Not everyone needs to pay for housing either, but most do.

Point is, cost of living isn't just about groceries on the farmers' market.

It's pretty sensible to assume that housing is one of the most important aspects of cost of living contrary to a Macbook.

Also the parent was stating "for example" which implies there are other factors.

Housing is also a lot more variable than a Macbook. Even within the same country, it can easily differ 3-4x depending on the region. There's a reason it's not counted when calculating consumer price indexes or GDP PPP figures.

For Estonia above, the cost of most everything else than local produce is comparable to the Western Europe or the States. Clothing, petrol, consumer electronics, foreign vacations are not any cheaper.

> Even within the same country, it can easily differ 3-4x depending on the region.

Rent varies 3x between my house to the apartments next door. (Also varies 2-3x within the apartment complex.) I could buy a new Macbook Pro each month, or move next door -- comes out about the same cost.

Cost of Living is weird.