Cost of Living or Cost of Housing?

Chicago, via iconic skyline elementsRecently I've had multiple reasons to visit Chicago from the Quad Cities, a distance of only a few hours (which could be even easier to access if we ever got the train between them). And because I've been there more frequently, I've had a chance to do things I might not do if I had only a few hours or even a few days in the "big city," like, for instance, going to grocery stores and looking at prices, wandering the streets and checking out the big ads for real estate, and similar street-level random activities. And this has me thinking: are the differences in cost of living between the Quad Cities and Chicago really differences in cost of living--the cost of everyday activities and interactions--or just the cost of housing--the entry point to living there at all?Now, I don't mean (at all!) to suggest that cost of housing is insignificant. Much of the developed world is experiencing a simultaneous and ongoing housing "crisis" (which, much like the…

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