Life in the West (Western US)

[RetiredHappy]

My Comcast bill which I just paid today is $324. and that covers internet and TV, no premium channels either.

You need to go to streaming. Pay for high speed internet, where we are 1GB is only $70 per month. Hulu is about $75 with all the premium channels. We also subscribe to Discovery+, Acorn and Peacock, and all in we are paying about $200 per month.

 

[CaffeineMe]

We're in NJ and don't enjoy our climate, meanwhile, our Daughter who lives in Denver enjoys 300 days of sunshine, low humidity and expansive views. Sure, it might get cold, but snow melts quickly. She'll tell us that today's weather is "snow with chance of swimming." then she sends a photo of snow at 7am and her sitting poolside by lunch.

In 2021 Superior and Louisville, two suburbs just north of Denver, had a wildfire that burned into the city and destroyed hundreds of homes. The cause of the Marshall Fire was "an unusually warm and dry summer and fall", high winds and lack of snow (the fire occurred a few days after Christmas).
In 2012, the year before I moved here, the Waldo Canyon fire started in the foothills of Pikes Peak west of Colorado Springs and burned into the city, destroying homes in several westside suburbs and causing emergency evacuations. The flames were visible from my in-laws home about 5 miles away- it was terrifying. It was the first time I had ever heard of a wildfire actually burning structures within a city.
The Colorado Front Range may have a pleasant climate now, but it is getting hotter and drier every year, with attendant increase in fire danger. And there is constant angst about water- its now common to have watering restrictions during the summer, and we have regular increases in cost of water. I moved to Denver in 1992 and have seen the changes. Afternoon rainfall during the summer used to be a regular thing, not so anymore. First snows show up later and autumns are dryer. Summertime temps are hotter.
It may well be that the people moving to upstate New York are the smart ones.

 

[FlaGator]

Apartment-dweller here, so I can't comment on homeowner insurance or water bills. But it does seem to be especially the case in recent years, that various folks have grown antsy and disaffected by their current locale, be it costs or politics or some real or perceived faults, and have been hankering to move long-distance, to the Promised Land. Long-term residents in said land, would be befuddled, to see such fervent zeal, in going from the old place, to the new.

Retirees are especially vulnerable to such passions, as one is no longer tied to the workplace, and not concerned about job opportunities in the target location.

My own feeling is that local variation is more stark, and affects quality-of-life more substantially, than what time-zone one happens to choose. The different parts of Los Angeles, for example, differ from each other, in appearance and amenities, "vibe", wealth, clutter and density, access to nature and so on.... more than some comparison between California and New York State. So if we are going to move, to chase our dreams or to escape from current nightmares, perhaps we should think more locally.

The one notable exception is state income tax. Whether in Beverly Hills or Blythe, a Californian is going to pay... what a Californian pays. There is no discount for moving from to toniest coastal gated community, to scrubland in 110-degree heat. For persons of a certain financial standing, income tax considerations may well determine, where to live... and thus prompt a long-distance move.

Here's another vote for seriously considering staying (generally) where you are. Not sure this idea gets the proper consideration once we stop getting a paycheck.

The late DW and I loved SoCal when we lived there in the late 90's. My job took us to SoFla and career-wise it worked out very well. After she passed, I decided to stay in FL but relocate to a more kid-friendly locale. Been in the Panhandle for 9 years and I know I made the right choice for them.

After 25 years, I'm a Floridian now, and have no reason to move back West. Kids are gone and I'm empty-nester who has considered moving to every other part of the state, but haven't found any compelling reason to move far from where I am, much less across the state to Jax, down the peninsula, or back west to AZ or CA. And I have friends/family in each of those places. So, I'll move away from the tourist crush at the beach to a nearby place that is quieter on a daily basis and pick the times to deal with the crowds of people that are not my neighbors.

I never thought when I was young that my life would unfold as it has, I have been incredibly fortunate to live where I have and see the things I've seen. And now I'm faced with the decision about where to spend my remaining active years.

The great thing about all of these decisions is we have choices that we did not when we were younger. And that is what we worked hard and saved for right, right?

 

[swakyaby]

I live on the East Coast. I always have and I always will, so I am ignorant
to the realities of day to day life back west, even though I've traveled a lot.

People in the group from CA, AZ, TX mention wildfires and drought and heat.
So I have a a few questions for any here on that side of the country to help me better understand it

Other than fear and watching forecasts (not discounting them) - are wildfires driving property insurance rates? and drought - is it driving the water bills of the average home owner? or is water typically bundled into other bills? I have read of severe restrictions for lawns and swimming pools, for example - but I have no idea how these work on a practical basis. Are people closing up their pools, filling in their lawns with gravel?
What do you see on a daily basis? If you care to share any details, I am curious, thanks.

Regarding the OP’s questions about the west, I’ve lived in southern California for the first half of my life, and central/northern California since 1997. I recall we had a serious 6-year drought from 2011-2016 where the state was seriously running out of water! Then the enormous wildfires began happening around 2018, burning areas and cities and homes that I can’t recall ever were threatened in recent history. The enormous insurance losses that ensued definitely had an impact on the skyrocketing insurance premiums in areas that were designated at risk for fires. As for water, we had a good wet season last winter with generous snowfall, so our current reservoirs are good for the entire state. But during the drought years, outdoor watering was so restricted that many homeowners decided to convert their water-hungry front lawns to xeriscaping drought tolerant plants and drippers instead of overhead sprinklers.

 

[ElizabethT]

"The west" is a huge place. I don't think there's one generic answer that's going to apply to Cheyenne, Seattle and Phoenix, not to mention the vast amounts of open space between them.

For my California beach town
-- no I am not worried about wildfires. We have large bodies of water on two sides and a competent fire department.
-- no wildfires aren't affecting property insurance rates as far as I can tell (I manage the finances for our tiny HOA and our rates have gone up slightly faster than inflation but not the crazy numbers I've heard about in Florida).
-- I am also not worried about air quality from smoke since the prevailing winds are coming off the ocean. Very rarely we've had smoke from fires around L.A. or even north of there reach us. It happens when there's a mild Santa Ana condition (wind from the east) that pushes smoke out to sea and then it circles around to the south and comes ashore here. When that happens, it's a high haze in the sky, not ash falling to the ground or anything like that.
-- very few people have swimming pools here. It only gets above 80F for about 15 days per year and it's also a short walk to the ocean or the community pool. Our water bill for July was $65.79. We were home all month and had also two sets of houseguests during that time, so our consumption was a bit higher than usual. That doesn't include sewer charges which are on our property tax bills.
-- some people replace lawns with fake turf for ease of care, not for water usage reasons. Some people put in native landscaping, xeriscaping or hardscaping, but I'd say that's more for looks than for water usage. Gravel is not commonly used in my town, but some people use river rock as a design feature.

What cathy63 said.

Wildfires are affecting homeowners insurance acceptability more so than rates at this point. Water usage is a non issue also at this point. We're in and out of drought constantly, as has been the case my entire lifetime here, and thus conservation is simply a way of life for many of us here, because we live in a desert. As in, a desert.

We are not affected by wildfires to date, or by negative air quality from them, given our coastal location and where our prevailing winds come from. That is certainly not true everywhere in the West, including western Canada.

 

[Drake3287]

You need to go to streaming. Pay for high speed internet, where we are 1GB is only $70 per month. Hulu is about $75 with all the premium channels. We also subscribe to Discovery+, Acorn and Peacock, and all in we are paying about $200 per month.

We keeping talking about that. I'm just spoiled with the ease of what we have right now. We recently rented a STR which had Youtube TV and it seemed to be fine.

 

[Drake3287]

Forgot my garbage bill, $177. for 2 months. Even garbage here in California is expensive!

 

[sparky08]

Here's another vote for seriously considering staying (generally) where you are. Not sure this idea gets the proper consideration once we stop getting a paycheck.

Opposite here. Grew up in the upper Midwest and spent my career there. We just needed something else in retirement and moved to the Colorado Western Slope.

Fire is probably the main concern, but they do a good job of mitigation in the towns. I'm not worried about my property.

Property taxes are low, because we live in the same county as two major ski resorts. (Lot's of vacation homes worth 10x ours). Other expenses are comparable with what we had in the Midwest.

We are active, and sometimes I have to pinch myself. Within 30 minutes, I can be skiing/hiking/biking on trails that people travel from all over the world to experience.

 

[ElizabethT]

Forgot my garbage bill, $177. for 2 months. Even garbage here in California is expensive!

That is not representative of all of California by any means, and seems a bit nuts based on my experiences as a homeowner. We currently pay $25 a month in Orange County.

 

[cathy63]

That is not representative of all of California by any means, and seems a bit nuts based on my experiences as a homeowner. We currently pay $25 a month in Orange County.

Right, this is why you can't generalize about "the west". Even within our state, prices vary a lot.

Our trash pickup is $23/mo. Residents in the city of San Diego still pay $0, though they did vote to start charging and they're expecting to be in the mid-$20s as well.

 

[calmloki]

Under twenty for garbage in La Quinta Ca, Riverside county as well - actually assessed as part of the property taxes, no separate bill.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Yep, things here in California are almost intolerable for millions of residents. Everything from real estate, property taxes to politics and don't start me with gasoline prices. Still $5.00 a gallon around me. Although I'm fortunate enough that I can afford it, most younger people can't. I can't tell you how many of my friends in the 60 year age group have already moved out of here.

It's so bad there's even a Facebook group called "Leaving California" that has well over 100k members with the same issues and most are moving to other states. And speaking of utility costs, I pay $200. a month for water, $200 a month for power ( I have no A/C) in the summer and around $350. in the winter. My Comcast bill which I just paid today is $324. and that covers internet and TV, no premium channels either. Insurance, that's another incredible high bill and we've never made a car or homeowners claim in 35+ years.

I'm also in California and that Comcast bill is insane. If Frontier Fios is available in your area, check them out. I pay $44.95 with autopay for their 500 service with Eero router and this is the second year, I expected it to increase after the first year but not so far. I don't pay for cable and either stream or watch on demand. I have an antenna for local and my only subscription service is Hulu basic for the Black Friday price of around 2 or 3 dollars a month. I think last year I got Disney /Hulu bundle and it's $5 total, I rarely watch anything on Disney though. There are tons of free TV channels online for example Pluto TV, Roku TV, Freevee just to name a few. All available for free by just buying a $30 Roku device or Firestick.

 

[tutan]

Yep, $44.95 for me here in San Jo. 260 Mbps just now. Fast enough to stream Netflix.

 

[AudiDudi]

Yep, $44.95 for me here in San Jo. 260 Mbps just now. Fast enough to stream Netflix.

I'm envious - here in rural MT, it's $55/mo for 15mb DSL. Even with only 15mb, both DW and I can stream HD at the same time.

 

[Hyper]

Extremely great Lord blessed to be remote and off grid in the mountains. Forest and NF all around us. We haul in potable water which is cheap. No way in hell I'll ever mow a lawn again as I dispise mowing. Although I do slightly to develope our livestock pastures. Self insured as were much farther than the 10 mile limit from a fire station for ins. Wild fire is a huge deal here and worrisome. Not impressed with our local fd so to speak but we did have a recent small fire that wildfire division fd did attack and immediately had way overkill support on the ground. Seriously, thank the great Lord! Those guys are badasses and there's literally hundreds of them in our state currently. Along with many fires. They attack the fires immediately. Much of the land in the mountainous areas is extremely rugged and difficult to fight fires. Our property along with many others has not been managed properly up here for years. We've been nonstop clearing, thinning, fire mitigating our property for going on three years we've been here now. We won't get it truly safe before we pass. That's the biggest thing huge majority don't understand or can comprehend. The land needs to be properly managed and domestic livestock plays an extremely important part in that.

 

[JJpop]

Yep, things here in California are almost intolerable for millions of residents. Everything from real estate, property taxes to politics and don't start me with gasoline prices. Still $5.00 a gallon around me. Although I'm fortunate enough that I can afford it, most younger people can't. I can't tell you how many of my friends in the 60 year age group have already moved out of here.

It's so bad there's even a Facebook group called "Leaving California" that has well over 100k members with the same issues and most are moving to other states. And speaking of utility costs, I pay $200. a month for water, $200 a month for power ( I have no A/C) in the summer and around $350. in the winter. My Comcast bill which I just paid today is $324. and that covers internet and TV, no premium channels either. Insurance, that's another incredible high bill and we've never made a car or homeowners claim in 35+ years.

Yea it is horrible in Calif. Dreadful. Everyone please stay away. About 40,000,000 people in shear agony.
Go to Texas, It is just awesome there. I simply can’t imagine how anyone can live in the Bay Area. I am 72 and definitely moving in 30 years or so. I will just tough it out somehow until then.

 

[anothercog]

I see my old college town of Burlington, VT pitched as a climate heaven. Maybe the winters have gotten milder but I couldn’t wait to get out of there and move West.

I live close to SF now. It’s a Goldilocks climate with beautiful scenery. Little fire risk where we are. It is insanely expensive but there are lots of high paying jobs to justify those costs.

The grass is always greener but no place is perfect.

I imagine for people relocating from Texas it has to do with the heat, property taxes and boring scenery.

 

[anothercog]

Yep, things here in California are almost intolerable for millions of residents. Everything from real estate, property taxes to politics and don't start me with gasoline prices. Still $5.00 a gallon around me. Although I'm fortunate enough that I can afford it, most younger people can't. I can't tell you how many of my friends in the 60 year age group have already moved out of here.

It's so bad there's even a Facebook group called "Leaving California" that has well over 100k members with the same issues and most are moving to other states. And speaking of utility costs, I pay $200. a month for water, $200 a month for power ( I have no A/C) in the summer and around $350. in the winter. My Comcast bill which I just paid today is $324. and that covers internet and TV, no premium channels either. Insurance, that's another incredible high bill and we've never made a car or homeowners claim in 35+ years.

That Comcast bill is insane. We are paying $75 for top tier internet. They did try to double it awhile ago but I just switched the bill to my wife’s name for the new user discount so we are good for another 2 years and got a better router out of the deal.

We get dozens of free channels with our antenna. Hundreds more with free Samsung tv. Got free subscriptions to Hulu, Max and Peacock. Pay for Netflix and Disney+

 

[temartin]

Yea it is horrible in Calif. Dreadful. Everyone please stay away. About 40,000,000 people in shear agony.
Go to Texas, It is just awesome there. I simply can’t imagine how anyone can live in the Bay Area. I am 72 and definitely moving in 30 years or so. I will just tough it out somehow until then.

Yup, the population here in LA County alone is more than all but 10 states. No one wants to live here, they are all prisoners /s

 

[jpeter1093]

Never in a million years would I think that Syracuse, NY, would be considered a climate haven. Those people from Texas are in for a rude awakening.

We're in NJ and don't enjoy our climate, meanwhile, our Daughter who lives in Denver enjoys 300 days of sunshine, low humidity and expansive views. Sure, it might get cold, but snow melts quickly. She'll tell us that today's weather is "snow with chance of swimming." then she sends a photo of snow at 7am and her sitting poolside by lunch.

We sold our home upstate and moved to Denver 3 years ago - still love it here. Your description of it is spot on! Ask your daughter about the music scene here - it's unbelievable. Throw in the ability to drive to world class ski resorts and my bingo card is full

 

[meridiver]

SF Bay Area resident here. Yes, the COL is insane, but we've been here for 30+ years, own our home free and clear, and have zero plans to move. This is truly one of the most beautiful places on earth and the climate, food, and indoor and outdoor entertainment options are superb. We get at most 10-15 days a year above 80, and only 5 or so where it doesn't cool down to 60 at night, so there's very little need for AC or swimming pools. In the winter, we get a fair amount of rain (hopefully) but it never freezes and often gets into the 60's with plenty of sunshine for days at a time. Another thing is that we have virtually no bugs! When I first moved here, I was quite surprised that the windows in the older buildings had no screens and didn't really need them.

However, fire is a huge concern in the hills where I live and many of us have lost our insurance, forcing us onto the state run insurance plan with double or triple the rates and far more limited coverage. If you don't live in the hills though, this isn't an issue.

 

[imnontrad]

Originally from Ohio and many places from New England, Mid Atlantic, Midwest, and Alaska before settling in Colorado. My property tax is about $1,200 and my total yearly utility cost is $1,500 (gas, electricity, water, sewer budget billing). And because I contribute to a 529 for grandkids and have 20K exemption for retirement pension, my state income tax is ~$1,000.
But home insurance is rising a lot and so is car insurance. Although I do not feel that I have any danger from wildfires, we have some wicked hailstorms each year (already had one car totaled because of this). The thing I like best is the low humidity.
But I have people living around me who are polar opposites when it comes to politics. So for that reason, I may be moving - but looking at other places in Colorado as options.

 

[engineernerd]

Other than fear and watching forecasts (not discounting them) - are wildfires driving property insurance rates? and drought - is it driving the water bills of the average home owner? or is water typically bundled into other bills? I have read of severe restrictions for lawns and swimming pools, for example - but I have no idea how these work on a practical basis. Are people closing up their pools, filling in their lawns with gravel?
What do you see on a daily basis? If you care to share any details, I am curious, thanks.

- Wildfires are driving insurance-premium increases in many parts of the West, and some properties are even being refused coverage.
- I don't think drought is causing any changes to water rates, at least not yet. Be aware that the cost of running the sewer infrastructure is almost always the lion's share of your water bill.
- People in dry parts of the West have long ago overwhelmingly given up things like lawns in favor of desert landscaping (native plants are fashionable most places in the West). Pools are still popular in hot areas, I think in such places they are the only bearable outdoor activity in summer.

Did your sister's realtor neighbor try to find out why those Texans were interested in moving away?

 

[rodi]

San Diego native here... Have lived in WA, PA, and GA along the way before moving back to San Diego 23 years ago.

My neighborhood does have issues with insurance due to wildfire... While Cathy is surrounded by water on two sides, my neighborhood has open space canyons on two sides. We've fire hardened our house (replaced siding with Hardie board, cleared brush and landscaping from the house, etc.) We're not making waves with our insurer because they continue to cover us. A house near us recently sold and the new owners had to go to the state fire insurance for their structure - and then get a supplemental policy for contents/liability. Had a long talk with a local agent and he said this is becoming more common.

As for water - we have some of the highest rates in part because they are putting in a very expensive and cost-overrun 'toilet to tap' project... City loves this project since it reduces our need to purchase water, diverts sewage from the overworked sewage treatment plant, and is paid for by ratepayers... so the politicians can claim the couple billion dollar project isn't raising taxes. But - we have xeroscaped our yard, don't have a pool, and use graywater (showers) for irrigation. So we are low use water consumers.

And as Cathy also mentioned, we pay zero for trash (though billing is coming soon - probably next year).

We love the weather, the beach, and the laid back lifestyle. If people want to move out of California - awesome... I'm happy if the people who don't like it here take their unhappiness elsewhere.

 

[AudiDudi]

Left CA (Bay Area) in 1970 when I joined the Navy - no way I could live there now. Suspect it's like the frog in the slowly warming water - you just don't notice how hot the water is now.