Hidden Costs in WI? (Milwaukee, Fern: apartment complex, rent, how much)

[ram2]

Wisconsin's state sales tax is lower than most other states.

[JSOFFLine]

Originally Posted by ram2

Wisconsin's state sales tax is lower than most other states.

also, there is no sales tax on traditional grocery items, like canned goods, frozen goods,

anything that's been prepared like in the deli or bakery will have sales tax on it but most traditional grocery items don't.

[sub]

Yeah, sales tax and lack of grocery tax help quite a bit.
Gas seems a bit lower than the national average right now or at least average.
And of course real estate can be quite affordable if you play your cards right.

[ccjarider]

Spent decades in WI but now live in Portland OR.

WI has a reputation (rightly deserved) as high tax state. I did not find income tax nor sales tax particularly onerous but Property taxes ARE high.

What is nice about WI though is that as a swing state, there is more balance in gov't operations as both parties more or less equally share responsibility. Compromise is necessary. Further I believe the overall Work ethic in WI leads to better quality of gov't and services. There is a basic common sense prevalent in midwest that is NOT present on West Coast.

OR's one party gov't spends inordinate amounts of $/energy, on silly social justice causes like global warming, helping hobos, racial justice and other fake issues designed not to make life better for citizenry, but rather insert control over people. I do not see a lot of that insanity in WI (Yet). This is a real issue when it comes to your $. We get very little for our very high income tax here. Your tax $ does provide more value in WI but again it is not a cheap state.

I am trying to think of unexpected expenses but frankly little comes to mind. Your heat bill can be very high if your home is old and there is a long frigid month. Not insurmountable though.



You mention snow removal. Unless you are planning on plowing a 200 yd. driveway, you most likely will cover just shovel yourself out. Costs for this are minimal assuming average home.

Real estate is a value compared to West coast prices. When we are done working here, we can unload a 70's ranch for 600-700k and purchase same place in rural WI for 300k. It's compelling.

Agree with previous poster on the COL calculators on line.

Good luck

[brrabbit]

I had chance to compare Milwaukee to East coast (Boston) and West coast (Los Angeles).... Milwaukee to East Cost is much cheaper in every aspect. Add there no tolls, lower taxes, lower real estate and rent. But it's compensated usually with lower salary.... - so it's a wash. But if your income does not depend on your location - you'll do great here.

Milwaukee to West Coast. I expected West Coast to be equally expensive in every aspect, as Boston. But cost of food and services was much lower. When I moved back to WI, I found that although my renting money got significantly lower, because of the food costs being higher, I got about same amount of money left in the pocket at the end of the month. And again, your salary is likely to be 30-40% higher in Los Angeles, than in Wisconsin.

[ram2]

Originally Posted by brrabbit

. And again, your salary is likely to be 30-40% higher in Los Angeles, than in Wisconsin.

Your housing costs in LA will be much higher than 40% compared to Milwaukee. Try 3X-4X. My brother-in-law's 1200 square foot shack (with no basement) in the bay area has a market value of at least one million dollars. How much does a 1200 square foot house sell for in Milwaukee?

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by brrabbit

I had chance to compare Milwaukee to East coast (Boston) and West coast (Los Angeles).... Milwaukee to East Cost is much cheaper in every aspect. Add there no tolls, lower taxes, lower real estate and rent. But it's compensated usually with lower salary.... - so it's a wash. But if your income does not depend on your location - you'll do great here.

Milwaukee to West Coast. I expected West Coast to be equally expensive in every aspect, as Boston. But cost of food and services was much lower. When I moved back to WI, I found that although my renting money got significantly lower, because of the food costs being higher, I got about same amount of money left in the pocket at the end of the month. And again, your salary is likely to be 30-40% higher in Los Angeles, than in Wisconsin.

You must eat a hell of a lot to make up housing cost differences: LA vs Milwaukee.
We are in LA area often to visit folks. Based on my experience, I believe food prices are higher in CA than midwest.


Here is a COL comparison from internet (Must be true)

Cost of Living Indexes Los Angeles, CA Milwaukee, WI Difference
Overall Index: (100 = natl ave) 173.3 84.9 51.0% less
Food & Groceries 104.1 92.9 10.8% less
Housing (Homeowner) 298.2 53.2 82.2% less
Median Home Cost $689,500 $123,100 $566,400 (82.1% less)
Utilities 93.7 101.2 8.0% more
Transportation 65.3 102.1 38.2% less
Health 89.4 103.8 16.1% more
Miscellaneous 104.5 95.7 8.4% less

Likely a very broad comparison so I am sure there are areas to quibble about. But I agree with you in that if you are able to secure a 2 times salary differential in LA then you may have higher QOL in LA.

[ram2]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

Likely a very broad comparison so I am sure there are areas to quibble about. But I agree with you in that if you are able to secure a 2 times salary differential in LA then you may have higher QOL in LA.

Highly unlikely, as salaries apply nationally. Maybe up to 25% higher pay in LA, but not double.

[RemoteInWisco]

Much of your experience as far as cost of living will depend upon where you choose to live in this state, as prices vary drastically.I closed on my first home here in Walworth county back in August of last year for 270 K. 4 Bedroom, 2 and a half bath, partially finished basement, huge outbuilding for my toys and sitting on just shy of 3 acres at the end of a country road. Take my same house and move it to the Chicago suburbs where I came from and it would have cost me double that or more easily. Hell, even move it not far south of me closer to Delevan or Lake Geneva and it would double the price.

That being said, the real estate market right now is absolutely insane. I am glad we purchased when we did and I feel sorry for people that are looking to buy right now. Inventory is quite low. Houses get bought sight unseen and often have a dozen offers within the first few days. My real estate agent and loan officer, both of which have over 20 years in the buiz, have never seen anything like it.

That said property taxes are something you need to be aware of as they are quite high. To me they seemed low compared to Illinois, as my former state has lost their f-ing minds in terms of taxes, but for someone moving from a state with more a more reasonable rate they are going to get sticker shock.

As far as snow removal (and this winter puts and exclamation point on this one) just purchase a used snowblower for a few hundred bucks. Don't buy one of the electric ones. Trust me. They suck balls and will lead to a mountain of frustration. I learned this the hard way. I picked up a used 5 HP John Deere off Facebook Marketplace and I am done with both driveways in 20 min tops.

Grocery shopping at Pick N Save and Piggly Wiggly was slightly more expensive than I was accustomed to, but not dramatically so. Gas and diesel fuel are both much cheaper than Illinois was. Illinois had recently added a 38 cent per gallon tax on fuel, and local municipalities sometimes added even more.

My utility bills (especially electricity) are higher here than they were with ComEd back in Illinois, but like groceries, it was fairly incremental.

Ironically, my biggest cost savings compared to Illinois was property taxes, which is the one aspect most native Wisconsinites complain about, but to me represented significant savings.

[UniKidNow]

Originally Posted by sub

State parks require admission

Wow. I actually like this. People tend to take better care when they have to pay for it. Keeps the riff-raff at bay.