I want to move down here from North Carolina, what kind of income would I need to live okish down here?

[doggiebus]

Lots of things factor in to why Miami has a high insurance rate, like car theft, have the port of Miami right there to ship ship stolen cars south, rate of car accidents in our city, etc.

[beachmouse]

State insurance laws (ie. whether or not no-fault insurance is required) can also make a difference in what you pay for car insurance in different cities.

[Mrs.Kim]

Originally Posted by HopToIt

Wow! That says a lot right there, move to Atlanta and car insurance drops in half! Moving from Raleigh, maybe it'll triple! LOL. No, seriously.

I figured the size of a city would matter, more drivers, more likely to have an accident, etc... but being in Miami with it's crazy drivers, I think it'd probably be one of the highest rates in the country, and Raleigh at probably one of the lowest, for a city of it's size anyway.

This article is from 2005 but Raleigh was at the bottom of the list. I am surprised to see that Miami was not in the top 5.

Most Expensive Cities (2005) Cost per year in parentheses

1. Detroit ($5,162)
2. Philadelphia ($4,142)
3. Newark, NJ ($3,482)
4. Los Angeles ($3,325)
5. New York City ($3,127)

Least Expensive Cities (2005)

1. Roanoke, VA ($758)
2. Wapakoneta, OH ($871)
3. Chattanooga, TN ($911)
4. Green Bay, WI ($948)
5. Raleigh, NC ($949)

Best & Worst Cities for Auto Insurance in 2005 - MSN Autos

[Mcsmith0210]

Ill trade you- seriously. NC is where I want to go. This place is nearly unbearable.

[HopToIt]

Places like NY and NJ in the top 5 and places in NC and TN were the cheapest? NO WAY!!!

And where's Miami?

[Raivere]

This is a great post! Dude Im from N.C. and I totally hope you find what your looking for ^_^

[Cougar Beach]

Originally Posted by doggiebus

Lots of things factor in to why Miami has a high insurance rate, like car theft, have the port of Miami right there to ship ship stolen cars south, rate of car accidents in our city, etc.

And uninsured drivers. That's a biggie.

[planetsurf]

Originally Posted by HopToIt

Wow! That says a lot right there, move to Atlanta and car insurance drops in half! Moving from Raleigh, maybe it'll triple! LOL. No, seriously.

I figured the size of a city would matter, more drivers, more likely to have an accident, etc... but being in Miami with it's crazy drivers, I think it'd probably be one of the highest rates in the country, and Raleigh at probably one of the lowest, for a city of it's size anyway.

When we moved back to Miami from Atlanta (about 12 years ago) our insurance didn't drop in half, but it DID drop. Don't remember how much but it was very noticeable.

When we moved back here from San Diego last year, our insurance went up only about 10%. Cheaper gas in SoFla more than made up for that one though.
Yeah, overall, for almost everything, Miami will be a bit more expensive than NC.
Also keep in mind your yearly (bi-annual?) flight back home to visit the parents. Those things often get forgotten in budgets. (Even driving costs $$)

Good luck.