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Give us more please. Expand a bit. LOL -your response is more or less what my question is.
I can't speak for Palmetto Heel, but I do think I know what he means.
20 years ago in Charlotte, before the tremendous growth in the banks brought so many thousands of people here from the expensive areas of the northeast and/or California, this was a very inexpensive place to live. Housing was extremely affordable, as were apartments. Prices on everything have just skyrocketed since we have acquired so many newcomers coming here and plunking down cash for $300,000+ homes. One thing that concerns me now in particular is that my kids will never be able to afford to buy homes and live here to raise their kids. Makes me sad.
Last edited by lovesMountains; 08-01-2008 at 04:48 PM..
This was fun to play with. Moving from Orlando, FL (like I did June 2007) to Charlotte, I could take a 13% pay cut and still live the same.
Moving from Queens (NYC) to Charlotte, you could take a 37% pay cut and maintain your way of living!!!
You've got to be really careful with the calculators. It was way off for me. I moved to the Charlotte area after a long stay in Indiana. The calculators said the difference in cost of living was 7%. It's really about 25%.
Basically, Charlotte's cost of living is just a little bit above the national average. That means that about half of the country would experience a decrease in the the cost of living if they moved to Charlotte. That also means that about half the country would experience an increase in the cost of living if they moved to Charlotte!
I can't speak for Palmetto Heel, but I do think I know what he means.
20 years ago in Charlotte, before the tremendous growth in the banks brought so many thousands of people here from the expensive areas of the northeast and/or California, this was a very inexpensive place to live. Housing was extremely affordable, as were apartments. Prices on everything have just skyrocketed since we have acquired so many newcomers coming here and plunking down cash for $300,000+ homes. One thing that concerns me now in particular is that my kids will never be able to afford to buy homes and live here to raise their kids. Makes me sad.
Even 10 years ago Charlotte was very affordable. I can still afford a very nice lifestyle in Charlotte but many people are being pushed out because of the cost of housing. Add to that a dramatic increase in state tax burden and the fact that private schools are increasingly becoming a necessity and you have a recipe for disaster for the middle class.
Charlotte has finally succeeded in becoming just like Atlanta. I hope that our city leaders are happy.
I don't live in Charlotte but I did live in Central Florida from 1993-2007 so I can talk about the cost of living there a bit. Most recently I lived in Maitland which is a burro directly north of the Orlando city center. Maitland is considered a business district and has a small population of 10,000 or so, however roughly 50,000 people come to Maitland every day to work (or so I have read).
There is no mass transit in Orlando so you have to drive everywhere. There is a Lynx bus system that is worthless. Busses may come once an hour but good luck. My wife once tried taking the bus to work (a 15 minute ride by car) but took over three hours via the Lynx bus. Car insurance here is outrageous and auto-theft is a big problem. If you don't have covered parking or gated parking your insurance will be through the roof.
Housing is also insane. Whatever extra cost you incure for food or other amenities in Charlotte is cancled by your significantly lower housing costs. Just to give an example. My last apartment (3bd/2bth, 1,200 s/f, gated community) was costing me $1,500/month and would have increased to $1,650 if I had renewed my lease. For that money I can have a 4 bedroom house in Charlotte and then some. Most comparable apartments I have been looking at in Charlotte are around $600-700/month. That's almost $1000/month savings right there. It doesn't matter if milk costs a dollar more per gallon or that the chicken tenders meal at Chili's is two dollars more.
Also I very much doubt there is any increase in transportation costs in Charlotte over Orlando. In Orlando you must drive everywhere, the tolls have gotten out of hand. At one point in 2003 I was paying $500/month in gas for ONE car to drive to and from work. Finally I was able to move less than a mile from my office and cut my gas bill.
From a person who spend 14 years in Orlando, Charlotte is looking VERY appealing. You can get a very nice home for $125,000 and a comparable home in Orlando would be tripple the cost! Also home owners insurance is outrageous. For some people it can add over $500/month to a mortgage payment.
For me, the cost of living is much higher here. I moved from MI.
Rent is WAY more (in MI I rented a 1 bedroom with heat, water, sewer, and garbage included for $385 [began at $355 a few years ago but went up $10/year). Here, I pay $775 for a 1 bedroom with NOTHING included.
Groceries are more. My mom is a manager at a Kroger in MI and is always shocked when she comes down here and sees how much more everything is. Even at WalMart.
Car insurance is cheaper, but it pretty much is a wash with the taxes I now have to pay on it.
Oh, and my salary is about $6-8K less than it would be for the same job, same experience in Michigan. Too bad you can't find a job there!
The move from Denver, CO area to Charlotte, NC in June 2007, the noticeable cost savings was my car and renter's insurance and fuel prices. The car insurance rate I was paying in Denver, CO, I could pay in Charlotte includes$1000 deductible collision and comprehensive. I can't tell you about fuel prices in the Denver, CO area, since I have not visit since my move.
However, I did end up paying more on vehicle fees, especially CO did not require safety inspections and even emissions depending on the vehicle were not done annually. On my second year of being in CO, I just pay the fee and got new registration receipt and that was it. The Vehicle Use Tax, part of the registration fee in CO for 2007 was deductible from state income tax.
I have only been living here 3 weeks after 2 years of going between NY and Charlotte. Here is what I have found so far..... yes, if you owned a house in Nassau your real estate cost should be about 60% less (unless of course you opted for a macmansion here). My real estate taxes went from $15K to $2,400 per year and not to mention buying a comparable house for $400K less!!! That alone is huge. Food is more expensive but as poster Bandibadji stated, a little creativity can take care of that. Wholesale club mixed with farmers market has worked for me. I will only use HT for emergencies or sales.
Car insurance went down 60%, homeowners down by about 65%. From my research on utilities, it looks like it I am looking at a 50% break on heating (gas) but will be paying about the same for electricity in the summer but about $50 less in the winter. I found that eating out in S. Charlotte is cheaper than eating out in Westchester, NY.
Here is my only shocker. I just got a $30 water bill for 2 weeks usuage! I had done 2 loads of laundry, about 3 loads of dishes and had not uet watered the lawn. So far I am the only one in the house as family will be coming in a few days. I paid $30-$50 per quarter in NY (Westchester county). I am not sure if this is typical but will be calling the utility people to make sure this bill reflects only my usuage. Any input from those already living here is welcome.
I hope this helps others but one thing to note - cost of living will be relative to what one is used to and where you lived before. The comparison for someone who lived with room mates, with parents or in a low rent situation may be different from a person who has lived in house in an pricey area. The later will be see significant savings while the former may see an increased cost of living. For me paying more for food or even water doesn't not undermine the savings I am seeing in housing, taxes and insurance - not even close.
I have only been living here 3 weeks after 2 years of going between NY and Charlotte. Here is what I have found so far..... yes, if you owned a house in Nassau your real estate cost should be about 60% less (unless of course you opted for a macmansion here). My real estate taxes went from $15K to $2,400 per year and not to mention buying a comparable house for $400K less!!! That alone is huge. Food is more expensive but as poster Bandibadji stated, a little creativity can take care of that. Wholesale club mixed with farmers market has worked for me. I will only use HT for emergencies or sales.
Car insurance went down 60%, homeowners down by about 65%. From my research on utilities, it looks like it I am looking at a 50% break on heating (gas) but will be paying about the same for electricity in the summer but about $50 less in the winter. I found that eating out in S. Charlotte is cheaper than eating out in Westchester, NY.
Here is my only shocker. I just got a $30 water bill for 2 weeks usuage! I had done 2 loads of laundry, about 3 loads of dishes and had not uet watered the lawn. So far I am the only one in the house as family will be coming in a few days. I paid $30-$50 per quarter in NY (Westchester county). I am not sure if this is typical but will be calling the utility people to make sure this bill reflects only my usuage. Any input from those already living here is welcome.
I hope this helps others but one thing to note - cost of living will be relative to what one is used to and where you lived before. The comparison for someone who lived with room mates, with parents or in a low rent situation may be different from a person who has lived in house in an pricey area. The later will be see significant savings while the former may see an increased cost of living. For me paying more for food or even water doesn't not undermine the savings I am seeing in housing, taxes and insurance - not even close.
All the above for us too coming from NJ, as we are here now 14 months.. however our Electricity is substantially less here dh and I thought it was wrong the bill...lol...and our gas is well its very low here, but we were on Well water and never paid a Water Bill our bill averages for a month of 65.00 a month we have 4 people in our household....my son is 13 and my dd is 9
I have only been living here 3 weeks after 2 years of going between NY and Charlotte. Here is what I have found so far..... yes, if you owned a house in Nassau your real estate cost should be about 60% less (unless of course you opted for a macmansion here). My real estate taxes went from $15K to $2,400 per year and not to mention buying a comparable house for $400K less!!! That alone is huge. Food is more expensive but as poster Bandibadji stated, a little creativity can take care of that. Wholesale club mixed with farmers market has worked for me. I will only use HT for emergencies or sales.
Car insurance went down 60%, homeowners down by about 65%. From my research on utilities, it looks like it I am looking at a 50% break on heating (gas) but will be paying about the same for electricity in the summer but about $50 less in the winter. I found that eating out in S. Charlotte is cheaper than eating out in Westchester, NY.
Here is my only shocker. I just got a $30 water bill for 2 weeks usuage! I had done 2 loads of laundry, about 3 loads of dishes and had not uet watered the lawn. So far I am the only one in the house as family will be coming in a few days. I paid $30-$50 per quarter in NY (Westchester county). I am not sure if this is typical but will be calling the utility people to make sure this bill reflects only my usuage. Any input from those already living here is welcome.
I hope this helps others but one thing to note - cost of living will be relative to what one is used to and where you lived before. The comparison for someone who lived with room mates, with parents or in a low rent situation may be different from a person who has lived in house in an pricey area. The later will be see significant savings while the former may see an increased cost of living. For me paying more for food or even water doesn't not undermine the savings I am seeing in housing, taxes and insurance - not even close.
You're absolutely right. The problem with my OP is that the relative factor comes in to play with things like schooling for example. And as I said I don't want this to be a CLT/NY thing as I own houses in both states.But..I need to say your comparison to one of the richest counties in the country will of course make your point. Westchester gal, I'm sure you know that Westchester has some of the highest school ratings in the country as well..so somebody is paying for that.
But, enough for comparisons.
I'm here to learn not compare.
Thanks for your input
John
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