Need help confirming if the cost of living calculators online are right about cost in Denver. (Center: for sale)

[rbrivard]

Hello, I will be moving to the Denver area in June and wanted to see if anyone living in Denver can confirm a list of cost for several items that was an average produced from several online calculators. If they are off please comment on how much you think it really is going to cost.

1. I already know how much I can afford and how much apartments can range but 800-850 for a 2 bedroom apt (away from downtown) is what I came up with in my estimate.....does this sound right?

2. Utilities cost 100 a month in 2 bed apt on average, is this correct(if so that would be very cheap to me)?

3. groceries for 2 adults and 2 young children 450 a month?

4. gas for small car 150-200?

5. car insurance $175 full coverage (I pay 140 for my wife and I on 1 car right now)?

6. fast internet $60-75

7. oops.....forgot renters insurance for an apt (anyone know how much that cost to insure about 6000-10000)?

Any help would be appreciated so I can get a good estimate of my budget before moving. Let me know if there is more info you need to answer these questions better, Thanks

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by rbrivard

Hello, I will be moving to the Denver area in June and wanted to see if anyone living in Denver can confirm a list of cost for several items that was an average produced from several online calculators. If they are off please comment on how much you think it really is going to cost.

1. I already know how much I can afford and how much apartments can range but 800-850 for a 2 bedroom apt (away from downtown) is what I came up with in my estimate.....does this sound right?

2. Utilities cost 100 a month in 2 bed apt on average, is this correct(if so that would be very cheap to me)?

3. groceries for 2 adults and 2 young children 450 a month?

4. gas for small car 150-200?

5. car insurance $175 full coverage (I pay 140 for my wife and I on 1 car right now)?

6. fast internet $60-75

7. oops.....forgot renters insurance for an apt (anyone know how much that cost to insure about 6000-10000)?

Any help would be appreciated so I can get a good estimate of my budget before moving. Let me know if there is more info you need to answer these questions better, Thanks

I think you are about right on for everything. Now if you are getting fast internet bundled with cable and phone that price could go down. I don't think renters insurance is too much. That is something you will have research because it has been years since I have rented. Remember, gas prices are starting to go up. When you say utilities are talking both gas/electric and water? If so, I think you could be in the range of $100 to $150 a month.

[gmm_24]

Utilites for all? I think $100 would just be for heat, unless you are in an apt building and they absorb some of the other costs. If you are renting a house they probably do not, so there is heat, water, sewer, trash and electricity.

For four people including some pet food I pay $180 a week in groceries. I do not shop at Wal-Mart so you might be able to buy groceries cheaper, but you get what you pay for and I will stay with Kings. Their meat never smells off, like Wally World's does.

Gas for a small car sounds about right unless you do alot of driving. I do and spend more, my husband does not and spends about $150 per month.

Car ins is less if you have one small car.
High Speed net is also less if you live in the suburbs. I live out in the middle of nowhere and have high speed and I pay $55 a month for it. For cable tv sat I pay $80 a month.

The calculators are off on a few things. I have checked them myself and somethings are close, others are off.

Visit the area, ask apt complexes about their prices, what is included in the rent. Go into grocery stores and price things. The ins websites if you put in a zip code can tell you what it would cost to insure your car. I never move somewhere "blind" and hope for the best, I visit and check and double check because surprises involving money are not something I want to run into.

[davidv]

1. You can find a nice apartment in a good area for that price. Neither the apartment nor the area will be "great."

2. Utilities obviously vary according to time of year, but I pay on average $150 in gas and electric for a 4 bedroom house. Water runs about $30 a month for my family of four.

3. If you are a careful shopper and you stick to sale items and staples, you will be okay with $450/month. I pay a little more than that for my family, but I have teenagers.

4. That sounds about right for gas. I drive 330 miles a week and it takes me about $28-30 to fill up my small car.

5. Car insurance sounds a little high. My wife (midsize car) and I (small car) pay about $135/month for full insurance (100-300-100) for both of our cars together.

6. Bundle your internet with Qwest (home phone-internet-Direct TV) or Comcast for about $100 per month.

7. Renter insurance is cheap, just make sure you buy a policy that replaces your stuff instead of depreciating your stuff. Slightly more expensive, but worth it.

[cowboyxjon]

The other thing you can do (and something I strongly recommend) is to call the energy provider (most of Denver itself has Xcel Energy, but I know the suburbs have a mix of other providers) and ask for a 12-month average bill/cost for whatever unit you are considering. I did this when I was looking at houses for sale, just to get an idea of what utilities would be like. Obviously the numbers are slightly skewed if the previous person/tenant always left the lights on or ran the AC all summer, but it does give you a general idea.

My previous apartment complex -- that I liked for the most part -- was terribly inefficient in terms of construction. My average monthly utility bill was around $110 for gas and electric (mostly because of heating in winter, though some months were as low as $65), but the house I bought is even less. My water bill was paid through the apartment complex and it ended up usually being between $30-50/month, but really, it was a calculation that took everyone into account in the building, so I could see differences when there were vacant units and/or when a four-person family moved in to the building. It wasn't reflective of my actual water usage, in my opinion.

I want to say that my high-speed internet through Comcast is around $60/month. Pricey, but I personally like it more than DSL.

I don't remember what the specific coverages were, but my renter's insurance was something like $100 per YEAR.

[Katarina Witt]

I was thinking my kids' renter's ins. is about $10/mo.

[rbrivard]

Originally Posted by Timmyy

I think you are about right on for everything. Now if you are getting fast internet bundled with cable and phone that price could go down. I don't think renters insurance is too much. That is something you will have research because it has been years since I have rented. Remember, gas prices are starting to go up. When you say utilities are talking both gas/electric and water? If so, I think you could be in the range of $100 to $150 a month.

Yes gas/electric and water....ok I pay 100-150 depending on the usage here so no real change thank goodness. Fast Internet yes......no bundle (have not used cable for years....just a home computer.)

[rbrivard]

Originally Posted by gmm_24

Utilites for all? I think $100 would just be for heat, unless you are in an apt building and they absorb some of the other costs. If you are renting a house they probably do not, so there is heat, water, sewer, trash and electricity.

For four people including some pet food I pay $180 a week in groceries. I do not shop at Wal-Mart so you might be able to buy groceries cheaper, but you get what you pay for and I will stay with Kings. Their meat never smells off, like Wally World's does.

Gas for a small car sounds about right unless you do alot of driving. I do and spend more, my husband does not and spends about $150 per month.

Car ins is less if you have one small car.
High Speed net is also less if you live in the suburbs. I live out in the middle of nowhere and have high speed and I pay $55 a month for it. For cable tv sat I pay $80 a month.

The calculators are off on a few things. I have checked them myself and somethings are close, others are off.

Visit the area, ask apt complexes about their prices, what is included in the rent. Go into grocery stores and price things. The ins websites if you put in a zip code can tell you what it would cost to insure your car. I never move somewhere "blind" and hope for the best, I visit and check and double check because surprises involving money are not something I want to run into.

thank you for the info. I plan on visiting a few months before the move to get a feel for the different areas and visit a few of the apartments complexes that sound good. I figured the food cost had to be more than that since I pay about the same here but glad to get a real persons opinion.

[Count David]

We moved to the Denver area in a June. 2007.

We currently pay $775 for a 2 bed/2bath right under the faux-skyscrapers in the Denver Tech Center (nice area). It can be done, easily.

Our monthly Xcel Energy (gas/electric) bill was $120 yesterday, the highest it's ever been. It's usually around $85 though.

We spend about $550/mo on groceries. Me (I like to stuff my face), pregnant wife, two kids (10, 5). King Soopers usually, sometimes Wal-Mart .

Gas at my local pump is $2.89/gal right now. It was just $2.59/gal a few months ago.

Car insurance for us is $250/mo. A Jeep and a Honda Civic Hybrid. Full coverage. But I've had two accidents in the past 3.5 years.

I'm currently using a neighbor's wi-fi, so technically my internet is free. I have a prepaid Virgin Mobile aircard that costs $40/mo. "Unlimited" with a 5 GB slow-you-down cap going into effect next month. Works well all over the metro. I haven't had wired internet in over two years, but my Qwest DSL used to be about $30/mo.

My renter's insurance is basically free because of discounts and such with it being bundled in with my car insurance. It's as cheap as a McD's value meal usually.