I have heard that the cost of living in NC is same as NY! please explain (Charlotte: renting, homeowners insurance)

[renee_cal]

I always thought the cost of living is lower than NY, but I have read many posts and have been told the cost of living is the same. Please elaborate. From my calculations the housing cost is lower and so are taxes. Am I mistaken? Anyone from NYfeel this way?

[Check123]

Costs are lower in NC, and so are salaries.

Originally Posted by renee_cal

I always thought the cost of living is lower than NY, but I have read many posts and have been told the cost of living is the same. Please elaborate. From my calculations the housing cost is lower and so are taxes. Am I mistaken? Anyone from NYfeel this way?

[par4]

Originally Posted by Check123

Costs are lower in NC, and so are salaries.

True- it will all depend on what salary you can garner down here. Cost of living is a relative term.

[Markh]

I've found that everyting costs us the about the same here with the exception of housing costs and RE taxes.

Our average costs for the last three months(Jan, Feb, Mar): Family of 4, 2800 sq ft house, per month:

Electric(H/W, cooking and laundry, lights, etc) $172
Gas(heat only) $170
Water/Sewer $49
DirectTV $100
Cable Internet $45
Auto insurance (2 cars) $80
Telephone: $61
HOA $40
Homeowners Insurance: $45
Groceries: $900

Gas will go down to about nothing soon since it's getting warmer but electric will climb once we start using the a/c again. Water will go up to $70ish once we start watering the lawn again.

Not all salaries are create equal. Look on sites like salary.com in the free reports section for rough estimates. Some are drastic reductions while others are barely affected.

[momoftwo418]

Originally Posted by Markh

I've found that everyting costs us the about the same here with the exception of housing costs and RE taxes.

Our average costs for the last three months(Jan, Feb, Mar): Family of 4, 2800 sq ft house, per month:

Electric(H/W, cooking and laundry, lights, etc) $172
Gas(heat only) $170
Water/Sewer $49
DirectTV $100
Cable Internet $45
Auto insurance (2 cars) $80
Telephone: $61
HOA $40
Homeowners Insurance: $45
Groceries: $900

Gas will go down to about nothing soon since it's getting warmer but electric will climb once we start using the a/c again. Water will go up to $70ish once we start watering the lawn again.

Not all salaries are create equal. Look on sites like salary.com in the free reports section for rough estimates. Some are drastic reductions while others are barely affected.

It is funny that you posted this because I did my little calculations from here in Brooklyn and I too found that it would not be cheaper by much if at all. The only difference is that we will own instead of renting so that same 1100 will go towards a mortgage and us owning something and not into my slum lords pocket. Also I am assuming my car insurance will not be 1200 dollars a year. However from everything else I read it seems the electric and gas will make up the difference. I guess the reason for moving will be the quality of life and a better HS then we could ever hope for in NY.

[renee_cal]

thanks so much for the clarification. Judging by the calculations provided we still will be better of in NC than Brooklyn. By the way my jaw dropped at the insurance cost for 2 cars. thats so much less than Brooklyn.

[Swimmom32]

renee where in bklyn u coming from??? We are born and raised in brooklyn Im from graves End/Sheepshead Bay and dh is From Ditmas and Ocean parkway..then lived in staten island and well Now jersey and on our way to Union County NC and cant wait....good luck to you

[momoftwo418]

MarkH are those monthly dollar amounts or is that an average for the 3 months? The 900 dollars for food was for the 3 months total..Just curious as I have heard people say their gas bills where 170 per month..Just curious.

Talia

[NewToYorkSC]

Try this link

http://swz.salary.com/costoflivingwi...coll_start.asp

[drew0020]

My salary will be very similar with more upside in NC versus CT. My housing costs will be 50% lower for a bigger home and my taxes will be 60-70% lower on this home.

I currently have a gas/electric mix on my home in CT and have the same setup in Charlotte. I expect my gas prices to drop dramatically as CT is much colder than Charlotte, but do expect to pay more on a/c in the summer months in Charlotte.

I think the two biggest factors are current housing (if you own a newer home in Fairlfield County, CT, NY, or NJ) then I would expect significant savings on the home and property taxes. Otherwise most other things should be similar.