How much is cost of living in your area?

JBennis1013

Bergen county, nj where you get nothing more than a shoe box for $1000

harleygirlT

Stay away from California, no jobs and cost of living is thru the roof!

airlily

San Jose = #6 most expensive urban area in the US! w00t!

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-most-expensive-urban-areas-in-the-us-2012-1#6-san-jose-ca-5

airlily

Stay away from California, no jobs and cost of living is thru the roof!

This.

sarahsmom1

My house is $1926.00 and my motorhome is $536.26 and I get 1159.00 month husband passed, lost job will lose house, and live in Motorhome I am very fortunate that I have that option Oh Southern Calif

LATeagno

I'm in a Cleveland suburb. We're renting right now; a 1,100 sq. ft. house with four small bedrooms for $1150 per month, plus gas (budget is $130/mo), electric (budget is $125/mo), water/sewer ($110 every three months) and internet ($90 a month). Our cellphones (three lines) are $180 per month unlimited. We also have car insurance ($100 a month for two cars), health insurance (we buy it ourselves for $3600/year) and two car payments, which are $160 and $260 each.

We spend about $120 per week in groceries on average.

Perswaysion

9 years of living in Navy towns (dh is prior) we knew ,when he was getting close to his time being up,that we wanted close to our parents and low Col. We ended up in central Arkansas. We waited to have kids. He joined the navy to get his education instead of lots of school loans and we still have periods that it's paycheck to paycheck but we were supporting his dad for awhile who had a heart attack and a stroke. So things are better recently.

Average cost of living here in our town (blue collared, large college, couple large plants but nothing else) is 42k. We bought our house 2 years ago but we had a rental when we first relocated. 1100 a month with partial utilites and 1800 sq. We paid 172k for for our house 2500 sq feet and 3 acres. After all the years out east and overseas I love the COL here. Just wish they had a mall lol.

cheyenne_alexis

I live on the Jersey Shore in Obviously.. New Jersey , and it is NOT CHEAP! :explode: Me and my boyfriend of 3 years were just looking for apartments, and an 1 bedroom in a decent living/low income area is $850, luckly including utlites, just need to pay thr electric and cable.. and its the cheapest in 2 out of many apartment complexes..Also, Im lucky enough to have a community college right down the street from me where tuition for 1 semester is $2,750.. I want to cry lol I didnt want any student loans whatsoever, but I had no choice and NEEDED to go to school, :ohwell: in hopes of finding a good job when i graduate.. Gas right now here is $3.33-$3.39 depending at which gas station you buy at.:explode: where it was just $2.99 maybe a month ago!

Me and my boyfriend always joke about moving away but its just so hard with school ! :ohwell:

CrystalFlury

North Texas
Decent apartment (1 bedroom/1 bath): $700-900 a month rent (just rent)
Avg. salary varies, maybe 40-50K a year and up
Gas right now is running $3.28 per gallon
Luckily, for my boyfriend and me, no car payments although he does have student loans to pay off soon ($20k or so in debt for 3 years worth of college at a small school)

CrystalFlury

2 gaming subscriptions for $30 a month.

Star Wars Online?!

k_ramroop

I live in Houston about 10 minutes from downtown in the Galleria area and make about $45k. My 1200 sqft condo I bought a few years ago costs about $1000 a month (mortgage, HOA fees, utilities, etc.). gas is $3.45 a gallon. I have more credit card debt than I'd like to admit (working hard to pay it off) and no student loans.

PeaceLoveVeggies

I live in New York. Enough said.

spectralmoon

A 1bd/bth where I am is between $900 and $1200, and gas is at $3.79. Yikes.

wittlelacey

I live in SoCal and my family lives paycheck to paycheck with an annual income of about $50,000. It's not fun, but we manage. All of our debt comes from Christmases and back to school shopping.

andreacord

Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. Gas I think is 119.9 right now. Owning a home is pretty pricey from the looks of it , I'm only a student here though.. but a 3 bedroom condo will run you about 220,000$ to purchase and then strata fees and whatnot, homes can go all the way up to 1.5 mil here depending on size, location and whether or not you're close to the beach. Rent is 800-1000 /mon for a 3 bedroom apartment, and groceries here are pretty decent. I'm living on my own and my average for a week of groceries is 45$. When I went up Northwest (home) for Christmas I was finding that food there is more expensive than down here. Yikes..

cloud2011

I live in the NY suburbs, which are expensive but of course not as expensive as Manhattan. It's funny, you find a way to survive here. We've had good years and lean years.

I have a very snobby sister-in-law who lives in a less expensive part of the country in a McMansion neighborhood with all kinds of rules. She thinks she's living the high life, and looks down her nose at my home. Yet, she could not afford to live in my neighborhood. She also couldn't afford to live in a McMansion here either.

It's all relative though. If I had a do-over, I would not choose to remain here. I would find somewhere with a better (less busy) lifestyle. On the other hand, I wouldn't want to live in the middle of nowhere.

I've been to Chicago a few times and really like it there. I can definitely see the appeal of living there. Big city, but easy to get away from it, too, if you need a break.

970Mikaela1

I live in Colorado and pay 750 for my two bedroom apt , raising my little girl by myself here, as i just got divorced so i feel pretty poor. Oh well its beautiful here and i have a decent job:)))))

karenwill2

Small town Arkansas and we can support and family of 4 on about $30k per year. We own our 3 bedroom house on an acre and it is pretty much our only debt with insurance under $530 per month. We do, however, have student loans but only enough to pay for the gas/childcare and I alone will be doubling our income when I graduate in the next two years. Then my hubby will graduate so we will be sitting pretty after that!

afv417

Virginia Beach... less than $30k a year... roommates to afford $1045 rent in 2 bedroom, plus electric and gas... phone, credit cards and student loans too... it's tough...

I lived in Cliffside Park , NJ once and found a studio for $525... what was killing me was the $ spent on commuting to work in NY.

MikeM53082

At the end of the day, people live where they want to live. There are pro's and con's to high cost areas. Personally, I'd never live in a high cost area like NY or SF. Been there, done that.. definitely not worth it. Though I'm sure some people will disagree.

I live in an upscale suburb of Miami called Parkland. I have a very nice townhouse that cost me 300k. If you are a skilled professional, salaries are pretty decent in Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Palm Beaches.

Ocarina

2 gaming subscriptions for $30 a month.

Star Wars Online?!

Star Wars AND World of Warcraft. I wish I could disconnect the WoW because I have no time to play but I signed up for the year sub lol.

machinegunkate

Australia is a joke. Everything is over-priced. From groceries to house prices to power to...bloody everything! :explode:

Ocarina

The resort town up where my family has a house is absolutely rediculous and makes me not complain.

The average income there is 70,000. The cost of living is insane. I can't even imagine.

Sun Valley, Idaho. Absolutely insane!

AnnaMaus

Consumer Price Index at this time last year for Chicago was 216.19 (100 is the US average).

I love Chicago, but it's gotten way, way too expensive. It sounds sick to say, but it's a good thing we don't have kids.

I have a pretty typical life for a 20 and 30 something here. I pay about 45% of my income on rent ($1055/month for a one-bedroom in a neighborhood decent enough where I can walk home from work at night). I work 4 different jobs depending on the time of year, mostly service jobs.

I used to have a salaried position before the crash (college degree, 7 years of industry experience). Periods of unemployment are a regular thing.

We try to keep our grocery bill to $50-60/week, but we're also vegan and there are plenty of Mexican produce markets around with great prices on beans, rice and whatever's seasonal.

Cars are far too expensive to maintain here. It's $2 for an el train ride, and the bus lines haven't been cut *too* deeply yet, so it's reliable too, if you're in the center or east. On the west side, it's getting bad for people who can't afford cars. They have to wait a long time in cold temperatures to get around.

red01angel

I'm looking at $2300/month for a 2bed/2bath not-exactly-luxury apartment in the L.A. area.


ETA: That's just basic rent + water + gardener. Doesn't include electricity and gas or cable, internet, coin-op laundry, etc. etc.
And one of the weird things about L.A. is that literally NO apartments come with their own refrigerators, so you have to move your own from place to place. Very odd.

Kirabelly

I make $25,000 a year taking care of people with disabilities and I paid $700 a month for a 225 square foot studio with a small yard. We don't have big apartment buildings here. A 2 bedroom house is around $1200 plus utilities. I'm blessed to now rent the downstairs of a 2 family house from my parents for $400 a month. I'd have to move away if I didn't have this.

Cape Cod, Mass.

Sweet_Potato

At the end of the day, people live where they want to live. There are pro's and con's to high cost areas. Personally, I'd never live in a high cost area like NY or SF. Been there, done that.. definitely not worth it. Though I'm sure some people will disagree.

I live in an upscale suburb of Miami called Parkland. I have a very nice townhouse that cost me 300k. If you are a skilled professional, salaries are pretty decent in Miami/Fort Lauderdale/Palm Beaches.

It just depends on what you value. I like being immersed in gorgeous architecture, being near museums and other cultural attractions, and never having to get in a car. Some people would prefer a big house or money to spend on gadgets and whatnot, but I feel happiest and most relaxed in a major city. It's absolutely worth the extra expense to me.

jadedone

Right outside of Boston you'll pay about $1000 a month for a one bedroom. The average cost for a home in this area is about 300K and that is for a 50 year old ranch and needs major updating.

Not sure how I do it on a waitress salary but I make it work. We live frugally and don't have expensive "extras". We have pay as you go cell phones, still have dial-up internet at home (gasp), have basic cable with a few extras like HGTV and only take one vacation a year.

I think the average income in my area is about 50K per person. I'm below that but my husband is above. I don't even want to tell you what we pay for a morgage. Bleh!!!

Wow, I thought Boston was priced like the Bay Area. That is looking downright cheap in comparison.

nahralynn

We live in the central coast of CA .. avg costs are like 750+ for a studio .. 850+ for 1 bdrm .. and those aren't adding utils and our other bills. We currently rent a 12x13 room in a 4 bdrm house but due to disgusting habits of the landlady that lives here with her son we pretty much are stuck in our room. I currently can't find a job in our area .. and my boyfriend has a less than full-time temp job. I don't know how we make it tbh. I came here from Alabama where you can get a 3 bdrm house in some places for 550. I want to move despite LOVING ca and the weather and the things to do .. but my boyfriend was born and raised here and is reluctant to leave.

jillybeanruns

I live in the Charleston area and rent is $950 (utilities not included) for my 660 square foot apartment. I pay more than most for rent, but I refuse to live in a dodgy area. I also make more than the median income for a family unit in the town I live in as a single woman, so I am okay with paying a higher rent and can afford it.