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First and foremost - I appreciate all the advice people have given me on this forum. As I am trying to do a cost comparison between NOVA and Austin, TX, I am trying to figure out the smaller items that will likely bite us. I already found about a $4500 a month difference between Austin and NOVA (factoring in housing, car tax, state income tax, and child care - and this is us paying $4500 more a month even with us reducing our standard of living to a less desireable house). Any information you wish to share on any of the following questions would be greatly appreciated. When I have finished my cost estimates I will post them on this forum.
1) How much is your average cable bill? Internet bill? electric? gas? heat (is it the same as gas)? water? phone? garbage?
2) How much is a typical full house cleaning (for single family home)? (we pay $80 per cleaning in Austin).
3) How much is a typical lawn moving service (front and back) - assume 1/4 acre? (we pay $35 for front and back in Austin)
4) How much might home owners insurance be on a 550K house?
5) Are HOA fees common? If so, how much on average?
6) How much is snow removal (driveway + sidewalk shoveling)?
7) How much is skilled labor? (in Austin we have a $15 an hour guy who can do just about anything)
8) Is car insurance more expensive than average?
9) How much is a gallon of gas?
10) What is an average grocery bill for a family of 4? (I remember being sticker shocked at some items in a DC area grocery store).
11) Any out of the ordinary expenses for kids (I've already found daycare is about 2x as much)?
12) Any out of the ordinary expenses for pets (such as registation fees, large vet bills, etc - we have 2 cats and a dog)
1) How much is your average cable bill? Internet bill? electric? gas? heat (is it the same as gas)? water? phone? garbage?
6) How much is snow removal (driveway + sidewalk shoveling)?
8) Is car insurance more expensive than average?
9) How much is a gallon of gas?
12) Any out of the ordinary expenses for pets (such as registation fees, large vet bills, etc - we have 2 cats and a dog)
I can't answer them all, but I'll start with a few. The answer to just about all of them, you know, is "it depends"
1) It depends...what kind of services do you want? My husband is a sports junkie, so we needed HD tv with all the ESPN channels, a DVR, and whatever else. Depending where you live, you'll have options. Comcast & Cox are cable, Verizon has their FiOS, and Dish/DirectTV offer satellite. With comcast, we were paying ~$85/month for Cable and internet bundled. With Dish/Cox, we're paying about $105.
If we didn't care about anything except the basic level of cable/internet, all the companies offer $99 bundles of phone/tv/internet (though again, that will not include DVR or HD or anything like that)
Gas and Electric generally average to around $150/month. In the fall and spring, they're super cheap (under $75 combined). In the summer/winter, they'll jump up to $200 combined. Our house is an older 1950s home with original windows, so something better insulated probably is cheaper to heat/cool.
Garbage/recycling is ~$30/month for twice/week trash and once/week recycling.
6) Usually people do it themselves, or pay a neighbor kid to do it for them. This winter was crazy, so if you didn't do it yourself you weren't going anywhere. My elderly neighbors hired someone to do their driveway, but it took them 3+ days to get over there and start the work. The next snow, we did it for them.
8) I don't know what "average" is. It was WAY cheaper than either Maryland or California. Look on your current provider's website and use their calculator to see what the same coverage would be out here. Mine dropped several hundred dollars coming to this state.
9) Saw regular for $2.71 on my way in to work this morning.
12) Registration is cheap. Cats are $2/year and dogs are $10/year in the city of Alexandria (not sure about fairfax). If they aren't altered, it's more. Vets aren't cheap, but they aren't all out to fleece you. A standard office visit is $80 for my dog, though you could probably find it cheaper elsewhere (I really like my vet though). Her annual exam is usually around $3-400.
I live in Prince William county which is about 20 miles from the Chantilly/Rt 50 area and I'm always shocked at how some things are so much cheaper in PW than in Fairfax or Loudoun county.
Gas can be as much as 20 cents less per gallon and child care is less as well.
Utilities are such a wild card since it depends on a lot of factors. Quality of contruction, age, square footage, etc.
HOA's vary widely as well. Does it include a pool, internet service, basic cable, are you talking house or TH, etc. I believe the gold standard around here if it doesn't include anything but trash/recycling can range between $50-75.
I can answer a few of these. Of course, the answers will vary depending on where you live. For example, my HOA fees are $63/month but others are higher.
1) How much is your average cable bill? Internet bill? electric? gas? heat (is it the same as gas)? water? phone? garbage?
Gas is the real killer here, since you'll have higher bills if we get a winter like we had last year. Our worst bill last year was $250!
2) How much is a typical full house cleaning (for single family home)? (we pay $80 per cleaning in Austin).
LOL, beats me. I do it myself.
3) How much is a typical lawn moving service (front and back) - assume 1/4 acre? (we pay $35 for front and back in Austin)
Also something I do myself.
5) Are HOA fees common? If so, how much on average?
Ours are $63/month, but that's because we live in Cascades--one of the best bargains around. For this you get snow plowing, landscaping of the common areas, trash/recycling, pool/gym/tennis courts/etc., playgrounds, etc. Other people I know pay around $100.
6) How much is snow removal (driveway + sidewalk shoveling)?
Not usually an issue, since snow really isn't that bad (most years).
7) How much is skilled labor? (in Austin we have a $15 an hour guy who can do just about anything)
That sounds about right. My dh does most of that stuff, so I haven't really had to hire a handy man for a long time.
8) Is car insurance more expensive than average?
For us, it was cheaper when we moved here (from California). I don't know how it compares to TX.
1) How much is your average cable bill? Internet bill? electric? gas? heat (is it the same as gas)? water? phone? garbage?
We pay $108/month for a cable TV and high speed internet bundle. For a little more (maybe 20 bucks including tax) you can bundle in phone also. For some strange technical reason we arent eligible for the three-way bundle so we have to pay phone separately. It's about $50/month, but we have extras like Caller ID and distinctive ring. I'm sure you can do it for less.
2) How much is a typical full house cleaning (for single family home)? (we pay $80 per cleaning in Austin).
I pay $90.
3) How much is a typical lawn moving service (front and back) - assume 1/4 acre? (we pay $35 for front and back in Austin)
We have half an acre but only have the front mowed because heavy shade in back prevents the grass from growing much. I think we pay 30 or 35.
4) How much might home owners insurance be on a 550K house?
Our house is worth a little more than that. Homeowners insurance is about $675. We use Erie. They are da best. I'll take a wild guess that the cost for a 550K house would be on the order of 550-600, depending on construction.
5) Are HOA fees common? If so, how much on average?
This will depend on age of the home. Older neighborhoods rarely have HOAs. We have avoided them like the plague.
6) How much is snow removal (driveway + sidewalk shoveling)?
Cheap, neighborhood kids will do.
7) How much is skilled labor? (in Austin we have a $15 an hour guy who can do just about anything)
Dont know on this one, my husband fixes everything.
8) Is car insurance more expensive than average?
I dont know, but my impression is that it is less expensive. We pay about $635 for two cars (caveat, we dont commute anymore). I have a friend in Louisiana who pays more than 2K for two cars.
9) How much is a gallon of gas?
Forget what I paid last time. Maybe 2.89 for premium.
10) What is an average grocery bill for a family of 4? (I remember being sticker shocked at some items in a DC area grocery store).
Cant help here, just two of us and two dogs. I keep it around 500/mo using lots of coupons. Could no doubt make it a lot lower, but we like to eat well in retirement.
11) Any out of the ordinary expenses for kids (I've already found daycare is about 2x as much)?
No kids, sorry cant help on this one.
12) Any out of the ordinary expenses for pets (such as registation fees, large vet bills, etc - we have 2 cats and a dog)
Dogs must have a license in Fairfax County. I think it's 10 bucks if they are neutered. Dont know about cats.
13) Any other gotchas I may have missed?
I am under the impression that Texas compensates for the lack of income tax through high property tax. So you will want to consider whether this might be a source of savings. I dont know if it will, but look into it. Property tax here is not cheap but it is a lot worse in some parts of the country.
We also have a car tax, but whether it is significant depends on the age of your car. I have an old luxury car; my car tax is less than $25.
I am under the impression that Texas compensates for the lack of income tax through high property tax. So you will want to consider whether this might be a source of savings. I dont know if it will, but look into it. Property tax here is not cheap but it is a lot worse in some parts of the country.
Good point, I looked it up and it can be as much as 2x more in VA
We live in Western Prince William County (Bristow)
1) How much is your average cable bill? Internet bill? electric? gas? heat (is it the same as gas)? water? phone? garbage?
We have Comcast for XFINITY cable and internet. No home phone. Our cable is for service on 3 tvs but only 2 have those little boxes (I don't know much about tv packages, sorry! ) and I think one has HD? It's $113/month including all the taxes and fees
We have our gas bill averaged out so we pay the same each month year round (about $75/month). If we didn't do that, we'd be paying a lot more in the winter and hardly anything in the summer. It's just easier for me to budget if I pay the same each month.
We do the same averaging thing with electric, about $140/month.
Water--we've been having issues with our water, so we're not the best to ask about that.
Phone--we do not have a home phone. We use cell phones only.
Garbage is paid for by our HOA
2) How much is a typical full house cleaning (for single family home)? (we pay $80 per cleaning in Austin).We clean our own. I know some of my friends pay about $125 for 4-5 bedroom homes.
3) How much is a typical lawn moving service (front and back) - assume 1/4 acre? (we pay $35 for front and back in Austin)
I pay $40 (front and back) for about 1/4 acre--that is for mowing and edging--no fertilizing, no weeding, no hedge/bush trimming, etc.
5) Are HOA fees common? If so, how much on average? Our HOA is $76/month which includes trash pick up (twice a week) and maintenance of common areas, pools, playground, tennis courts, etc.
6) How much is snow removal (driveway + sidewalk shoveling)?
Most people I know shovel for themselves, unless they are elderly or have a disability or something. This past winter, I went on a trip and my parents (in their 60's, and both have had recent leg surgeries) stayed with my children. This was about a week BEFORE those huge storms and we got two light snow falls. I arranged for the man who does my lawn mowing to shovel while I was gone if it snowed and he charged me $90 total for both. Like I said, I wasn't home at the time so I don't know how much snow, but I think it was just a couple inches at most. I don't even want to think about how much it would have been for the snow that hit us a week later!
9) How much is a gallon of gas? The cheapest one around in my area was $2.58/gallon for 87 octane this morning.
Last edited by HereinVA; 09-24-2010 at 02:01 PM..
Reason: correcting a typo!
1) How much is your average cable bill? Internet bill? electric? gas? heat (is it the same as gas)? water? phone? garbage?
We had a bundle with Comcast. Internet/Cable/Phone and it was about $134 a month. Not sure about electric and such as hubby always paid it but I do know we would have electric bills as high as $250 in the summer with the air running. Garbage was with our HOA. Water was probably $75 or so...can't be sure again b/c hubby pays it. But we once powerwashed our fence and deck in the summer and the water bill came in about $150.
2) How much is a typical full house cleaning (for single family home)? (we pay $80 per cleaning in Austin).
We had someone every 3-4 weeks and it was $85 for the cleaning. BUT she was not bonded and insured (which I regret since she ruined something of ours) so I should have gone with the other woman who was insured and her prices were $95.
3) How much is a typical lawn moving service (front and back) - assume 1/4 acre? (we pay $35 for front and back in Austin)
No idea...we cut our own. But every once in awhile we would have the neighbor kid do it and it was $15-$20 per cut.
4) How much might home owners insurance be on a 550K house?
Would have to ask hubby.
5) Are HOA fees common? If so, how much on average?
Yes, they are common here. Depends on the area for cost. I think ours was $100 or so...I think it was quarterly. This GREATLY depends on your neighborhood.
6) How much is snow removal (driveway + sidewalk shoveling)?
No idea. It doesn't snow here THAT bad, although the past winter was rough.
7) How much is skilled labor? (in Austin we have a $15 an hour guy who can do just about anything)
Depends on the job. My electrician charged $85 just for showing up. My plumber was about the same. I had a handyman who was all over the place depending on what it was.
8) Is car insurance more expensive than average?
I don't think ours went up much. Then again we have had the same insurance for over 10 years with no accidents or tickets.
9) How much is a gallon of gas?
$2.67 is what I just paid. Costco is usually a little cheaper.
10) What is an average grocery bill for a family of 4? (I remember being sticker shocked at some items in a DC area grocery store).
We go to the store weekly and spend about $100 a trip. We are a family of four...two adults and two toddlers. This does NOT include our trips to Costco. Again this price will depend on how well you shop. We don't go to lots of different stores. We go to Wegmans and Costco. I don't clip coupons. And we buy a lot of packaged stuff.
11) Any out of the ordinary expenses for kids (I've already found daycare is about 2x as much)?
We paid $485 a week for daycare at Kindercare. That was for 2 3 year olds. It gets cheaper the older they get. There are a ton of things for kids around here but it costs money: The Bounce houses are $10 a kid, the Zoo's are usually $15 a kid or something like that (National Zoo is free), the library has a ton of programs a lot of free some have a min charge, our gym is $125 per month for all 4 of us and that includes a great kids "gym"/club, all the Music and Me's and My Gym's and such are costly...I think I paid $400 for two kids for a 13 week program (will never do that again). BUT the County (Loudoun is what I know) has some great programs at great prices. Cox Farm is about $15 a person...so you can see what I am saying.
12) Any out of the ordinary expenses for pets (such as registation fees, large vet bills, etc - we have 2 cats and a dog)
1 cat and 1 dog here. I find the vet bills are more than what I expected. So much so that my dog had to have her knee replaced and I drove her to PA for the surgery since it was $1K cheaper there than here.
13) Any other gotchas I may have missed?
The car tax sucks. That's $500 every year we hate. (Personal property tax).
It's a great place to live with a lot of opportunity. I am going to miss it here. We just sold our home and are moving to Central VA. Why? Cost of living was a big one
1) How much is your average cable bill? Internet bill? electric? gas? heat (is it the same as gas)? water? phone? garbage?
Internet = I'm paying around $200 for a "cadillac" bundle. I have the premium changes, 3 set top boxes, one digital box,and multi-room DVR. I also have upgraded internet speed.
2) How much is a typical full house cleaning (for single family home)? (we pay $80 per cleaning in Austin).
I clean myself but the last quote I got was around $100 (Prince William County) for approx. 2500 square feet.
3) How much is a typical lawn moving service (front and back) - assume 1/4 acre? (we pay $35 for front and back in Austin)
1/2 acre front and back is about $45.
4) How much might home owners insurance be on a 550K house?
I pay about $600 a year on a house valued at $400K. I have USAA which tends to be cheaper. State Farm had quoted me about $800.
5) Are HOA fees common? If so, how much on average?
I pay $75 per quarter. It includes trash removal and maintenance of common areas. We do not have a pool.
6) How much is snow removal (driveway + sidewalk shoveling)?
The local kids wanted $25 for the driveway.
7) How much is skilled labor? (in Austin we have a $15 an hour guy who can do just about anything)
Don't know.
8) Is car insurance more expensive than average?
I don't know.
9) How much is a gallon of gas?
I just paid $2.49 at Costco in Woodbridge yesterday. Shell is running about $2.61. Wawa is at about $2.55.
10) What is an average grocery bill for a family of 4? (I remember being sticker shocked at some items in a DC area grocery store).
I spend about $200 a week. I have two very big teenagers who eat a lot. I also buy what I want and I do buy a lot of convenience type snacks. That bill might also include other stuff I get at the grocery store like toothpaste, dental floss, pain relievers, magazines.
11) Any out of the ordinary expenses for kids (I've already found daycare is about 2x as much)?
Not that I know of.
12) Any out of the ordinary expenses for pets (such as registation fees, large vet bills, etc - we have 2 cats and a dog)
Nope.
13) Any other gotchas I may have missed?[/quote]
Personal property tax. Just wrote my $560 check today. I have a 2008 Honda Element, a 2005 Toyota Highlander, and a 2002 Toyota Camry.
Family of 4 (2 young children, 2 dogs, 2000 sq ft house)
1) How much is your average cable bill? Internet bill? electric? gas? heat (is it the same as gas)? water? phone? garbage? Verizon FiOS TV/broadband/home phone = $130/mo but you have to bug them once a year to cut you a deal as they try to raise the rate; house is 2-story, no basement, 2000 SF, and electric is $175/mo during summer a/c weather end of May thru most of Sept, rest of year is $60/mo; gas is $50/mo most months in cold months (Nov-Mar) is $125-ish/mo as we have gas furnace/hot water/stove; water/sewer averages $40/mo unless you water your landscaping a lot; garbage is $27/mo incl. recycling and yard waste.
2) How much is a typical full house cleaning (for single family home)? (we pay $80 per cleaning in Austin). I've priced it, but not used it. About $100 per cleaning
3) How much is a typical lawn moving service (front and back) - assume 1/4 acre? (we pay $35 for front and back in Austin) not sure I cut our 1/4 acre myself with self-propelled mower; if lawn is healthy can mulch mow which saves time from bagging
4) How much might home owners insurance be on a 550K house? Would guess about $800-900/yr for normal hazard coverage, if need flood coverage expect another $500/yr
5) Are HOA fees common? If so, how much on average? Not on single family homes or the associations are voluntary and you get neighborhood watch, a few community carnivals per year and we pay $25/yr for that. Most neighborhoods in NoVa have community pools and memberships will run around $500 per family. Pools open Memorial Day weekend - Labor Day Weekend
6) How much is snow removal (driveway + sidewalk shoveling)? don't know even with 3 blizzards (really unusual here) I shoveled driveway myself and a kind neighbor used snow blower for our sidewalks on our block, we paid him with bottles of wine
7) How much is skilled labor? (in Austin we have a $15 an hour guy who can do just about anything) not sure but would guess a handy man around here who is registered with the county, bonded and insured would be more like $30+/hr
8) Is car insurance more expensive than average? not sure what average is, but we moved from Seattle area in 2009 (pretty high rates due to car thefts being above nat'l avg) and it's cheaper here. Pay about $700/yr for a newer mid-size SUV and 8 year old Subaru
9) How much is a gallon of gas? really variable from one area to the next around here but right now we're paying about $2.80/gal for regular
10) What is an average grocery bill for a family of 4? (I remember being sticker shocked at some items in a DC area grocery store). We plan out meals for the whole week and shop diligently off a list. Do most groceries at Wegman's (regional chain, is awesome much better than Safeway) and Trader Joe's (national specialty chain, a little more like Whole Foods than a normal store but not nearly as pricey). We average $150/week.
11) Any out of the ordinary expenses for kids (I've already found daycare is about 2x as much)? Preschool is somewhat expensive. Paid $350/mo Sept-Jun for 4 day/wk, 4 hrs/day pre-K at a Catholic church. Know that there are a lot of free or inexpensive things to do with kids around here (esp. in DC with Smithsonian being mostly free) so that will likely save you money.
12) Any out of the ordinary expenses for pets (such as registation fees, large vet bills, etc - we have 2 cats and a dog). Pet boarding when you're out of town is really expensive around here. Is about $100/day for our two dogs. Flea/tick season is 9+ months of the year.
13) Any other gotchas I may have missed? Taxes. VA is cheaper than MD or DC. State income tax in VA is 5.75% for highest marginal rate, starting at $17k/yr. Sales tax is 2.5% for groceries, 5% for most everything else. Vehicles are taxed as personal property (I think motorcycles, boats and RVs too). Personal use vehicles get a break on the full amount of tax but our SUV is about $450/yr and 8 year old Subaru is $150/yr. Property tax rate is fairly reasonable, around $1.10 per $1000 of assessed value. I think Fairfax County updates assessments every year. For a $550k house expect it assesses around $515 and you'll probably pay almost $6,000 per year in property tax.
Traffic here is as bad as you might have heard, much worse than Seattle and probably Austin too. Live as close to your work as you can with balancing your other needs for your family. Commuting by Metro subway, commuter train Virginia Railway Express VRE, or express Metro Bus helps but most professionals living around here have 45 minutes or longer each way to commute.
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) and I think one has HD? It's $113/month including all the taxes and fees
