[BigHouse9]

Depends on where you live I guess.

That is the other thing that people don't take into consideration when moving to NC, you are going to make less money. So the property tax savings is pretty much a wash.

The drafts that come into our "new" house are amazing. It is that churn em and burn em mentality. That .18 acre lot kills me too. No room for the kids to run.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by stormweary

Question: Could a person live reasonably on $38,000 a year up there?

That's hard to say without knowing the details. Do you have a decent down payment? Will you be renting? Living solo? etc etc

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by JViello

That's hard to say without knowing the details. Do you have a decent down payment? Will you be renting? Living solo? etc etc

As a rule, use 2 1/2 to 3 times your salary to find your home purchasing power depending on debt ratio and down payment.

[stormweary]

I realized after I posted my question that it was a bit vague... it would be just me. I think I'd rent for 6 or so months to make sure I like my surroundings. I'd like to find something(house or apartment) around a 1000 a month ( or less!).( I need 2 br, I have alot of junk... ) I was wondering what utilities were on average. I do have some money set aside for a down payment on a house I can eventually tap into.....
I've done some of those cost of living analysis on line thingys and they are all over the map

ok How much does a gallon of milk cost? (Vernon, Manchester area)

[skytrekker]

I own a 2 bedroom 1.5 bath 1100 square foot Townhouse in Vernon- I bought new in 1992 for 89K- its market value now is around 169K. Taxes are $2048.00 a year- homeowners is $165.00. Attached garage, skylights, end unit- vaulted ceilings, wood floors on the first first level. patio and private garden, private, quiet small complex (24 units) self manged- condo fee $120 a month.

I buy a gallon of milk at the citgo station (1%) for $2.19 ...gasoline is $2.20 a gallon.
I have Yankee gas for heat- bills are not too bad-budget plan $70 a month- this next bill will be high.
Electricity has gone UP with CL & P- the idiots in power here a few years ago- The Republican Gov- Rowland, and the Demo speaker of the house decided to deregulate- what a failure- now all parties concerned are trying to get CL & P and UL to generate their own power again -the public and the politicians are NOT happy with the way prices have gone up.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by skytrekker

Electricity has gone UP with CL & P- the idiots in power here a few years ago- The Republican Gov- Rowland, and the Demo speaker of the house decided to deregulate- what a failure- now all parties concerned are trying to get CL & P and UL to generate their own power again -the public and the politicians are NOT happy with the way prices have gone up.

To chase a rabbit for a minute, I think deregulation was a good thing. BUT the problem is there is no competion because there are no major power generators in the state! So the monopoly stays a monopoly only it's deregulated now.

My mother actually services TXU customers (Texas Electricity) part time to keep herself busy and they have a ton of competition and choice and prices have dropped considerably.

The state only went half way with deregulation - the other half would have been to make it so a business case could be made for someone to invest in generation here vs TX or VA etc. Right now they look at our regulations etc and say "ah, no thanks".

[stormweary]

Skytrekker: I wondered if there was natural gas in the area but you said you had Yankee gas so I am assuming it is available . Your town home sounds lovely!

Here the cost of milk has gone up to 3.45 a gallon in the grocery stores. CVS has it at 3.09. Gasoline sounds about the same and the cost of a movie on a Saturday night is $9 at the major movie chains....

Wondered about the summers: do you run the air conditioning much?

[BigHouse9]

Gas in NC is a little bit cheaper although our cost per gallon of milk as of last night was $3.89. Of course, groceries are much more expensive here.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by stormweary

Wondered about the summers: do you run the air conditioning much?

Sometimes. We get a week or two that makes you sweat like you were in the South on a normal day. I'm a cold freak so I put a window AC unit in the bedroom and freeze it down so I can get all snuggled up in the comforter etc. Electricity is not bad at all with that set up as you are only cooling the room you want.

What we do get here at night is a nice COOLDOWN at night so an open window with a fan will make you nice and comfortable too. It's such a delite to settle in or go for a walk on a nice cool Summer night - unlike FL where the humidity hangs like a blanket even at 2am and you sweat just breathing. lol

[stormweary]

JVeillo:
That is pretty much how I remember the summers in upstate N.Y.. Maybe 2-3 weeks in August were "hot" but it always seemed to cool down at night. thanks