What are the bills like? (Phoenix, Chandler: apartment, lease, how much) - Arizona (AZ) - City-Data Forum

Nearby1 · 04-19-2011, 07:36 AM

I'm thinking of relocating to the Phoenix area. I have family in Chandler so I'd start out in that area. I'm trying to get an idea of what my costs would be. Any ideas on what rent, power, water etc would be for a small 1 bedroom apt?

Thanks.

momtogrif · 04-19-2011, 09:47 AM

Can you give some more specific information? Are you looking for a 1 bedroom? What area of Chandler are you looking at? Do you want to be close to freeways, shopping, etc?

There are a lot of factors that can affect your bills like which direction your apartment faces or whether it's a top floor or bottom level. Also, some apartment companies may throw in cable or other services for free to increase their occupancy.

greendesert · 04-19-2011, 11:29 AM

of all the places I've lived in, my bills are by far the most expensive here in Phoenix. mainly because of AC. I can't give you an idea about how much it would cost for a place the size you're mentioning. definitelly less than my place, I have a big house, almost 3000sqft and the AC bill can get damn near astronomical... (450+/month) and that's cheap for this size of a house.
either way you look at it I don't think that phoenix is a cheap place to live except maybe for housing... but there are just a whole lot of costly things you need to survive and actually enjoy it here.

Palenaka · 04-19-2011, 03:37 PM

I used www.rent.com to find my apartment. Their website is easy to use, they have a great iPhone app and they pay you $100 if you sign a lease. I pay $110 a month for cox cable which includes internet, phone line and cable tv. My neighbor has a one bedroom apartment and her electric bill is $80 a month in the summer and $50 a month in the winter. She is out of the apartment during the day and just turns the ac on when she gets home. Good luck with your search!

Down · 04-19-2011, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greendesert

of all the places I've lived in, my bills are by far the most expensive here in Phoenix. mainly because of AC. I can't give you an idea about how much it would cost for a place the size you're mentioning. definitelly less than my place, I have a big house, almost 3000sqft and the AC bill can get damn near astronomical... (450+/month) and that's cheap for this size of a house.
either way you look at it I don't think that phoenix is a cheap place to live except maybe for housing... but there are just a whole lot of costly things you need to survive and actually enjoy it here.

When averaging our electric bill here and our electric and gas bills from back home, we're paying almost exactly the same per month here as we were in Kansas City. Cheap? No. That much more exepnsive than every other place? Also no.

*edit* In KC we would routinely have electric bills in the high $300 range throughout the summer which is less than here, however, we also had 3 months of gas bills in the high $300s per month in the winter too.

LBTRS · 04-19-2011, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greendesert

I have a big house, almost 3000sqft and the AC bill can get damn near astronomical... (450+/month) and that's cheap for this size of a house.

That's the size of my house and I have never had an electric bill higher than $350 in the summer. I don't think $450 is cheap for that size house.

Jkgourmet · 04-19-2011, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greendesert

, I have a big house, almost 3000sqft and the AC bill can get damn near astronomical... (450+/month) and that's cheap for this size of a house.

Umm, not to be difficult, but NO, that's not cheap. There something going on if you are paying $450/month in the summer. You are setting your A/C lower than necessary, have a pool, don't use your ceiling fans, have a plasma TV that is on all day, need to recaulk around the doors and windows, or have a doggie door that is leaking air.

I have a 3200 sq ft house, built in 2000, one story, no pool, and the electric bill has NEVER been over $280. We also have a hot tub. We have two a/c units, and use them efficiently - i.e. turn the one on the master bedroom side higher (but not too high) when we are in the main living area during the day, and the opposite at night. Oh - btw, we are retired, so someone is at hoem almost every day.

ji603 · 04-19-2011, 09:47 PM

450/month could be in the ballpark for a 2 story house kept at <74 degrees all day, but folks are different.

The good thing about the retirees I know is since they keep the house at 85 degrees, one only needs a light sweater during July and August. Also, since bedtime is at 4:45pm, the TV is not on all that often.

Both of which make for a nice low electricity bill.

Dusty Rhodes · 04-19-2011, 09:52 PM

What are the bills like?

Always just a little bit more than you really wanted to pay.

Jkgourmet · 04-20-2011, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ji603

450/month could be in the ballpark for a 2 story house kept at <74 degrees all day, but folks are different.

The good thing about the retirees I know is since they keep the house at 85 degrees, one only needs a light sweater during July and August. Also, since bedtime is at 4:45pm, the TV is not on all that often.

Both of which make for a nice low electricity bill.

LOL! Cute - but we keep the a/c between 76-78, and are younger retirees (I'm under 55). And the sweaters get packed away with our other "winter" clothes.