Aside from property prices, property taxes and gas, is California that much more expensive than other states ? (Long Beach: car insurance, hotel)

[Mr5150]

Originally Posted by aslowdodge

As I’ve mentioned many times before, your case is anecdotal.
More people live in the metro areas where all the costs are higher rather than the Sierra foothills where the population is much less. So the list he made is true for an overall average.

While what you say is true, I also live in CA. Blanket statements about CA based on the LA or Bay Area perspective are just a stereotype. And consider that many people don’t mind cost when choosing a place to live. Texas is cheaper than CA, but it is not for me.

[citizensadvocate]

Originally Posted by Vic Romano

Cable is $100 per month cheaper? Or $100 per year? I don't see cable being $100 per month cheaper unless you changed providers and got a plan with fewer channels.

What's your electric bill in the summer with AC? I've read over $200 per month for a small house in Tucson. You paid less than that in OC for the same size place? Apples to apples? I paid about $250 for a house in the IE with 2 central ACs and 2800 square feet for the 2 hottest months in the summer. You paid more?

I don't see substantial savings from LA other than the things already mentioned by the OP (rent, gas).

It appears Los Angeles has its own power company who charges the same rate as some of Arizona's major utilities thats what I heard. A fraction compared to the three utility giants in California named SCE, PG&E, and SDG&E. The only drawback is that I heard they are able to threaten to shut off power to punish party houses. So LA is not a good comparison. I bet its the same with Sacramento as I would explain below. Sacramento's rates are also comparable to the major utility in Arizona. I be curious whether Sacramento would threaten to shut off power to party houses. And whether they or LA are vulnerable to rolling blackouts. Interestingly to add to the insult people in CA now have to deal with blackouts for almost no good reason. Explained by another thread. Last year they threatened to shut down half of urban areas of the state including 1/3 of San Jose, to avoid wildfire every time the wind picks up in the fall.

Though its important to compare similar sized houses inland with pool and A/C and all those gadgets and amenities. My example of the larger Elk Grove house vs the smaller San Francisco house seem to show that you get much more bang for your buck in Sacramento than the smaller house in San Francisco for what you pay in terms of utility cost. The fact is a lot of California residents(even those living in climates much hotter than SF) are paying more than $100 a month to swelter in their space constrained often unA/Ced dwelling at night so at least the Tuscon folks are staying cool while sleeping or in the pool thus paying near $200 is worth it given how hot Tucson summers get. I also notice California summers are getting more humid recently as well and that CA folks should embrace the heat pump for houses or apartments with only a wall board heater and no A/C. As I noticed when its humid the coastline brings little if any relief to the heat and may make it worse.

Though people living in Southern Arizona needs to be very brave as I cannot imagine getting into a hot car baked in the mostly shadeless parking lots in 110 degree heat. How they do it without getting burned and anything left in the car would melt. I guess this might explain why day laborors rarely hang out in home depot or anywhere else in Tuscon, I be curious what about Phoenix which gets even hotter in the summer but is much denser? Other seasons are not that bad though.

[Finper]

Originally Posted by Vic Romano

Cable is $100 per month cheaper? Or $100 per year? I don't see cable being $100 per month cheaper unless you changed providers and got a plan with fewer channels.

What's your electric bill in the summer with AC? I've read over $200 per month for a small house in Tucson. You paid less than that in OC for the same size place? Apples to apples? I paid about $250 for a house in the IE with 2 central ACs and 2800 square feet for the 2 hottest months in the summer. You paid more?

I don't see substantial savings from LA other than the things already mentioned by the OP (rent, gas).

In Arizona I have xfinity cable and it’s 150 a month compared to Time Warner I paid 250.00 for same channels.

My electric bill last month for 2 bdrm 2 bath washer /dryer stove no gas was 88.00. I’m under a large mesquite tree that might help with the blasting sun.

Yes some things are the same or similar in Ca and Az. I noticed a bigger difference in Texas.

[Finper]

Originally Posted by citizensadvocate

It appears Los Angeles has its own power company who charges the same rate as some of Arizona's major utilities thats what I heard. A fraction compared to the three utility giants in California named SCE, PG&E, and SDG&E. The only drawback is that I heard they are able to threaten to shut off power to punish party houses. So LA is not a good comparison. I bet its the same with Sacramento as I would explain below. Sacramento's rates are also comparable to the major utility in Arizona. I be curious whether Sacramento would threaten to shut off power to party houses. And whether they or LA are vulnerable to rolling blackouts. Interestingly to add to the insult people in CA now have to deal with blackouts for almost no good reason. Explained by another thread. Last year they threatened to shut down half of urban areas of the state including 1/3 of San Jose, to avoid wildfire every time the wind picks up in the fall.

Though its important to compare similar sized houses inland with pool and A/C and all those gadgets and amenities. My example of the larger Elk Grove house vs the smaller San Francisco house seem to show that you get much more bang for your buck in Sacramento than the smaller house in San Francisco for what you pay in terms of utility cost. The fact is a lot of California residents(even those living in climates much hotter than SF) are paying more than $100 a month to swelter in their space constrained often unA/Ced dwelling at night so at least the Tuscon folks are staying cool while sleeping or in the pool thus paying near $200 is worth it given how hot Tucson summers get. I also notice California summers are getting more humid recently as well and that CA folks should embrace the heat pump for houses or apartments with only a wall board heater and no A/C. As I noticed when its humid the coastline brings little if any relief to the heat and may make it worse.

Though people living in Southern Arizona needs to be very brave as I cannot imagine getting into a hot car baked in the mostly shadeless parking lots in 110 degree heat. How they do it without getting burned and anything left in the car would melt. I guess this might explain why day laborors rarely hang out in home depot or anywhere else in Tuscon, I be curious what about Phoenix which gets even hotter in the summer but is much denser? Other seasons are not that bad though.

People in Az are a lot better adapted and equipped for heat then Ca. There’s no rolling black outs people would die. Most cars have tinted windows and use sun shades. I just went grocery shopping and it was 109. I’m moving to Idaho soon

[Igor Blevin]

Originally Posted by MIDAYADA

My bad, i must admit, i thought i was going to get 3 or 4 replies when i posted so didn't go too granular. I would have gone into a more explicit detail had I thought that it would have generated 9 pages of generally, very helpful replies.

So, to expand a little, yes, our family of 4 is relocating to California and predominantly looking at settling in either South Orange County or alternatively one of several areas in Ventura.

Thank you to all.

You are welcome. Glad to be of help.

[evening sun]

Originally Posted by Finper

In Arizona I have xfinity cable and it’s 150 a month compared to Time Warner I paid 250.00 for same channels.

I just dumped xfinity, here in CA. I was paying about $170 a month, but now Dish is only $71 month. So the xfinity rates seem similar.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Finper

In Arizona I have xfinity cable and it’s 150 a month compared to Time Warner I paid 250.00 for same channels.

My electric bill last month for 2 bdrm 2 bath washer /dryer stove no gas was 88.00. I’m under a large mesquite tree that might help with the blasting sun.

Yes some things are the same or similar in Ca and Az. I noticed a bigger difference in Texas.

Cable sounds expensive. Are you sure it's worth it? On another thread, people were. saying, the programing has really, really gone downhill.

[aslowdodge]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

I don't know, when I was there I looked at East Cobb, Alpharetta and Johns Creek. I completely agree that you can get a lot for your money there. The schools are great, the houses nice and large and it was pretty in the area. I just found it a bit too isolated. There wasn't much of a walkable downtown outside of Avalon in Alpharetta. I agree that distance/timewise it was comparable to the Bay Area. However, I liked many of the areas closer to the city center (near Ponce Market, the Botanical Garden, Emory or even Brookhaven). I liked being a bit closer to the main happening areas and also the airport (inside the perimeter as they say there).

Yes, I agree that isn't entirely an apples to apples comparison to the Bay Area, but that's how I look at it if I were to make a major move. I'd want an upgrade both in terms of housing and location.

I guess if you plan on going into the city a lot it would be a bit far. I don’t know if I would call it isolated since leaving the confines of Atlanta there is one city after another. It’s sprawl like the Bay Area.
I think the area continues to grow and there is a small but growing downtown area in Alpharetta now.
I was right, you do have more expensive tastes. Those are nice areas you mentioned. In the last few years Brookhaven got really expensive. I get your point on being inside the perimeter. Some people really want to live in San Francisco and be close to all the action.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by Woody01

It still costs more and you still ultimately pay it.......

It's been 5 years since I paid Nevada vehicle registration but at that that time it was higher than California, Nevada has a much slower depreciation schedule for vehicles so much so that our registration fees on our BMW was over $100 higher. Every state finds a way to get you, you can't build roads and operate schools and other services without money. And gas in Washoe County is about the same as in California the county has a 30-40 cent per gallon tax on gas for local transportation services

[Electrician4you]

Here is what my opinion is

Rents are high. A one bedroom will run $1200 or more. Unless you live out in...say...Indio and like driving to LA.
Pro...jobs here usually pay more. But everything costs more

Utilities
I lived near the coast anywhere within 500 feet of the ocean to 6/7 miles inland. My electrical bill for my last 1700 sq ft townhouse ran about 100 a month when I use AC it’s 350/400. (Old unit) My 2400 sq ft runs 140/150 a month. When I use AC it’s 300/350.
The gas was 20/30 d now it’s $40/50
Water was 80/90 now $100/120
HOA was $300 now 0
Property tax 3500 now 5,000.

As far as gardeners they run $120/140 a month. Once a week service
Handyman run $25/30 a hour
Tradesmen run $120 a hour
Car registration. On cars/SUV I’m at 130 per vehicke but these are older cars. My truck runs 300 But I’m about to fix that by changing the body type by adding a camper which will drop it to 130 by removing the commercial weight fee.
Vehicle insurance runs about $600 per vehicle a year for me. But I have a good driving record
Home insurance runs about 2500
Has usually high compared to rest of the country. About a dollar more or higher. Ca has one of the highest fuel prices in the nation.