NYC tops U.S. list of most expensive cities

by Tom Johansmeyer on

It’s not exactly shocking to see that New York City is the most expensive city in the United States. Groceries, gasoline and other items tend to run a tad more than twice the national average. Whether you rent or buy, you’ll spend a fortune in this city, where the average price for a home is $1.1 million and an apartment, on average, will cost $3,400 a month.

So, how can so many bloggers live here? Remember: these are averages. That means someone has to be on the underside of them.

Housing prices were also among the reasons why San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. worked their way into top spots on the list. Average home prices shot past $600,000 in all four of these cities. In Austin, the average home price is a much more modest $226,998, and it’s even more comfortable in Nashville, at $201,020.

The measure used to determine the cost of leaving in each of the cities is based on expenses in six categories: groceries, housing (rent/mortgage), healthcare, utilities, transportation and miscellaneous items. The prices of 57 goods in these categories were used.Six of the most expensive cities in the country are in California, with four of them among the top 10. Texas has four – Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. Most of the costliest cities are on the two coasts, though Chicago (14), Las Vegas (18), Phoenix (25) and St. Louis (35) made the top 40.

The most surprising appearance on the list of most expensive places to live is Detroit. Even though it’s plagued by unemployment of 16.7 percent, utilities are expensive. Electricity costs an average of $243.56 a month, compared to a mere $141.64 in Atlanta.

The ten most expensive cities on the list are:

  1. New York City
  2. San Francisco
  3. San Jose
  4. Los Angeles
  5. Washington DC
  6. San Diego
  7. Boston
  8. Philadeplhia
  9. Seattle
  10. Baltimore

Check out the full list here.

%Gallery-73514%

%Gallery-18604%

[Photo via MigrantBlogger]

Let’s Make a Deal: Another place to win a trip

by Jamie Rhein on

In recent years, winning a Showcase Showdown on the Price is Right, and the once in awhile trip that appears on the Wheel of Fortune’s roulette wheel have been the two main ways to snag a travel experience on someone else’s dime. There is another option where trips are handed out almost like candy at a small town parade. The daily game show Let’s Make a Deal has been resurrected on CBS.

The new Let’s Make A Deal has not changed much since the show last aired in 1977. Filmed at the Tropicana Las Vegas, the new version began airing in October with host Wayne Brady fitting into Monty Hall’s role as if it was made for him.

Brady moves through the audience of people dressed up in funky, oddball costumes picking out contestants based on who catches his eye. Whether its the box on the display floor, a box on a table or curtains 1, 2 or 3, the chances that a trip is one of the wins is quite high. Trips to Prague, Hawaii, and Japan have been some of the offerings I’ve seen each time I caught the show.

To be a contestant, head to the show’s website. If you dress up in the most unusual clever way, your options of being picked are higher. One woman was dressed as a tree with a woodpecker attached. When you pulled on the string, the woodpecker pecked.

If you do go, put a wide assortment of things in a handbag to bring with you. You could win $100 if you have the item Brady calls for. Think of the obvious like a pen to the unusual like an egg timer.

To be in the audience, click here for the link to Let’s Make a Deal, On Camera Audience, and then click on the date that you would like to attend.

Good luck. Hope you win that trip. I’ve had three friends who have been on game shows. It is possible. One of them won $10,000 on the Price is Right.

Garth Brooks begins five year run at Wynn Las Vegas

by Melanie Nayer on

Hold on to your 10-gallon hats – there’s a new cowboy in town.

Country-crooner Garth Brooks started his five-year run at Wynn Las Vegas Encore Theatre on Friday and news from Sin City reports a whole new kind of sexy hitting the Strip. Stilettos and short dresses are being replaced by silver belt buckles as country fans flock to Las Vegas for a chance to see the Grammy-Emmy-Country-Music-Award winning Brooks come out of his 10 year retirement.

Ticket sales have soared since the Wynn announced Brooks would be headlining at the hotel for the next five years. The first 20 shows sold out in seconds and according to the Wynn website, shows are sold out for the immediate future. (Read: If you want Garth Brooks tickets you’ll have to buy from a secondary source.)

The concert is being billed as an ‘intimate evening’ with Brooks (apparently, there isn’t enough intimacy happening late-night in Las Vegas), complete with a question-and-answer session (which rarely happens pre-intimacy session in Las Vegas), but Brooks has only one request for this audience: No YouTube videos (no video cameras for this Sin City rendezvous).

Photo credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Stripper truck stopped in Sin City

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Commercials don’t work any more, and print ads are all but dead. So, how do you get the word out? If you’re Larry Beard, you have a couple of girls grind in the back of a truck with clear plastic sides while driving around Las Vegas. This isn’t for everyone. After all, Beard is the marketing director at Deja Vu Showgirls — which is exactly what you’d think it is.

Now, he has to stop.

Sin City authorities made him stop toting the strippers around, but the club is ready to fight. His vehicle rolled up and down the strip from 10 PM to 2 AM. Strippers inside gave a taste of what goes on inside the club. And yes, in case you were wondering, the truck had poles for the ladies to work.

Get out and go: Events around the world (October 28-31)

by Brenda Yun on

It’s time to look at the festivals and events happening around the world, and this week has a particularly spooky selection of happenings. It is Halloween weekend after all. If you’re close and have time, then you have no excuse to get out and go!

  • Denmark – Since the first Music Harvest in 1985, the festival has presented contemporary music from the USA, Russia, Britain, Germany, Hungary, Finland, Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic countries, as well as from Denmark. The event takes place in Odense. It begins Wednesday, October 28 and will continue until November 7.
  • Cambodia – Coronation Day a major religious holiday all over Cambodia and commemorates King Norodom Sihamoni’s Coronation. This event takes place this Thursday, October 29th.
  • Ottawa – One World Film Festival is a platform for filmmakers and the public to exchange ideas and information about issues of social justice, human rights and the environment. The event begins Thursday October 29 and continues until October 30.
  • Hong Kong – Wine and Dine Festival is part of the a range of food and wine events in Hong Kong. The event begins this Friday, October 30 and continues until November 1.
  • Las Vegas – The Professional Bull Riders Finals take place this Friday, October 30 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. The event is followed by the National Rodeo Finals later in the year and will continue until November 8.
  • Transylvania – Halloween in Transylvania is a special event that will be held this Saturday, October 31,. The festival includes tours, shows and celebrations that follow the footsteps of Bram Stoker’s novel character, Count Dracula.

If you make it to one of these events, let us know how it was. If you know of an even that’s coming up, please let us here at Gadling know and we’ll be sure to include it in the next “Get out and go” round-up.

‘Til next week, have a great Halloween weekend.