[shadow42]

Saw on the news yesterday that the highest prices for gasoline is...CA at an avg of $4.89...big surprise. Oklahoman's are paying the lowest...about $3.80 per gallon. Near my old neighborhood in socal they are paying close to $5, but here in OK we have been paying $3.67. Seems like food is a bit cheaper, but have not found the selection here that there was in socal. Also, wine seems to be more expensive and not as convenient to purschase, nor do they have the selection. Property is definately way, way cheaper, but property tax not as low as you would think. We are looking in Edmond around the $350k price and taxes here are close to $4k for a home in that range, so not so cheap. But for $350 you get a really nice good size home in the 3000sqft range. My house in socal sold for $535k and was 1760sqft.

[colleeng47]

Originally Posted by shadow42

Saw on the news yesterday that the highest prices for gasoline is...CA at an avg of $4.89...big surprise. Oklahoman's are paying the lowest...about $3.80 per gallon. Near my old neighborhood in socal they are paying close to $5, but here in OK we have been paying $3.67. Seems like food is a bit cheaper, but have not found the selection here that there was in socal. Also, wine seems to be more expensive and not as convenient to purschase, nor do they have the selection. Property is definately way, way cheaper, but property tax not as low as you would think. We are looking in Edmond around the $350k price and taxes here are close to $4k for a home in that range, so not so cheap. But for $350 you get a really nice good size home in the 3000sqft range. My house in socal sold for $535k and was 1760sqft.

A $350,000 house in NJ would have property taxes of anywhere between $8,000 and $12,000, depending on the town. I lived in a 1200 square foot cape cod on less than 1/3 acre, and my taxes were $3800. And keep in mind that $350,000 for a house in OK is on the higher end.

[karibear]

Originally Posted by colleeng47

A $350,000 house in NJ would have property taxes of anywhere between $8,000 and $12,000, depending on the town. I lived in a 1200 square foot cape cod on less than 1/3 acre, and my taxes were $3800. And keep in mind that $350,000 for a house in OK is on the higher end.

When I first started looking at property a couple years ago, I looked on ebay first just to see what the regional price variations were. There were a LOT of fixers for sale in some of the larger cities, like Indianapolis, Columbus, and so on. The houses themselves were cheap. One of the catches was that pretty much nowhere would anyone buying one be allowed to live in them while doing the fixing - and while some of them were seriously trashed, others just needed fresh paint and the yards cleaned up. The biggest catch was the taxes - some of them had hefty back taxes owed, that being part of the sales agreement that the buyer assume responsibility. Even when there weren't any back taxes, the property taxes were in the 4 figure/month category. Not somewhere I could afford to live!

The place I have now, if it were available in WA, would have close to 200K added to what I paid. There was a lot I saw advertised in Bellingham not long before I left - 100' x 100' - that was priced at 599K. THEN the buyer would have to have architect's drawings approved, permits for just about everything imaginable, and then, finally, get to build on it. And then pay for inspections at every stage.

I like where I am. I can afford my house, I can afford to live here, and I like the people and the countryside. After 30+ years in Alaska, I really like the idea of four seasons - there were just 3 there, freeze-up, break-up, and road construction.

[TimC2462]

Originally Posted by StillwaterTownie

Cost of living is low in Oklahoma because the average income is low. Also not a lot of people are moving into the state which keeps demands for everything down, unlike other states, such as Florida and California.

Oil and Gas is still a big industry in Oklahoma which is in lots of demand now while creating jobs, so that's why Oklahoma is recession resistant. Also the lack of wild property speculation from lack of people moving into Oklahoma helps out. A lot of people don't want the rough outdoor work of roughnecking, so that helps keep people out of Oklahoma, if they need a job. Besides, that Oklahoma pays less for a lot of jobs than in other states, so that causes lots of people to turn their noses up to Oklahoma and find some other state that pay more.

Here in Bakersfield, California, we have remained pretty much recession proof for the most part. However, the local economy has taken a dip since the city is dependent on fast residential and commercial development.

The wild property speculation within the last 8 years has caused property value to skyrocket from the average of 150,000 dollars (more or less) to 400,000 dollars. The increased value was largely due to outside residents from the coastal areas buying houses and selling them several years later -- all for profit. The biggest losers are the native Bakersfield residents who can no longer afford houses in this city. Although we have come to a full circle with the real estate market slowing down, it still isn't cheap enough for native residents of Bakersfield.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Tim C.

[TimC2462]

Originally Posted by mkfarnam

Don't forget to mention.......fresh, clean air, and little to no Illegal Immigrants . There are many states don't have either one and some people would kill for it! People would be(and some are) heading this way if they heard about either one.

How would the lack of illegal immigrants contribute to the lower cost of living? I have my guess, but I'd like to learn some specific examples, especially from a Oklahoman who has also lived here in California.

Thanks in advance...

Tim C.

[mkfarnam]

Originally Posted by TimC2462

How would the lack of illegal immigrants contribute to the lower cost of living? I have my guess, but I'd like to learn some specific examples, especially from a Oklahoman who has also lived here in California.

Thanks in advance...

Tim C.

More jobs for unemployed citizens, to start with..
Have you seen how the unemployment rate has dropped in both OK, and Arz?

[TimC2462]

Originally Posted by yensid

Ya'll don't like it when people put down Oklahoma, but you seem to put other places down a lot. ??

To the original poster- it sounds like you may really like it here based on your desires (I also read your other post). But make sure you visit for a while to make your decision. It is a different world than Cali and if you have any issues with weather (I think you mentioned it at one point), you may not like it here.
Couple things I thought I would mention. I talked to a friend in Orange County recently and the gas there is almost a dollar more. The car insurance doesn't seem much different to me, but I could be wrong. My agent said some of it is higher due to a high amount of uninsured drivers. We DO pay tax on groceries, which you don't in Cali. And I was surprised that the sales tax in my area is higher than when I was in Orange County. Other than that, things are mostly cheaper here....but, people do make less. I've seen a lot of things lately which say the median household income in some cities here is around $50,000-$55,000. As you would know, a household couldn't really survive with that amount in Cali. A house that would cost about ohhh....$800,000 in Cali, you can get here for about $180,000. Good luck to you!

Thanks for your input. I didn't know you lived in California all your life before relocating to Oklahoma. Living in Monterey for 21 years, the weather was always BORING fo rme. It was the same all year round -- grey and gloomy. The climate is more seasonal here in Bakersfield, with the winter going low as 45 degrees, which is too not bad. I don't mind the summer heat, but wish we had more colder, rain, and windy days.

It's the tornadoes in Oklahoma that I'm a little concerned about.

Tim C.

[TimC2462]

Originally Posted by mkfarnam

More jobs for unemployed citizens, to start with..
Have you seen how the unemployment rate has dropped in both OK, and Arz?

No I haven't. I'm assuming this the data is available on this website. I'll check it out.

[briansgi]

I always get a kick out of the people, including our whiz bang president, who try to justify the illegals being here by saying "well they do jobs that Americans won't do". No Mr. Prez, Americans will do those jobs, but at a fair wage!! I have to remind people, 40 years ago didn't we get our concrete poured, didn't we get our landscaping done, didn't we get new roofs put on? Of course we did, by Americans at a decent wage!

[karibear]

Originally Posted by briansgi

I always get a kick out of the people, including our whiz bang president, who try to justify the illegals being here by saying "well they do jobs that Americans won't do". No Mr. Prez, Americans will do those jobs, but at a fair wage!! I have to remind people, 40 years ago didn't we get our concrete poured, didn't we get our landscaping done, didn't we get new roofs put on? Of course we did, by Americans at a decent wage!

For the most part, that's true. But the American educational system has a lot to answer for, also. There was a report on CNN late March that estimated that the average numbers of high school seniors who actually graduated was in the high 50 percent. The ranges were from the low 40s to a high of 72 of all the schools that were surveyed. Not only are the kids not graduating, the ones who do aren't learning much. In the '80s I worked for a school district, and one of the junior girls - one who had a decent grade average and didn't expect any problem graduating the following year - couldn't spell the name of the street she lived on: Beaver Lake Loop. Nor could she spell her mother's last name - her mother had remarried a couple years earlier, and this girl couldn't spell her stepfather's last name. One of the worst cases I know - a friend's husband was a doctor in private practice. His receptionist was also supposed to transcribe his notes into every patient's file - they found what appeared to be a good one, she was fine on the phone, no problem making appointments, was industious at transcribing dictation. Until he found out she had no concept of medical terminology and was making up her own notes! She was out the door immediately, and a couple weeks worth of files had to be reviewed and corrected, as much as was possible to do so. That was one of the deciding factors, I think, in his decision to retire when he did.