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Old 08-06-2011, 11:32 AM
 
Location: Abbotsford, BC Canada
15 posts, read 31,269 times
Reputation: 15

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Hello everyone,

My wife, 2 kids and I are planning on moving to the states here in the near future (1 year-ish). I am originally from WA State and have been up here in BC for 5 years. My wife is Canadian. Long story short—I's too dang EXPENSIVE to live up here!

Seriously, you can buy a shack that needs TONS of work for $250-$300K. To get a house that you would like to live in for 10+ years you need to pay $450K-$600K. It's nuts! That's not all, a gallon of whole milk is like $5-$6!! Gas is equals out to about $4.90/gal!! And we live in a small farming community 60mins from Vancouver.

Luckily we live close to the US border, so we cruise down to Costco and Trader Joes to buy groceries and get gas.

We are not fans of the weather up here. It's nice now, but it took a LONG time and it will be rainy again in a month, probably (for another 9-10 months). We love the Sun. We both lived in northern CA for a year and loved it (weather wise - 110 in August).

Anyway, I'm kinda rambling, but I wanted to give you some background.

We are thinking of moving to a suburb of the Dallas area, probably Mckinney or Allen. I've been browsing this forum for a while now and I'm wondering if the cost of living is that much less expensive than somewhere like WA State (where I have family). Some people say that it is and some say that with property taxes and utilities it all evens out. I know that the property taxes are higher, but if you are paying substantially less for a house (50-60k) then it probably evens out in that area.

I would love to move somewhere that is sunny most of the year that won't kill my pocket book. I'm not too concerned with appreciation of housing as I'm not looking to be a house flipper. Just plan to get a house that my family can live in for 10+ years and settle down in a good low-cost-of-living community.

Is there anyone who has moved from BC to this area who can attest to the lower cost of living? Or someone who has moved from WA?

How do you like it? What are your monthly/yearly bills like?

Long post, sorry!

Thanks for your feed back!

Joe
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Old 08-06-2011, 12:58 PM
 
Location: Prosper
6,255 posts, read 16,975,181 times
Reputation: 9501
Hi Joe. Cost of living as far as homes go in TX is one of the best in the nation. For $250-$300k, you can buy a 3k to 4k sq ft home, and built within the last 10 years, no problem.

I purchased my home last year in McKinney for about $250k and got 3700 sq ft and a .18 acre lot. My taxes will be around $6k this year. As far as gas goes, it's cheaper in TX than in most other states. And as far as sunny weather goes... oh believe me, you'll have LOTS of that.

Good luck!
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Old 08-06-2011, 01:06 PM
 
Location: Mostly in my head
19,855 posts, read 65,578,877 times
Reputation: 19374
That price the OP cited won't buy anything you would want to live in. There are new developments in the Little Elm to McKinney area where you can get 2000-3000ish sq ft new houses with great insulation fir about $200K mire or less. Ir fir $140-175K you can get one that is about 5 y/o. Insulation and energy -efficiency are key to lower utility bills.

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Old 08-06-2011, 01:07 PM
 
5,760 posts, read 11,493,673 times
Reputation: 4949
Read the title and thought you Must Have Lost Your Mind.

Yeah it is Sunny Here.

Like it is "Warm" in Hell.

yunno, sometimes there is just too much of a good thing.

Mostly joking with you but we should just trade housing back and forth for 6 months or so.
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Old 08-06-2011, 01:28 PM
 
Location: Blah
4,153 posts, read 9,226,998 times
Reputation: 3086
Quote:
Originally Posted by Philip T View Post
Read the title and thought you Must Have Lost Your Mind.

Yeah it is Sunny Here.

Like it is "Warm" in Hell.

yunno, sometimes there is just too much of a good thing.

Mostly joking with you but we should just trade housing back and forth for 6 months or so.
No joke, I've been to BC Canada and wouldn't mind some of their cool weather right about now!

Anyhow, as people has mentioned above, housing prices are pretty decent here in Texas compared to the rest of the country. I would make sure i had a good job lead before making the move though.
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Old 08-06-2011, 02:15 PM
 
Location: Abbotsford, BC Canada
15 posts, read 31,269 times
Reputation: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by MckinneyOwnr View Post
Hi Joe. Cost of living as far as homes go in TX is one of the best in the nation. For $250-$300k, you can buy a 3k to 4k sq ft home, and built within the last 10 years, no problem.

I purchased my home last year in McKinney for about $250k and got 3700 sq ft and a .18 acre lot. My taxes will be around $6k this year. As far as gas goes, it's cheaper in TX than in most other states. And as far as sunny weather goes... oh believe me, you'll have LOTS of that.

Good luck!
Yes, we were looking on Realtor.com and have seen many homes that would suit us well for around $130k - $160k. You couldn't get a mobile home on a lot for that up here!

How are your utility bills? I hear that they can be up to around $600/mo in peak season. In a 1700 - 2000 sq ft house how much should I expect to pay?

Also, what are the HOA fees like? I realize that it's different for every community, just looking for a ballpark for an average community.

Thanks for the replies so far!
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Old 08-06-2011, 02:22 PM
 
Location: Abbotsford, BC Canada
15 posts, read 31,269 times
Reputation: 15
Also, would anyone be able to give me an idea of what homeowners and car insurance would cost for an average home and a 2001 av golf? I know there are lots of variables but I'm just trying to get a clearer picture of the real cost of living down there. Thanks!
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Old 08-06-2011, 03:15 PM
 
Location: DFW Metroplex. Not TX-born but never leaving.
301 posts, read 567,940 times
Reputation: 194
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeMalleck View Post
Also, would anyone be able to give me an idea of what homeowners and car insurance would cost for an average home and a 2001 av golf? I know there are lots of variables but I'm just trying to get a clearer picture of the real cost of living down there. Thanks!
Unfortunately there are really too many factors to give you a very good estimate of your home owners insurance and car insurance. Most companies use your credit score, driving history, claims history (for auto and for the home you are insuring), zip code for where you will be residing, etc. If it helps, we lived in Maryland before here and our car insurance is substantially less and our home insurance is more expensive. We have auto, home, and an umbrella policy and the combined policies discount saved us a lot of money.
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Old 08-06-2011, 03:20 PM
 
Location: DFW Metroplex. Not TX-born but never leaving.
301 posts, read 567,940 times
Reputation: 194
Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeMalleck View Post
Yes, we were looking on Realtor.com and have seen many homes that would suit us well for around $130k - $160k. You couldn't get a mobile home on a lot for that up here!

How are your utility bills? I hear that they can be up to around $600/mo in peak season. In a 1700 - 2000 sq ft house how much should I expect to pay?

Also, what are the HOA fees like? I realize that it's different for every community, just looking for a ballpark for an average community.

Thanks for the replies so far!
Our electric bill for last month was 400. We have a pool. And a substantially bigger house than what you mentioned. We keep the thermostat on 77 usually (although have bumped it up to 79 this month due to possible rolling blackout concerns). The temps have been 100+ every day for over a month or so. Our house is 11 years old with no radiant barrier. I think this bill was the worst we will see. Hope that helps.
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Old 08-06-2011, 03:24 PM
 
Location: Abbotsford, BC Canada
15 posts, read 31,269 times
Reputation: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by PrincessKick View Post
Our electric bill for last month was 400. We have a pool. And a substantially bigger house than what you mentioned. We keep the thermostat on 77 usually (although have bumped it up to 79 this month due to possible rolling blackout concerns). The temps have been 100+ every day for over a month or so. Our house is 11 years old with no radiant barrier. I think this bill was the worst we will see. Hope that helps.
Thanks for the reply! That helps a ton!

Joe
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