Insurance (auto/home) costs and other misc exp-please help (Ogden: sale, homeowners insurance)

[CheesyPeach]

My husband and I continue to ponder a transfer to Northern Utah for his job. I was hoping I could get an up to date idea of some of the other costs of living here, I have done a lot of research so far but some costs still elude me..for instance,

the average cost of auto insurance. Georgia is pretty high(in my opinion)...we pay 1900-2000/year for full coverage on 2 vehicles (2007 SUV and 2009 sedan models). plus our tags cost an averge of 600$ per yr as well for the two...b/c they base those fees on car resale values(not blue book)

Home insurance Not sure how to look this up...let's say you have a home in Weber County worth 3000000. I just want an idea of possible cost. a few years ago, we wanted to buy a house just a few streets past our current house but were shocked to find that insurance costs more than doubled due to something about fire codes.

Average utilities just an average range for larger home (3000 sq ft +)

Groceries examples of costs of staple items in general Ogden area...you know, milk, butter, eggs, ground beef, case of soda, etc. You can tell a lot by what the staples cost. Any awesome grocery stores you recommend?

None of these categories is a deal breaker, I just need to get an idea of what our income will afford us b/c in the end...it all adds up. Thanks in advance for any comments you can provide.

[CheesyPeach]

Well...after I posted these questions I figured out how to find my answers online. The verdict is....is that it costs a lot more on average to live in my state (Georgia). This suprises me due to the fact that a big chunk of our population is below the poverty line.

Georgia ranks 8th in the country for expensive auto insurance; Utah is 36th

Average homeowners insurance in GA is high 700s/yr; Utah is low 500s/yr

Utilitities are considerably cheaper in Utah than most states

I pulled a grocery add from Ogden area and compared...many items on average 50 cents cheaper (before sale prices) than where I live, a gallon of milk on average costs half of what it costs down by me! same with eggs. Cheese was about the same. Meat was more $$ in Georgia on average.

About the only thing cheaper than Utah down here was the cost of a gallon of gas....but at times our gas prices soar to match the national average, but then ease back down to be on average 20 cents cheaper per gallon.

So I think if we move, Utah (at least for the short term) will be more economical to live in for us.

[hilgi]

A good way to find out the actuall cost of utilities is to find a couple houses in the area that you like, call the utilities with the address and ask them the average bills over the last year.

[CheesyPeach]

good advice...Thanks!