Living in Texas vs. NY - cost comparison (Houston, Dallas: sales, real estate)

[Robzherenow]

We will be making a move to the Dallas area in about 3-4 weeks. We will be getting an apartment first and then buying a house. We were initially going to buy a house here in NY, but realized we dont want to raise a family in NY We been to Dallas and love it- the people, the lifestyle, etc.

Anyway, I was calculating the cost of living (between NY/NJ & Dallas) and it appears that our money will go much farther in Dallas, but since we are first time home buyers, I dont know if I missed anything:

1.) If we were buying a house in NY/NJ, a 2300-2800 sq ft decent house in a good area would run us about $600K (Approx $3000/month mortgage + around $8-10K/year in taxes). For a much newer and bigger house in a very good area in Dallas would probably run us about $300K (Approx. $1500/month mortgage + $8-10K in taxes?).

2.) Electricity in NY would run me about $800-$1000/month (yes the winters can get cold).

3.) Home Owners Insurance- I dont know the exact figures but I am sure its less in TX. Any feedback on this?

4.) Car Insurance: I pay about a $1000/year on each of my two cars. I dont know how much it would be in TX.

5.) Since there is no state tax in Texas, thats a big plus.

6.) Gasoline for your car is about $2.95/gallon here now. I dont know how much it is in Texas.

7.) Day care for our two-year old in NY would run us at least $1000/month in NY. I believe its the same in TX. Am I correct?

Aside from groceries, entertainment, and other misc. comparible expenses, did I miss anything ?

Thank you in advance for your suggestions and feedback!

Rob

[galore]

Originally Posted by Robzherenow

Aside from groceries, entertainment, and other misc. comparible expenses, did I miss anything ?
Rob

Yes, the paychecks in Dallas are typically much smaller than in NYC

[KantLockeMeIn]

Smaller, but not significantly smaller compared to the cost of living. In some fields the pay here is more.

#1. For 300k you can have a beautiful ~3500-4000 sqft brick home in the northern suburbs. Taxes would be roughly $7500.

#2. Really depends on how your house faces, if it's well insulated, radient barrier, window shades, a/c seer rating, 2 story vs 1 story. We've got a 4700 sqft home and it ranges from $550 in July/August, down to $150 in January.

#3. We pay $1100 on a $350k home for full replacement coverage and a 1% deductible. Everyone on here seems to recommend Farmers, who had the best rate after Travellers doubled my premium in 1 year for no reason.

#4. Car insurance is slightly higher here. We saw a 30% increase in moving from VA. We pay right about $1000 a year for 2 2002 Ford vehicles with excellent driving records.

#5. Huge plus if you have a high household income and if you choose to live below your means with regards to your home.

#6. About $2.55 I think.

#7. I have no idea about the younger kids, but we pay $65 a week for after school care and it was $75 a week during the summer. Most places we looked into were roughly $65 - $90 for school age.

#8. Tolls... figure where you want to work and where you will live and see how tolls will factor in. This is the land of toll roads. There are plenty of ways around them, but you should still be aware of them. Nothing quite like the Verrazano bridge toll, but it still can add up

[Robzherenow]

Yes they get you with tolls everywhere in NY too. Then they charge you for parking wherever you go. I still remember the day I made the decision to move out of NY. It was a winter day last year when I had to go to airport to pick someone up. I paid $8 in toll, (sat in traffic both ways to pay the toll) parked my car at JFK airport for a little over 2 hours and got charged a $12 parking fee, driving home slipping and sliding all over the road because it was snowing, drivers in their cars were giving other drivers the 1/2 peace sign, came home to see a letter from my landlord stating that he wants to raise my $2300/month rent (1500 sq. ft apt), etc. I started to realize that this is not where I want to be!

As for salaries, both my wife and I will be transferring in our companies so hopefully we get to keep our NY salaries. Actually someone told us that Pharmcists in NY make more than those in NY so lets see if she gets a pay raise!

[Wallaroo]

Originally Posted by Robzherenow

5.) Since there is no state tax in Texas, thats a big plus.

Why are there no state tax in Texas??? Who are financing police, firefighters and schools then?

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by Wallaroo

Why are there no state tax in Texas??? Who are financing police, firefighters and schools then?

Public services finance works differently in states with no state income tax; it is funded by other taxes like sales tax and property tax.

[johnrex62]

Originally Posted by Wallaroo

Why are there no state tax in Texas??? Who are financing police, firefighters and schools then?

Real Estate property taxes and sales taxes pay for community services. Taxes vary by county, city and school district. Sales tax is usually a base 6% for the state and then additional sales tax per city, county, utility district, school district etc... Usually the combined sales tax is between 8%-9%. I don't have a good handle on average real estate taxes, but you should be able to find good numbers on the local tax entity web sites.

[hamiltonpl]

Actually, salaries (for lawyers anyway) are the exact same in Dallas as they are in NYC. I assume many other professionals are the same.

[hamiltonpl]

I just found this report http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/CSALTFINAL.pdf that bodes very well for Dallas vs NYC. It is actually from NYC's budget office.

From NYC's Independent Budget Office:

In raw dollar terms, New York City’s half trillion dollars of taxable resources dwarfed that of any other U.S. city. More revealing are the per capita GTR figures. Here Dallas ($74,383) and Houston ($72,835) ranked substantially higher than the other big cities, followed by San Diego ($63,814) and then New York ($61,622). The poorest big city, San Antonio ($38,127), indeed had barely half the per capita taxable resources of its Texas brethren. Philadelphia’s tax base was not much stronger. New York City’s per capita GTR was moderately (about 14 percent) higher than the average for the other eight big cities.

These overall taxable resource differentials are driven mostly by large variances on the business income side of the base. Per capita business GOS in San Diego and New York were nearly double the levels in San Antonio and Philadelphia—but were dwarfed in turn by Houston and Dallas. [Houston’s oil and gas sector comprises less than a quarter of the city’s business GOS while] Dallas’s strength is broadly distributed: the city ranked first or second among big cities in per capita GOS in 13 major industrial sectors, ranging from finance, real estate, and business services (in all of which Dallas actually ranked above New York) to manufacturing, trade, and construction. In New York City real estate, finance, information, and business services comprised almost 80 percent of total business GOS.

[Lakewooder]

I never pay tolls and I only buy gasoline once or twice per month. And I have shade trees so my AC bill is cheap. Of course I don't live way out on the prairie.