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With all the pros and cons (not mentioning some heated debates ) on relocating to Orlando I've read on this forum, I believe life will be better there than what we have here in the UK. All I need to know now is HOW MUCH it costs to live in a fairly comfortable life where I can sleep soundly at night and worry about over spending.
To all living in Orlando in the past 12 months and more,it would do me a huge favor if you can put a price tag (MONTHLY BASIS) on each of the items below.
1. Mortgage for a $200-$300k house(kindly add cost to housing assoc.)=
2. GAS (assuming I drive a 7seater car and 30mins-1 hour to work)=
3. Utility bills (assuming I got a pool,2000SF,a/c on all day, with house windows facing the sun)=
4. Groceries (for a couple in their 30s with an 8y.o. girl and 4 y.o. boy,non-smoking,non-drinking,eat-all type)=
5.school fees (assuming i send them to private schools)=
6.Insurances and taxes (car and house only)=
6. all others costs not mentioned above=
To give you an idea, this is what we (apprx) pay here in the UK.
1. For a $300k house- about $1,850/mon
2. Around $320/mon! it is $2.40 per liter here as of 24th of June.
3. Around $200-$250 for water,gas and electric
4. Around $240 on groceries or $60/week in a good week.
5. It is $6k a year here for elementary schools (majority goes public though including mine).
6.Car and house
insurance- $1000-$1200 a year ( for a 7-seater)
road tax (we dont do tolls)- $440/year
insurance for a 4b/2b house in a semi-ghetto neighbourhood-$420/year
property tax for same property-$2880/year
I do not intend to compare where I will be better off(whichever comes cheaper) coz you cant put a price tag on subjective matters like weather,themeparks,alligator-sighting/biting,live shootout etc.,meaning, a very unpredictable,very spontaneous lifestyle BUT what I'm curious to know is the TAKEHOME pay after all the costs deducted that's why I'm requesting for these figures.
Thank you for taking the time to read and hoping you can fill in the figures in anyway you can.
1. about the same
2. about the same
3. a tad higher
4. defiantly higher unless you budget very very well
5. totally depends on where you go. Anywhere from 2k-20k depending on the school
6. Car insurance about the same but homeowners can be double or even triple what you are currently paying. Property tax around the same.
In conclusion, it looks like you will definitely be paying more to live here. All the little differences would add up.
Thanks for the input. Since our household income will rise about 30-50% on our move to FL (Im more conservative so shall we say 30%), this should hopefully offset a costlier Fl.
1. about the same
2. about the same
3. a tad higher
4. defiantly higher unless you budget very very well
5. totally depends on where you go. Anywhere from 2k-20k depending on the school
6. Car insurance about the same but homeowners can be double or even triple what you are currently paying. Property tax around the same.
In conclusion, it looks like you will definitely be paying more to live here. All the little differences would add up.
Hang on a moment .... are you saying Mortgage costs are about the same although your interest rates are lower than ours and houses way cheaper , Vehicle fuel costs about the same when we pay £5.50 a gallon , and that your food bills are higher than the UK when ive shopped in both places and can asure you they are not .
Or maybe im missreading your post ??
Richard.
Hang on a moment .... are you saying Mortgage costs are about the same although your interest rates are lower than ours and houses way cheaper , Vehicle fuel costs about the same when we pay £5.50 a gallon , and that your food bills are higher than the UK when ive shopped in both places and can asure you they are not .
Or maybe im missreading your post ??
Richard.
Agree with you here Richard. Gas is way cheaper in america as is food generally, especially fruit, which is getting to be a luxury here with the ever increasing prices on your everyday foods!
To buy a 4bed/2bath house in the UK you are looking at anything from £250,000 upwards (approx $500,000) and bearing in mind it would be no where near the sq ft of a FL home (this is based on where i currently live in the UK, prices are much higher in some areas). In FL we could buy a 4bed/3bath home for less than half what our present home is worth and we only have 3 bed/1.5 bathrooms!! Our lounge (family room to FL) is relatively large for a UK property but it is only the normal size of a bedroom in FL.
Cant comment on utility bills and the such as have no idea of those, but fuel and food and houses ~ FL definately heaps cheaper!!
Regarding having a swimming pool, was on another thread a while back that someone commented that by him having a pool it put around $40 on his bill, which I assume was a weekly figure(?), and he paid to have it maintained which cost him $75 a month.
I have put my answers in red. Bear in mind that alot of this depends on lifestyle.....
To give you an idea, this is what we (apprx) pay here in the UK.
1. For a $300k house- about $1,850/mon -
this sounds about right if you're financing the full 300K...the more downpayment the better. According to my calculator 300K financed for 30 years at 6% would be about $1800 a month plus my HOA fees are $185 a quarter (I live in a newer community) or about $65.00 a month for a total of $1865.00 much less if you have a good (20%) downpayment. I did not include PMI (private mortgage insurance) which would be required if you do not have the 20% down.
2. Around $320/mon! it is $2.40 per liter here as of 24th of June.
DH and I each commute 17 and 12 miles to work respectively. It takes us from 20 minutes to 45 minutes depending on traffic. We are currently spending a combined total of $400.00 a month in gas which is about $3.93 a gallon here. He drives a newer Ford Pickup and I drive a new Ford Escape - a 5 passenger SUV which is giving me from 20 (city) -28 (highway) MPG. You can figure more for a larger SUV.
3. Around $200-$250 for water,gas and electric
Ours is much higher. Our electric for a 3200 square foot house with pool runs an average of $350 a month. We keep our air from 76-78 and have programmable thermostats that go up in the daytime when we are not here. We do have 4 desktop computers that run all the time and a number of TV's, etc.
Water runs from $50.00 a month (during the rainy season when we can turn off the irrigation system and don't have to add water to the pool) to $100.00 a month during dry weather. We don't have any gas. So we budget about $425.00 a month for electric and water. When we lived in a smaller home 1800 square feet -no pool - our electric was less - about $250.00 per month. Water was the same.
4. Around $240 on groceries or $60/week in a good week.
This is very subjective depending on your habits. We budget about $125.00 a week for 3 adults...but we eat alot of fresh fruits and vegetables, juices, soy products, cereals and healthy lean meats. Many weeks we spend less...some weeks we spend more. This budget also covers our toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc.
5. It is $6k a year here for elementary schools (majority goes public though including mine).
Unlike most on this forum, I think we have some excellent public schools. My son received a fantastic education in the public school system here. However, private schools are expensive. I would budget at least 8-10K a year per child for a top private school. You could find some cheaper.
6.Car and house
insurance- $1000-$1200 a year ( for a 7-seater)
My car insurance for a new FORD escape is $750.00 a year with State Farm - one of our larger insurers in the states. Yours should be similar.
road tax (we dont do tolls)- $440/year
There is no road tax. You would probably pay the same in tolls, however.
insurance for a 4b/2b house in a semi-ghetto neighbourhood-$420/year
You insurance would be higher - I would figure at least double that. I have noticed rates are coming down again. My insurance for a 6/4 in a new community was 1200 last year, but I have received a quote for the same coverage for $600.00 for next year.
property tax for same property-$2880/year
Property tax runs around 2 mils here - say 2% on 85% of the homes value minus your homestead exemption. On a 300K house that would be around $4000.00 a year in Orlando. Some cities/counties are higher, some are lower.
I wish you the best as you choose the right path for you and your family.
Hang on a moment .... are you saying Mortgage costs are about the same although your interest rates are lower than ours and houses way cheaper , Vehicle fuel costs about the same when we pay £5.50 a gallon , and that your food bills are higher than the UK when ive shopped in both places and can asure you they are not .
Or maybe im missreading your post ??
Richard.
No I was very accurate when it came to my bills. In US dollar I pay more in groceries by over $100 (about 450 for my family of 5) a month and fuel is about the same currently (75-100 a week).
Mortgage: 300,000 at a 6.5% (my interest rate) =1896
I have put my answers in red. Bear in mind that alot of this depends on lifestyle.....
To give you an idea, this is what we (apprx) pay here in the UK.
1. For a $300k house- about $1,850/mon -
this sounds about right if you're financing the full 300K...the more downpayment the better. According to my calculator 300K financed for 30 years at 6% would be about $1800 a month plus my HOA fees are $185 a quarter (I live in a newer community) or about $65.00 a month for a total of $1865.00 much less if you have a good (20%) downpayment. I did not include PMI (private mortgage insurance) which would be required if you do not have the 20% down.
2. Around $320/mon! it is $2.40 per liter here as of 24th of June.
DH and I each commute 17 and 12 miles to work respectively. It takes us from 20 minutes to 45 minutes depending on traffic. We are currently spending a combined total of $400.00 a month in gas which is about $3.93 a gallon here. He drives a newer Ford Pickup and I drive a new Ford Escape - a 5 passenger SUV which is giving me from 20 (city) -28 (highway) MPG. You can figure more for a larger SUV.
3. Around $200-$250 for water,gas and electric
Ours is much higher. Our electric for a 3200 square foot house with pool runs an average of $350 a month. We keep our air from 76-78 and have programmable thermostats that go up in the daytime when we are not here. We do have 4 desktop computers that run all the time and a number of TV's, etc.
Water runs from $50.00 a month (during the rainy season when we can turn off the irrigation system and don't have to add water to the pool) to $100.00 a month during dry weather. We don't have any gas. So we budget about $425.00 a month for electric and water. When we lived in a smaller home 1800 square feet -no pool - our electric was less - about $250.00 per month. Water was the same.
4. Around $240 on groceries or $60/week in a good week.
This is very subjective depending on your habits. We budget about $125.00 a week for 3 adults...but we eat alot of fresh fruits and vegetables, juices, soy products, cereals and healthy lean meats. Many weeks we spend less...some weeks we spend more. This budget also covers our toiletries, cleaning supplies, etc.
5. It is $6k a year here for elementary schools (majority goes public though including mine).
Unlike most on this forum, I think we have some excellent public schools. My son received a fantastic education in the public school system here. However, private schools are expensive. I would budget at least 8-10K a year per child for a top private school. You could find some cheaper.
6.Car and house
insurance- $1000-$1200 a year ( for a 7-seater)
My car insurance for a new FORD escape is $750.00 a year with State Farm - one of our larger insurers in the states. Yours should be similar.
road tax (we dont do tolls)- $440/year
There is no road tax. You would probably pay the same in tolls, however.
insurance for a 4b/2b house in a semi-ghetto neighbourhood-$420/year
You insurance would be higher - I would figure at least double that. I have noticed rates are coming down again. My insurance for a 6/4 in a new community was 1200 last year, but I have received a quote for the same coverage for $600.00 for next year.
property tax for same property-$2880/year
Property tax runs around 2 mils here - say 2% on 85% of the homes value minus your homestead exemption. On a 300K house that would be around $4000.00 a year in Orlando. Some cities/counties are higher, some are lower.
I wish you the best as you choose the right path for you and your family.
that makes interesting reading indeed! When its all put down in black and white (or red in your case) it shows quite clearly just how expensive it can be to live in FL.
Higher mortgage. Our mortgage is in b/w $200k - 300k, and our mortgage is about $2,000/mo (which includes property taxes... which on a house like that are going to be $4000/yr or so)... So on a $300k house, u are probably looking at 2200-2300/month
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