[richa2013]

Hi everyone!

After spending some time searching through all the threads I decided to ask for your help. I will relocate to Lansing at the end of this year and of course, I will have to find a place to live. Looking on Craigslist I found apartments and even small houses at around $500/month. My question is ... how much will it cost me to heat an apartment/ a house during winter? I know this is too general for an exact answer, but can those of you living in and around Lansing give me some advice on this? How much do you pay for heating your house? I was looking at apartments that are about 500 sq feet. Unfortunately it doesn't say anything about heating (gas, electric...).

I currently live in California near San Francisco and winters aren't really winters here . We live in an apartment duplex and we use a fan forced heater and the gas stove to heat the bedroom/kitchen. It costs around $130/month.

I will have to determine which neighbourhoods would be best; I'll work in East Lansing.

[chiroptera]

I live in the Flint area and my winter gas & electric bill are, on average, about $180 per month running the furnace.
Rest of the year, about $70 monthly. That's through Consumers Energy. I don't imagine Lansing would be much different?

It's been eons since I've lived in an apartment but don't apartment complex rents typically cover utilities and water?

[teachbeach]

We live in a larger home (1900 sf + finished basement) and our utility bills for the winter (Consumer's Power for both electric and gas) run about $200 in the winter, $120 in Spring and Fall. The past few winters have been warmer than normal. You can call CP and ask them what the utility history of the apartment or unit you are considering might be. If you are working in East Lansing, you may want to look at places in Okemos and Haslett as well. You may find something that pays for heat/water, leaving you to pay for electric.

[dragon_fly_12]

It all greatly depends on what type of house, how old it is, or if you get an apartment.

In the past, my apartments ran anywhere from $100-150/mth to heat and similar to cool, but there are a lot of apartment complexes that offer free heat.

My electric without heating or cooling factored in runs $60-80 on average (full house with laundry).

However, older houses with poor insulation can run $300-500/mth to heat.

I am located in Lansing.

[michiganbob]

The estimates from others sound about right, but a lot does depend on the type of heat (gas vs elec) and the age of the home. An old house with bad windows will be really drafty in the winter and hard to keep warm. Same for mobile homes. Some of the newer apartments have better insulation and may even pay for your heat if they have a central boiler system. It just depends on what you are looking for, but you should have lots of options beyond Craig's List.

Housing is cheaper in Lansing than in probably almost anywhere in CA, but $500 a month is still pretty cheap. Before you agree to anything I would ask some folks in the forum about the neighborhood. A few blocks this way or that could make a big difference. The good news is that you can live almost anywhere in the Lansing area and be less than 30 minutes away from your job. You have to try really hard (or live out in the sticks) to have a long commute.

If you are working in East Lansing but don't want to compete with MSU students for housing, the east side of Lansing (west of I-127) does have some decent neighborhoods and you are still close to campus . . . assuming your work has something to do with the university or is somewhere close to it. If you can find someplace closer to the north end (near Lake Lansing Road) I think you will like Eastwood Towne Center which has a number of nice stores, restaurants, a couple of bars and movie theaters. On the other side of 127 from there are grocery stores, some more restaurants and other businesses. It's not a bad area if you don't want to have to drive everywhere.

[teachbeach]

I would agree with michiganbob~the Lansing area is great place to live, close to everything you would need, but $500 might be on the low side for decent neighborhood, clean, and safe. Throw out some addresses before you make a decision and I'm sure the people from the Lansing area can guide you to what might be your best option.

[richa2013]

Wow!!! People are really helpful here! I never spent much time on forums because what I noticed was that people started arguing and writing bad things...so there was nothing helpful there. But I posted a few times on city-data and I actually got helpful answers!
I have been very busy these past few weeks and I didn't have time to get info on Lansing. I know there are some other threads related to good/bad neighbourhoods and I will take a look at those before posting anything. If you say that $500 is on the low side, then I will look at something else. I did find apartment complexes where rent(for a 1 bedroom) was around $700, but I don't think heat was included. I love peace and quiet, so I will first try to look for a small house, but I can't pay more than ~$700 on rent.... I guess that in the end I'll rent an apartment.

Being so far away I can't really decide upon a place to live, I have to make some appointments to visit a few places and fly there to see them. Or I'll just fly there in January and stay in a hotel and look for a place before I start working. I'll work in East Lansing.

Thank you all for your help! I will come back with addresses before renting something.

Cheers!

[chiroptera]

Hi richa, if you use the "Search This Forum" feature (top right on the MI forum home page) and just type in Lansing, there's a whole slew of threads on the city, including discussions on where to live, shop, etc.

If you come visit in January and the winter weather and gloom doesn't put you off, you're all good!
(It's MUCH nicer come spring time!)

[DONNIEANDDONNA417]

Originally Posted by chiroptera

Hi richa, if you use the "Search This Forum" feature (top right on the MI forum home page) and just type in Lansing, there's a whole slew of threads on the city, including discussions on where to live, shop, etc.

If you come visit in January and the winter weather and gloom doesn't put you off, you're all good!
(It's MUCH nicer come spring time!)

its not gloomy, its relaxing

[dragon_fly_12]

Richa, You are just fine if you find a place in Okemos or Haslett for neighborhood. There are also several apartments in norther East Lansing (look up Lake Lansing / Hagadorn Rd). All of those would be higher in cost but put you in a good location for work and good neighborhood.