moving to mesa/gilbert (Chandler, Tempe: property taxes, hoa, budget)

[Teri Patrick]

I'm looking at moving to the Mesa/Gilbert area soon and need to know about the cost of utilities there. I have read some posts about electric bills, running anywhere from $40/mo-$500/mo depending on multiple factors. What about the water, gas and phone companies? I haven't rented anything yet, but from the sound of it, I don't want anything with a pool or spa. My husband will just have to tough it!

[daisy4given]

Hello,

As you mentioned, the price of utilities depends on a LOT of factors. I'll explain some of my family's factors first to help you get an idea for comparison.
My husband and I own a home in Mesa, which we love because Mesa has lower property taxes than any of the other communities in the East Valley. Mesa is also just a great community to live in, and we live near the Tempe-Chandler borders, where the neighborhoods are cleaner & safer than some of the more Northern areas of Mesa. However, my husband was born and raised in Gilbert, and sings its praises all the time, so that's a good place to settle too
Our home was built in the 70's, and is 1300 square feet. We have no South-facing windows, and the south-facing wall of our house is small and often in the shade. All of our windows have sun shades and awnings or porches over them, so we don't get a lot of diect sunlight inside, which is good. However, we have a HUGE pool and a large front lawn, both of which make our bills MUCH larger than most people who have the same size house but desert landscaping and no pool. A newer house will be more energy efficient and thus cheaper, and not having a pool or lawn would obviously make a HUGE difference - counting chemicals, in the summer our pool costs us over $400 a month to keep up! Also, some areas of Mesa have natural gas, which is cheaper than electricity - we do not live in one of those areas.

Anyway, to the info you really want:
For local cable & high speed internet, both from Cox, we pay a total of $50 a month, although this changes based the neighborhood you live in, and the other features you want.
For phone, we both only have cell phones, but when we used to have a home phone it was $20 a month from Qwest.
Our City of Mesa bill includes water, sewage, trash, recycle, and green pick-up. The green pick-up is $10 every time, and we have a moderate amount of greenery, so it's not too bad. But, with the rapid rate of evaporation off of our pool and lawn, our bill ranges from $50 per month in the winter to $220 per month in the summer.
Electricity with SRP also varies greatly over the year, ranging from $70 per month in the winter to $300 per month in the summer.

I hope this helped some!!

[JeepGirl118]

Why not just call SRP and the water company find out the average electricity bills in certain neighborhoods with similar square footage that you are seeking out - and also call COX for pricing on their various packages? What Daisy above is paying for Cox is no where near what we pay - we pay Cox a bit over $200/mo for our combo package and 3 DVR's. Everyones bills will vary by quite a bit - might be easier if you find out from the companies an approx on what is suited to your needs and lifestyle. Just trying to be a help so you don't stress if your bills come out higher than what you hear here. The companies themselves will slap a little reality into it.

[fheck]

SRP will do an average over the whole year. So instead of paying $380 in the summer months, and only $140 in the winter, you can pay an average of both so you are not hit with the higher bills in the summer. Moderator cut: no advertising

[aj661]

Originally Posted by fheck

SRP will do an average over the whole year. So instead of paying $380 in the summer months, and only $140 in the winter, you can pay an average of both so you are not hit with the higher bills in the summer. Moderator cut: no advertising

We do this also. It's a good program for us because it allows me to apply the K.I.S.S.-principle to our budget; no seasonal adjustments. SRP also has a time of day option, where you pay less for electric during off-peak hours. If you can discipline your family to use the major appliances during the off hours, it will save you even more. I did it at my last house and it saved me $10-20 per month.

BTW, we live in Mesa in a 1717 sq ft home with a pool and spa. Our average monthly expenses:
Electric=$210
Gas=$44
City water, sewer, garbage=$70
Cox cable, internet, phone=$115
HOA=$50