O.K I'll bite. (Boise, Hope: rental, health insurance, appliances)

[VERNDAWG]

I don't belong to any other fourms or chat groups but I could'nt resist this one. I thougth I had an original idea to get out of CA and into somwhere better, but it seems that everyone and their mom has beat me to it. Anyway I've been researching on my own on a ton of sites, but I have found many of the answers about the boise area on this site. I never thought I post something but I've heard rumors that utility bills are astronomical becuse of the cold winters. Í know it's hard to say what average is, but what are we really talking about here. Let's say normal family 3 bd 2 ba house dead of winter. Can anyone help?

[Miborn]

It depends on your house the age, insulation, type of heat and square footage, and if it is a extremely hot or cold season all play into the cost of heating/cooling

[Torrie]

Hi Verndawg,

I can tell you for gas for the months of Dec- March our bill ran anywhere from $160 to $255. Typically January runs the highest as it's usually our coldest month, that was the bill for $255. For electric, Dec-March our bill ran $51-$122. We keep our house in the winter at about 70 degrees, sometimes I bump it up a couple of degrees if I'm really cold.

That being said, as you all ready know, your bill will depend on the age of the home, sq. footage, useage and how energy efficient your appliances might be, etc.

Trying to remember some statistics.....but if I think, Idaho has one of the lowest energy costs in the country, or it's one of the lowest in the 13 West and Northwest states, can't remember.

Hope that helps.

[Jarndyce]

Utilities are 60% cheaper here than in California. Winters in the Boise area are mild and not arctic like other parts of Idaho *could be*.

Wherever or whomever gave you your horrible info about Boise---maybe don't listen to him/her/them anymore. Or do the opposite of what they say.

[Sage of Sagle]

Our utilities here are low compared to SoCal, but with our winters it gets expensive in North Idaho. The house we built has upper/lower heating/cooling units and dual water heaters, and we like it at 75 in the winter and 70 in the summer and even though we used high quality double paned low-E windows, we have a LOT of glass. Even with blown-in and spray foam insulation throughout/over/under, good design for flow, etc, we average about $.17 per square foot per month electrical bill in the winter, and about $.09 per sf/month in the summer. But that is with several kids and a LOT of laundry and dishes and lights and several computers and electronic components running and a heated garage. We have LP gas for laundry dryer and gas cooktop only. Everything else is electric.

So if I had to guess, if we're talking family of 3-4, 3br/2ba house, let's say $.14/sf/mo winter and $.06/sf/mo summer? So a 2000sf house may be $280/winter and $120 summer?

Boise folks...am I about right on that guess?

[Niners fan]

Based on the rental home we had, I would say Sage is not far off. But we have a new home now we built with extra insulation and triple paned windows so I couldn't give you hard numbers on, say,an average 10 year old tract home

The utility costs in Idaho are definitely quite a bit less than in California. You'll pay more in the summer and less in the winter in CA. The opposite will be true in Idaho. But your average per month will be less.

For what it is worth, your car insurance will be a lot less too, perhaps by as much as half. The only thing I have found to be more (and quite a bit more, at that) is health insurance.

If you will be working when you get here, however, remember that your wage will likely be less too.

[VERNDAWG]

Thanks for the info. Like I said everyone has a different idea of average but I think this gives me a good idea. I want to move out after Christmas but I'm wondering when winter starts to let up a little. I don't mind cold but I don't want to be u-hauling in the snow. I hope I can get there before all the charm of the area is used up by the rest of the fleeing population.

[cleatis]

Originally Posted by VERNDAWG

I don't belong to any other fourms or chat groups but I could'nt resist this one. I thougth I had an original idea to get out of CA and into somwhere better, but it seems that everyone and their mom has beat me to it. Anyway I've been researching on my own on a ton of sites, but I have found many of the answers about the boise area on this site. I never thought I post something but I've heard rumors that utility bills are astronomical becuse of the cold winters. Í know it's hard to say what average is, but what are we really talking about here. Let's say normal family 3 bd 2 ba house dead of winter. Can anyone help?

We have a 1 room house and our highest bill was $175. the house is drafty and the heat was from electric baseboard heaters. In the summer with the AC cranked our bill seldom breaks the $50 range. and when the temp is nice outside $20-30 per month usually covers it.

The winters are cold compared to Cali, but they aren't any worse than they would be in Utah or Colorado. It doesn't usually hit any less that the teens in the winter and that isn't usually for very long.