I always think of Colorado as an inexpensive place to live, compared to places on the East and West coasts. A new report in the Economist Magazine proves me wrong.

Denver ranks No. 8 in the country in new cost-of-living rankings, with expensive groceries but cheap utility bills and booze. Denver is tied with Minneapolis and – surprisingly – ahead of Boston, Seattle and Honolulu in the report released Monday by the publisher of the Economist magazine.

One big item wasn’t included in the study: Housing. Another suprise to me was that the cost of groceries in Denver and New York are roughly the same.

In the Mile High City, a bag of groceries, including bread, butter, cheese and milk, is almost as expensive as it is in New York – 98 percent of the cost in New York, the report said.

Then there’s this:

Household supplies, made up of everything from soap to light bulbs, are relatively expensive, too, about 93 percent of New York’s prices. Clothing and shoes are up there as well.

Moral of the story: If you want to pinch pennies in Denver, stay home, turn up the air conditioner and drink lots of beer.