How much does life in America costs?

[craftercool 7]

Hi there, my wife and I are planning to move to Texas soon, it seems right now that it's our best option.

Our salaries in Mexico will never give us the opportunity to buy a house and since she's an american citizen we're about to leave, arrange my immigration status so I can work legally and start a new life there.

Now, we hadn't thought that while salaries are perhaps much better in the U.S., on the other side: monthly expenses might be higher too. So I wanted to ask everybody, how much in average do you pay monthly for everything?

Let's say:

• Water
• Gas
• Electricity
• Internet
• Rent (apartment for 2 in average)
• Other bills that I'm not considering

I'd be extremely thankful for any help you could provide me about this matter so I can get a sense of the expenses we might have once we live there.

Thanks in advance.

[belinda63 2,981]

Varies greatly depending on where you live. In a big city expect to pay more.

You do realize the legal way to immigrate to the US is by your wife filing a petition for you, getting an immigrant visa, etc. right? You can't just pack up and move here.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Agree with Belinda. Your greater issue right now is that it'll take at least a year for your spouse to petition you for residency

[j&ana 363]

It depends on what part of texas you want to move too.Austin very expensive but salary a little higher

san antonio expenses are lower but usually salary is lower

you should ddcide what cities in texas you want to live in

research and compare

[TBoneTX 43,057]

All the answers above are very good.

Texas has no state income tax, which is a plus.

[Eric & Idalia 56]

Agree with Belinda. Your greater issue right now is that it'll take at least a year for your spouse to petition you for residency

If his wife is living with him in Mexico with a legal status, they can do Direct Consular Filing and it could take 3 months approximately.

My husband (was a temporary resident in Mexico) and I filed the I-130 and G325A in October 2014 in Monterrey, Mexico and by December we could have scheduled the interview by we postpone it until June 2015.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

If his wife is living with him in Mexico with a legal status, they can do Direct Consular Filing and it could take 3 months approximately.

My husband (was a temporary resident in Mexico) and I filed the I-130 and G325A in October 2014 in Monterrey, Mexico and by December we could have scheduled the interview by we postpone it until June 2015.

Forgot Mexico has dcf

[Udella&Wiz 325]

You could try apartments.com to check out rents in whatever area you will eventually move to. Good luck and build up your savings now, immigration has various fees along the road to permanent residence.

[craftercool 7]

Varies greatly depending on where you live. In a big city expect to pay more.

You do realize the legal way to immigrate to the US is by your wife filing a petition for you, getting an immigrant visa, etc. right? You can't just pack up and move here.

Yes we already started with the consular procedure, thank you.

Agree with Belinda. Your greater issue right now is that it'll take at least a year for your spouse to petition you for residency

Already started with that, thank you too.

[craftercool 7]

All the answers above are very good.

Texas has no state income tax, which is a plus.

I don't think so, they're worrying about me working illegally (which I'm not) when what I wanted to know was amounts, for example someone who could tell me "I pay about 80 dollars a month for electricity in an apartment for 2".

But thanks anyway.

[belinda63 2,981]

Again, prices vary widely depending on where you live. My home town, Marshall, you could get a two bedroom for about $450. Same thing in Austin would run you at least $600 or more depending on the area. The questions you are asking about costs of living are very dependent on where you will live and what standards you want to live.

I mentioned the issue of an immigrant visa to make you aware that 1. coming on a tourist visa and adjusting status is fraud and 2. there is a process which has to be followed to obtain a green card. Believe it or not there are people who think that just because they are married to a USC it is legal for them to come to the US and live without filing any paperwork.

[craftercool 7]

Again, prices vary widely depending on where you live. My home town, Marshall, you could get a two bedroom for about $450. Same thing in Austin would run you at least $600 or more depending on the area. The questions you are asking about costs of living are very dependent on where you will live and what standards you want to live.

I mentioned the issue of an immigrant visa to make you aware that 1. coming on a tourist visa and adjusting status is fraud and 2. there is a process which has to be followed to obtain a green card. Believe it or not there are people who think that just because they are married to a USC it is legal for them to come to the US and live without filing any paperwork.

Oh no, we already had our hard time arranging that, already married and filed the petition, our lawyer says it should be done in about 2 or 3 months, but days ago I said to my wife "wait a moment, we haven't thought about the expenses that we are going to have there".

Just to give you an idea, monthly between her and I we earn about 12,000 pesos (about 700 USD), and out monthly expenses are:

-No rent because we live in a borrowed house.

-Water service 64 pesos (3.7 USD)

-Electricity service 300 pesos (17.6 USD)

-Alarm system 160 pesos (9.4 USD)

-Phone bills 800 pesos (47 USD)

-Gas for 2 cars: about 1,600 pesos (94 USD)

-Food, groceries & stuff: about 1000 pesos (58 USD)

So here we make 700 USD monthly and we expend about 229 USD and I feel that I'm not considering other expenses.

That's why we want to compare, because we might be earning a lot more money in (let's say) El Paso, but our expenses could be significantly higher too.

[belinda63 2,981]

Since you are giving generics I will try to help. Income $1200 Rent 2 bedroom $350, water $40, electric/gas $100, car insurance (older female) $50, phone I use magic jack $50/year, internet $50, gas for work $120, Food $160. Again this varies widely depending on where you live.

[craftercool 7]

Since you are giving generics I will try to help. Income $1200 Rent 2 bedroom $350, water $40, electric/gas $100, car insurance (older female) $50, phone I use magic jack $50/year, internet $50, gas for work $120, Food $160. Again this varies widely depending on where you live.

Thank you very much for that info, that really gives me an idea of what awaits us, I didn't know car insurance was that expensive!

Also from what I been told I was expecting to find a job that pays me at least 1,900 monthly, so... it seems this is going to be harder than I thought.

[j&ana 363]

The reason no state tax info was mention was not becauss someone thought you wanted to work illegal

it because some state do not have one. With out paying both federal and state tax your pay check will be more even with lower wage

Me and my wife lives in Austin monthly

we pay 825 dollars for a small one bedroom apartment. We paid about 80 dollar monthly for electric. There is are other costs and factor to consider

Traffic is really bad in Austin. Other cities i live in Texas. Lubbock Midand Amarillo. Cost of living is lower pay is lower and harder to find jobs

that why it best if you are not sure what city you want to live in or even it do to go to a cost of living website and compare cost for the ones you like

You can also compare the cost to the cost of living in Mexico

Edited September 5, 2015 by j&ana