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Old 12-21-2007, 07:38 AM
 
673 posts, read 2,670,461 times
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I posted this in response to a thread on the NC board, but I figured it would be appropriate here. I know there has been previous posts on this topic here, but I tried to figure out an overall yearly comparison for ALL living expenses. Here's what I came up wth, but keep in mind the home we are living in here is almost twice the size as the one in FL.


Comparisons are for a 2658 sq ft house in FL as compared to a 5019 sq ft house in NC

Taxes:

Sales Tax - slightly higher 7.25% compared to 6% & there is also a tax on food in NC
Personal Property tax - you pay this in NC, but not in FL on vehicles, boats, etc. I paid $164.92 for 2 vehicles that were worth about $26K together
Property tax - Approx. $3300/yr in S. FL for a home with homestead exemption. Keep in mind that the buyer of my home is probably now paying around $8400/yr or so and had I bought my NC house in FL for the same price, I would be paying about $11000 in property taxes. Property tax here: Approx. $4100/yr
Approximate dollar for dollar yearly savings for this category: $6235

Insurance:

Auto Insurance: Approx $1700/yr for 2 vehicles in FL w/ low limits as compared to $785/yr for 2 vehicles w/ triple the insurance coverage in NC
Homeowner's Insurance: $3000/yr with a $1000 deductible for perils & a 2% deductible for hurricanes as of 4/06 (the last time I paid in FL), but this probably would have gone up to $5000/yr as compared to $800/yr with a $1000 deductible for perils & no hurricane deductible - yippee! This is for $200K more coverage than I had in FL too.
Flood Insurance: $500/yr in FL as compared to none for me here - yippee again!
Health Insurance - this is hard to compare, but for all intensive purposes, I'd say this costs around the same
Approximate dollar for dollar yearly savings for this category: $5600


HOA fees: $1200/year in FL for a gated community with a lousy pool & tot lot area as compared to $650/year in NC for a community with an amenity center to be built with a junior olympic pool, kiddie pool, clubhouse, tennis courts, playground, & walking trails.
Approximate dollar for dollar yearly savings for this category: $550


Groceries: Although I find individual prices for groceries to be more here, when I averaged out my monthly spendings, I am spending on average $7 less per month here than in FL. Maybe I'm not buying as much! Let's just call this even, but when you move here, I guarantee you will think prices are higher here.

Utilities:

Electric: Average $215/month in FL as comapred to $186/month in NC (remember for a house almost double the size)
Gas: $0 for FL as compared to average $77 per month in NC
Water: In FL this included garbage pickup & was on average $56/month as compared to NC for water use only averaging $62/month with strict water restrictions for a family of 5
Garbage: Approx. $0 in FL as compared to $21/month in NC
Approximate dollar for dollar yearly extra expenses for this category: $900 (keep in mind my house is double the size here in NC)


Childcare: This is more expensive here. I would have paid anywhere from $400 - $520/month for full-time care per child in FL as compared to $750 - $1000/month for full-time care here. Afterschool care would have cost me around $150/month in FL as compared to an average of $280/month here
Approximate dollar for dollar yearly extra expenses for this category w/ 1 child in preschool & 1 in afterschool care: $6540 - YIKES!


If I did the math right, it looks like I am saving about $4945/yr (let's just say $5000/year) living here in a home that is almost double the size I had in FL. When I no longer have childcare expenses to deal with, this number will increase significantly - looking forward to that!

I hope this info was helpful to some of you. I know I sure would have appreciated it before I moved here.
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Old 12-21-2007, 02:10 PM
 
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thanks this is very helpful, my family is relocating in march and will experience similar consequenes/savings. we are also moving into a house double the size of our current home.
it will likely cost us a bit more, in the end. you did not include the state income tax penalty (upto 8.5% i believe) this is quite a bitter pill to swallow coming out of 0% income tax state.
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Old 12-21-2007, 02:41 PM
 
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another example; we lived in Ft.Lauderdale, FL. Bought our house in November of 2003 for $242,500. It was 1800sqft, 3/2, pool, on a small lake, 2 car garage,.15acre lot. Our taxes when we sold it were $5100 and insurance was $3K. Two days after our contract on our house, we got a cancellation notice for our insurance due to the insurance company going bankrupt from the hurricanes. Citizens insurance was estimated at nearly $5K/yr.

Now, in NC, our house is 4100sqft, 4/3.5bath, 3-car garage, 3/4 acre lot, sits facing Lake Norman. Paid $454K for it in March 2006. Taxes are $2600/yr and insurance is $617/yr.

Our electric bill was the shocker. The highest we paid for electric in FL was $380/month for that tiny house. The highest we have paid for the NC house so far is $280 during the winter last year with two heat pumps running!
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Old 12-21-2007, 03:59 PM
 
673 posts, read 2,670,461 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by robiewan View Post
thanks this is very helpful, my family is relocating in march and will experience similar consequenes/savings. we are also moving into a house double the size of our current home.
it will likely cost us a bit more, in the end. you did not include the state income tax penalty (upto 8.5% i believe) this is quite a bitter pill to swallow coming out of 0% income tax state.
You are right. I did not include the state income tax, because I don't know how that will affect us yet. Yes, it is being deducted from our paychecks, but I will wait to see whether we are able to get any of that back. I have no idea whether you can claim deductions like you can on your federal return or not. I am hoping you can!
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Old 12-21-2007, 05:03 PM
 
876 posts, read 3,778,974 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by robiewan View Post
thanks this is very helpful, my family is relocating in march and will experience similar consequenes/savings. we are also moving into a house double the size of our current home.
it will likely cost us a bit more, in the end. you did not include the state income tax penalty (upto 8.5% i believe) this is quite a bitter pill to swallow coming out of 0% income tax state.
thought it was 7%? I'll eat the 7% for the quality of life and call it even!
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Old 12-21-2007, 06:41 PM
 
1,080 posts, read 4,571,503 times
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Thanks for the figures, I'm considering moving to Charlotte from Fl. and see that some prices will be higher, but if I can live in peace and not be stressed out all the time, I will gladly tighten my belt a little and take the extra hit in price. The HOI alone is worth the move. Thanks.
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Old 12-21-2007, 06:52 PM
 
782 posts, read 3,779,216 times
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My cost of living comparison.

Chicago suburb vs charlotte.
My house i want to build 3800 s.f. on 1/3 acre in chicagoland for 430k. taxes $10,000.
Charlotte house same builder,same floorplan,even same price.I thought charlotte was cheaper,Taxes $4,000.

My main concern was taxes and job wage.I can make between 70k to 80k on my job here.If i would have transfer to charlotte my wages will be half of that.

Losing about 30k didn't sit good with me.I like chicagoland,but wanted to move to charlotte for better winter conditions mainly and better quality of life.I cant afford a 430k house on 13 dollar an hour in charlotte.I guess i will continue playing in the snow for now.My quality of life would have went down in charlotte.

I dont understand why wages have to be so low in the south.House,food,gas is really the same pricing.If there supposely no good paying jobs down there,how are people affording these high price houses? or is it just people relocating from other places who can put a nice chunk of change down on their houses?
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Old 12-21-2007, 08:16 PM
 
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I lived in Mooresville. I have had to relocate to the Clearwater area temporarly. I can't wait to move back. Even Walmart is more expensive here than Mooresville. Wages are a joke. Traffic is awful on US 19. People are rude, and I am orginally from NJ, so I know rude. If your willing to commute a little, its much cheaper to live in the Mooresville,Concord, area.These are up and coming areas for young and old. Check it out. NC is way cheaper to live, and the climate is great, no season is severe. And such nice people!!!!!!!!!
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Old 12-21-2007, 08:20 PM
 
22 posts, read 62,407 times
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you can deduct the state income tax from your federal return, but it is still only a deduction -
obviously this will affect some more than others. income tax vs insurance and property taxes has been the debate among my colleagues throughout the decision process to move


Quote:
Originally Posted by FLtoNC View Post
You are right. I did not include the state income tax, because I don't know how that will affect us yet. Yes, it is being deducted from our paychecks, but I will wait to see whether we are able to get any of that back. I have no idea whether you can claim deductions like you can on your federal return or not. I am hoping you can!
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Old 12-21-2007, 08:25 PM
 
Location: North Carolina
6,957 posts, read 8,438,192 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Booboy View Post
My cost of living comparison.

Chicago suburb vs charlotte.
My house i want to build 3800 s.f. on 1/3 acre in chicagoland for 430k. taxes $10,000.
Charlotte house same builder,same floorplan,even same price.I thought charlotte was cheaper,Taxes $4,000.

My main concern was taxes and job wage.I can make between 70k to 80k on my job here.If i would have transfer to charlotte my wages will be half of that.

Losing about 30k didn't sit good with me.I like chicagoland,but wanted to move to charlotte for better winter conditions mainly and better quality of life.I cant afford a 430k house on 13 dollar an hour in charlotte.I guess i will continue playing in the snow for now.My quality of life would have went down in charlotte.

I dont understand why wages have to be so low in the south.House,food,gas is really the same pricing.If there supposely no good paying jobs down there,how are people affording these high price houses? or is it just people relocating from other places who can put a nice chunk of change down on their houses?
Booboy - The people who can most easily afford it are people from NJ and CA that lived in their $350,000 home which they bought 10 years ago and then sold them for $850,000 last year. That gives you enough to purchase a $500,000 house with nary a thought! Most have jobs that tend to mirror what they made in their home states. If they do take pay cuts, it kind of like they made $100,000 a year in CA but now only make $80,000 in Charlotte. Let me get a hankie!
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