downsizing: relocation & cost of living

[HFWR]

In retirement as in real estate the rule is "Location, Location, Location." We live in Indiana and our town is the lowest I can find, but cheap is not pleasant. The town has a problem with their waste water facility and the town smells of ,shall we say, Pampers. Also the cost of Misc. is one of the higher catagories. It is also the lowest in housing costs, but that's because there isn't much wealth in this city. Mostly lower incomes. We are stuck here, so you had better look very closely at those lower rated living areas. There is usually a very good reason for their rating.

Sounds a lot like my old hometown...

Per Wikipedia:

The median income for a household in the town was $28,495, and the median income for a family was $33,267. Males had a median income of $28,468 versus $21,580 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,431. About 16.6% of families and 19.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.0% of those under age 18 and 15.6% of those age 65 or over.

As for milk, it's been running $3.00-3.50/gal at Wallyworld in Plano, TX.

 

[Moemg]

Milk is $2.32 at Publix in Sarasota ,Fl.

 

[Khan]

$2.29 for 1/2 gal of 1% this morning at a Fulmer.

 

[Moemg]

i i've yet to find a chinese restaurant in florida where every dish doesn't taste the same.

Or a good pizza place ! They all say they are from New Jersey but they must have thrown the recipes out the windows on the drive down to Florida .

 

[free4now]

What's hard about cost of living calculations is that what you spend your money on is different in different locations. When I moved to the city from the suburbs I found I spent much less on gas, but more on parking. I was expecting to spend much more on eating out, but I ended up finding that the larger kitchen in my new residence combined with super-convenient supermarkets has led me to eat in often. Switching from homeowner to renter I find myself spending less on home furnishings than expected. Moving from gas furnace to electric baseboard heat, and to a colder location, meant my energy bill skyrocketed, but soon I got in the habit of wearing heavy clothes rather than turning the heat on, and now I'm paying less for energy than before. Moving from a place with no radio reception to a few miles from the main broadcast tower meant I could ditch cable/satellite TV for broadcast HDTV, and ditch my landline for cell only. I spend less on recreation because there are so many free or low cost opportunities in the city and surrounds.

 

[megacorp-firee]

Come on up to Jax. We have at least one authentic Chinese restaurant (frog congee, etc.) and tons of the regular Americanized ones. This is a very nice place to live.

Where is this? Do they serve dim sum too?

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Thanks for the milk prices everyone.

Ive been comparing the various cost of living calculators online. They are fairly accurate in regards to grocery prices. It is very eye opening to me.

 

[W2R]

What's hard about cost of living calculations is that what you spend your money on is different in different locations. When I moved to the city from the suburbs I found I spent much less on gas, but more on parking. I was expecting to spend much more on eating out, but I ended up finding that the larger kitchen in my new residence combined with super-convenient supermarkets has led me to eat in often. Switching from homeowner to renter I find myself spending less on home furnishings than expected. Moving from gas furnace to electric baseboard heat, and to a colder location, meant my energy bill skyrocketed, but soon I got in the habit of wearing heavy clothes rather than turning the heat on, and now I'm paying less for energy than before. Moving from a place with no radio reception to a few miles from the main broadcast tower meant I could ditch cable/satellite TV for broadcast HDTV, and ditch my landline for cell only. I spend less on recreation because there are so many free or low cost opportunities in the city and surrounds.

I think that is a very insightful post. So often we keep expenses within a "comfort zone", but spend more or less on various categories as we adjust to a new location and slightly altered lifestyle. Getting used to dressing for the weather helps - - dressing lightly in the heat and keeping the thermostat up helps lower A/C bills here in Louisiana, just like wearing heavy clothes helped your energy consumption in a colder location. If I start driving less after ER, I will save on gas but I may end up spending that money on such things as a bicycle, not to mention boots and warm outerwear for walking outside a lot more.

 

[CuppaJoe]

Safeway.com is offering their generic brand 1/2 gallon 1% at $2.79, a savings of .20, not counting delivery fees to my San Francisco address, that price is good through August 8, 2008. Their in-store price would be the same without delivery fees. Does anyone know if in-store prices now include a fuel surcharge as the delivery prices do?

BTY, their lactose free 1% generic is going for $3.50 per 1/2 gallon, regularly $3.99.

 

[Moemg]

One thing I haven't seen anybody mention is the slight increase in utility bills when you are home all day . We run our dishwasher more . Also if you are home you want your house comfortable so in warm climates you use the air more and in cold the heat . We also use more water & electric . This hasn't made a major difference but a small noticeable one .

 

[Khan]

One thing I haven't seen anybody mention is the slight increase in utility bills when you are home all day . We run our dishwasher more . Also if you are home you want your house comfortable so in warm climates you use the air more and in cold the heat . We also use more water & electric . This hasn't made a major difference but a small noticeable one .

Absolutely

Didn't have A/C at home until retirement
Have heat at day setting ~16 hours/day instead of ~6
(minimal cost difference except for heat and A/C)
More time for lights on
More stove/microwave use
More hours for summer fans
PC on more hours
More water
More toilet paper
More money for bird and squirrel food

Less laundry (no more work clothes and home clothes)
Don't have to shower and shampoo every day
Don't commute 5 days/week and run errands on Saturday
Fewer dentist visits

Buying less food, but higher quality

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Those are very interesting areas. If I were younger DW and I would consider moving and rehabbing one of those great old homes..... Not sure about crime, etc. but seems fine to me when we are in the neighborhood...The thing about Tampa: it's a real city. Not real pretty, not real rich, not real resorty,not real trendy in most areas -- just real.

my bad on location of heights. not east of but rather bound on east by ybor city. i've done a lot of touring around tampa every so often over the years so i'm surprised i only recently found this area, and that i only found it online. looking foward to checking out in person.

as to crime, i recall when first rehabbing ybor city, which has really only somewhat succeeded in a few blocks so far, there was a big deal made of police presence and even camera surveillance. my last time there we counted about three to four cop cars per block. but still very fun.

agree with your sense of tampa as real city. i've always enjoyed it there.

and totally with you on rehabbing. i love old houses and could easily give up my dream of sailing around the world, or vagabonding developing countries to just get a lazy hound dog & fix up an old house. most of living takes place in the mind anyway.

Here is a link to the AACRA Cost of Living Report for 2007 for over 300 cities.
http://www.stgeorgechamber.com/pdf/Quarter4_2007CostofLivingReport.pdf

thanx for another source. checked it out. next to others it seems to run conservative by about 5% (or at least when i compared ft laud to jax). still, good to get the possible range.

Or a good pizza place ! They all say they are from New Jersey but they must have thrown the recipes out the windows on the drive down to Florida .

this is so my pet pizza peeve. i found an edible slice just west of the elbo room but with those beachside rents a slice & tip is like 3 or 4 bucks and still not great.

i had great pizza about 25 miles away but they closed. supposedly they used to import water from brooklyn to make their dough. the only other decent pizza is about a 35 mile ride (one way).

but one of the big problems with finding a great slice of pizza is that the best slice is the one you grew up with. so the rest of my life amounts to not much more than searching for a slice of guido's.

What's hard about cost of living calculations is that what you spend your money on is different in different locations.

spot on. one of the reasons i try to consider what turn my life might take after downsizing. for instance, i might just get a small place to close up and go vagabonding. so then car insurance savings might not be so important, because i might not own one for five or 10 years.

Thanks for the milk prices everyone.

sorry forgot to get 1/2 gal but my last price on gal of skim was $4.09.

apparently i'm screwed even when it comes to milk...

Ouch! South Florida's inflation rate outpacing nation -- -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

"The Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area topped all other cities, with a 4.9 percent annual inflation rate through April. The national rate was 3.9 percent."

One thing I haven't seen anybody mention is the slight increase in utility bills when you are home all day.

n/a. worked out of my house before quitting. plus i have such a small, well built house that it makes little difference. a/c'd all day long including set at hybernation 68 at night averages just about $100/month.

 

[W2R]

Just got back from shopping. Milk is $2.77 per 1/2 gallon, or $4.38/gallon.

(This is at a medium priced "average" grocery chain.)

 

[Spanky]

Just got back from shopping. Milk is $2.77 per 1/2 gallon, or $4.38/gallon.

(This is at a medium priced "average" grocery chain.)

Just a little bit more than unleaded regular gasoline, which is about $3.76 / gallon.

 

[SecondCor521]

I haven't bought milk in the last few weeks but a few weeks ago it was $2.78/gal at a Walmart in Boise, Idaho. Regular unleaded gas is $3.63 9/10 per gallon at Fred Meyer.

2Cor521

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Just got back from shopping. Milk is $2.77 per 1/2 gallon, or $4.38/gallon.

(This is at a medium priced "average" grocery chain.)

I used Baton Rouge as a comparison to Sacramento Ca. Since I dont know your nearest major city. Its interesting to me that the CNN calculator says Baton Rouge should be 20% less cost of living wise for groceries than Sacramento. Milk in Sacramento is 2.90 1/2 give or take a few depending on where you go. This one example is the farthest off from what I have found. Thank you for posting it. I realize I need a much large sample to compare this calculator but interesting non the less.

 

[W2R]

I am living in (the remnants of) the New Orleans metro area. Perhaps New Orleans does not count as a large city these days.

Baton Rouge is about 60 miles to the west, and is the closest large city other than New Orleans.

Milk has gone up this spring.

 

[Notmuchlonger]

I am living in (the remnants of) the New Orleans metro area. Perhaps New Orleans does not count as a large city these days.

Baton Rouge is about 60 miles to the west, and is the closest large city other than New Orleans.

Milk has gone up this spring.

Thank you, I am wondering if this is due to the after effects of the hurricane? Strange that the ACCRA calculator does not have New Orleans listed. Or could it be that it is a big tourist destination that it skews the results and New Orleans was not used.

 

[Moemg]

Thank you, I am wondering if this is due to the after effects of the hurricane? Strange that the ACCRA calculator does not have New Orleans listed. Or could it be that it is a big tourist destination that it skews the results and New Orleans was not used.

Sarasota is also a big tourist area and milk was only $2.32.

 

[W2R]

Thank you, I am wondering if this is due to the after effects of the hurricane? Strange that the ACCRA calculator does not have New Orleans listed. Or could it be that it is a big tourist destination that it skews the results and New Orleans was not used.

Food prices went up maybe 200% after Katrina (scalping was not allowed, but there were genuine extra costs in getting things into the area). They came down most of the way last year.

With the latest food price increases, they have gone up again. It seems to me that last month a gallon of milk was around $4.09, though I could be wrong. I try not to stress over individual grocery items' prices, and look more at overall price levels at different stores.

New Orleans is very seldom listed any more in various online calculators. I don't think it is because the world has given up on us (at least I hope not). I think it is because the population dropped under 250K according to the census.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

I live in Missouri. I was thinking if I moved to texas I would save about 4k a year would it be worth it? What does everyone think about living in amarillo texas?

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i don't know anything other than what i've read about texas (and some of that is suspect) but that $4k/yr could reduce by $100k the required portfolio to sustain such a draw, plus any money you might shake lose from existing home equity. or $4k/year buys a plane ticket out of texas and affords two or three months of vacation in thailand each year.

as to is the savings worth it: that probably depends as much on what you are leaving as where you are going.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

i don't know anything other than what i've read about texas (and some of that is suspect) but that $4k/yr could reduce by $100k the required portfolio to sustain such a draw, plus any money you might shake lose from existing home equity. or $4k/year buys a plane ticket out of texas and affords two or three months of vacation in thailand each year.

as to is the savings worth it: that probably depends as much on what you are leaving as where you are going.

Good point does anybody know what the cheapest safe area of amarillo texas cost? Would 50k cut it? I only need a two bedroom. From what I have read property taxes are about 2.5% of value. I don't know what the rate is on cars?

 

[DAB456]

Left FLL in 2005. Cashed out in Coral Ridge and moved to GA. I'm considering returning to GVN next year. Also spent 2 yrs there in early 80s. It's hotter in the summer than FLL. Age distribution is bi-modal -- middle aged missing. But more people are retiring there. I live in college town now and it's bad at all. A welcome change from FLL/Wilton Manors. I think GVN still has a gay bar although the Spectrum is long gone. Good idea to take the SOH and run.

I also spend 2 months a yr in Uruguay. It's about 30% cheaper than US even with declining dollar. Look into Montevideo. Beaches and no hurricanes. I like it more than Buenos Aires. Smaller, more relaxed. I'm finally learning Spanish.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

another lauderdalien. cool. welcome to the forum dab. sorry i missed your 1st post earlier. an xroomy of mine is in coral ridge (bought prebubble peek from an old queen who gave him like a $2-300k discount). i understand the dry lots there have since somewhat crashed, at least for now. you can even get a waterfront (on bayview at least) for under 1mm until this all sorts out. so you gained on that but in moving back to g-ville now you'll have missed your opportunity for portability. still, you're likely ahead of the game.

the manors seem to be holding up fairly well, considering. in fact i just did a random study yesterday on recent sales throughout gayberry rfd. of the five i happened to find: 209 nw 3 ave (west of powerline) 2004-2008 up 4.09% annually; 521 ne 26 dr 2002-2008 up 7.21% annually; 121 ne 21 ct 2006-2007 down 11.75% in total; 701 ne 21 dr 2003-2008 down 31% in total (a foreclosure?) but all told 2001-2008 up 9.83% annually; 356 ne 21 ct 2004-2008 down just 4% in total. all in all, not the bloodbath i thought it might be.

interesting observation on age distribution of college towns. one of my concerns about moving to g-ville would be that neither the old get younger nor do the young age, having an influx of new students every year. i don't know how professors do it. it must be like being stuck in a time warp.

so funny you mentioned spectrum. there were two bars back than, one just off university, east of campus, and another farther north, with a stage. that was spectrum, yes? any chance you were there circa 78-80. apple love was one of the drag queens. the owner must be 80 by now. i think that black shoe polished comb-over of his has kept me from ever coloring my hair.

think i'd hold off on college town until i'm in an ltr or when i'll be much, much older and just not caring so much about getting laid. i couldn't imagine having to rely on a college town gay bar to hookup. i'm already turning invisible in wilton alone. in g-ville i'd evaporate.

your time in uruguay sounds wonderful. is the area gay-friendly? would love to hear more about cost of living there. but more important than savings of course is: are the guys as hot in montevideo as in argentina? hey, ya gotta have priorities. anyway, hope you write more about all that.