[General] living costs - living cost - cost of living

[Olympian]

Hello,

I have a few questions regarding 'cost of living'.

1. Is 'cost of living' the same as 'living costs' or 'living expenses'?
2. Does 'living costs' always have to be in plural (costs), or it is OK to use 'living cost'?
3. Is it correct to say 'The cost of living is too much', or does it have to be 'The cost of living is too high'?

Thank you

 

[Barb_D]

The more common phrase in my experience is "cost of living" and you refer to it as "low" or "high."

It will include things like the average cost for rent or a house, price of gas, how much it will cost to insure your car, whether groceries there tend to cost more less than other places, how much things like haircuts and such cost.

 

[Olympian]

Thank you.

 

[Rover_KE]

Olympian, for the third time, instead of sending your thanks in a separate message, just click the Thank button.

The reason is that it is flagged as a new post, so we think you might have a follow-up question or something to add. Those of us with slow internet connections and/or old computers have to waste valuable time waiting for it to appear.

 

[MikeNewYork]

At least in AmE, "cost of living" and "living expenses" are different. "Cost of living" usually refers to a government index that measures the prices of a finite number of expenses (gasoline, rent, food, etc) and how this group of expenses compares to the past. "Living expenses" usually refers to the actual expenses incurred by an individual or family. "Living cost" is not a phrase I have heard often.

 

[Olympian]

Olympian, for the third time, instead of sending your thanks in a separate message, just click the Thankbutton.

The reason is that it is flagged as a new post, so we think you might have a follow-up question or something to add. Those of us with slow internet connections and/or old computers have to waste valuable time waiting for it to appear.

Really sorry about this. I will pay attention from now on. I appreciate it that you explained the reason for this. I had not realized that.