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Old 11-19-2007, 09:48 AM
 
Location: Denver
9,963 posts, read 18,426,721 times
Reputation: 6181

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Utilities will be lower than most other places simply because you don't have to run the A/C or heat year around.

Food is more expensive, we shop at Whole Foods (Due to quality, Ralphs and Cosco meats are nasty) and compared to East Coast we pay 20% more here ( I have done the actual math).

Now if you folks want to see expensive, try living in Silicon Valley...groceries are 30-40% more expensive and gas out the a**...
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Old 11-19-2007, 10:06 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
16 posts, read 386,779 times
Reputation: 45
Gas, gas; everyone keeps talking about the gas, but never says what it actually costs! I can't believe it's that much more than the rest of the country average. I read in a paper yesterday that CA gas averages 4.5 cents more than other places.. . .big whoop. So I'll pay $1 more to fill my tank. Small price to pay for the freedom of driving anywhere anytime. :-)
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Old 11-19-2007, 10:58 AM
 
110 posts, read 438,438 times
Reputation: 69
Regular is $3.45 - $3.55 in my hood and going up almost every day. I was surprised how much more food is in the major chains. You can always save money because of your options down here, tho. We go to Asian markets for produce. It's much better quality and much cheaper than Ralphs or Vons. Taxes are higher than where I came from (MA). 7.5% on everything you buy, also.

Utilities aren't that much more. Cable is avg, elect is above avg (but like other people have said, you don't need it for heat and AC as much) and natural gas is about avg.

I have lived in very expensive cities in the past and OC is actually as or more expensive on the whole. I guess it's a climate tax.
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Old 11-19-2007, 11:10 AM
 
2,016 posts, read 5,190,090 times
Reputation: 1878
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lancelots Lover View Post
Well, I'm slightly heartened. 50% more a week for food seems fairly reasonable, and what you say are your utility bills are not much more than what I pay now. I live in a 1200 sq. ft. house and pay an average of $120 for electricity monthly. (And congrats on being able to live at all in a 2600 sq. ft. house in OC!!!)

And Charles is right, I won't be paying for 10 months of constant A/C and 2 months of heat. In fact, after Austin, I will probably be able to forgo both all year in Southern California! :-)

By the way, what are gas prices right now out there? In Austin, 87 unleaded has been hovering at $2.99 for a while now.

Anyone else want to volunteer their average utility costs?
For gas, you can find the EXACT prices of gas in any part of the country (state and city), by going to GasBuddy.com - Find Low Gas Prices in the USA and Canada. Compare the prices of gas in the city you're looking at compared to Austin.

Wishing you the best!
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Old 11-19-2007, 11:25 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
16 posts, read 386,779 times
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Thanks, that's helpful knowledge. So gas is really more than 4.5 cents more. (I grew up in MA, and though sales tax is less, state tax is pretty bad, although not as bad as OC, I guess. I've been gone from there for 15 years.)

All in all, I think with the proportional increase in salary I will get in OC compared to what I can make in Austin, the living will be only slightly more proportionately expensive. I think the worst part of OC living will be the small living space for the high prices. That will be hard to get used to, but the rest. . . .my guess is not so bad.
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Old 11-19-2007, 11:28 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
16 posts, read 386,779 times
Reputation: 45
Quote:
Originally Posted by Donna7 View Post
For gas, you can find the EXACT prices of gas in any part of the country (state and city), by going to GasBuddy.com - Find Low Gas Prices in the USA and Canada. Compare the prices of gas in the city you're looking at compared to Austin.

Wishing you the best!
Sorry, I missed this post somehow. Thanks for the link, and the wishes!
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Old 11-19-2007, 07:22 PM
 
Location: South Orange County
264 posts, read 393,080 times
Reputation: 48
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mel2882 View Post
I'm not sure how your electric bill would get to "at least $100 a month." I lived in a 2 bedroom with 3 and sometimes for people for 3 years, and never paid more than $30 (in total, not per person). Don't leave all your lights on when you're not using them, and don't stick one thing in the dryer at a time. You should be fine.
I live in a 1,000 square foot condo. There are two of us, and we don't have a dryer. I never use the AC. The TV is on a lot as is my computer, and the bills still come to around 80-100....more expensive in the summer for some reason. That's in Laguna Hills.
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Old 11-19-2007, 07:24 PM
 
Location: South Orange County
264 posts, read 393,080 times
Reputation: 48
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lancelots Lover View Post
Gas, gas; everyone keeps talking about the gas, but never says what it actually costs! I can't believe it's that much more than the rest of the country average. I read in a paper yesterday that CA gas averages 4.5 cents more than other places.. . .big whoop. So I'll pay $1 more to fill my tank. Small price to pay for the freedom of driving anywhere anytime. :-)
87 Octane is about $3.35 a gallon in north OC...probably another six or eight cents higher in south OC.

California law mandates we use a special blend, so it is higher here than anywhere else in the country.
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Old 11-19-2007, 10:36 PM
 
Location: Dayton OH
5,654 posts, read 11,206,047 times
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I live in a 1+1 900 sq ft apt in south OC, about 15 miles from the ocean. I'm usually at work during the day, and use AC very rarely in the summer, only on about 15 or so of those really hot late afternoons and early evenings. In winter, since I live on a second floor and get good south sunlight in the afternoons, I almost never use heat. My average utility bills year round are about $10 per month for natural gas and about $18 per month for electricity. I have all CFL (compact flourescent lights) and don't use a clothes dryer. Just hang things on a rack outside on a warm day, they dry real quick. Even on cool weather days, most clothes dry in less than a day. On days that lack humidity in the air from santa ana winds, dry clothes indoors, it's a great way to add humidity into otherwise parched dry indoor air.
I don't pay much attention to gasoline prices, I ride my bicycle to work almost every day and am walking distance to most local stores and errands. Gas prices here change a lot from day to day, try not to live too far from where you work and it should not be a big deal unless you drive a full sized SUV to run errands with.
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Old 11-21-2007, 05:03 PM
 
Location: Portland Oregon area
145 posts, read 863,827 times
Reputation: 110
My husband and I spend about $250-300 about every 3 weeks for groceries @ Costco, we're a family of 4, though 2 of us are under the age of 3. We pay $1200 for rent in Lake Forest (very safe area) 2bd 1bth condo, 900sq ft., no c/a but we manage very well with a portable a/c that cost $500 @ Sears. Electric bill is $80-125 depending on the season, and gas bill is $10-30.

Gas is between 3.25 - 3.50.
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