On average what is the cost of living where you live?

[OhMari]

I live in northern wisconsin, a bigger city
Wages: Anywhere from $1,000 to 90,000 (mine 10.24 a hour)
Average house: (rental) $600 and up Aparment: $450 (average)
Groceries: $100 a month for one person (and occational kids)
Movies: $4.00 matnee 7.00 eveings $2 if you drive up to steveson

I live in central/southern WI.
My area took a hard hit with layoffs at iMercury Marine and
Quad Graphics that prints Playboy, coupons in your Sunday Paper and many other magazines.
We lost about $30,000 on the equity of our homes.
You can get a home in our area from
100 yr old homes for $110,000
to a new home $250,000.
Many executives are selling their homes for $450,000 and they are not selling.
Grocieries $150 a week, but a lot less while kids are at college.
Wages $75,000
Movies -I have no idea, I go across the street and get them free at the library, or rent at Block Buster for $3.99

 

[JessicaR]

I agree, very different across the island........in our immediate area....
There is nothing here for rent under 2500
Houses are about 550K and up (though some are on the market a long time, as apparently they won't be reduced) Several are on the market at over 1Mil.
Just paid 2.60 for gas
Food is (expensive) at waldbaums, Less at Stop and Shop and even LESS at Guintas meat market...so that really depends
Food Out is just like Disney , which is why it feels more "normal" where many think it is so overpriced....has less of an impact on us....
Movie tix vary day/eve/Imax, but just paid 10.50 adult last weekend
Wages also vary, but in my area, the vast majority are 2 income households with 200k and above, but keep in mind the taxes here are also AWFUL (SCHOOLS) are the biggest reason for that....ours are over 12K, which is actually typical......my relative a mile away is over 20K...we have under an acre each........
To live here comfortably you need $$$$

Your post is dead on for me and you saved me all those keystrokes. Meat Farms in Commack or the new one? My husband and I love dining at Disney and Universal and I guess thats a plus that we arent shell shocked at their prices, it does compare to here and actually I find it a bit less than here. We're in Suffolk County.

 

[Sleepy]

It is so expensive that I don't even like breaking it down to see the grand total.

 

[Sleepy]

My husband and I love dining at Disney and Universal and I guess thats a plus that we arent shell shocked at their prices, it does compare to here and actually I find it a bit less than here.

Count me in too. Dining at the theme parks for us is like going to Outback and getting the McDonald's $1 menu.

 

[mjkacmom]

The average income, according the the census, is $75,000, but I can't imagine living on that as a family. The average home is close to $450,000, and the average property taxes are $10,000 a year. My heat and electric in our average sized home is $500 a month, and we easily spend over $1,000 in groceries per month, with me using coupons. Movies are $10.50.

 

[mjkacmom]

I had to look it up because I had no idea.

Wow, ours is really low

Median Household Income $48,439

Median Housing Value $82,900

Groceries for my family of 4 runs around $150

Movies $8

I looked it up according to our zip code. I guess we are a depressed area, I really had no idea our median income was so low. I guess I assumed everyone made around the same amount as we do.

Interesting thread

You know, I just checked, and found a small home in my town for $229,000 - a few years ago, you'd find nothing under $350,000 - so I think most markets have changed.

 

[claudia]

See now the average income and house prices vary so much here on LI. Some neighborhoods you won't even be able to get a blade of grass for $275,000 or a one bedroom apartment for less than $2000 a month. The COL here is so insane. Wouldn't you agree?

that is so true....where I grew up in Nassau, North Shore I don't think you could get a starter home there now for much under $500,000. It definitely changes town to town, county to county and shore to shore.

 

[Feralpeg]

Florida is the land of the haves and have nots. Many people make minimum wage and hold down multiple jobs to survive. It is not unusual to hear of multiple families living in the same house.

There are many retired people here living in manufactured or mobile homes.

In my immediate area, home range from $300k to $15 million. There are many rich people in my area. If you go south of Disney property, you'll find cheaper housing.

I spend about $300 a month on food for the two of us. We eat out a lot. Our utilities are very reasonable. I spend about $50 a month on water and that includes the water for our irrigation system. In the summer months, I spend about $220 a month on electric (we have an all electric home). In the winter months, my electric runs about $100 a month.

Property taxes and homeowner insurance are higher here than many places, but we don't pay state income tax.

 

[Colleen27]

Semi-rural Michigan here, and these numbers are for my community. Some would consider my town part of the Detroit area (sure, if you're cool with a 2hr commute!) but personally I don't.

Wages - 20-30K/year
Housing - 50K for a 3bed/2bath in good condition
Groceries - Hard for me to say, because I grow produce, shop farms/farm stands, can, freeze, and buy in bulk. I'm guessing $500ish/month for our family of 5 if I were to buy everything at the grocery.
Movie ticket - No theatre in town, but the closest one is $5.50 for an adult ticket.

The cost of living is one of the things I like about our town. We've got the demographics and housing costs of a poor suburb, but the award winning schools and safe neighborhoods of much more expensive communities. The location isn't terribly desirable, nestled between a state park and protected wetlands with a two-lane country road as the only way in or out, and not many people move here - most of the town is people who grew up here and never left - but since we're not dependant upon driving into the city/suburbs for work and don't mind the drive when we're doing it for fun, it is perfect for us.

 

[Chicago526]

I'm in the NW burbs of Chicago.

Our combined income is $100,000. this is enough for a 3 bed/2 bath small single family home (paid $186k in 2005, worth around $165k now...) in a town with a not so great school system and crime that's on the higher side of average. We have just enough to meet our bills, and once our CC's are paid off, to save and invest for our future and take an occasional vacation. We cannot afford to move to a better area without a large increase in income or sacrifices in savings and investments.

 

[Aisling]

I live in NYC, and an income of less than $100,000 would make for difficult living due to rents/mortgage costs.

 

[tink_n_pooh]

I can't believe some of the differences in costs from area to area Even right here in our little rural county it can vary so much its scary. Our home - a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath bilevel on 2.7 acres could easily cost $150K more across the county and the taxes would easily triple but for what? Larger (not so great) schools? I guess its all in the 'name' of the town

 

[frndshpcptn]

See now the average income and house prices vary so much here on LI. Some neighborhoods you won't even be able to get a blade of grass for $275,000 or a one bedroom apartment for less than $2000 a month. The COL here is so insane. Wouldn't you agree?

I agree! I'm on LI as well and in Nassau County and there is nothing in my town expect for a one bedroom apartment that would sell for less than $300,000.

We are looking at single family houses in our town, as well as the few neighboring towns and everything is in the $699,000++ range. It's so frustrating!

i will say that incomes in my town seem to be minimum $150,000 (and that's at the low end - and I'm not exactly sure what everyone does here either...)

 

[Colleen27]

I can't believe some of the differences in costs from area to area Even right here in our little rural county it can vary so much its scary. Our home - a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath bilevel on 2.7 acres could easily cost $150K more across the county and the taxes would easily triple but for what? Larger (not so great) schools? I guess its all in the 'name' of the town

It really is amazing. I can't imagine what working class people like us do in areas where housing is as expensive as some have posted on this thread! How does a roofer or a plumber or a mechanic get by when it takes a six figure salary to buy a home?

 

[aprilgail2]

It really is amazing. I can't imagine what working class people like us do in areas where housing is as expensive as some have posted on this thread! How does a roofer or a plumber or a mechanic get by when it takes a six figure salary to buy a home?

They make out great LOL- the mechanics and plumbers where I work make about $40.00 + an hour- plus they work overtime so they are doing pretty darn well- its the unskilled factory type people that need to work 2 to 3 jobs and share apartments that are hurting.

 

[Colleen27]

They make out great LOL- the mechanics and plumbers where I work make about $40.00 + an hour- plus they work overtime so they are doing pretty darn well- its the unskilled factory type people that need to work 2 to 3 jobs and share apartments that are hurting.

I still can't imagine... That's not quite twice what DH averages as a roofer/handyman in our low CoL area, but some people here have posted about housing values 5 times what they were at their peak in our area and 10+ times what they are here now! I suppose there aren't many one-income families there.

 

[kkmcan]

Ok, not entirely sure of these but here goes.
Tucson, Az

Wages: decent living would be $50,000 min for family of 4
Housing: Average house about $200,000
Groceries: $400 month
Movie ticket for evening hours: $9.75

 

[hpsauce]

Downtown Toronto, Canada

Average family income: $100,000-ish
Groceries (monthly): $400-$500
Median home price: $400,000 (for a small semi-detached starter home in an average neighbourhood -- a small detached starter home in a nice neighbourhood would go for $600,000 or so. Lot sizes are 20'x100' on average.)
Gas: $0.95-$1.00/litre
Movies: $12.00 or so?

 

[Kimberly]

I still can't imagine... That's not quite twice what DH averages as a roofer/handyman in our low CoL area, but some people here have posted about housing values 5 times what they were at their peak in our area and 10+ times what they are here now! I suppose there aren't many one-income families there.

Single income families in the NYC area are extremely rare. I don't know of many, even where both spouses are professionals (physicians or attorneys).

 

[rparmfamily]

In Hawaii most families have both parents working plus usually someone has a second job PLUS they live with relatives. Extended family living situations are very common here. Grandparents w/their adult children and grandchildren,etc.