Is it expensive to live in Texas?

**Daydream Believer** · 01-20-2007, 04:50 PM

DH and I have been talking about the possibility of retiring in Texas within the next few years, or at least possibly buying a mobile home in a park and wintering there. but how can I find out what basic expenses are like in Texas - such as food, gas, utilities, etc? I know that coming from Minnesota, we wouldn't have the astronomical heating bills that we have here, but would air conditioning be about the same?

Lots of questions I know.....but where can I find some answers??

**phoenixmama** · 01-20-2007, 05:13 PM

Not at all, except for certain neighborhoods. I live outside Houston and you can live very inexpensively here if you go to less populated counties such as Montgomery or Brazoria

Here is a site that compares cost of living between areas. HTH

oh, it wont let me post a url but serch cost of living comparison on google and you should be able to find a site to help.

**many houseapes** · 01-20-2007, 05:40 PM

I think that it depends on the area that you live in..we are living in corpus christi & despite the fugal strictness of our family,( we keep the ac at 87) & the electric is till about $250 a month, & its going up all of the time. car & home insurance are very high..we now pay triple of what we were paying when we lived in Wisconsin. But like I said before, it would probably depend on where you choose to live...it might be cheaper in other parts of the state.

**Lorelei** · 01-20-2007, 09:20 PM

There is a neat cost of living calculator at CNNMoney:

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costo...tofliving.html

**mom2hancj** · 01-21-2007, 12:16 AM

We live in Southwest Texas and the cost of homes/land is inexpensive. However, groceries is tough in my little town but the commute to a bigger one isn't that far for once a month shopping.

**Mom23boys** · 01-21-2007, 07:16 PM

I live in Central Texas between Austin and Waco and it is very economical here too. A house can run anywhere from 30,000 up to 100,000+. It just depends on what type of house you want and how much land you are wanting. I live in the country and it I love it. Groceries are not any higher here than they are anywhere else I think. Milk can be found for 2.95 a gallon at Sam's Club (like Costco's). Currently, gas prices are $1.99 a gal. for regular. If you are retiring, you don't need to worry about wages I guess. If you do, most businesses around us are factories. They are the highest paying jobs in our area. Wages can start as low as $8 an hour and go up.

Good luck with your decision.

**Canongirl** · 01-22-2007, 11:54 AM

Don't forget to visit the citi data forums, there is a lot of information there.
I like to visit daily, I even check out my states forum. Very interesting.

**StellaS** · 01-22-2007, 01:47 PM

www.bestplaces.net
www.findyourspot.com

**ewokgirl** · 01-22-2007, 03:00 PM

I live in a suburb of Dallas. Some places can be a little expensive, but others are not. The cost of living down here is often much less than other areas of the coutnry. It really just depends on what you want. The closer you get to the major cities, like Dallas, the more the cost goes up. Also, certain suburbs are known for their extravagance, so those places will be more expensive to live in.

Truthfully, I would never buy a mobile home down here. We're in "tornado alley," so IMO, it's just not safe to live in anything that is not rooted to the ground. But that's just me.

Groceries and such are affordable here, IMO. We have lots of different stores you can choose from, so bargain shopping is never a problem. Now, if you moved to a small town, that might not be the case, but I'm in a pretty big suburb, so we have lots of options.

Gasoline tends to cost less here than in other states.

We do not have a state tax, so that is potentially a savings. However, property taxes can eat you alive if you don't do your research before buying. That's how we fund schools and such around here, so you have to be careful to make sure you can afford the tax on any property you'll potentially buy.

We have an all-electric house, a little less than 1600 square feet with vaulted ceilings in some rooms. I've found that we pay more for heat in winter than for AC in summer. My last heating bill was for $246, and that was with us being out of town for 8 full days. We've recently had some very unusual cold weather that is sticking around, so I expect that next month's bill will be even higher. The highest our AC bill has ever been is about $250, but it's usually less because I keep the AC set at about 80-82 in summer.

**StellaS** · 01-22-2007, 04:21 PM

Originally Posted by ewokgirl

I However, property taxes can eat you alive if you don't do your research before buying.

I read somewhere that Texas had some of the highest property taxes in the country.

**miaumiau** · 01-22-2007, 05:44 PM

We have one of the highest property taxes in the country because we don't have state income tax. You can always apply for property tax exemption, and also senior that's over 65 will get a even bigger exemption, check with the county you're interested in.
I love living in Texas, the cost of living here is much lower than other big cities across the country. That's one of the main reasons I could pay down my cc debts so quickly and saved up a little in a year.
My average electricity bill in the summer is $160 (two story rental townhouse), I think it's a little towards the high end because the appliances in this rental property are really old and they eat up a lot of power.
In the winter, it's about $80.

**armywife2002** · 01-25-2007, 05:23 AM

depends on where you want to go. for example- my dh is in the army, so we could get a housing allowance where ever we're at based on the cost of living in that area (dont know how they calculate it, but whatever, lol) anyway, the housing allowance for our hometown (houston) for dh's rank is $1311 a month, but in el paso, which is where we're headed next month, its only $876, san antonio is $1061, and ft hood is $922.

we're looking for houses to rent in el paso while we're there, and there are so many houses in the $500-$700 dollar range, where in houston its hard to get a decent apartment for that, much less a house

**kaykwilts** · 01-25-2007, 09:16 AM

Originally Posted by StellaS

I read somewhere that Texas had some of the highest property taxes in the country.

I've heard that too about the property taxes but I've also heard that the schools are exceptional and it's because people pay for through the property taxes. I've heard that their public schools are comparable to private schools in another state. A good deal if you have kids but not so good if you are childless.