How much does life in America costs?

[craftercool 7]

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

it because only 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 for a small one bedroom apartment. We paid about 80 dollar monthly for electric. There is are other costs on factor to in

Traffic is really bad in austin. Other cities i live in teaxas. Lubbock midland 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 the cost of living in Mexico

From what I'm seeing services like water and electricity are way more cheaper in Mexico, also here in our city a rent of a 2 beds apartment costs about 1,500 pesos (88 to 100 USD) but, come on! 705 USD monthly earned between 2 persons is too low.

A friend of mine who lives in Albuquerque is earning 2,000 USD monthly, he earns in a week what I earn in a whole month! That's why we're leaving, but I'm realizing right now that we are going to expend a lot more there. Confusing.

[Shauneg 762]

Double all that listed above for Jersey......

[Advanced Aardvark 82]

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.

I would suggest using the internet to research classified newspaper advertisements in the area where you might want to reside. You can find current prices for apartments easily that way. That would also show you the names of real estate agencies who are advertising. It will then be possible to look at their web sites directly. There can be considerable price variations within areas depending on the distance to conveniences and employment.

As you assemble your list of potential expenses, you might consider:

-auto insurance (v.expensive where I live in NJ) - will you have one car or two?

-cost of gas - https://www.gasbuddy.com/GasPrices/Texas

-deposit $$ required when renting an apartment

-food $ - this varies a lot depending on whether you eat at home or go out - it WILL be a lot more than $58/month.

Good luck!

-

[gw68ad78 64]

Do your research friend. Figure out where you want to live, how much you think you'll get paid in your profession in that area and most importantly, cost of living in that or nearby community. Don't forget savings and incidentals. Search online classifieds in your chosen community. Know the economy there. The US is vast and so are income needs. Good luck to you in your decision.

[renatesol 13]

We live in San Antonio, and pay about $625 a month for our 1 bedroom apartment. We're moving to a 2 bedroom soon, which will cost us about $850. Electricity is high now that it's summer - I believe our last bill was a whopping $400, with the AC running all day since I'm at home. It's an oldish apartment complex though, so it could be that our AC is old and not running very efficiently.

You can also check out this website: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp. You can input the city you want to live in versus the city you live in now and see how they compare.

[j&ana 363]

From what I'm seeing services like water and electricity are way more cheaper in Mexico, also here in our city a rent of a 2 beds apartment costs about 1,500 pesos (88 to 100 USD) but, come on! 705 USD monthly earned between 2 persons is too low.

A friend of mine who lives in Albuquerque is earning 2,000 USD monthly, he earns in a week what I earn in a whole month! That's why we're leaving, but I'm realizing right now that we are going to expend a lot more there. Confusing.

yes 705 monthly is to low

yes you can make more then that in the U.S. How much depends on where you live, occupation, experience. i still suggest a cost of living website not just to compare cost of items but it will also let you know how much in salary for each city you need to make for the same amount of spending you will do monthly.

Asking on here you are probably not going to get a lot of info as you will on a cost of living website.

As someone else mention you could also research salary and jobs in the city you plan to live in

Edited September 5, 2015 by j&ana

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

_{you are asking a question that can not be answered}

_{my house in TN is $189,000}

_{smaller one in Miami is $350,000}

_{CT, larger city in Texas or NJ $500,000}

_{and none of us know your needs of how much electric, water and Cable TV you use}

_{or what you need for car insurance (the basics)}

_{state if Arkansas has the best property taxes}

_{South Carolina is the cheapest all the way around}

_{Florida, Tennessee and Texas have no state income tax}

[craftercool 7]

_{you are asking a question that can not be answered}

_{my house in TN is $189,000}

_{smaller one in Miami is $350,000}

_{CT, larger city in Texas or NJ $500,000}

_{and none of us know your needs of how much electric, water and Cable TV you use}

_{or what you need for car insurance (the basics)}

_{state if Arkansas has the best property taxes}

_{South Carolina is the cheapest all the way around}

_{Florida, Tennessee and Texas have no state income tax}

I don't think that it cannot be answered, I mean, I didn't say: Tell me how much am I going to expend monthly when I live there?

I just wanted to know how much in average does a citizen spends monthly in his bills, more specifically I would have said in Texas.

By knowing different opinions and different amounts of expenses of each service I could get an idea of what awaits me there.

[Boiler 43,434]

Electricity $80

TV/Internet/Phone $250

Propane averages about $200 mainly winter

Water - I have a well

Burn a lot of wood

Insurance $125

Property Taxes $500

Gas $50

[usmsbow 795]

To give you an idea of a pricer city (DC):

Rent for 1 bedroom apartment in decent neighborhood: $1600+.

Electricity for 1 bedroom: $20-80 (depends on season)

Groceries (for couple): $350-400/month

I'd say you'd need at least a combined income of $50K/year to get by and have little to no savings. No car either most likely.

The upside is DC average wages are pretty high.

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

Well, we live in Minnesota, but everything is probably about the same, but 2 adults, 2 kids. We spend $1876/month on utilities, cell phones, gas for car, internet (no paid TV), life/car/house insurance, car/property tax, and food. That number doesn't include rent, a mortgage, or car payment.

If you rent, I would suspect your taxes and insurance costs would be lower as we have to insure our cheap house for its replacement cost, which is not cheap.

Edited September 5, 2015 by N-o-l-a

[CF41051 3]

As others have said, the costs will vary a lot. It really depends on where you live and what type of quality of life you want to have. For example, you could probably find a 2 bedroom apartment for $400, but you might get shot at coming home from work..... And that same 2 bedroom apartment in a nice safe neighborhood might be closer to $800=$1,000 and up. Since you're coming here with your wife, I would strongly advise you to make sure you only find an apartment in a reasonably safe location.

As for the other bills, it all depends but here are some estimates:

Apartment: $1,000

Electricity: Plan on $100 for a first floor unit and up to $300 for an upper unit (heat rises)

Water and Sewer: plan on $50-$100

Tv and internet: $100

Cell phones: $100

Car insurance $50-$75

Car payment? All depends on what you buy

Gas; depends on how far you drive but it's about $2.50 per gallon now. Assume $100 per month if your commute is only 10 miles or so

Food: depends on how well you want to eat but I would budget $300-$600 per month. You can eat cheaper, but only if you buy cheap food and cook at home. If you want to go out to fast food, it will be $15 for both of you. Want to go to a cheap sit down restaurant it will be at least $25. Both want to get a steak at a chain steakhouse it will be $50.

Incidentals: $200

Cushion: $200

Using my above estimates would say you need about $2,200 on the low end. And this would not be living all that well, you would basically be in the low to middle/low class lifestyle. I didn't factor in any entertainment, car breaks down, etc.

If I were you, I would just assume that both of you will need to bring home (after taxes, insurance, etc) a combined $2,500 to even have a shot at living a decent life. If I were you I would bump that up to $3,000 so you can have some extra room.

My above estimates are just a general idea and can vary depending on where you live. The biggest variable is the apartment. All other expenses will be fairly correct for any market.

Good luck!

[MiaPA 12]

We live in a small town in PA. We are a family of 6 however, but for a 3 bedroom apt (was originally a 2 bedroom when we moved in) we pay $600 a month, $178 for electricity monthly, $400 water quartely (but we had a pipe break, neighbors only pay around 200 quartely) gas heating is really cheap $69 monthly ($100 a month at most during the winter), cable, internet and phone $200 a month (comcast is expensive) car insurance is only $60 a month. Of course there are other costs to consider such as health insurance, dental insurance, eye care insurance (if needed) and life insurance.

As to our rent, it is cheap, but our landlord has never raised our rent on us since we moved in, back in 2004. I don't even think you could get a 2 bedroom apt here for that price anymore, not that I have seen anyway.

[Carla V 43]

I move with a K1 visa from Mexico city 3 years ago... you will get a better payed job but you will have higher expenses...

Rent is between 400 and 700 for a one bedroom apartment where I live (in Texas)

Electricity Bill is around 150 and 300 in summer

Water around 50

Food and basic needs in cheapest place could be around 400- 600 a month( I live with only my hubby and daughter)

If you need a car to get to work that is also a monthly payment plus insurance (insurance is like 100 - 140 month)

Gas per gallon is between 2.10 to 3.20 (consider you use more gas because of heat and ac running)

Consider health insurance, and general doctor visit if uninsured is about 70-150 per visit

Trash pick up is about 20-40 month

Taxes in this city is 8.25% and is calculated at check out in stores... so the price in the tags is plus tax...

If you want cable, cell phone, house phone or others is around 70 for cable, the cheapest cell phone plan is around 50 each of you a month, and housephone around 35 or so...

Also the cost of furnish your house, even with the basic bed/ mattress, table, some electronics like a tv, microwave...

I dont want to be a bummer but you both really need to think in everything before jumping to the same or worse situation if you dont plan ahead.... I know that if the change of quality of life, or having more money or better situation just because you live in the US were the only factors for my happiness I would be disapointed... You CAN earn and live a better life here, but as in Mexico... you have to work a LOT to get it, is not just magically appear because you move here...

Minimum pay where I live is 7.95 an hour but just a few get full time jobs, If is a specialist you might earn lot more but also spend more...

[craftercool 7]

Excellent answers everyone, thank you.

Now I really have an idea of what awaits us there, BTW... get shot on your way home? Creepy.

I'm clearly seeing that expenses there are way more higher than in Mexico, so I hope to find a well paid job so we don't need to be eating at McDonald's everyday. Does anyone wants to hire me? Just kidding (not kidding) haha.

Again thanks.