How much money will we need to make living on the east coast?

Question

My husband and i just graduated college. We currently live in southern Illinois. He was just offered a job in Waterbury, CT. How can I find out how much more everything will cost there?

Answer 1

Hi, I'm originally from CT and I don't mean to scare you, but Waterbury is not so nice. It's not expensive as the East Coast goes, but the East in general is a lot more pricey than you are used to. Estimate between $800-1200 for rent if you want to rent, depending on how big a place you need. You'll need to spend more to stay away from Waterbury's worst parts. If I were you, I'd live in an outlying town and not in the city. A good idea is to go realtor.com and look for houses in the area or in Waterbury. I use this when I move as a good gauge of housing costs for buying too. It also give a glimpse at what the place looks like. Gas for the car is more expensive out here, and unlike most parts of the country, if you rent, landlords don't usually pay any utilities. Do your homework before you move. Will the job cover moving costs? Will the new salary cover flights back home to family? If you want to have kids daycare is outrageous up here. I live currently in Massachusetts and have cheap daycare at $1000 a month, it can go as high as $2000 a month. So make sure that salary is worth it, and two paychecks are usually needed up here.

Answer 2

East Coast is expensive, yet certain areas are less expensive that others. If I were you, I would check out the local newspaper in Waterbury, the Republican-Democrat, and go through the classified section. That should give you an idea about cost of living. And since Waterbury is a city, try to get statistics about the schools and taxes. I heard Waterbury was nice. I live on Long Island, where the taxes are through the roof.

Answer 3

Between both, you better be making $150k in CT or you'll be living in the projects.