Thinking about moving..

[RACER X]

there's 8.25% sales tax on "everything"
6.25 on cars/bikes

our property tax is like 3.4%, so yeah, its not "cheap"

of course it varies from city to city, there are alot of little cities inside houston and on the outskirts, so prob. 2% and up to around 4%.

no state tax

[dubbs]

Originally Posted by RACER X

there's 8.25% sales tax on "everything"
6.25 on cars/bikes

our property tax is like 3.4%, so yeah, its not "cheap"

of course it varies from city to city, there are alot of little cities inside houston and on the outskirts, so prob. 2% and up to around 4%.

no state tax

That is a bit steep.. How bout insurance? Right now I pay about 800/yr.

[RACER X]

i think we're at $1700/yr

and depending where you buy you may need "wind storm" ( hurricane) ins. thats another ~$400

[dubbs]

Originally Posted by RACER X

i think we're at $1700/yr

and depending where you buy you may need "wind storm" ( hurricane) ins. thats another ~$400

For some reason I expected the taxes and insurance to be cheaper.. guess not everything is more expensive here.

[RACER X]

overall the cost of living is cheaper down here.

gas about $3.50-3.60/gal
not heating oil
we have a newish house, 3500sq ft and our highest elec. bill has been $230
yard guys, $25/wk

[dubbs]

Originally Posted by RACER X

overall the cost of living is cheaper down here.

gas about $3.50-3.60/gal
not heating oil
we have a newish house, 3500sq ft and our highest elec. bill has been $230
yard guys, $25/wk

My highest electric bill was 120$ but I don't have central air.

My oil bill for the year is about 4 grand.

How much do you pay for home gas for the year, approx?

[RACER X]

$70/mos for nat. gas

EVERY house has central air here, lol

no basements.

[Rangerscott]

Nothing like living in one of the top 10 polluted cities in the US. It may not be on an official list but its on my list. Also waking up at 4am to have enough time to make it to your 8am job. LOL

[wildchild]

don't forget when you move south, you may not pay as much for heat, (although Ed is covering my heat bill with his per month on gas) but you definitely pay more for A/C. you also have to remember you will run the A/C more then those who are from TX. I hardly turned my A/C off in winter this year in FL.
I've heard the same about more jobs in TX but haven't really seen it in reality. (internet searches anyway)

Don't forget if COL is lower so are wages generally.

[Rangerscott]

Not sure about Houston but where I'm at it stays in the 20-30 range with some weeks of 0's. So you don't have your a/c on year round. Just may-august. April some times if it's La Nina time.