Cost of Living

[Timsup2nothin]

Eh, here in Minnesota we just rely on winter to keep the weak away.

They don't need winter in Ohio. It's Ohio.

 

[civvver]

There are upsides and downsides to rual living, sometimes I wish I could just escape the rat race
I was under the impression that most people move to Florida to retire (the retiree state)

Michigan/Ohio/the midwest are not exclusively rural, there are tons of suburbs here. No bustling urban areas to compare with like LA or Chicago or New York, but Grand Rapids is a pretty awesome suburb with a nice downtown, and there are tons of nice suburbs around Detroit which has a downtown in the middle of a revival. I've visited Indianapolis and Cincinnati and liked both and Madison Wisconsin and the twin cities in Minnesota are supposed to be awesome.

 

[rah]

Florida is also popular for the lack of a state tax. Nice if you're a retiree.

But I doubt that tactic would help in the frozen tundra.

 

[EgonSpengler]

I happened to come across a list of "fair market rents", as determined by HUD for the purposes of area housing authorities, for my metro area: $1600 for a 0 BR (e.g. a "studio"), $1800 for a 1-BR, $2200 for a 2-BR, $2750 for a 3-BR. I don't have any details, it's literally just a price list, so I can only guess whether these numbers presume an "affordable" town or neighborhood, an apartment that's in good repair, any amenities, access to transportation or parking, or anything else. It does specify rent, so does not include utilities except water, which is always paid for by the property owner here. This is also not a survey of actual rents being paid in the area, or mean or median rents, or what the range is, but I suppose it might be based on those things.

Public transportation costs: Inside the city, a monthly, ride-all-day pass for the subway and city buses costs $90. However, if you step a toe out into the suburbs, the monthly cost jumps to over $200 for the less-convenient suburban rail system.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

You in Boston?

 

[EgonSpengler]

You in Boston?

Yes.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Florida is also popular for the lack of a state tax. Nice if you're a retiree...

who also likes hurricanes, flat land, rising sea levels and giant cockroaches (or poisons in your house). I guess you also have to like living with aging boomers and Spanish.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

In my younger and more opinionated days I lived in Florida for most of a year. When I left I pulled off the freeway and stopped next to the "Welcome to Alabama" sign so I could...ummmm...express my opinion back into Florida.