Cost of living CO vs Florida (Denver, Aurora: garden, average water bill, pools)

[duke944]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

Your average water bill was $140/mo? The only time out water bill (for a family of 5) ever comes close to that is May-September when the sprinklers are on. The rest of the year it's around $70/mo for water and sewer.

FWIW, there's no amount of cost savings in the world that would ever convince me to live in a flat, humid s**thole like Florida.

The actual water used wasn't that much, but all the fees added up to avg $140/mo. A few times over the years I looked into it and was told yes, this is very low bill for the area. Ridiculous what water cost us over 12 years, but it makes sense since it's such a dry climate.

[davebarnes]

I compared Jacksonville, FL and Castle Rock, CO for monthly water bills for 6000 gal/mo consumption.
They were the same at $65 until I saw this: "Monthly Wastewater Service Charge for New Customers $36" for Castle Rock.
Denver would be $48.
Arvada would be $30.
Aurora would be $60.

When you irrigate your lawn, the cost in Colorado (except for Arvada) escalates rapidly.

P.S. It appears that Atlanta charges $150/mo for 6000 gallons.

[duke944]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

I compared Jacksonville, FL and Castle Rock, CO for monthly water bills for 6000 gal/mo consumption.
They were the same at $65 until I saw this: "Monthly Wastewater Service Charge for New Customers $36" for Castle Rock.
Denver would be $48.
Arvada would be $30.
Aurora would be $60.

When you irrigate your lawn, the cost in Colorado (except for Arvada) escalates rapidly.

P.S. It appears that Atlanta charges $150/mo for 6000 gallons.

There are a myriad of fees that add up to a huge bill. Water usage and water usage rates don't tell the story.

[Mike from back east]

Cost of Living (COL) between FL and other states needs to consider the cost of homeowners insurance between states. In FL, with hurricane insurance issues depending on the age of the home and building codes, a policy could be $6,000.00/year vs $500.00/year here in AZ. That's a whopper of a difference. Property taxes and income taxes and sales taxes need to be cranked into COL calculations. I've seen charts that show all forms of taxes cranked into a ranking and FL actually comes out cheaper than CO and FL is cheaper than 40 other states and just slightly cheaper than CO and AZ. It all boils down to what one likes about a given region, and other factors like jobs, school quality, medical care, recreation, etc.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by duke944

There are a myriad of fees that add up to a huge bill. Water usage and water usage rates don't tell the story.

I just checked my bill pay records. The last 12 months our average water bill (in Aurora) was $84.32.

[BabyBoomers2]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

I just checked my bill pay records. The last 12 months our average water bill (in Aurora) was $84.32.

That’s less than is paid during the hot and humid summer months here in Jax. Got to have the A/C on here much of the day, for those Seniors who are retired and want to feel comfortable inside. Shut off the A/C, open the window and sweat to death here with 95 degrees and 98% humidity.

[otowi]

My water bill in Security Colorado has never been over $40/month.

[BabyBoomers2]

Originally Posted by duke944

$1300 won't get you anything on the front range, that is dirt cheap for a 2 br compared to CO. As far as water goes, leave your boat there is nowhere near the front range that its worth bringing a boat to.

There are some nice lakes there, including Horsetooth, Boyd and Carter. Had May weekend of fun on Chatfield Reservoir rainbow trout fishing and beaching our Bowrider and relaxing on the beach with snacks and cold Bud Light. Went on Cherry Creek Reservoir a number of times as well.

Heck, we’d launch early (8:30 AM), when hardly anyone was there. Most people would show up when we were leaving at noon.

[duke944]

Originally Posted by LoveBoating

There are some nice lakes there, including Horsetooth, Boyd and Carter. Had May weekend of fun on Chatfield Reservoir rainbow trout fishing and beaching our Bowrider and relaxing on the beach with snacks and cold Bud Light. Went on Cherry Creek Reservoir a number of times as well.

Heck, we’d launch early (8:30 AM), when hardly anyone was there. Most people would show up when we were leaving at noon.

Those aren't lakes, they are small reservoirs. Coming from FL will be a total joke for them. I originally came from MN and they were a joke to me, I would never consider wasting money on a boat in this area except for maybe a small sailboat.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by duke944

Those aren't lakes, they are small reservoirs. Coming from FL will be a total joke for them. I originally came from MN and they were a joke to me, I would never consider wasting money on a boat in this area except for maybe a small sailboat.

Loveboating lives in a Florida, has lived here, and wants to come back.