Last year, I broke down what our first 24 hours cost in Omaha, Nebraska. A few months later, we ran the numbers again after moving into our condo in Myrtle Beach. Now we’ve moved into stop number three: Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Same experiment. Different city. And I’m not sure, but maybe we’re actually getting better at this. 🙂

Lodging

In Omaha, we paid $1,500 per month for a furnished two-bedroom apartment with utilities included, or about $50 per day.

Myrtle Beach was also $1,500, but a 7% tax brought the actual cost to $1,605, or about $53.50 per day.

Santa Fe is a definite step up at $2,000 per month, or about $67 per day.

We intentionally paid a little more this time because the apartment checked more of our boxes. It has a full-size kitchen, is well furnished, and has a really nice workout room, pool, and hot tub area. After two previous stops, we’re getting a better idea of which amenities we actually use and which ones just look good in a rental listing.

Exercise

This has been different in every city.  In Omaha, we joined the downtown YMCA almost immediately. It was inexpensive, within walking distance, and had a lap pool. In Myrtle Beach, we initially skipped the gym and walked on the beach. We eventually pieced together a combination of the condo fitness room, local recreation centers, and outdoor exercise.

Santa Fe may be the easiest solution yet because we’re already paying for it.

The apartment has a good fitness room and pool, and we’re planning to combine those with frequent hikes. There is also a well-reviewed recreation center with a larger pool that I may use occasionally for lap swimming, but it was closed for annual maintenance when we arrived.  We will explore that later…

For day one, at least, exercise cost us $0 beyond what was already included in our rent.

Library

The library became part of our routine almost immediately in Omaha because we could walk to it. We didn’t use the library nearly as much in Myrtle Beach because it wasn’t as convenient, and I suspect Santa Fe may be similar.

There are several library options that I plan to explore, but none is particularly close to our apartment. After a couple of moves, we’ve learned that everything doesn’t need to be figured out during the first 24 hours.

Cost so far: $0.

Household Goods & Groceries

This is where I’m really beginning to see the benefit of experience and of intentional spending.

Our Omaha apartment was pretty well equipped, but we still bought some basics. Myrtle Beach was clearly designed for short-term vacation rentals, so we spent $59 just adding things like a pantry shelf, shoe rack, and floor mat.

Santa Fe is easily the best-equipped apartment of the three.

Our landlord has been awesome and very hands-on, and we haven’t found ourselves making repeated trips to the store for shower rings, shelves, doorstops, kitchen equipment, and all the other little things that add up when you’re trying to turn a vacation rental into a home.

Our one significant household purchase was a $50 mattress topper. The bed was a little softer than we prefer, and since we’re going to sleep on it every night for the next few months, $50 seemed like a reasonable investment in sleep quality. 🙂

Groceries were a different story. $278

Seems like a lot, but we intentionally spent more stocking the refrigerator and pantry because one of our goals for Santa Fe is to cook at home more often.

We ate out A LOT in Myrtle Beach. We could blame the tiny kitchen, and it certainly didn’t help, but eating at a restaurant once a day isn’t particularly good for either your pocketbook or your waistline. Our Santa Fe apartment has a full-size, well-equipped kitchen, so we’re trying something different. Instead of spending money buying equipment to make the apartment functional, we spent it filling the kitchen with food so we’ll actually use it.

I’m not sure all of that should count as a travel expense. We’d be buying groceries if we never left our traditional house. Still, stocking an empty refrigerator and pantry makes that first grocery trip considerably more expensive than a normal week.

Dinner

Despite our grand plans to cook more, we didn’t start on night one. 🙂

After moving in, unpacking, and shopping, we were tired. We found a local restaurant about a mile from the apartment and near the Plaza, largely because it had a patio and we could sit outside.

In August.

Coming from Texas, that still feels like a luxury.

Katie had the fried chicken special, I had a local beef burger, and dinner was $45.

We’ll be back.

Santa Fe Day One Total

So far, our first-day expenses look like this:

	Omaha	Myrtle Beach	Santa Fe
Lodging, daily equivalent	$50	$53.50	$67
Household goods	$121	$59	$50
Groceries	$52	$72	$278
Exercise	$75	$0	$0
Library	$0	$0	$0
Dinner	$37	$24	$45
Total	$345	$203.50	$440

The numbers aren’t completely apples-to-apples, particularly since groceries and dinner are expenses we’d have anywhere, but that’s also part of what makes tracking this interesting.

What Are We Learning?

After three moves, I think we’re becoming better shoppers for our temporary homes.

In Omaha, location and walkability were huge advantages. We could walk to the YMCA and library and had plenty of space.

Myrtle Beach gave us an oceanfront lifestyle, but the condo was designed more for a week’s vacation than several months of normal living. We had to create storage, improvise in the kitchen, and drive more often.

Santa Fe costs more, but we’re paying for things that will actually reduce other expenses over time. A good fitness room and pool reduce the need for a gym membership. A full-size kitchen should make eating at home easier. Better furnishings mean fewer trips to Walmart to solve little problems.

That may be the biggest lesson from our third move.

The cheapest apartment isn’t necessarily the cheapest place to live.

We’re also getting better at recognizing the difference between aspirational amenities and things that actually support the way we live. A fancy amenity that we never use isn’t worth much. A decent kitchen, comfortable bed, and convenient place to exercise affect us almost every day.

Omaha taught us the value of walkability.

Myrtle Beach taught us how much the design of an apartment can shape our habits.

Santa Fe may teach us that paying a little more for the right place can actually be money well spent.

Three cities in, we’re still collecting data, but at least we don’t have to buy another shoe rack. 🙂