What make Portland an "expensive" place to live? (Green: transplants, violent crime)

[Élan vital]

Originally Posted by philwithbeard

Not really, but form my experiences:

Income taxes are just numbers on a piece of paper, I don't write a check, or pay in hard cash.

Property taxes are part of the escrow of the mortgage payment and again, somewhat below the conscience radar.
Thus the link for many renters between high taxes and cost of housing is broken. (was that point clear? Maybe not.)

Phil

are you serious?
do you work?
do you own property or rent?

I'm shocked at how nonchalant you are about the high cost of property tax in Oregon and the high Income tax rate. If our property taxes weren't so much and our income weren't taxed so heavily we could afford to buy more food.

[John Shaft]

Originally Posted by DreamWeavin

are you serious?
do you work?
do you own property or rent?

I'm shocked at how nonchalant you are about the high cost of property tax in Oregon and the high Income tax rate. If our property taxes weren't so much and our income weren't taxed so heavily we could afford to buy more food.

I think his point was that income tax is pre-deducted from your paycheck when you get your paycheck, so a lot of people never really "count" that money as money they had in the first place. If we all had to write a check on April 15 for the total amount of taxes we owed, instead of having that money "hidden" through withheld amounts on every paycheck, you'd hear a lot more outrage.

[Élan vital]

Originally Posted by John Shaft

I think his point was that income tax is pre-deducted from your paycheck when you get your paycheck, so a lot of people never really "count" that money as money they had in the first place. If we all had to write a check on April 15 for the total amount of taxes we owed, instead of having that money "hidden" through withheld amounts on every paycheck, you'd hear a lot more outrage.

oh, well I don't consider it hidden money deducted when I look at a pay stub and cry
Or when one is given a bonus and almost half of bonus is taken away by too high taxes.



anyway............I know some roads in Yamhill county need repairing so am wondering which tax dollars are earmarked for such?

[philwithbeard]

Originally Posted by John Shaft

I think his point was that income tax is pre-deducted from your paycheck when you get your paycheck, so a lot of people never really "count" that money as money they had in the first place. If we all had to write a check on April 15 for the total amount of taxes we owed, instead of having that money "hidden" through withheld amounts on every paycheck, you'd hear a lot more outrage.

Yes, that is exactly my point.

Even with "Bonus" money, to a lot of people, the only bonus money that really counts, is the money deposited in the bank. The rest is just numbers on a piece of paper, which most people have no personal control over.

It is not worth getting high blood pressure over. A heart attack will not reduce my taxes what-so-ever.

I do have some control over my food budget, electric usage, and car gas usage.

Phil

[hml1976]

We moved here from the South East.

1) Food is almost double what I would pay for a family of four.
2) Income taxes if you live in Oregon
3) Gas prices (at least compared to the South)
4) General labor costs, from getting your car fixed to taking the dog to the vet, its more.
5) Christmas trees are a lot cheaper

[HowGoesIt]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Portland is the most affordable of all the west coast cities. However, the income tax can be a killer, though it's not as high as California. All things considered, I would think that people can live in Portland on the cheap. Rent a reasonable apartment (roommates if necessary), don't have a car (take transit), and eat in most nights.

Was Portland a diverse city at one time? I use to visit once in a while and always thought of it as a hippie (now hipster and yuppie) kind of town. Mostly white w/ some Asian here and there.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by jrkliny

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed

You might want to try the Sperling cost of living calculator. It appears that housing and healthcare costs are considerably higher in Portland and most other costs, including food, are lower.

Portland might be more expensive than ABQ, but it is less expensive than Atlanta,GA, which I always thought to be a cheap city. It turns out PDX is cheaper: Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed

[Élan vital]

Originally Posted by hml1976

We moved here from the South East.

1) Food is almost double what I would pay for a family of four.
2) Income taxes if you live in Oregon
3) Gas prices (at least compared to the South)
4) General labor costs, from getting your car fixed to taking the dog to the vet, its more.
5) Christmas trees are a lot cheaper

I find the groceries to be only a bit more expensive than the south was.
Agree about the taxes---killer taxes here
true that about the gas prices
The doctor's visits here are crazy high. In the south I saw specialist for $50.00 per visit. here a visit to a family physician cost over $250.00
ahhhhhh--the Christmas trees.........$25.00 for a 6 foot noble fir!! I was amazed since in the south a tree like that would cost over $125.00


and given all that and a few more........I love,love,love the Pacific NW.......I don't choose to live any other place. For the short list of complaints about the area I could give you a list 3x longer about worse issues in the deep south.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by DreamWeavin

I find the groceries to be only a bit more expensive than the south was.
Agree about the taxes---killer taxes here
true that about the gas prices
The doctor's visits here are crazy high. In the south I saw specialist for $50.00 per visit. here a visit to a family physician cost over $250.00
ahhhhhh--the Christmas trees.........$25.00 for a 6 foot noble fir!! I was amazed since in the south a tree like that would cost over $125.00


and given all that and a few more........I love,love,love the Pacific NW.......I don't choose to live any other place. For the short list of complaints about the area I could give you a list 3x longer about worse issues in the deep south.

Which part of the South did you live in? I ask because I did a comparison of Atlanta,GA and Portland,OR and Portland came out to be cheaper.

[Élan vital]

Originally Posted by pirate_lafitte

Which part of the South did you live in? I ask because I did a comparison of Atlanta,GA and Portland,OR and Portland came out to be cheaper.

Mobile,Al