Colorado living expenses? (Denver, Parker, Flagler: apartments, rent, car registration)

[sdodge15]

What should I expect when it comes to the cost of living in Denver? I live in Houston, TX now and I was wondering if anyone knows if Denver is more/less expensive.

-Thanks for your responses

[Charles]

Originally Posted by sdodge15

What should I expect when it comes to the cost of living in Denver? I live in Houston, TX now and I was wondering if anyone knows if Denver is more/less expensive.

-Thanks for your responses

Did you try any online tools like Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed
?

[rebagirl]

Originally Posted by Charles

Did you try any online tools like Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed
?

Last time I made mention of the above site, a moderator (not Mike) deleted it because it was considered a competitor of this site. My reaction was: Huh?

[1nicecouple]

imho Denver(and all of CO) is ALOT more $$ than Texas...

[the3Ds]

My husband received a job offer in Houston and one in Denver. After a lot of research and talking to anyone we could find, we chose Denver. I know that the home prices are cheaper in Houston, but Texas has incredibly high property taxes. For the average 2000K foot home in Parker (where we're looking to buy), the property tax is about $1900 per year. There also seems to be a lot more places in Denver that you can live and feel safe (with a decent school system). I remember looking at Houston and being told to ONLY live in Sugarland or the Woodlands.

Houston also has that free-for-all energy plan. I can only speak from my own experience, but here, we have Xcel Energy which bills us for both gas and electricity. We moved here in August and ran the air conditioner. It cools down enough at night that it would turn off automatically (what a concept!). Our highest bill in the summer was $88 (keeping the air at 75). Our bill for December (using the heat and keeping it at 67) was $190. Again, that includes gas and electricity (Christmas lights).

Gas prices are still under $3 a gallon. I believe we pay $2.91.

I haven't noticed a big difference in food prices...they have gone up all over the country.

Car registration was what nearly gave me a heart attack. In Florida, it cost about $55 per car (including their cool license plates). Here, we registered our 2002 Honda Accord ($136) and our 2007 Honda Pilot ($534). That does not include $25 emissions testing and $12 VIN verification. That is just for the year...no fancy plates (those will cost you an extra $50).

I think the key is to just live within your means no matter where you chose.

[Averie-Jay]

When moving here, myself, I was apprehensive about what the cost of living would be. It's more expensive than my hometown in Wisconsin, but less so than Flagler County, Florida (where I moved from).

I've toured lovely apartments throughout Denver in the $660-750 range that I'd recommend to anyone. Most of the apartments had fireplaces and washers & dryers included. (The rent price didn't include utilities or water, however.) For the same apartment in Green Bay, WI, I would've paid $515-$585. In Florida, however, the same apartment would've easily been $950.

I don't know what the living costs are in other areas outside of WI, FL, and CO, but I'd say Denver can be affordable if you want it to be. I'm not a wealthy girl by any stretch of the imagination, but I have no trouble budgeting my living costs here. I'm also paid more in Colorado than WI/FL, so this offsets some of the higher costs.

[jkcoop]

Keep in mind you are going from a state with no state income tax to one that does. We moved from Dallas 9 years ago. It is much more expensive to live here. Yes, property tax is more expensive in Texas, but partly because of the no state income tax. Car registration here is way, way more expensive. I can't compare coming from Houston, but I know that even though we were paid more when we moved here, we did have to make adjustments for sure.
The housing was a huge shocker. But that was 9 years ago when it was hard to make an offer on a house because they were being sold so fast.

[alexis2005]

I make 90K here in Dallas. I will have to make 108K in Denver to sustain the same standard of living. Most employers realize this so they will offer you a good bump in pay to get you there. If they don't - interview with some one else! It's worth the move in my humble opinion. Good luck!