-30s, city life began to feel more draining, the full-time podcast producer and writer detailed in a recent Business Insider article.

The final straw that pushed the couple’s move from Brooklyn to a quiet Maryland beach town was when their landlord raised their rent yet again from $2,950 per month to $3,100 in April 2024, Paskalides told The U.S. Sun.

“We decided we’d had enough,” Paskalides said in the article, sharing that she and her husband temporarily moved in with her mom after their lease ended, shortly after purchasing a newly built house nearby valued at $490,000.

The writer explained that the couple was under the impression that they were making a “smart, mature” decision, but just a few months later, they began to rethink their investment and question if buying a home in the small beach town was a big mistake.

Not only did they “miss nearly everything about city life,” with the stillness of the offseason much more lonely than the couple had expected, but also they didn’t rack up as many savings as one would expect by moving out of New York City – the most expensive city in the country.

EQUAL EXPENSES

The couple, with a combined income of roughly $180,000, found that they were shelling out a “surprisingly similar” amount each month on their top expenses, including housing and groceries, in Maryland.

Their rent in the Big Apple would have climbed to $3,100 had they renewed, while their current mortgage stands at $3,333, or around $3,500 with gas, electric, and water.

Paskalides shared that groceries also cost roughly the same overall, at around $400 per month in NYC versus $300 a month in Maryland.

Moving out of their tiny 1.5-bedroom apartment in the bustling city, the writer was left with more time and space to cook, resulting in her making more elaborate meals at home, she said.

As a result, the couple eats out less often, dropping their average monthly spending on dining from $600 to $200.

BUDGET BALANCE

Aside from their spending on housing and food, Paskalides said the couple has seen spikes in expense categories such as fitness and transportation and savings in others, such as entertainment and shopping, leading to a relatively similar overall budget.

“Honestly, I don’t feel like I’m saving more since moving. We just spend differently,” she said.

For example, the writer has always wanted to join a boutique fitness studio in NYC but could not justify the expense, ultimately deciding to join one in Maryland that has doubled as a social hub and helped her build a sense of community.

As a result, her monthly fitness expense increased fourfold to $200, with the cost of transportation also doubling from $50 for the subway and train in the city to $100 per month for gas in Maryland.

Honestly, I don’t feel like I’m saving more since moving. We just spend differently.”

Haley PaskalidesPodcast Producer & Writer

Paskalides’ monthly expenses for entertainment, on the other hand, have dropped by around 50%, and her monthly shopping costs have similarly lowered from roughly $650 in NYC to $550 in Maryland.

While her spending in the city was mostly on new clothes and shoes, she finds the majority of her shopping budget in Maryland going towards purchases for their large home, including extra towels, sheets, and furnishings.

With all of their expenses accounted for, the couple only spends around $45 less each month in Maryland than they did back in NYC.

TURNED TABLES

While life in the small Maryland beach town was idyllic when they closed on their new home in August 2024, Paskalides said, the couple was soon disappointed to find out just how slow life away from the city was come the winter months.

When October rolled around, the crowds on the boardwalk started to slow, and by November, the Paskalides felt as if they were the only ones left in their neighborhood, she wrote in the Business Insider story.

“We learned how isolating rural life can feel compared to a city where something is always happening,” she said.

What the couple had originally viewed as a smart investment quickly turned into a learning lesson, with the Paskalides realizing that community ties and activities were key for them.

“I don’t think you can put a dollar amount on the value of living somewhere that offers free events, walkability, and a community of like-minded people,” she said of New York City.

“We thought we wanted a big house, but now we realize we’d be just as happy in a one- or two-bedroom if it meant feeling connected and surrounded by things to do.”

When it comes time to pack their bags and move again, the Paskalides are considering heading to Philadelphia, which feels more financially attainable to them than NYC.

Not only is buying a home there realistic for the couple, but also the city offers much of what they loved about the Big Apple – just on a smaller scale.

With the cost-of-living in the US on the rise, more and more Americans are booking international flights and moving abroad.

One woman quit her job and did a complete 180 moving to Spain – beer is just $3 a pint and her life is so much better.

Another couple built a Sprinter van for $78,000 and travel the world – the savings are real but they’re forced to sleep at Walmart.