Cost of living from Leeds UK to Fort Wayne IN (Columbus: real estate market, apartment)

[moou2kids]

My husband has been offered a job in Fort Wayne IN. We are just trying to compare our cost of living, please can anybody give me details on the following:

Rent (4 bed house, basement, 2 garages, gardens)
Gas
Electricity
Water
Health Insurance
Telephone
Petrol
Shopping
Pet Insurance
Car Tax

Also, we have been advised to put our Son into private education at the cost of $25,000 per year, is this necessary or is the state education just as good. He is currently in his GCSE year (10) UK and is a A* student.

Thanks if you can help

[cdr18]

Coming from the UK? That is awesome! Well, there are some exceptional schools here, but those do come with a price tag. I mean, if money is not an issue, I do not see the problem. However, public education is hit and miss. Do some research on Northwest Allen County Schools and Southwest Allen County Schools. Also, East Allen County schools (Leo/Cedarville area) are exceptional as well and four-star rated. These are outlying areas of Fort Wayne and have the suburban feel to a big city. Exceptional areas to raise a family especially.

Rent is moderately cheap here. 4 bedroom will probably be around $900 - $1500/month depending on your amenities, extras, etc. Compared to other cities, this is excellent. The others are relatively minor. It does get decently cold here in the winters so electricity can be pretty high, depending on what you set your thermostat on.

Shopping is in nearly every part of the city. The Coliseum Blvd (Glenbrook Mall) is expansive and has many national storebrands. The whole corridor is mainly retail. Southwest Fort Wayne has an outdoor lifestyle center called Jefferson Pointe. Some higher-end stores are here that provide a balanced overall feel to Fort Wayne. Southwest Fort Wayne is the higher end area in general. When moving here, I would recommend staying away from Southeast Fort Wayne. Gang infiltrated and poverty-stricken. The area has been revitalized some, but I'm assuming it is not place you would want to call home, given your criteria.

Gas here is about $3.50/gallon, but that is like everywhere in the US. Fort Wayne is a great place to raise a family, and it has been known for that for quite a while. Do some research on Fort Wayne. I think you will find that it is the perfect size of a city, not too big, not too small. Four seasons is a plus, in my opinion.

Winters generally receive 30+ inches of snow, and summers are pretty hot (humid). Springs and Falls are just prefect I think!

[chalcedony]

$25,000 seems pretty outrageous for private school in this part of the country. You can definitely find something of good quality for probably one-third of that price.

And like cdr18 said, many of the districts in metro Fort Wayne offer high quality school systems.

Health insurance, as I'm sure you know, is quite the bugaboo in the US. Presumably your employer will provide family coverage as part of its benefits package?

I'm not familiar with pet insurance--I'm sure it exists but I don't think it's too common.

[domergurl]

If you are planning on staying awhile, keep in mind, while you are paying for a top private education in the UK for your son, uni in the states costs big bucks, even for state residents.

You're the second person who has asked about pet insurance ... that's just so odd for us here in the US. You can get it, but it's through a private insurer. It will probably cost you a good amount to ship your pet over here. My neighbors paid over 1K to get their hamster here!

As far as public schools, Homestead schools in Aboite Twp are highly rated, the Canterbury school in Fort Wayne would be a great choice for private schooling.

Gas prices here are over $3.50 per gallon. and rising.

Speak to your employer about health insurance.

I'd speak to a local realtor about rental prices. They will also be able to give you the amounts for utilities ... it's not a constant rate. Depends on your usage.

[scubalady82]

Hi,

I was the other person to ask about pet insurance, we're moving to Columbus from Darlington. I found the USA petplan website, which gave me a price of £30 for my two cats of 7 and 8 years old with the top plan. Can't remember the price in dollars. Don't think this is too bad for a petplan policy as I knwo they are quite expensive in the UK. I only pay about £12 with Tesco over here though. I don't think pet insurance is quite as common in the USA as they are quite used to paying out for their own medical costs so vets fees are small in comparison, whereas in the UK we're not used to this.

[hart4july]

I second Homestead HS, Canterbury is excellent also but not a a necessity with Homestead and its programs and offerings. I think it can be difficult to rent a nice home(vs apartment or townhome) with pets in SW Allen, but the real estate market has gone rather badly and so some may be willing to rent instead of sell. Good luck with your move!

[wh15395]

Originally Posted by hart4july

I second Homestead HS, Canterbury is excellent also but not a a necessity with Homestead and its programs and offerings. I think it can be difficult to rent a nice home(vs apartment or townhome) with pets in SW Allen, but the real estate market has gone rather badly and so some may be willing to rent instead of sell. Good luck with your move!

Homestead is a great school right now, but it's on the decline. Canterbury is great now and will be forever, so keep that in mind.

[domergurl]

Originally Posted by wh15395

Homestead is a great school right now, but it's on the decline. Canterbury is great now and will be forever, so keep that in mind.

What's going on at Homestead???

[cdr18]

I think that statement is based on opinion.

[hart4july]

Well if you can afford Canterbury,sure. And the OPs are talking of renting so changes to public schools in the works (come visit Phoenix with all its charter schools and high pupil-to-teacher count if you think thats the way Ft Wayne should go)will not probably have an overnight impact. Homestead has been acclaimed for some time, with excellent programs,security and teachers.
I did hear that NW Allen has taken the lead recently but I have no first hand knowledge of that district.