[Weirdo2see]

Shelling big bucks from the range of 400-500 for every winter month to heat your home is insane.People are bitter here as the weather is when they even get a measly 200 dollar bill to pay.Some have found a solution by getting firewood.All in all i think housing is a big american nightmare and one to be avoided at all costs.This is one of the big reasons of why i am moving down to south or in any event to warmer climate countries.We have enough struggle as it is...cold doesn`t need to be one of them.

[canudigit]

We lived in AZ this past summer and our electric bills were $300-$400 a month. Water, too, was insanely expensive. I think it all balances out. Maybe somewhere like Tennessee or North Carolina would be the easiest on the utility bills, since they do get cold in the winter and hot in the summer, but not -5 degrees cold or 120 degrees hot.

[Bydand]

Good luck with your electric bills in the Summer then due to AC. Just how warm do you keep your house anyway? $400-500 a month to heat your house, is about 2-3 times what I pay a month to heat during the winter. Most months it is around $150 and that is including the hot water heater and dryer. One month last winter we topped $200 but was still under $250.

The Midwest actually has lower utility bills than a lot of the Northern areas. They are WAY less than utilities in the Northeast.

[Driller1]

If they pass Cap and Trade, these will be the good old days.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by Bydand

Good luck with your electric bills in the Summer then due to AC. Just how warm do you keep your house anyway? $400-500 a month to heat your house, is about 2-3 times what I pay a month to heat during the winter. Most months it is around $150 and that is including the hot water heater and dryer. One month last winter we topped $200 but was still under $250.

The Midwest actually has lower utility bills than a lot of the Northern areas. They are WAY less than utilities in the Northeast.

I was wondering the same thing, as we have gas forced air heat and the largest heat bill we ever had in a 2,700 sq. ft. house was just over $300, and that was last winter during that extremely bitter cold snap when the wind chills were -25 degrees. However, I know that propane is very expensive compared to natural gas or electric heat, so maybe he has that type of heat.

[Spartan75]

Natural gas prices have declined from a few years ago, easing the winter heat costs. In mid-Mich you hardly need summer AC. A ceiling fan or whole house fan works well.

[scolls]

So how many threads are you going to make about how expensive is it to live in Michigan?

[Coldjensens]

When we lived in Caifornia we paid $600+ for electricity during the hot months (July - November).

We also had huge water bills. I tihknk that it was well over $200 per month for water.

Then there was earthquake insurance for $6,000 per year.

something like 14% income tax (could that be right?). around 7% sales tax.

That goes on and on even before considering that an 1800 s.f. 3 br house costs over $650,000. or about $2500 to $3000 a month to rent.

Michigan is a very cheap place to live by comparison.

[M_P_E]

How can it take $500/month to heat a reasonably-sized house? Do people leave the windows open? I have a largely uninsulated, leaky 1939 Bungalow, and my worst monthly gas bill ever was $125.

[Driller1]

Originally Posted by M_P_E

How can it take $500/month to heat a reasonably-sized house? Do people leave the windows open? I have a largely uninsulated, leaky 1939 Bungalow, and my worst monthly gas bill ever was $125.

Good question. I do not pay that all winter.