Cost of living in Atlanta suburbs? (Lilburn: renters, health insurance, townhouse)

[Ives]

I'm American but I live in England with my British husband and our children. We're thinking of moving to Atlanta, but I'm from NY State and haven't lived in the US for 10 years, so I have no idea about cost of living.

We'd like to buy a house, 3 or 4 bedrooms with a back yard, in maybe Gwinnet County. They look to be around $120,000. My brother in NY was telling about extra costs Americans have, like property tax, school tax, health insurance, etc. What kind of salary would my husband need for us to have a house of this price, and for me not to have to work, so I can stay home with our kids?

[Febtober]

I'm originally from Gwinnett and live in NY now. My mother purchased her current house where I spent a large chunk of my life in Lilburn in 1998 for $120,000. It's a nice 4 bed, 3 bath, on about a half acre lot in the Parkview school district. If she had to sell it today she would probably ask about $150,000 and get something like $140,000ish.

Property taxes aren't bad out there. She's paid around $1,500-$2,000 each year. I believe school taxes are built in to these, but someone feel free to correct me.

You have kids, so I assume schools are important. In Gwinnett, Parkview and Brookwood are both very good high schools. I'd stay away from Meadowcreek or Berkmar (I actually went to Berkmar for six weeks). I'm not sure on other areas of county and can't really comment on them.

Health insurance is a major cost in America. Thankfully, my employer pay 100% of mine. It's just myself on the policy with no dependents and it costs my employer around $30,000 a year (that's a very good policy, though. Most people paying themselves would lower their payments by having higher deductibles and such.) Does your husband already have an employer set up? Find out if insurance is part of his compensation. It usually is, but you may be paying part of it.

I don't know your specifics, but a single person should be able to get a home like that easily on $50k/year or so income with having money left over for a good car, the occasional vacation, savings, etc... Add on to that whatever you estimate your cost and the cost of raising your children to be and you've got a rough starting point.

[flyonpa]

Keep in mind there is a differnce beween Gross Income (what they are paying you) and NET what you take home. you will 'lose' about 20-30% of your paycheck to taxes. 120K for a in good school (sending area) distict will put you in a 2 maybe 3 BR townhouse.

[Ives]

Thanks!

What other costs are there per year? I read on another forum you pay for garbage collection, water, sewage, then there's electricity and gas.....What else is there? Can anyone tell me maybe what these are individually or what they would add up to?

And if you rent, which of these costs do you not have?

[Febtober]

I found an article from 2008 online saying that (in Gwinnett) garbage pickup is an annual fee of $214, which is added into your property taxes.

From what I can find online, water currently has a base charge of $7.50 and usage of 8,000 gallons will cost about $16 on top of that. Sewage has a base fee of $5 and a charge of $5.38 per 1,000 gallons. So if you use 8,000 gallons, the math says your bill would be $71.54, but that seems really high to me. Maybe that 8,000 gallon figure is too high. Also, I believe that if you have a septic tank, you don't pay the sewage portion, which about half of that total.

I haven't lived in Georgia for a while so I'll let someone else comment on gas and electricity. Also don't forget you'll want to get homeowner's insurance.

If you rent, some, all, or none of those utilities may be included in the rent. The only one that's pretty much always included is the garbage. Here in NY it's typical for heat and hot water to also be included. Also, renters do not pay the property tax or homeowner's insurance.

[alinka72]

I would honestly, come visit the place and see it for yourself BEFORE permanently moving in. This is a HUGE move from Europe to the USA. 10 yrs is like an eternity nowadays to just out of a sudden return, especially being raised up North. There are many cultural differences that you will have to consider especially with children. We can go over a laundry list of expenses but I find that no one can give YOU the answers you want.

Personally, I would not move to Atlanta, Ga UNLESS my employer was transferring me there. There is an enormous influx of people moving in and not enough infrastructure to absorb the growth. Do your research but I urge you to take forums like these with a huge grain of salt. Most of the posters here are business owners and realtors who have a vested interest in attracting more people without the implications that may take. Buyers beware.