Where is the cost of living the least?

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Where in North America (not just USA) is the lowest cost of living? This is to include taxes (personal property, license plates, property and income); food, fuels, utilities, clothing and transportation.

-- Albert H. (native1937@hotmail.com), March 27, 2002

Answers

Albert, your best bet would be to look through the money magazines, or those that cater to the retired. You did leave out a very important thing--health insurance--I know many who are stuck in one state because their healthcare is only available there.

Another thing, there are always "intangibles" to consider. I have heard that in Mexico, for example, foreigners cannot really own land. That would be totally unacceptable to me, for example, as is the notion of dual citizenship.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), March 27, 2002.


Costa Rica

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), March 27, 2002.

Before we retired 10 years ago we picked up a few books on this very subject, "Retirement Places Rated" etc. We not only wanted low prices for things but also took into account the quality of life, good medical care, good roads to get you to the Doc., weather patterns and beauty. Also, we did not want to live outside of the USA. We picked Oregon. Have fun with your research, we found it fascinating and fun. One of the things we did also was to each make a list of the things we considered "Absolutely Needed", "would like but will negotiate", "Will not tolerate" etc. My DH is a city boy, I am a country girl. That helped us a lot when we got down to actually picking a place and gave the realtors some guidence. LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), March 27, 2002.

Check out Money Magazine's web site. They seem to do an annual issue on that very subject. You could also use their 'Cost of living comparator' to check out towns which interest you. I hope this helps.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), March 27, 2002.

Some of the realty sites have the ability to compare neighborhoods. These not only compare cost of living and crime index some also rate "quality of life". While these compare apples to apples and you may in fact be an orange it is informative.

-- Diana in FL (dvance4@juno.com), March 27, 2002.


We lived in Mexico for 3.5 years. It can be very inexpensive to live there depending on a) where you are. the tourist/costal/gringo infested towns are expensive b) where you $ is coming from. if you plan on making a living there I suggest you go in with a very valuable skill. remember, the entire economy is different and a peso is NOT a dollar. if you are living off of retirement money you will do OK.

we rented a 2 bedroom house with an attached double garage (automatic door opener) with a huge veranda and a giant mango tree in our little bodega for $2500 pesos a month (roughly $300 US).

-- Najia (najia274@yahoo.com), March 27, 2002.


Gary: I have seen the Money Mag site and the information is old. Much of it is from 1998-2000 and it doesn't reflect the latest price fluctuations in utilities or taxes.

BC: Thanks, Costa Rica is a wonderful country. I love the people and fishing is fantastic, thanks to good management.

GT: In Mexico, you lease the land for 99-yrs. or you can marry a Mexican girl and own the property. Since the latter is out & I'm not gonna be around for the renewal, it might be an option.

I've already skipped Canada, b/c of the immigration, my age and I have no particular individual skills (retired steelworker). Mexico and Central America are still in the running. As are some U.S. States. But I need accurate information. Data that's not four years old.

-- al (yr2012@hotmail.com), March 27, 2002.


al: Interesting you should mention those countries. I've done enough checking on facts and figures, and I've come to the same conclusion as you. The data is faulty b/c it has no present day revelance.

najia: When was this 2500pesos a month rental? Last year or several years ago? You know the peso vs USD is basically a floating rate, meaning it is devalued daily.

-- Albert H (native1937@hotmail.com), March 27, 2002.


The rent was from August (we just moved back). The peso flexs but to be honest, it only really affects those who are trying to exchange money or are living off of something other than pesos. The daily exchange hardly ever truly affected us in Culiacan. You also get to know the rhythm of the economy. Certain times of the year the peso goes up, certain times of the year it takes a hit...it pretty much balanced out.

-- Najia (najia274@yahoo.com), March 27, 2002.

I recently read that the cost of housing/property was lowest in Illinois. But there are so many other considerations besides cost when it comes to picking a place. The weather in Illinois is not something I picture in my mind when I think of enjoying the rest of my leisure years. The Places Rated books do help one gain perspective on a whole range of parameters. You can give higher or lower priority to the items important to your lifestyle. I would prefer to plan a trip to the places I've chosen, just load up the travel trailer and travel across country with a camera and journal. Visit the areas you like most at times of the year when the weather is extreme. There is alot to learn. I've been shocked by the wide variation in property taxes that some of the folks on this forum have mentioned compared to my experiences. Makes a big difference when one is on a fixed income.

-- Dwight (summit1762@aol.com), March 27, 2002.


For current Mexico information there are a couple of web sites, Mexico Connects www.mexconnect.com and Peoples Guide to Mexico www.peoplesguide.com , for Belize try Lan Slunder's site www.belizefirst.com and there is good information at Transitions Abroad www.transitionsabroad.com for everything overseas.

Then there always the consulates and chamber of commerce.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), March 27, 2002.


If you are considering a retirement spot you should check into the "homestead exemption" many places will waive or reduce the property tax after you reach a certain age.

-- kim in CO (kimk61252@hotmail.com), March 27, 2002.

I just read somewhere, I think the info was pretty recent, that Ft. Smith, Arkansas has the lowest cost of living in the U.S. for its size, I think.

-- Gina NM (inhock@pvtnetworks.net), March 27, 2002.

Cost of living vs. pay scale vs. perks? Married, not married, farmer? Doctor , lawyer, Indian Chief?

It all depends on what you need/ are looking for.

I see NY suburbs bashed all the time for how 'expensive' it is to live here yet my family has a nice cottage on 3 acres, (rented for less than the neighbors pay in taxes)DH works roofing/ construction and I work as an admin. assistant @ about $16.50hr (salaried) plus full bennies for a family of 5. Works for us. No, we don't frequent the local resturants (I'd be damned if I'd pay a weeks groceries for 1 nite out!, and $3 is more than I'll pay to wash and press a shirt- so the moral is- if you don't fall into the 'keep up with the neighbor thing' you can do alright.

The thrift shops are a sight to behold! Brand new-everything. The grocery store gives away items that are within a week of expiring. So, where is it cheapest to live? It depends on you.

-- Kathy (catfish201@hotmail.com), March 27, 2002.


I supported a family of three comfortablely on $1200 per month and now that I am alone again, my monthly expenses are under $800. Not bad for 1400 square feet of house on almost two acres.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), March 27, 2002.


No, NY is not inexpensive to live there. If I understand your post correctly you are thinking the NYS is not expensive to live in? I got the idea from your comment about bashing NY. There is NO place in NYS that is inexpensive compared to most other states. I was botn and raised in NYS. I had to leave home 9 yrs ago to find a teaching position and to stay alive finanacillay. Thanks to our former govenor, Mario, taxes skyrocked and many middle class folks had to move. I have seen many of the factories slowly leave western NYS because of high taxes and business expenses. Companies like the steel plants in Lakawana, the furniture factories, etc.

Do you recall in 1990 the state slashed several milliosn of dollars to schools, closed psychiatric centers and unemployment soared as did taxes, afterall, somebody has to pay for the mess! And then there was the high sales taxes too imposed on everything, at the rate of 7- 8%, more in more financially affluent areas. We were lucky in that we lived close to the PA border where sales taxes were not imposed. Many folks went to PA to shop because they didn't have to pay taxes. Well, back in 1992 the county (Chatauqua County Director decided to recoop the taxes and impress Mario. So that yr he sent spys to the local malls at Christmas time of all times to PA to get pics of NYS plates and folks carrying and then notify them via mail that they were caught on camera coming out of stores and getting into their cars. Thank goodness some folks at the county level figured it would be a big mess legally and stopped his rath.

And then there was the Indian reservation issue with Mario calling in the national guard because the Indians didn't charge tax on gas or cigarretes. The move breeched the contract the state made with the Indians and since the land to build many of the major highways into NYS and east were leased they decided to protest. The protest made national news because the Indians threatened to blow up the bridges. I'll never forget it. Mario backed down after a few weeks.

NYS has some of the highest taxes because we were required to pay state tax, sales tax, county tax, town tax and so forth, you got taxed to death! We had a 2 story country farm house on a acre of land valued at 25,000 before we remodeled it. Do you know what the taxes on that was? try 4,000 in 1993. With no job prospects and higher taxes unemployment wa srampant and folks had to either go on welfare or leave. I still to this day resent Mario because I had to leave home.

I could go on and on, but I'll stop. After we moved to VA we were awe struck that all the taxes we paid in NY were not required there. And we had a larger farm, a bigger house, etc there and paid only 200 a yr on the farm, valued at much more.

I am not refuting what you say, just explaining what reality was in western NYS 10 yrs ago.

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), March 27, 2002.


Backwoods country land in my area is cheap, land taxes are dirt cheap and only a 30 minute drive to Walmart!

I have no electricity on my property (diesel generator), satellite TV and satellite internet, cell phones, large flowing creek, 4-wheeler roads... Who needs more???

Want to rent 5 acres for 99 years?

ED

-- ED (gulfcoast25@aol.com), March 28, 2002.


Oh, I forgot to say...

I'm in south Alabama

ED

-- ED (gulfcoast25@aol.com), March 28, 2002.


Oklahoma City was rated recently as one of, if not THE least expensive metro area to live. We live rurally of course, but in our 6 years here, have found OK to be very reasonable, the climate mild for the most part and good growing season (esp. eastern half of the state). Julie in OK

-- Julie (okwilk213@juno.com), March 28, 2002.

Bernice: If you want to answer Catfish's complaint about NY State, do it with her, not me! I'm not interested in NY.

Dwight: IL is next door and many Illini already own homes here in IN, and that's why my property taxes are going up. Our property and utilities have always been cheaper than IL.

Jay & Ed: You're in the running. Send me another e-mail showing me how much lower your area is than the national average the COL.

I guess I should amend the question to how many have personal knowledge of their area's COL? I'm only interested if it's below the national average of 100.

Albert H.

-- Albert H. (native1937@hotmail.com), March 28, 2002.


My aren't we contrite!

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), March 28, 2002.

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