What's the price of milk? and other things (Memphis, Monterey: sales, apartment)

[MsBeater]

Hello!
I've got a job offer sort of. I've got a salary number...
I'm trying to do some math to figure out if I can do this.
Can you help?

I'm moving from Monterey, CA. And I know I'm looking at a decent decrease in prices of things.

I'm figuring about $800-$900 to rent a one bedroom apartment.
Gas looks to be in the $3.60ish range right now.
I'm wondering about utilities and groceries.

[DubbleT]

I don't know if it'll pull up properly for you, if not I plugged in the zip code for the 38117 area of east Memphis. Should give you a fairly good idea.

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For something a little more like a Trader Joe's there's Whole Foods and Fresh Market, although I think they each only have one location in Memphis.
Fresh Ideas - Plan for Easy Weeknight Dinners

Utilities will depend a lot on where you live and how well insulated, and your lifestyle.

[fittoac]

I paid $2.78 +tax for a gallon of 2% milk at Costco today.

[WestbankNOLA]

Originally Posted by fittoac

I paid $2.78 +tax for a gallon of 2% milk at Costco today.

Maybe I should be moving to Memphis. Just payed $4 something for a gallon at Wal-Mart.

[(901)]

$2.49 for 1%

$800-$900 will get you a very nice 1 br apt here

[strumpeace]

Echoing what others wrote about rent and groceries. (We also have discount grocers such as Aldi, btw.)

Utilities can be tricky. Based on the $400 gas bill I got one time a couple of years ago for running heat for all of three days one winter (and yes, I'm serious, I ran the heat for a total of three days in my two-bedroom Midtown apartment), I would strongly advise that you try to find an all-electric apartment.

Best wishes.

[one opinion]

Originally Posted by strumpeace

Echoing what others wrote about rent and groceries. (We also have discount grocers such as Aldi, btw.)

Utilities can be tricky. Based on the $400 gas bill I got one time a couple of years ago for running heat for all of three days one winter (and yes, I'm serious, I ran the heat for a total of three days in my two-bedroom Midtown apartment), I would strongly advise that you try to find an all-electric apartment.

Best wishes.

I would echo that DubbleT that utilities will depend a lot on where you live, how well insulated the place is , and your lifestyle. I don't think the experience above is the norm. I have gas heat, live in a larger space than that described above, and have never had a utility bill nearly this high.

I would guess that the reason for this large bill is related to the specific property. Some of the homes in midtown are near 100 years old, and while they are unique, beautiful homes with a ton of character, some may come with the a trade-off in energy efficiency. Some have been updated and are more energy efficient, but others have not (only single pane windows, etc.). As you may be aware, due to their design and the building materials used when these homes were built, insulation options require a bit of research (not an expert myself). It's not as simple as just blowing insulation into the walls (which I have heard can cause irreparable damage to some homes). Should you decide to move here, I certainly am not discouraging you from from living in midtown (one of my favorite parts of town), but just wanted to put the utilities described above into context.

[BirdieBelle]

The other thing that freaks out people who move here from "elsewhwere" is the sales tax on food at the grocery.

[ColliervilleMom]

Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life

The other thing that freaks out people who move here from "elsewhwere" is the sales tax on food at the grocery.

That's true! We are going to pay one way or another. There are a lot of cost of living calculators that compare food, rent, gas, etc... that will give you a better overall picture. I thought there was one on this site, but I can't seem to find it.

Here is one; http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costo...tofliving.html