Moving to Orlando, need advice from Floridians...

[oogieboogie]

I accepted a job in Lake Mary and I'm going to start next month. I'm starting to plan the move and budgets and whatnot. Right now I'm trying to figure out utilities budget, groceries budget, and other budgets, so...

1. What's your utilities payment? How much do you pay for electricity, water, phone, cable, broadband, sewer/trash, etc, etc?

I'm anticipating that I won't have a gas heating bill (yippeee ) since I'm leaning towards 3bdrm townhomes/condos - roughly 1200-1600sqft & will most likely use internet phone or cell phone only instead of landline.

2. Where the cheapest prices for groceries - Publix, Winn-Dixie, Albertsons, Super Walmart, or Super Target? What do you pay for a gallon of milk? I'm used to paying $1.88-1.99/gallon here.

Thanks a million, guys.

 

[lowie]

I accepted a job in Lake Mary and I'm going to start next month. I'm starting to plan the move and budgets and whatnot. Right now I'm trying to figure out utilities budget, groceries budget, and other budgets, so...

1. What's your utilities payment? How much do you pay for electricity, water, phone, cable, broadband, sewer/trash, etc, etc?

I'm anticipating that I won't have a gas heating bill (yippeee ) since I'm leaning towards 3bdrm townhomes/condos - roughly 1200-1600sqft & will most likely use internet phone or cell phone only instead of landline.

2. Where the cheapest prices for groceries - Publix, Winn-Dixie, Albertsons, Super Walmart, or Super Target? What do you pay for a gallon of milk? I'm used to paying $1.88-1.99/gallon here.

Thanks a million, guys.

I'm way south of where you are planning on moving and i think cost of living where I am is more expensive, but there are some things that should be pretty close.
in palm beach county, i'm in the most expensive water district, and with 4 people in the family and watering the lawn off of the lake our water is $65 a month. electricity on 2200sf is about $120-140, cable and broadband is included with my homeowners association dues. and trash is part of our city/county taxes.
we have central heat and air, so the heat runs of electricity. we have gas appliances (stove, dryer, water heater) and that runs about $60-70 a month
i find that publix is the MOST expensive grocery by far, most items are DOUBLE of super wal-mart. although where i am, wal-mart is considered 'ghetto' and the super target is much easier to shop, depending if you can find the brands you want. i never shop at albertson's but not because of anything bad about it. there is also winn-dixie, it's a good chain. i pay about $3.00 for a gallon of milk! hmmm, same as gasoline!
good luck with your move! florida is an awesome place to live!

 

[Pop Daddy]

I cant believe your gonna leave me here in the rubber city all by myself

 

[sap1227]

1. What's your utilities payment?

How much do you pay for electricity Right around $150 for 2250 sq feet

, water Between $20-$30 per month

, phone We have Vonage $27.xx

, cable, broadband, Digital Cable with Roadrunner $100

sewer/trash Included in our property taxes

, etc, etc?

I'm anticipating that I won't have a gas heating bill (yippeee ) We have no heating bill

since I'm leaning towards 3bdrm townhomes/condos - roughly 1200-1600sqft & will most likely use internet phone or cell phone only instead of landline.

2. Where the cheapest prices for groceries - Publix, Winn-Dixie, Albertsons, Super Walmart, or Super Target? What do you pay for a gallon of milk? I'm used to paying $1.88-1.99/gallon here.

Milk is around $3 per gallon (usually either CVS or Walgreens will have it for around $2.50). Super Walmart is probably the cheapest. Both Winn Dixie and Albertsons have good sales, but their regular prices are high. We prefer Publix for overall value and a good shopping experience.

Christy

 

[flatline]

ours are right on par with sap 1227's. our cable and internet with HDTV is around $100.00. our electric is about $150.00. I don't know about phone, because we have verizon for cell and house. car insurance took quite a large jump when we moved here.

we go to super wal-mart, costco, and publix. kash n karry/sweetbay, albertsons, and winn dixie don't have the quality publix does.

 

[rparmfamily]

Hi! I'm north of where you are moving, near Jacksonville/St Augustine. Lake Mary is very nice!

I pay $110-150 for electric on 1500 sq ft house thru a co-op. Depends on the time of year (A/C runs all day and night during the hot days), plus I do 2 loads of laundry a day and run the dishwasher once a day. No gas here, only electric heat and A/C.

Water is $150 and I pay quarterly. That counts watering the lawn twice a week, both front and backyard, plus washing those 2 loads a day of laundry and that once a day dishwasher, plus baths/showers for 4 people.

Phone runs $88, that includes DSL and the local complete package thru BellSouth. I don't have cable, I get all the local channels w/bunny ears.

I have my homeowners thru USAA and my vehicle thru State Farm.

Trash pick-up (recyclables/yard waste/trash/large items) is $33 quarterly.

Pest service $60 quarterly. NEED THIS!

I pretty much only shop at Publix, and only shop their ads. I stock up when items go BOGO. I HATE Walmart with a passion, so I refuse to give them my business. I also like Winn Dixie and SuperTarget, but honestly, Publix is so nice, the people who work there go out of their way to help you, they take your groceries out for free (no tips), and they have the best produce/meat dept/bakery around. Mine also makes fresh sushi everyday, plus stuff like subs and fried chicken. They rock! Milk runs $3.00 and gas right now is $2.75.

HTH!! We LOVE LOVE LOVE living in Florida, we are from Ohio too, and you couldn't pay me to move back. I miss Cincy but no thanks on the weather. It's just as hot up there as here in the summer, only our summer lasts from May-Oct! Plus those Florida Resident discounts!!!!

 

[oogieboogie]

I cant believe your gonna leave me here in the rubber city all by myself

yeah... you're just gonna have to shovel the snow all by yourself now. No more for me! I'll just have the hurricanes to deal with

 

[cherylp3]

Do you know what your energy company is?
Progress has some discount programs.

I'd definitely agree with shop at Publix or Albertsons. If you have an Entertainment book, Publix has coupons in it.

 

[oogieboogie]

I don't know what city I'll finally end up in, so I can't check up on the energy companies yet. I've narrowed the city choices to Lake Mary, Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Winter Springs or Maitland.

Does FL have energy choice like in OH? Here we can choose the energy provider so that we can get the best price.

 

[Quinn222]

I'm anticipating that I won't have a gas heating bill (yippeee )

Probably not, but don't forget to take into account a very high electric bill for cooling. We pay $300-$400 a month from May-November. I'm just north of Palm Beach on the east coast and use FP&L.

 

[Virgo10]

I accepted a job in Lake Mary and I'm going to start next month. I'm starting to plan the move and budgets and whatnot. Right now I'm trying to figure out utilities budget, groceries budget, and other budgets, so...

1. What's your utilities payment? How much do you pay for electricity, water, phone, cable, broadband, sewer/trash, etc, etc?

I'm located in northern Polk county. Our house is 1350 sq. ft.
Electricity: All over the place depending on the time of year. As little as $60/mo in the winter to as much as $200+ in the summer.
Water: What a bargain! About $14 a month.
Phone: Vonage, around $27 a month.
Cable/Broadband: Thru a company called Brighthouse, it averages just over $100/mo.
Trash, etc.: That's on our tax bill and I'd have to look it up. I can tell you the total taxes are $1300 or so for the year. Plus they pick up trash 3 times a week in my town. Twice a week for household stuff and once a week for yard waste.

I'm anticipating that I won't have a gas heating bill (yippeee ) since I'm leaning towards 3bdrm townhomes/condos - roughly 1200-1600sqft & will most likely use internet phone or cell phone only instead of landline.

2. Where the cheapest prices for groceries - Publix, Winn-Dixie, Albertsons, Super Walmart, or Super Target? What do you pay for a gallon of milk? I'm used to paying $1.88-1.99/gallon here.

The cheapest I've found milk is at CVS when they're having a special (usually at least once a week), $2.69/gal.
Overall I'd have to say that the best prices are at the local Super WalMart.
We also have a Publix and Winn-Dixie in our town and there's an Albertsons in Winter Haven, about 20 minutes from here.

Thanks a million, guys.

Best of luck with your move.

 

[ducklite]

1. What's your utilities payment? How much do you pay for electricity, water, phone, cable, broadband, sewer/trash, etc, etc?

Electric averages $160/mo on a year round basis. That's for a roughly 3000 s/f home, but we have a radient barrier that cuts probably 30% off our A/C costs.

I have a monthly gas bill of about $20/mo that's the gas for the BBQ and dryer (I heat with electric, and trust me, you WILL need to heat some in the winter.)

Sewer/trash is around $30/mo.

Drinking water is maybe $30/mo, irrigation wanter is under $20/mo.

Vonage for phone, with taxes $30/mo. Unlimited calls anywhere in the US, canada, PR, the UK, and some other European areas.

Cable/broadband is about $60, but we get basic cable for free through our HOA.

I'm anticipating that I won't have a gas heating bill (yippeee ) since I'm leaning towards 3bdrm townhomes/condos - roughly 1200-1600sqft & will most likely use internet phone or cell phone only instead of landline.

Don't count on not heating at all. At least at night you'll need to heat for probably 30-50 nights a year. When it's in the low-40's outside you'll want that heat on.

2. Where the cheapest prices for groceries - Publix, Winn-Dixie, Albertsons, Super Walmart, or Super Target? What do you pay for a gallon of milk? I'm used to paying $1.88-1.99/gallon here.

Super Wal_mart is probably the cheapest, but I won't shop there. Even the brand new one near me just skeeves me. I buy a lot of cleaners/paper products at Target, but prefer Publix. It's really not more expensive for most things in the long run, and is clean and has a very nice selection. Plus the people who work there are super helpful!

I paid $3.29 for a gallon of milk at Publix the other day. The TG Less milk at Target (I don't like Target milk, it seems to go bad fast) was almost $5.

I don't like Winn-Dixie stores at all. The ones I've been in were run down, on the dirty side, and very expensive.

Anne

 

[JustHolly]

Many people told me that the cost of living is cheaper in Florida than in New England. I was shocked to find that extremely wrong after moving here!!!

I'm from the same area as Virgo10, about halfway between Orlando and Tampa.

Electricity runs $80 in the winter, but we keep our 2600 square foot house cool, so right now, our last electric bill was $240.

Water, sewer, and garbage are all on one bill, and it runs about $70 per month. We water our lawn twice a week, 2 showers per day (One for each of us) and I do at least 1 load of dishes and 1 load of laundry per day.

Cable is around $100.

Groceries are expensive here in Florida. Walmart is by far the cheapest, and Publix the most expensive, but the qualify of meat/produce at Publix far exceeds any of the other grocery stores. Walmart is always busy, even at 9:00 at night! We often wait in line with our groceries at Walmart for 40+ minutes. It's sooooooooo worth it to us to shop at Publix and pay the extra $. We are in and out much more quickly, they help us load our food ONTO the checkout belt, bag it, and take it to the car.


When we were in an apartment closer to Orlando/Disney, our expenses were a bit cheaper.

1200 Square foot apartment in a nice area cost $1000 per month, with the specials that were being advertised when we moved in.

Water in our apartment (no lawn watering) was $25 per month. Garbage was $5 per month.
Electricity was $70-$150
Cable was the same... $100 with internet.

Auto insurance went WAY up... there are many more car accidents and thefts here in Florida than in New England, so the rates are higher. You also have to have something called "unisured motorist" coverage.

 

[snowwhitesmom]

bumping

 

[Virgo10]

I'm from the same area as Virgo10, about halfway between Orlando and Tampa.

Hey! How do you like this area? You need to try Wally World weekday mornings. If I get there before 10 a.m., I never end up waiting in a line. I do self checkout and usually breeze right through. Even yesterday morning, (Saturday) while more crowded, wasn't all that bad early in the day.

 

[lowie]

Publix is so nice, the people who work there go out of their way to help you, they take your groceries out for free (no tips)

this is very important to know... cause i know plenty of people who move to florida and go to publix and freak out when some guy starts walking out of the store with their cart! it's hysterical!

 

[lowie]

Probably not, but don't forget to take into account a very high electric bill for cooling. We pay $300-$400 a month from May-November. I'm just north of Palm Beach on the east coast and use FP&L.

wow, ours never goes above $175 in the summer.

 

[GeorgeG]

We're near Lady Lake and moved here from New York. Just about everything is less expensive here.

Car insurance is about half. Home insurance is quite a bit less, especially if you're more than 60 miles from the coast. Hurricane insurance 60 miles or more inland is much less than the coastal areas.

We have a 2 bedroom ranch of about 1700 sq. ft. and our electric bill has averaged under $100 a month (around $50 over the winter months) and gas has been about the same. You WILL need the heat on from time to time over the winter. The temps overnight sometimes drop to below freezing and some days can be downright chilly, so don't get rid of all your warm clothes. We have gas for heat, hot water, and cooking, but many areas in Florida are all electric.

Groceries seem to be more expensive. We shop at Publix since it's the closest and everything seems nicer. Eating out can often be much less expensive than up North.

From the Lake Mary area you will be within easy day trip range of a lot of attractions, including WDW and being a Florida resident gets you a lot of discounts.

Welcome to the neighborhood and enjoy!

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

Now I found the car insurance here to be expensive! Also registering a car the first time is expensive because of the tag, (close to $200) but at least it's that high only once. I used to pay that much each YEAR in Arizona - so that works out to be far less.

Telephone service here is expensive and horrible. Which is why many don't have land lines - use Vonage and such. I'd have used Vonage anyway as I think it's the best deal out there.

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

I love how everyone posts on here although Publix is exspensive... its worth shopping there because of our clean stores and the helpful people. I work at Publix part time and that makes me feel proud. Although most of us try our hardest it still seems like there are some out there you can't please and I am glad to hear all the good comments on here.

Matt