soulsis
Shiny_Rock
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Cost Of Living?
- Thread starter soulsis
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AChiOAlumna
Brilliant_Rock
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Mara
Super_Ideal_Rock
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Do people actually really know what a loaf of bread costs??? I am the worst shopper, I am a grab and throw into basket, the only time I ever look at the tag is when it says BUY ONE GET ONE FREE. then I just take two.
Gas is expensive around here but it depends on what town/city you are in. aka where we are it may be $2.65 for Regular but if you go 10 minutes into another town it may be $2.95 for Regular. It's very nichey. I think recently it was over $3.00 in some areas around here. Thank goodness I work less than 10 min from home and Greg takes the train 4 days out of 5 or else it'd be really expensive!
Oh yah and we live in San Jose, California, SF Bayarea.
Gas is expensive around here but it depends on what town/city you are in. aka where we are it may be $2.65 for Regular but if you go 10 minutes into another town it may be $2.95 for Regular. It's very nichey. I think recently it was over $3.00 in some areas around here. Thank goodness I work less than 10 min from home and Greg takes the train 4 days out of 5 or else it'd be really expensive!
Oh yah and we live in San Jose, California, SF Bayarea.
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bread & milk = $3.24 each
gas = $2.39/gal (lowest it''s been in months)
median for homes = $275,000 (approx. 1400 sq/ft; 3 bdrm, 2 bath)
fresh fruits & vegies in the grocery stores = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
veterinary services = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
gas = $2.39/gal (lowest it''s been in months)
median for homes = $275,000 (approx. 1400 sq/ft; 3 bdrm, 2 bath)
fresh fruits & vegies in the grocery stores = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
veterinary services = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Blue824
Brilliant_Rock
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bread: found a receipt for $2.59, generic ole white bread... but just like Mara, if there''s a buy one get one free, you better believe we choose that one
gas: $2.19 for regular, however, if I cross the line into a different county, not even 5 minutes away, it is $2.59 and right near where I work in downtown Chicago its $2.65.
area: "north shore" of chicago....suburbs right outside the city
sort of goes along with this, I''ve always been fascinated by this website:
http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en
you can type in a zipcode or city name and see how it compares against the averages in the US from average income to house prices, and a bunch of other things. all data collected from the census.
jenwill
Brilliant_Rock
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I live near Mara, in San Mateo, CA, haldway between San Jose and San Francisco on the Peninsula.
Loaf of Bread: 3ish
Gallon of Gas: from 2.59 for regular in cheapest places
Median Home price: $660k
Fresh fruit: free from tree in yard....one cost saving benefit to offset housing prices! hahahahahahahhahahahahahahahaha
Loaf of Bread: 3ish
Gallon of Gas: from 2.59 for regular in cheapest places
Median Home price: $660k
Fresh fruit: free from tree in yard....one cost saving benefit to offset housing prices! hahahahahahahhahahahahahahahaha
I''m in Loudoun County, Virginia. Loaf of bread, not sure, I just grab it and go.
Gas around $2.10-$2.12/gal for regular
Avg home price has gone over $600k here.
I''m really bad about not paying attention to the cost of food. After budgeting so tightly when our boys were young and I was home with them, when I went back to work, I quit watching every penny for food. I don''t go nuts, but if we need it or it''s on the "menu in my head", or my DH requested it, I buy it.
Gas around $2.10-$2.12/gal for regular
Avg home price has gone over $600k here.
I''m really bad about not paying attention to the cost of food. After budgeting so tightly when our boys were young and I was home with them, when I went back to work, I quit watching every penny for food. I don''t go nuts, but if we need it or it''s on the "menu in my head", or my DH requested it, I buy it.
codex57
Brilliant_Rock
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strmrdr
Super_Ideal_Rock
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reena
Ideal_Rock
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how bad is it that i don't know how much either item costs here in (quasi) sunny san diego? i'm sooo unobservant. i just know that it costs a lot, particularly the latter.
but that's nothing compared to the median housing costs out here (or almost anywhere in southern CA or the bay area)--it is simply absurd. i saw an ad for a $1.1 million "fixer-upper" the other day. uh, WTF?!?!
but that's nothing compared to the median housing costs out here (or almost anywhere in southern CA or the bay area)--it is simply absurd. i saw an ad for a $1.1 million "fixer-upper" the other day. uh, WTF?!?!
websailor
Brilliant_Rock
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mrssalvo
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Blue824
Brilliant_Rock
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In the town next to me, there was just a $2.1 million tear down. I knew the original owners... it was a cute house, not huge, but nice. Totally not a tear down! they tore it down and then built these 3 "walls" out of different stones imported from England....let it weather for a year and then chose which one they wanted. All the stone and windows in the house are imported. It is MASSIVE. The wife is under 30, husband 31. Nuts huh? I think people have too much money for their own good sometimes!Date: 6/7/2005 9:59:24 PM
Author: reena
but that''s nothing compared to the median housing costs out here (or almost anywhere in southern CA or the bay area)--it is simply absurd. i saw an ad for a $1.1 million ''fixer-upper'' the other day. uh, WTF?!?!
belle
Super_Ideal_Rock
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reenaDate: 6/7/2005 9:59:24 PM
Author: reena
how bad is it that i don''t know how much either item costs here in (quasi) sunny san diego? i''m sooo unobservant. i just know that it costs a lot, particularly the latter.
but that''s nothing compared to the median housing costs out here (or almost anywhere in southern CA or the bay area)--it is simply absurd. i saw an ad for a $1.1 million ''fixer-upper'' the other day. uh, WTF?!?!
MissAva
Ideal_Rock
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MissAva
Ideal_Rock
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Was the land what was valuable?Date: 6/7/2005 10:10:52 PM
Author: Blue824
In the town next to me, there was just a $2.1 million tear down. I knew the original owners... it was a cute house, not huge, but nice. Totally not a tear down! they tore it down and then built these 3 ''walls'' out of different stones imported from England....let it weather for a year and then chose which one they wanted. All the stone and windows in the house are imported. It is MASSIVE. The wife is under 30, husband 31. Nuts huh? I think people have too much money for their own good sometimes!Date: 6/7/2005 9:59:24 PM
Author: reena
but that''s nothing compared to the median housing costs out here (or almost anywhere in southern CA or the bay area)--it is simply absurd. i saw an ad for a $1.1 million ''fixer-upper'' the other day. uh, WTF?!?!
AChiOAlumna
Brilliant_Rock
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strmrdr
Super_Ideal_Rock
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strmrdr
Super_Ideal_Rock
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General Home Price Appreciation (Average Annual Rate)
here, IL NATION
1 Year 3.9% 5.6% 8.6%
3 Years 3.1% 5.7% 7.4%
5 Years 2.7% 4.7% 6.1%
10 Years 3.5% 4.2% 4.3%
Median resident age: 34.4 years
Median household income: $37,667 (year 2000)
Median house value: $79,900 (year 2000)
Income has went down since 2000 but I cant find the current numbers.
here, IL NATION
1 Year 3.9% 5.6% 8.6%
3 Years 3.1% 5.7% 7.4%
5 Years 2.7% 4.7% 6.1%
10 Years 3.5% 4.2% 4.3%
Median resident age: 34.4 years
Median household income: $37,667 (year 2000)
Median house value: $79,900 (year 2000)
Income has went down since 2000 but I cant find the current numbers.
Blue824
Brilliant_Rock
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$2.1 mil was actually below what should''ve been paid for both the house & property (less than an acre). However, they priced it low to sell quick. The house was nice, 6 bed, architecturally appealing, in ground pool, and had recently gone through an entire renovation, and it is near the lake (not lakefront). There are no empty lots for sale in that area, so I guess if you want a brand new custom home that''s what you have to do. I still can''t fathom doing that though.Date: 6/8/2005 12:42:27 AM
Author: Matatora
Was the land what was valuable?Date: 6/7/2005 10:10:52 PM
Author: Blue824
In the town next to me, there was just a $2.1 million tear down. I knew the original owners... it was a cute house, not huge, but nice. Totally not a tear down! they tore it down and then built these 3 ''walls'' out of different stones imported from England....let it weather for a year and then chose which one they wanted. All the stone and windows in the house are imported. It is MASSIVE. The wife is under 30, husband 31. Nuts huh? I think people have too much money for their own good sometimes!Date: 6/7/2005 9:59:24 PM
Author: reena
but that''s nothing compared to the median housing costs out here (or almost anywhere in southern CA or the bay area)--it is simply absurd. i saw an ad for a $1.1 million ''fixer-upper'' the other day. uh, WTF?!?!
Mara
Super_Ideal_Rock
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this inflated housing bubble here in the BayArea is interesting to watch, bad to be involved in...
one of my friends in a townhouse/loft complex like ours just told us that a loft in his complex sold for $600k! a LOFT! in japantown in san jose (transitional neighborhood!)
these 1.5 yr townhouses right across the park from us, pre-fab with tandem garages, 150 smaller sq ft than us and NO PATIO at all (nowhere to grill at all), one of them just went up for resale at $699k. we also live in a transitional neighborhood, lots of building and growing in an old commercial area. interesting to watch what goes on around us..all this development.
one of my friends just bought in mountain view, fairly nice area, she paid $50k over asking and she wasn't even the highest bid.
insanity! we are just holding on tight to our townhouse and preparing for a wild ride when all hell breaks loose.
oh and i do know eggs cost $1.75 each at our local corner mart and a 1/2 gal milk was $2.75 !!
one of my friends in a townhouse/loft complex like ours just told us that a loft in his complex sold for $600k! a LOFT! in japantown in san jose (transitional neighborhood!)
these 1.5 yr townhouses right across the park from us, pre-fab with tandem garages, 150 smaller sq ft than us and NO PATIO at all (nowhere to grill at all), one of them just went up for resale at $699k. we also live in a transitional neighborhood, lots of building and growing in an old commercial area. interesting to watch what goes on around us..all this development.
one of my friends just bought in mountain view, fairly nice area, she paid $50k over asking and she wasn't even the highest bid.
insanity! we are just holding on tight to our townhouse and preparing for a wild ride when all hell breaks loose.
oh and i do know eggs cost $1.75 each at our local corner mart and a 1/2 gal milk was $2.75 !!
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Lord Summerisle
Brilliant_Rock
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lol now this does make me laugh.
it costs the same it seems over there for a loaf of bread as it does for petrol.
here in the UK a loaf of bread is generally less than 50p - ie 91 cents - and fresh bread if you pick your times can be less than 20p (36 cents)
while petrol is currently around 80-89p per litre or £3.90 - £4.00 a gallon... which would make it ~$7 per gallon.
it costs the same it seems over there for a loaf of bread as it does for petrol.
here in the UK a loaf of bread is generally less than 50p - ie 91 cents - and fresh bread if you pick your times can be less than 20p (36 cents)
while petrol is currently around 80-89p per litre or £3.90 - £4.00 a gallon... which would make it ~$7 per gallon.
Of course, these numbers are meaningless unless you know the median household income for the area. Incomes tend to be fairly high where I live so everything costs more. House prices have gone up like 30% in the last 18 months. We bought/closed on our current home in Dec 03 (brand new). The house across the street from us sold a couple of months ago for $15,000 more than the listed price (5500 sq ft). The listed price was $859,000. Even a townhouse here that was under $200k 3 years ago is over $450k now. What is going to happen is prices will level off as they exceed affordability. Anyone who buys at the peak will not see any profit for several years. We bought our house, our dream home to live in til we retire in 20 years or so. . Average income as of 2005 is $95K (median is like 88K) and according to one real estate web site, median home price is $790,000. I also found a site that says the avg household income here in the town I ive in is $126K. This is amazing to me even though I live here.
Matatora, my parents lived in Tuscaloosa in the late 80's into the 'mid 90's. The home they owned was almost completely destroyed by a tornado in like '99 or '00 (Dec). They lived south of town and we watched on Fox or CNN when FEMA showed up, they were right in front of their old house doing a news conference. Anyway, that is a very inexpensive area to live in. House prices are low and taxes are too. My folks paid next to nothing in real estate taxes and they had a beautiful house that was about 2800 sq ft. They sold it in '95 for like $200-$225k. They've only gone up a little in value since then.
Matatora, my parents lived in Tuscaloosa in the late 80's into the 'mid 90's. The home they owned was almost completely destroyed by a tornado in like '99 or '00 (Dec). They lived south of town and we watched on Fox or CNN when FEMA showed up, they were right in front of their old house doing a news conference. Anyway, that is a very inexpensive area to live in. House prices are low and taxes are too. My folks paid next to nothing in real estate taxes and they had a beautiful house that was about 2800 sq ft. They sold it in '95 for like $200-$225k. They've only gone up a little in value since then.
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I don't live far from Momoftwo, but felt this was interesting. Gas here (northern Virginia) was $2.09 last week (prices had fallen). I drove to Connecticut, stopping for gas in New Jersey (the price of gas is always lower there). Gas was $2.03 in New Jersey. Then in my home town in Connecticut the price was $2.39! (In all cases I was buying regular.)
Before I left Connecticut my father said he was going to go fill my car up with gas and I said, "No! I won't buy gas in Connecticut! I want to get as much as I can in New Jersey!"
Deb
Before I left Connecticut my father said he was going to go fill my car up with gas and I said, "No! I won't buy gas in Connecticut! I want to get as much as I can in New Jersey!"
Deb
abradabra
Shiny_Rock
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I live near ABGF and momoftwo.... Arlington, Virginia.
Just echoing the sentiment that the housing market is out of control here. For example, a new condo building just went up in my neighborhood and I figured I would check it out. The 500-square foot studios started in the $350k range. Granted, I''m sure that''s better than say, NYC, where it''s my understanding you spend $1,000 per square foot--but it''s out of control when you''re just starting out and don''t have to get a mortgage for 5-10 times the amount of your salary just to buy something now rather than later.
One of my coworkers just bought a townhome in a neighboring suburb that appreciated $15k between when she bid/won the house and settled. Great for her, but awful for those of us saving up to buy a place! My salary doesn''t appreciate like that, unfortunately...
Just echoing the sentiment that the housing market is out of control here. For example, a new condo building just went up in my neighborhood and I figured I would check it out. The 500-square foot studios started in the $350k range. Granted, I''m sure that''s better than say, NYC, where it''s my understanding you spend $1,000 per square foot--but it''s out of control when you''re just starting out and don''t have to get a mortgage for 5-10 times the amount of your salary just to buy something now rather than later.
One of my coworkers just bought a townhome in a neighboring suburb that appreciated $15k between when she bid/won the house and settled. Great for her, but awful for those of us saving up to buy a place! My salary doesn''t appreciate like that, unfortunately...
eks6426
Ideal_Rock
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I live in Northern Indiana--
Loaf of bread--organic sprouted bread---$3.79. Regular store brand white bread $.99
Gallon of regular gas--$2.28 this week but seems to change daily.
My fiance owns a Nextel dealership and he has a blackberry with the TeleNav feature--GPS--you can actually have the cell phone locate you, then look for the cheapest gas within a certain number of miles. Once you find it, you can select it and get directions. Of course, I''m too busy to drive out of my way just to save $.10 per gallon so I get gas at the places that are in my normal path....
On another note, taking into account wages makes sense. In my ZIP code the median HH income is about $40K. Median home value is under $100K. There''s no way I could ever get enough equity out of my house to make a move to some place like CA.
Loaf of bread--organic sprouted bread---$3.79. Regular store brand white bread $.99
Gallon of regular gas--$2.28 this week but seems to change daily.
My fiance owns a Nextel dealership and he has a blackberry with the TeleNav feature--GPS--you can actually have the cell phone locate you, then look for the cheapest gas within a certain number of miles. Once you find it, you can select it and get directions. Of course, I''m too busy to drive out of my way just to save $.10 per gallon so I get gas at the places that are in my normal path....
On another note, taking into account wages makes sense. In my ZIP code the median HH income is about $40K. Median home value is under $100K. There''s no way I could ever get enough equity out of my house to make a move to some place like CA.
San Diego too....not sure how accurate this is, but I think cheap Wonder or something is 1.99 and organic 7-grain is probably around 3.50?? Gas is coming down a little--it''s around 2.30 now (San Diego,CA)
Have to concur re: VET BILLS!!!
And the thing is about home prices here--so much of it is just the value of the land, the closer you get to the ocean, the less the house even matters (And I''m sure Blue824''s 2.1 tear-down in Boston was the same general idea. WTF indeed!!)
Have to concur re: VET BILLS!!!
And the thing is about home prices here--so much of it is just the value of the land, the closer you get to the ocean, the less the house even matters (And I''m sure Blue824''s 2.1 tear-down in Boston was the same general idea. WTF indeed!!)
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