Cost of living...

Ayla · 11-08-2005, 11:01 AM

Why does the cost of living vary from area to area? I'm from WV and live in AL now. The cost of living in WV is WAAAAAY cheaper than it is here. Houses here that sell for $200,000 would only be worth half that back home. Rent...OMG...rent....it's like $500 for a 2 bdrm 1bth house in a decent neighborhood here...for that back home I rented and 4 bdrm 2 bth HISTORICAL house in a GREAT neighborhood. The diffrence is even more dramatic in a very large city.

I get that the economy is better in AL than southern WV but just because we make more money should we also pay more?

darkangelism · 11-08-2005, 11:22 AM

Dont worry it could be worse, $500 really isnt that bad. I couldnt find a one bedroom apartment for that. The two bedroom apartment. I am probably gonna get with my friend is gonna be $1300 a month.

Star · 11-08-2005, 11:42 AM

500.00 a month for rent? that's soooo cheap! i live in southern ontario and rent a 3 bedroom house. i pay 850.00 a month plus all utilities. that's not even expensive. we went to look at aocuple other houses that went from 1,195.00 a month plus all utilities. you add the utilities to the rent and you're paying at least another 500.00 a month plus your phone, cable, internet. it's up there a month!

i grew up north of ontario and the rent is cheaper up there then it is here. the job opportunities aren't as good as it is around here whihc is why it's cheaper to live up there.

Ayla · 11-08-2005, 11:58 AM

Oh the rent is much higher than $500 here. I'm saying that for a 1000 sq ft house with 2 bdrms in an OKAY neighborhood it's $500. For a 3 bdrm house in a kinda good neighborhood it's no less than $750 and they go up to $2500 depending on sq footage and location. That blows my mind. DA, dude no offense...but I will NEVER pay that much for rent. EVER. I'd be pushed to pay that on my mortgage!

Duke · 11-08-2005, 12:38 PM

I guess it really depends on how much land is available to build on near the metropolitan area and how much is available for expansion.

If theres plenty of room to build and expand upon then land is usually cheaper but if everything is stacked up in a limited amount of useable space then prices go through the roof. It's the same here in Vancouver and getting worse by the day.

darkangelism · 11-08-2005, 01:21 PM

yeah i will pay a lot, but its for NY and ill move out eventually, that place will just be for a year. But it all depends on where you live and the land value.

Vautrin · 11-08-2005, 01:38 PM

Land value, and construction costs of houses. They are not even close to the same across the US. Especially if natural resources are involved on a big scale.
A complicating factor is the housing the housing market. I.e. are there too many or too few houses?

Duke · 11-08-2005, 01:45 PM

Here it's the value of the land because construction costs pale by comparison. Much of the land being bought/sold is already established housing as there's no longer room to build so the land prices go through the roof.

New homes are now built quite far out of town and you can usually buy a new home with a decent chunk of land for less than half the cost of a much older/smaller home downtown or just outside of city limits. The costs here continue to go through the roof so its really hard to purchase anything unless your partnered up with two great paying incomes.

Weiser · 11-08-2005, 02:06 PM

You want to talk high cost of living? Move to arizona (more specifically the valley).

Houses that were worth $85,000 4-5 years ago are worth $250,000.

Houses that were worth $300,000 4-5 years ago are now pushing 1 mil. That was 5 months ago.

My cousin Shawn bought his 3 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom house in Jan for $240,000. By June it was worth $350,000... FIVE months and he made over 100k on it. It's sick. I wanted to stay out there but it is so bloody unrealistic for normal people...

Duke · 11-08-2005, 02:21 PM

Especially when your slightly abnormal, hey weiser?

Weiser · 11-08-2005, 02:33 PM

Tell me about it hehe.

Adonaicole · 11-08-2005, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Houses that were worth $85,000 4-5 years ago are worth $250,000

Can you say buh...buh...bubble? House prices currently are so removed from reality. I remember in the 60's when the average income was like 12,000 a year, the average house was like 12,000 a year. Now the average income is like 40,000 and the average house is like 200,000. Something is just way out of balance.

darkangelism · 11-08-2005, 04:34 PM

yeah its gonna pop eventually.