Dallas no longer cheap place to live

Dallas tied with Seattle for having the highest inflation rate of major cities in the first half of this year. Per Forbes:

Annual Inflation June 2008: 5.82%

Annual Inflation January 2008: 4.33%

Annual Inflation June 2007: 1.05%

There just isn't much you can do if you live in Dallas and want to conserve energy. Driving is a way of life and even with Texas' high oil refining capacity, the city is so spread out that residents are traveling long distances. Add in the summer heat and humidity, and Dallas citizens are pumping the air conditioning non-stop.

Now, a linking MSN article notes that if a city is starting from a good affordability index, the inflation issue isn’t such a big deal.

But, the flip side to that is that low wages accompany low affordability here.

Beyond that, Sunbelt cities like Dallas contribute to people being fat.

How fat? An extra 10 pounds for men, 6 pounds for women.