[Deemak]

Originally Posted by ahawes

Just looked into the vehicle registration part. Does it really cost around $1,000 to register a newish car per year???

I went through same exact thing in comparing utilities, cable bill, property tax & car registration fees to Clovis, CA (We moved above 11 months ago).

Utilities was significantly higher in Omaha due to colder winters so more heating is used; and higher AC bills during summer. Trouble is even if you are conservative in using they charge some phantom fees in MUD or OPPD billing statements.

Cable bill is practically non-negotiable as cox cable has a monopoly. Property tax is on the higher side compared to Iowa.

I dreaded the registration fees on a 2013 Mercedes E350 Coupe. The annual bill on that was close to $890 in Omaha; we moved from SC which was $375 per annum! and in Cali same car is $371 and has only depreciated for little over 11 months.

I loved the people there, short commute to work and overall quality of life.

Good luck w/ your decision.

[BrianGuy1979]

Thought I'd throw in my input..... My wife and I want to move to the Black Hills of SD. It is our dream to be able to settle down there and live a happy quiet life in a climate that has very little humidity, great views, fewer people and not horribly far from all of our family in Omaha. However, it won't be anytime soon. We hear the same you are hearing about Omaha. That the "cost of living" is amazing. In the Black Hills, the cost of "living" may be cheaper. As in, gas tends to be a little cheaper, cheaper taxes and licensing your car is a steal of a deal compared to what we pay in Omaha. HOWEVER, what $147K in my four bedroom 1800 sq ft home here in Omaha gives me will buy me a 20+ year old 3 bed home with no garage and potentially no central AC. What I make here in Omaha is decent, but doing the exact same position up there is a 30-40% decrease in pay. How does that pan out good for us even though the "cost of living" is supposedly cheaper? Simple, it doesn't. So I get what you are saying when you are doing the comparison between NE and TX. Cars are OUTRAGEOUS to license here. My 10K motorcycle just set me back $900 to license last month. Imagine if you bought a new 40K Silverado. Then if you are in Douglas county they slap another $25 a wheel for "wheel tax" on there too. We deal with it. It isn't like we hate Omaha. Omaha is an awesome place to live. Plenty to do, very friendly people, four seasons, dirt cheap housing and fair wages. I guess it is what it is lol

[ahawes]

I am prepared to take the cons with all of the pros. I agree though, that 'cheap cost of living' may not be the most accurate statement.