How much does life costs where you live?

Quote from riskaddict:

I would gladly pay 8.50/gallon for gas if health insurance was 400/year. Plus maybe it would make people move closer to where they work. I might only drive 5-7 thousand miles a year though.
Public schools are obviously free but here in the small wonder of Delaware unless you want your kid to speak ebonics and have a thug neanderthal mentality a decent private school starts at 15k/year plus all the trimmings.

$10 Big macs = fewer fat kids?
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I use about 600 gallons of gas per year, so an extra $5 per gallon is $3,000 for me. I drive about 10,000 miles per year right now. So high gas prices + low health insurance would be pretty much a wash for me.
 
Quote from trendy:

Sorry, but that is not your real cost. What is the VAT tax in Belgium? How much is the income tax on $27,600? Import duties? There is no free lunch. You are paying considerably more for healthcare and education one way or another.
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The numbers I mentioned are what you end up with in your pockets after taxes or what you have to pay for including taxes.

I state that the average salary is 2300 K, it is 4000K before taxes.

Gas is 3 times more expensive then many other examples given here.

A Volkswagen Golf is 6K more expensive then in the US while we are next to Germany.
 
Housing is so cheap in America. Everything *but* healthcare seems really cheap. In Toronto, average home price is 535K for mediocre on a postage stamp lot. Try >3K mortgage, after tax, of course. Pricey. A bubble, I think..
 
I live in Santiago Chile, here it goes.

Average monthly salary:300 US.

2 bedroom apartment rent: 700 USS

Average house price in my county: 350K

Big Mac Menu: 7 USD

Volkswagen Golf: 22 K

1 Galon of gas: 7.5 USD

1.5 Liter bottle of Coke: 1.75 USD

Healthcare a year for my family: 4000 USD a year

Doctor visit: 10 USD

Plummer visit: 50 USD

Private good school : over 6000 USD a year

University: 10000 USD a year
 
Quote from Debaser82:

The numbers I mentioned are what you end up with in your pockets after taxes or what you have to pay for including taxes.

I state that the average salary is 2300 K, it is 4000K before taxes.
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You are dreaming my friend...:D

People still have to pay income tax at the end of the year on the numbers that you mention... depending on their situation as a family (how many childeren, partners income), house owner with a mortgage, and so on...

If you realy dig how much belgian are taxed, then don't lose hope:
If a boss pay's you 23OO , he realy pay's about 5500 dollars. The difference goes to the goverment. That is you social security payment for the needed, and healthcare...

Then you buy stuff, that is taxed at 21% vat (or 6% for food items for example) and then you also have to pay income tax on the netto payment you have recieved on the end of the year...
 
Life is how you define it, no? I am not sure what average means because there are so much disparity here is boring ol dayton ohio.

Average Gross monthly salary: I would guess somewhere around US$4-5K a month per household. My wife and I are triple that but we live just like the average. Taxes are very high in this burb, there are even city income taxes here.

2 bedroom apartment rent: $800 for the nicest and newest in safe neighborhoods, $300 a month if you don't mind getting shot

Average house price: Inside of dayton you can get a house for a ham sandwich. Outside in the country/burbs: About $200K for a new 4 bedroom/basement on ~1/2 acre. Still kicking myself for not buying that small house on 6 acres for $130K. It had about 30 full grown walnut trees (worth about $1K each) and a horse barn, holy shit.

Big Mac Menu: $6

Volkswagen Golf: $20K I guess

1 Gallon of gas: $3.50

1.5 Liter bottle of Coke: hardly ever buy pop, but those big ass bottles can be bought for a buck on sale

Healthcare a year: I don't understand, with the cost of insurance? Without we still spend quite a bit but I think most people spend far less, maybe $3K a year.

Doctor visit: All over the the place, depends on what's wrong. You have to pay a lot by law if you are uninsured. We have a high yearly deductable, first $5K on us.

Plummer visit: Just spent $80 labor on kitchen faucet installation, took them 40 minutes.

School a year: "Free" and pretty good here, 5 miles away it is crap.

University: $9000 per year (books, but not housing). Just put my son through 4 years at Ohio State. My ex and I gave him a complete ride including a used car. About $100K when you tally the whole. I had to drink cheap beer for a while.


To really answer this question- I bet I could live just dandy by myself on $30K net per year here, even live in a house. With my wife we need minimum about $40K net before real hard choices would be made.
 
Quote from achilles28:

Housing is so cheap in America. Everything *but* healthcare seems really cheap. In Toronto, average home price is 535K for mediocre on a postage stamp lot. Try >3K mortgage, after tax, of course. Pricey. A bubble, I think..
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Toronto is not Canada, just like NYC is not the USA. My appartment in Manhattan, of a relatively modest size (about 1600 ft^2) is worth about two million :( and the maintenance plus taxes comes to 4k a month. From what i'd guess, its pretty avarage in my hood.

I think comfortable living for a couple in the NYC starts at about 250k per annum. More if you have kids and want them to go to a private school.
 
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