Hi, guys! I'm new here... need some advice...

[Silence Dogood]

Originally Posted by Kaci

I'm in Florida and have lived in Melbourne, Winter Haven and Orlando. We're a family of 4. Our bills today...

Electric... including air: $120-215 for a 2000 square foot older home. But we also have a pool... ads a little more to cost. We are conservative and keep our temp around 79-80 degrees.
Water: $40-60
Taxes on home: $2000, insurance $1300
Gasoline for car: $3.13 right now
Food Bill: $80 average a week. We also have a small garden, and don't buy a lot of junk food which brings the cost up.
Cable TV with Computer hook up: $110.... expensive, but kids love the tv and we all love the computer... our main source of entertainment! But you can get cable for as low as $40.

My friend in Melbourne who lives in a 900 sq. foot apt.
Electric: $59
water: $30
Gasoline for car: $3.09

Also, average dr. bill for my kids runs about $75- $80, return visit $50
Dentist, if they haven't been there for one or two years: $125 for full check up and xrays.

We loved Orlando when we lived there. It is very easy to commute through most areas of Orlando. Yes, you have traffic. But it is still a great city to find your way around. We lived in the West area of Orlando... Winter Garden, Ocoee. But there are nice areas everywhere. Affordable for us, and expensive for those who want that too.

Let me know if you want to know more about cost of living here.
By the way, we're moving to Georgia after being here 30 years. Too hummid for me here! Kaci

You keep your air on 79-80, I feel sorry for your kids, that's child abuse. I keep my air on 74 when home and 79 when out. If I put it on 75 I wake up sweating, my body can tell the difference if set up a single degree. Try and avoid windows with western exposure because there is no way to avoid the Florida Sun and it will roast your entire house. Ideally, the front of your house should face North and the back South since the sun is up north in the summer, this way your backyard gets the least amount of sun exposure and sun doesn't beat in the back of your house.

[Wilshire81182]

Originally Posted by Silence Dogood

You keep your air on 79-80, I feel sorry for your kids, that's child abuse.

LOL at child abuse! That was funny!

[Kaci]

Cost of living and houses are a lot cheaper in those states. It isn't as hot. My daughter lives in Atlanta and she rarely turns on the heat or air.

Just read the forums to learn more about those states. Keep us posted! K

[pianogal]

Originally Posted by disneytati

Hi, everyone!
I'm new here and I'm kinda lost... LOL I am from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. My family and I are planning to move to Orlando in January 2009, and I'm kinda worried about cost of living, etc. We have info about immigration, legalization, etc (the last thing I want is to be illegal, it's a nightmare!). We are saving money, and getting all documents ready. But I am kinda lost, I don't know which areas are good, prices of cars, and bills, like power, cable TV, errr... I don't know what else... Could you guys help me? What bills do we have to pay monthly? How much does everything cost?
Thanks a lot!!!!

Welcome to Orlando. I've followed the post and will try to help you with some questions. One thing that jumped out at me is that you said you will have 5 adults living in one home. Are you all one family? The reason I asked is that the bylaws of most deed restricted communities here state that only 1 family per single family home is allowed. That is something you will need to check carefully before renting or certainly before purchasing a home. My community is like that and I'm on the HOA board. We have a problem with a couple of owners who have rented their homes to college students - which is not in accordance with our bylaws. You understand this is done to protect the investment of all the homeowners in the community.

These bills are based on my home which is a 6 bedroom, 3200 square foot home with a pool and 4 adults - me, DH, DS and MIL.

Now to monthly bills....

Mortgage/Rent on a 4-5 bedroom 3+ bath home - $1500-2500 a month in my area - south east Orlando - Vista Lakes/Lake Nona

The following 3 bills you will have to pay only if you purchase.
Property Taxes - depends on price of home - count about 2% of value - it will be a little less than that - but that will give you an idea.

Property Insurance (if you purchase) $1200 a year

HOA Dues - $800 a year

MONTHLY BILLS
Power Bill - 325.00
Water Bill - 70.00
Garbage - 15.00

Cable TV/Hi Speed Internet/Digital Home Phone with Bright House - $160.00
(we have several extra HD boxes - run about 7 TV's in our home)

Cell Phone - AT&T with 4 lines (one line has internet access) $167.00
Car Insurance - 2007 Ford Escape (65.00) 2004 Ford Ranger (75.00)
Gas - depends on how far you drive, right now it's 3.95 a gallon

Check out the internet cars.com when you're ready to buy. I bought my Ford Escape from Greenway Ford a couple of months ago. The blue book listed it at 21,500 - I bought it with a bumper to bumper warranty to 100,000 miles for $15,900. They had two others on the lot just like mine for 21,500 and 22,000. Why was mine so cheap? Internet special. I've bought 3 cars in the last year - my sons (paid $18K for a wrangler sahara listed for $24K), my MIL (paid 10K for a Ford Taurus which listed for 16K) and mine - ALL by finding internet specials on CARS.COM. All three cars were purchased from different dealerships.

Food - I spend about $500 a month at the grocery store but this includes toiletries, vitamins, etc. We also eat out a good bit.

Did I miss any of the basics? If you have any other questions feel free to ask. Good Luck!