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I was just taking a long hot shower to warm up, which is where I do my best thinking, and WHAM....it hit me.
Many people up north heat with oil. The average homes will use between 150 to 300 gallons of oil per month in the winter depending on their size and insulation factor. With and estimated price of $4 to $5 per gallon for home heating oil this coming winter, home owners will be spending between $600 to $1500 PER MONTH to heat their homes. I am willing to bet that after the next winter, you will see a mass relocation to this area, just to avoid the expense of heating their homes.
Thinking of what those people are going to have to pay for heat up there kinda takes the sting out of paying an extra $100 a month to crank the air conditioning up for those that can't take a little heat here, doesn't it?
That is how my mom and grandmother ended up here 6 months after me - they went through the winter of 04-05 and w/my gram's 500 gallon oil tank, my mom was crushed under the weight of the bill every 6-8 weeks so she gave up.
So I don't get it....you almost seem "excited" at the idea that people in areas with cold winters will struggle with high oil prices to stay warm next winter and be persuaded to move south. I could just be insinuating myself and be way off base so you can take what I'm saying with a grain of salt, but is that what you're getting at? It's one thing to say you are glad you don't have to heat your home as much in NC as in the north; but does that really mean everyone else has to do the same thing? I don't think a continued or increased mass migration from the north to the south is really good for either reason...just my $.02....and I'm probably taking this too seriously haha.
So I don't get it....you almost seem "excited" at the idea that people in areas with cold winters will struggle with high oil prices to stay warm next winter and be persuaded to move south. I could just be insinuating myself and be way off base so you can take what I'm saying with a grain of salt, but is that what you're getting at? It's one thing to say you are glad you don't have to heat your home as much in NC as in the north; but does that really mean everyone else has to do the same thing? I don't think a continued or increased mass migration from the north to the south is really good for either reason...just my $.02....and I'm probably taking this too seriously haha.
God no, not at all. I feel so sorry for those people. It was two points.
1) We should not be too upset about the hot weather we have now (by some accounts, not mine) and the fact that some have to crank their air conditioning. I feel bad for the people up north that will have a real problem come winter. We are actually pretty lucky to just be hot. Maybe uncomfortable, but lucky.
2) The bingo for me while I was showering was that it is going to be such a shock to the people up north this winter, they will probably all come running this way. They may have to just because of the cost. It was just an observation.
I agree with Saturnfan that this is a major issue that is about to explode. I feel so sorry for them. It will be something to watch come next Spring, to see if there is a higher than normal influx of people.
I don't see us having more than our "normal" influx of people due to the fact that people will need jobs here. It doesn't matter how much their heat is costing them up there, since if they don't have a job the heating bill here will also be too much for them. The people with the means to move and/or jobs lined up will move, but these are the same people we've been seeing move here for years. I simply don't think people will have the means to just up and move here without a job, just because they can't afford their heating bill.
Oh my God, I have been thinking the same thing. We had friends from Maine visiting in February and they were telling us how they were still paying off their heating bill from the winter of 2006-2007. Heating oil was $1.18/gallon when we left CT in 2005 and even THAT added up, especially when you consider the size and draftiness of some of the older houses up there. This is going to be a HUGE problem, even with the 2005 prices a lot of people needed assistance to pay their bill.
I think it would make sense for retirees to move down, and others may come and take their chances with the job market. It's a really sad situation for many people, especially when you consider how many people are going to get the triple bite of high heating costs, high commuting costs (living rural, travelling to work, often in gas-guzzling 4WD), and high food prices (the cost of getting food to the one supermarket in town... no competition to keep prices down....) I'll have to remember their hardship as I open next month's electricity/AC bill (OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!)
Can someone who knows tell me what the price for heating oil is now, and what it typically is relative to gasoline (or is there no discernable relation/proportion between the two) and how much would a typical 2000 square foot home go through on average in a winter?
Heating oil is over $3/gallon now--not sure exactly what the current price is though.
We owned a house that heated with gas and then moved into this rental that heats w/ oil. We are moving out at the end of the summer for several reasons. We'll probably need a smaller place as one of us is staying behind w/ my 12th grade child and we're moving to a home heated with gas.
While the heating oil cost is a crisis, it's opened up a huge avenue of opportunity for some people, my husband included, who are going to benefit from the huge amount of households who will convert from oil burner to gas. There's a huge market out there, the cost is not prohibitive, the choices of furnace/burners/etc. are plenty and the gas companies are offering very attractive financing and loan packages. It might put a damper on my husband's more immediate relocation.
Can someone who knows tell me what the price for heating oil is now, and what it typically is relative to gasoline (or is there no discernable relation/proportion between the two) and how much would a typical 2000 square foot home go through on average in a winter?
Prior to the runup in oil prices, home heating oil was around $3.50 per gallon. Depending on where you live up north, you can bank on around 150 to 300 gallons used per month December through March. Less in October through November and April through May. Total it all up and you are talking around 1,000 to 2,000 gallons of oil @ $4 to $5 per gallon (estimate of minimum price for next winter) and you are talking around $4,000 to $10,000 to heat a home for the year. Typical 2000 sq ft home would be somwhere in the middle. Remember, many homes up there are not insulated properly and some not at all.
YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!
At that kind of expense, I feel you will see many more people flock to this area, as it simply will be much more affordable to live here. It will be worth the gamble on jobs, which really is not much of a gamble at all.
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