downsizing: relocation & cost of living

[Cruisinthru]

You might also look at Tyler, Marshall, Longview, Palestine, or Lufkin. All are in the eastern section of the state. It is beautiful green rolling hills and lots of trees. Tyler is about eighty or ninety miles from Dallas/Fort Worth and is a bit larger than the others mentioned.

The hill country of Texas is a bit more pricey, but beautiful. The hill country is the area about a hundred miles southwest of Dallas, north of San Antonio, and on the out skirts of Austin. The population of this area has doubled in the last few years and prices have gone thru the roof. (This is when Rewahoo needs to jump in and remind everyone of the fire ants, ratttlesnakes, and scorpions.)

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruisinthru (This is when Rewahoo needs to jump in and remind everyone of the fire ants, ratttlesnakes, and scorpions.)

OK...

Texas is infested with scorpions, rattlesnakes, fire ants, crazy raspberry ants, cockroaches on steroids, killer bees, mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, tarantulas, brown recluse spiders, love bugs, swarming crickets, copperheads, cottonmouths, rabid skunks, wild hogs, alligators, oppressive heat & humidity, bleak desolate scenery, dirty beaches, polluted air, dust storms, drought, wildfires, water shortages, recurring floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, rednecks, huge piles of flaming mulch, spontaneously combusting playgrounds, roads hot as flowing lava, the stench of natural and unnatural gasses, amoebic meningitis lurking in area lakes, recurring ebola virus outbreaks, flesh eating bacteria, staggering homeowner insurance rates, unbelievably high property taxes, mandatory death sentences for DUI convictions, polygamous religious sects, and, lest we forget, doesn't look kindly towards Yankees (per Orchidflower).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruisinthru You might also look at Tyler, Marshall, Longview, Palestine, or Lufkin. All are in the eastern section of the state.

The towns mentioned are all located behind the Pine Curtain. You'll need to show your passport at the border crossing, but if you weigh 250 or more, wear well-worn bib overalls and a DeKalb Feed gimmie cap, you might be able to pass through without getting checked.

[TeeRuh]

and I believe in the piney woods area (behind the Pine Curtain) you are required to live in a trailor house, though there are some nice double wides ...

[armor99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazygood4nothinbum i couldn’t help but to notice that when i go out for vegetable lo mein in tampa, it costs about half the price of the pint i get at home in fort lauderdale. so why am i supporting pricey lo mein? searching other threads titled downsizing, i don’t find one which specifically addresses budget items effected by location. the more i study the particulars, the more i find relocation can make huge differences. the extreme example of course is leaving the country for the developing world. but significant savings abound at home. i posted on another thread the savings i’d realize just on car insurance in different towns where i think i’d enjoy living: daytona saves me $522/year & gainesville saves $686/year. savings magnify when looking at what portfolio is required to generate budgets over time. by the 25x’s rule, this one item reduces a portfolio required to support early retirement by $13,050 to $17,150. insurance in florida, of course, is a big budget item. here again, price differences are staggering. to www.shopandcomparerates.com/hocomparerates.htm in florida really brings location to mind on cost of living budgets. for just wind insurance (along the coast we require liability, of course, as well as wind & flood), the chart shows my area priced (for “5-year old, florida concrete block home, with a current replacement value of $150,000, a $500 non-hurricane deductible, a 2% hurricane deductible, no claims, and no wind mitigation discounts”) at between $1,731 & 6,370/year. a move to daytona would reduce that range to $913-$1,904 or a move to gainesville reduces costs to between $556-$1,191. huge savings and i haven’t even left the country yet, never mind the state. reduction to the required e.r. portfolio for a move from fort lauderdale to daytona? somewhere in the $20,450 – $111,650-range just based on wind insurance alone. of course the stores i use, services, professionals, etc. also pay that and pass on to me those costs in their pricing. even gas varies. according to gasbuddy.com fort lauderdale currently ranges from $3.63 to $3.85/gal. daytona same. gainesville $3.67 to $3.89. but central tampa $3.55 to $3.79. i do not know the accuracy of this www.bestplaces.net/col/ calculator, but it likely at least indicates the difference location makes and it amazes me. based on all the catagories of food, housing, utilities, transportation and other items like entertainment, restaurants, clothing, i found only two florida areas, naples & key west, more expensive than fort lauderdale. the savings are significant: cape coral (cheaper by) 15.3%; daytona or gainesville 26.6%; jacksonville 25%; lakeland 29%; palatka or pensacola 30.6%; even sarasota 11.3%; tallahassee 25%; tampa 23.4%. now for a few road trips to find the best lo mein. (i'm working specific budgets for relocation within florida and also for vagabonding in different countries. very difficult locating cost of living information on specific items of living. would appreciate anyone with such information listing it here. my interests are mostly central & south america & se asia though it would be good to see any & all areas.) (also is it possible to copy/paste spreadsheeted info onto a post?)

It may sound silly... but I think it is a cheap fairly reliable indicator of the standard of living in most places in the US. Go find a soda machine in any local strip mall in the area you are living in, and see how much a can of coke costs. When I lived in NYC it was $1.50, in Indiana it was around .50. Here in AZ it seems to average .70-.80. Enjoy...

[Cruisinthru]

Rewahoo is terribly wrong. What propaganda! If you own a John Deere hat they will let you in without a passport, forget about Dekalb feeds. You may have to have a few teeth pulled before you are really accepted, but heh the cost of living is low.

[HFWR]

Cedar Creek Reservoir is about 1.5 hrs outside of Dallas, about halfway to Tyler, only a bit farther south. Nicknamed "Speeder Creek", because of the meth problems in the area. Close to "Gun Barrel City"; I'm not making this up. I've heard the same about Lake Tawakoni, just to the north. Both have good fishing, as does Lake Fork, farther east near Emory.

Relatively easy drives to DFW and Shreveport, LA. As others have said, it's Walmart and Dairy Queen country...

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruisinthru You might also look at Tyler...

rec7, looks like you just missed out on quite a house bargain near Tyler. This post has all the details - check out the photos in the last link.

http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...tml#post660669

[FANOFJESUS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo rec7, looks like you just missed out on quite a house bargain near Tyler. This post has all the details - check out the photos in the last link. http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...tml#post660669

Thank God I love two bedrooms.