Cost of Living Not As Low as They Say It Is (Knoxville: for sale, insurance)

[Beretta]

We pay over $2400 a year in both Maryville city and Blount County taxes. It is roughly split down the middle. We had less house in TX and paid right at $8,000 a year plus homeowners association dues. Things were super high in PA from a property tax standpoint.

Sales tax is expensive but we buy as much as possible over the internet; including having new appliances shipped in. We had our new 52 inch tv shipped in, no freight charges, no tax and at a price cheaper than anything we could find in the Knoxville area. We do a lot of shopping on Amazon.com including some grocery items. We still pay our fair share of sales tax to the state and local government with local purchases. I shop sales and use coupons. It is shocking to pay tax on food where we didn't in TX. I think a lot of it is what you are used to.

We enjoy some state tax breaks with our investments and my husbands government retirement income. Also a plus for us living here. This, of course, is on top of no state income tax.

Everyone's miles may vary due to their housing and buying expenditures, among other things.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by supernerdgirl

2.5 hours, how fast do you drive down 75??

It's 170 miles from Marietta to Farragut. That's what I was going by. Sorry for the confusion.

[scarletneon]

Originally Posted by JMT

It's 170 miles from Marietta to Farragut. That's what I was going by. Sorry for the confusion.

Ahh, see, whenever I went from Knoxville to Atlanta it was from downtown to downtown, so it always took about 3.5 hours if traffic was decent. makes sense now.

[TheShadow]

When comparing cost of living, you really have to look at the big picture, not just a few things. And renting may throw the comparisons off too, because many savings don't apply to renters (prop tax, homeowner insurance). I know that we will be living much more cheaply in TN than we are in CA! We will save hugely on our property tax, home price, our homeowners insurance (much cheaper house), car insurance, car taxes, electricity, gasoline taxes, and state income tax (We currently pay several thousand a year!) I don't expect to save on groceries, consumer goods, cable or phone bills. Those prices are pretty much the same everywhere, and may even be higher in TN, due to less competition. Seriously I would happily pay sales tax on everything, to be rid of the darn state income tax and outrageous property taxes. We pay $1.15 on every hundred dollars of value at the time of last sale. We can be reassessed downwards between sales, but not upwards. So my property taxes are $5200 per year here in CA. We are taxed on all purchases EXCEPT groceries at 7.75 - 8.25% depending on what city/county you are in.

[d cherry]

dont even think of moveing to new jersey cost of a mediem house 400 k taxes 6000k per year and up,i for one cant waite to move to tnn. 2 1/2 years for me

[weisgarber1]

Originally Posted by d cherry

dont even think of moveing to new jersey cost of a mediem house 400 k taxes 6000k per year and up,i for one cant waite to move to tnn. 2 1/2 years for me

That is one reason N.J. has such a net outflow of residents.

[LauraC]

The original post is about cost of living and taxes of any kind are not Cost of Living. The definition of cost of living is the average cost of the basic necessities of life. The original poster mentioned that the sales tax made it feel like food costs more.

[TheShadow]

I think paying taxes is a necessity of life in the U.S., unfortunately. LOL. My "cost of living" includes taxes, insurance, and a lot of other intangibles. That's what it costs to live my life. Although I know that doesn't really fit the technical definition of cost of living.
I wouldn't expect the cost of living to be much different 3 or 4 hours up the freeway, like the OP. I think more research was in order before he made his move.

[weisgarber1]

Originally Posted by TheShadow

I think paying taxes is a necessity of life in the U.S., unfortunately. My "cost of living" includes taxes, insurance, and a lot of other intangibles. That's what it costs to live my life.

Good points, and not only taxes, but also energy is a "cost of living." Never mind the Feds removing both items from the col formula, for political reasons. The costs still are part of living and have to be paid.

[Servpro Will]

The original post is about cost of living and taxes of any kind are not Cost of Living.

This is true, the ACCRA Cost of Living Index calculation does not include taxes. However, most people feel it to be a need of life. The Consumer Price Index gives a more accurate representation. Most CPI programs do include taxes, as it is a neccesity of living, and varies wildly from state to state. Certain taxes are included in the CPI, namely, taxes that are directly associated with the purchase of specific goods and services (such as sales and excise taxes). Government user fees are also included in the CPI. In addition, property taxes should be reflected indirectly in the BLS method of measuring the cost of the flow of services provided by shelter, which is called owners' equivalent rent, to the extent that these taxes influence rental values. Taxes not directly associated with specific purchases, such as income and Social Security taxes, are excluded, as are the government services paid for through those taxes.

http://www.coli.org/faq.asp#taxes