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Post by katlady on Aug 17, 2024 16:58:40 GMT
Well, we are almost at the breaking point here in CA.... DH takes care of the bills, I bring in the money, so I can only go off what he's told me. We live off my teacher salary. Water/sewer is now $500 for 2 months and going up to $700/2 months next year and the year after it will be $900/2mo. There are more increases on the horizon. Homeowners went up to I don't know what but I do know it increased Car insurance went up by I don't know how much (it was a 49.5% increase over the year before)- we have a 2005 Sequoia and a 2012 charger and a 1995 T-100 pick up My medical insurance (for bottom of the barrel Kaiser) is now over $2000/mo and it's going up 9% in October Food is ridiculously expensive even shopping sales/coupons/costco Natural gas bill is $125/mo (gas dryer, grill, oven, on demand water heater) Gas is $4.89/gallon where I live at the "cheap" station and I use more than 20 gallons a week for work and kids sports. That doesn't even account for the gas DH uses running kids for school. Registration on vehicles and our boat (which will be getting sold soon) has all increased. My kids sports are raising their tuition and costs so those are needing to be re-evaluated too. It's the LAST thing we will cut because sports are important to us in addition to education to make a well rounded kid. Thankfully we have solar and aren't getting $900/mo bills like many I know- that would probably break us. And in my district the union is fighting for a 1% COLA (which in no way will cover ALL the "living" increases we're facing). That's bullshit. Our "deputy superintendent" (NOT superintendent- it's another position) got a 4% pay raise, they're giving signing bonuses of $7500 for special ed teachers and $5000 for regular ed, they've increased daily sub pay to $200 and $250 (over 20 days subbed) and the district can't manage to support those teachers they already have. I am surprised how expensive your county is. Down here in the San Diego area: Water/Sewer is about $150/month Weekly trash service (green, blue, and grey) is $35/month Insurance for two cars is about $2,000/annually. We have higher insurance because we also have an umbrella policy. Car registration is about $200 for my older car, and about $350 for SO's car. SO's still goes down a little bit each year because of depreciation. Utility is about $25/month for gas and $125-$300/month for electricity, depending on if we use the AC or not. In the winter, the costs reverses because we start using the heater. We each have our own health insurance now, cheaper that way. It is about $1000/month for both of us. We have Blue Cross and access to UCSD Health, which is one of the top medical groups in the nation and the #1 group in San Diego. Gas for the car is about the same as yours. We've always had high gas prices in San Diego, compared to other areas around us. The one cost I really hate is our cable/internet bill, over $300/month. We really need to cut the cord, but haven't yet. |
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Post by chaosisapony on Aug 17, 2024 17:36:06 GMT
Ok I'll play too.
Here in rural Butte County:
Water: $30/month but they are seeking a 300% increase to be phased in over the next few years.
Trash: $120 every 3 months. That is trash only. No yard waste, no composting, no recycling services are available.
Car Insurance: 1 driver, 1 non fancy 2021 SUV: $2000/year. And that's the best possible rate. I shop around all the time.
Electricity: $250/month. This is the one that kills me because I am only home and awake for about 4 hours a day. My house is 80 degrees in the summer and 65 in the winter. I am almost never at a comfortable temperature AND I get their low income discount and it is still that expensive.
Propane: $1200/year
Health insurance: covered by employer but it's not a good plan and it's very tough to find a doctor that will accept it.
Car registration: It should be criminal how much we pay for registration. $450 for the one SUV.
Gas: $3.79/gallon right now. That's with me driving 20 miles to the casino because they don't have to charge state taxes. If I got it in town it's around $4.25/gallon.
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GiantsFan
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,508
Site Supporter
Jun 27, 2014 14:44:56 GMT
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Post by GiantsFan on Aug 17, 2024 17:40:12 GMT
Wow! Tell us you hate California without telling us you hate California. I don't hate California at all, it's beautiful! I got married there. It's humans who ruin it. It should be turned into a giant national Park. I love national and state parks! Fun fact - California has the most NP's with nine and the most state parks with a whopping 280! |
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twinsmomfla99
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,118 
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Post by twinsmomfla99 on Aug 18, 2024 18:56:27 GMT
California is a beautiful state, but I have no desire to live there because fires, earthquakes, water issues, hurricanes, mudslides, etc. You even get blizzards in the mountains, so it seems you get all the natural disasters.š¢ I have friends who live there who seem to have to prepare for something all the time!
Landlocked WV gets the occasional winter storm that shuts everything down, and weāve had a few forest fires over the past 20 years or so, but nothing devastating, mostly because the forested areas a lightly populated. We do get floods every few years, but they usually arenāt that bad (although they are likely to get worse with global warming). I live on a mountain outside Morgantown, and if the flooding affects my house, we will all be hitching a ride on an ark anyway.
Iāve lived in WV 38 of my 62 years, including the last 12. I can only remember 3 or 4 really dry years, not including this year that started wet but is now getting pretty dry with 90+ temps the past 2 months and no significant rainfall. Still, we arenāt likely to be under any water restrictions because the water table is still healthy and the rivers are still at pretty normal levels.
Anyway, our lack of natural disasters keeps our insurance premiums low, and I am very grateful for that!
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pantsonfire
Drama Llama
Take a step back, evaluate what is important, and enjoy your life with those who you love.
Posts: 6,284
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Post by pantsonfire on Aug 18, 2024 19:11:04 GMT
California is a beautiful state, but I have no desire to live there because fires, earthquakes, water issues, hurricanes, mudslides, etc. You even get blizzards in the mountains, so it seems you get all the natural disasters.š¢ I have friends who live there who seem to have to prepare for something all the time! Landlocked WV gets the occasional winter storm that shuts everything down, and weāve had a few forest fires over the past 20 years or so, but nothing devastating, mostly because the forested areas a lightly populated. We do get floods every few years, but they usually arenāt that bad (although they are likely to get worse with global warming). I live on a mountain outside Morgantown, and if the flooding affects my house, we will all be hitching a ride on an ark anyway. Iāve lived in WV 38 of my 62 years, including the last 12. I can only remember 3 or 4 really dry years, not including this year that started wet but is now getting pretty dry with 90+ temps the past 2 months and no significant rainfall. Still, we arenāt likely to be under any water restrictions because the water table is still healthy and the rivers are still at pretty normal levels. Anyway, our lack of natural disasters keeps our insurance premiums low, and I am very grateful for that! Uh, we don't get hurricanes. And what water issues? |
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Post by katlady on Aug 18, 2024 19:35:07 GMT
California is a beautiful state, but I have no desire to live there because fires, earthquakes, water issues, hurricanes, mudslides, etc. You even get blizzards in the mountains, so it seems you get all the natural disasters.š¢ I have friends who live there who seem to have to prepare for something all the time! Landlocked WV gets the occasional winter storm that shuts everything down, and weāve had a few forest fires over the past 20 years or so, but nothing devastating, mostly because the forested areas a lightly populated. We do get floods every few years, but they usually arenāt that bad (although they are likely to get worse with global warming). I live on a mountain outside Morgantown, and if the flooding affects my house, we will all be hitching a ride on an ark anyway. Iāve lived in WV 38 of my 62 years, including the last 12. I can only remember 3 or 4 really dry years, not including this year that started wet but is now getting pretty dry with 90+ temps the past 2 months and no significant rainfall. Still, we arenāt likely to be under any water restrictions because the water table is still healthy and the rivers are still at pretty normal levels. Anyway, our lack of natural disasters keeps our insurance premiums low, and I am very grateful for that! Uh, we don't get hurricanes. And what water issues?Ā and no tornados, at least not often and not like the Midwest. Blizzards ā¦ only if you live up in the mountains. Our ocean temperatures are too cold to sustain a hurricane of major force. They come up the coast of Mexico, then usually veer out into the Pacific when they hit Baja California. |
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pantsonfire
Drama Llama
Take a step back, evaluate what is important, and enjoy your life with those who you love.
Posts: 6,284
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Post by pantsonfire on Aug 18, 2024 19:45:39 GMT
Uh, we don't get hurricanes. And what water issues? and no tornados, at least not often and not like the Midwest. Blizzards ā¦ only if you live up in the mountains. Our ocean temperatures are too cold to sustain a hurricane of major force. They come up the coast of Mexico, then usually veer out into the Pacific when they hit Baja California. Yeah. And areas like up in norther CA like Donners Pass, yes they get blizzards. Its more common there. It is a rarity to have one in other mountain areas. The one the San Bernardino Mountains had was super rare. And our tornadoes are nothing like the midwest. We may get funnels that do a little damage but do not destroy towns and cities. Also while we have earthquakes, it is rare to have one that causes a ton of damage. You just ride out it and move on. Maybe a crack in the stucco and some items that shifted or fell. But your house is still standing. |
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caangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,734
Location: So Cal
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Post by caangel on Aug 18, 2024 20:31:48 GMT
California is a huge state, not all those things affect all parts of CA.
Even though my friends and neighbors have felt the recent earthquakes I haven't felt one. With out social media/news I'd have no idea we had any recent earthquakes. I know people who aren't used to them get really freaked out, and yes they can cause huge issues but not annually or even every 5 yrs.
People in So Cal get way more worked up about a light shower than an earthquake š¤Ŗ
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seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,884
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on Aug 18, 2024 21:40:51 GMT
California is a beautiful state, but I have no desire to live there because fires, earthquakes, water issues, hurricanes, mudslides, etc. You even get blizzards in the mountains, so it seems you get all the natural disasters.š¢ I have friends who live there who seem to have to prepare for something all the time! Landlocked WV gets the occasional winter storm that shuts everything down, and weāve had a few forest fires over the past 20 years or so, but nothing devastating, mostly because the forested areas a lightly populated. We do get floods every few years, but they usually arenāt that bad (although they are likely to get worse with global warming). I live on a mountain outside Morgantown, and if the flooding affects my house, we will all be hitching a ride on an ark anyway. Iāve lived in WV 38 of my 62 years, including the last 12. I can only remember 3 or 4 really dry years, not including this year that started wet but is now getting pretty dry with 90+ temps the past 2 months and no significant rainfall. Still, we arenāt likely to be under any water restrictions because the water table is still healthy and the rivers are still at pretty normal levels. Anyway, our lack of natural disasters keeps our insurance premiums low, and I am very grateful for that! Uh, we don't get hurricanes. And what water issues? We are in a perpetual state of āwater conservationā in N. Cal. |
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twinsmomfla99
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,118
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Post by twinsmomfla99 on Aug 26, 2024 23:26:07 GMT
California is a beautiful state, but I have no desire to live there because fires, earthquakes, water issues, hurricanes, mudslides, etc. You even get blizzards in the mountains, so it seems you get all the natural disasters.š¢ I have friends who live there who seem to have to prepare for something all the time! Landlocked WV gets the occasional winter storm that shuts everything down, and weāve had a few forest fires over the past 20 years or so, but nothing devastating, mostly because the forested areas a lightly populated. We do get floods every few years, but they usually arenāt that bad (although they are likely to get worse with global warming). I live on a mountain outside Morgantown, and if the flooding affects my house, we will all be hitching a ride on an ark anyway. Iāve lived in WV 38 of my 62 years, including the last 12. I can only remember 3 or 4 really dry years, not including this year that started wet but is now getting pretty dry with 90+ temps the past 2 months and no significant rainfall. Still, we arenāt likely to be under any water restrictions because the water table is still healthy and the rivers are still at pretty normal levels. Anyway, our lack of natural disasters keeps our insurance premiums low, and I am very grateful for that! Uh, we don't get hurricanes. And what water issues?Ā Thanks for the correction on hurricanes. As for water issues, California is facing some of the same issues other western states are facing with global warming. The dense population in some areas makes a reduction in water availability even more troublesome than the recent drought conditions. |
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