Cost of Living: Seattle, WA vs STX

I've inserted my STX comments below each of your lines:

Rent - $1,200 for a 2 bedroom apartment (not super nice or modern, but plenty of space)
STX: You can find that rent price here, but it's probably near the bottom of the market for what you'd consider acceptable.

Eating out - Usually costs about $15 to $30 a person for a moderately priced meal
STX: You can find that range here, but for apples to apples, you'd want to add 30% here

Groceries - I spend about $75 a week for two people, so.. approx $300 a month.
STX: We spend $500 to $525/month for two people. Food is a killer.

WAPA is another killer. Electricity is about 3x more than the stateside average.

Thanks Bob - How much does it cost to power a two person household (average)?

Fresh fruits and veggies is a killer for sure. You can make a very simple garden by buying a sack of potting soil, cut a few small slits in it, and plant your tomatoes, peppers, onions, eggplant, what ever, right in the bag. Water it, and it will save water, no weeds, and you can put it anywhere you want, or move it f you need more or less sun on it. Kinda tacky, but fresh veggies very cheap, right outside your door. Cut a few holes in the bottom for drainage, btw...

OTS - Awesome! You read my mind. I have a container vegetable garden on my balcony. I live in the city, so I used recycled materials to make "self watering" buckets.

I've never tried it your way, bu that sounds interesting, I'll have to try that. (tu)

Thanks Bob - How much does it cost to power a two person household (average)?

I'd estimate $250-$500/month, depending on A/C, pool pump, TV, and other habits.

I moved to STX from Seattle (Redmond actually) last January, although at the moment I'm back in Seattle. The things I noticed right away were:

Gas: cheaper on St. Croix. When it past $4/gallon in Seattle it was still around $3.50 on the island

Food: more $$ than Seattle. We never seemed to leave the grocery store without spending at least $100 and that was me trying to be cheap. Do you ever shop at QFC? I kept thinking it was comparable to them (price wise) when I tend to do more shopping at Fred Meyers or Trader Joes.

Eating out: we didn't eat out much on the island due to sticker shock. We ate out once in Frederiksted and once in Christiansted --both times he got a burger and a coke, I got some sort of salad and water and it ran around $45.

Rent: I think it can be comparable.

In general mark up was anywhere from 30% to 400% for items although, for the life of me, I cannot remember what it was that we saw that had been marked up so high.

The good news: no sales tax

I have a small apartment complex. We offer 2 bedroom, 2 bath units for $1350 and up, depending......We are very "decent", nice area, clean units, maintenance on site, etc. That, btw, is fully furnished and includes Dish TV and Internet.

Hubby and I eat out often. Last night, for instance...lovely "meal" at Galangal (high end Thai restaurant). Our meal was several apps and we called it dinner. One nice glass of wine, 2 rum and cokes and the total was $49. More than enough food, but if you want to "do" dinner, count on much more.

Groceries, well....what can I say? Fresh has a new meaning. Shop wisely. We currently have a carton of milk in the fridge with an Aug. 25 dating. HOW did that happen? Usually you get a week to 10 days, max, on the dating. And do beware, some of our grocery markets will try to scam you with the date. They repackage and re date.

The fresh markets, IE ArtFarm, are wonderful, but really they are very expensive, particularly compared to a fresh produce stands in the states. I remember about a year ago we went to visit a sick friend in Tampa, Fl. We didn't want to fly with a "present", so we though we would pick up something along the way. Stopped at a fruit/veggie stand just south of Tampa and bought a basket of mixed fruits, etc. for about $7.00. WOW!

Hi Juanita - thanks for the reply. I'm coming over prior to my girlfriend, so I'm looking to sign a 6 month lease. I'm going to check things out before I have her and our cat move out. Also, I won't be coming until after the first of the new year. So 5.5 months. If you know of any decent studio's, furnished if possible, or one bedrooms that would be great. I'd even consider roommates if they were nice, clean people.

Also, I won't have a car initially... so if anyone has some advice on finding a place that has easy access to work, and food.. that would be great.

Thanks

-mike

if you are not going to have a car, you might want to consider christiansted. but really, it is hard to get by on island without a car.
our electric for two people-no air, no dishwasher no dryer- we just have fans washer and the normal electronics. it is about 250.00 due to rise by another 10%
our gas is really about the same as in most parts of the states.
are you going to have a job lined up?
eating out is more expensive and probably will rise due to higher cost of electricity. we do not eat out much maybe 2-3 times a month. groceries are a killer. it is hard to find good quality fresh produce, if you look around you will find it. sometimes you have to go to more than one store to find all you need.
went to schooner bay the other day to look for fruit. it all looked bad and the price was way too high.

In addition to the various increased costs already mentioned, you have air travel. Can't just load up the car and go see grandma.

Health insurance could be a problem, and car expenses & insurance are higher as well. Tires, for example, will last you 18 months and cost 25% more.

It all adds up, so you learn to live without certain things.

And the suspension on the cars takes a beating from the roads. The rains have been so heavy the past couple years. Lots of pot holes waiting to be filled. If you are buying a car that has a lot of miles there, check it over, and for rust too.

if you are not going to have a car, you might want to consider christiansted. but really, it is hard to get by on island without a car.
our electric for two people-no air, no dishwasher no dryer- we just have fans washer and the normal electronics. it is about 250.00 due to rise by another 10%
our gas is really about the same as in most parts of the states.
are you going to have a job lined up?
eating out is more expensive and probably will rise due to higher cost of electricity. we do not eat out much maybe 2-3 times a month. groceries are a killer. it is hard to find good quality fresh produce, if you look around you will find it. sometimes you have to go to more than one store to find all you need.
went to schooner bay the other day to look for fruit. it all looked bad and the price was way too high.

Unfortunately I won't be able to get a car for the first 6 months, until my girlfriend moves down. So I'll have to make do with what life hands me. I won't have a job lined up, but I'm giving myself at least 4 months cushion to find a job. I have no problems working odd jobs here and there until I can find something a little more permanent.

We still have a house in Sammamish (Seattle suburb) so I can tell you that you're going to pay more here in general but not by much overall. Being from Seattle the biggest variable is whether you can do without a lot of A/C? If you can things will be much easier. The other BIG variable is car insurance. Local insurers literally wanted to charge me twice the price for a tenth of the coverage which by my book is a 2000% markup since I always carry high limits (just don't tell anybody or you'll get sued for splashing someone by driving through a puddle in the VI.) Fortunately I kept my Sammamish address and used Liberty Mutual for autos for the first couple of years and switched to USAA late last year which is even cheaper.

Oh, you'll pay a LOT more for internet that runs a LOT slower.

Unfortunately I won't be able to get a car for the first 6 months, until my girlfriend moves down. So I'll have to make do with what life hands me. I won't have a job lined up, but I'm giving myself at least 4 months cushion to find a job. I have no problems working odd jobs here and there until I can find something a little more permanent.

Consider living near a taxi route (eg: $2 each way to ride with strangers), and/or get rides with friends when they go out for shopping or fun. Lots of people have no cars here. It's inconvenient, but not impossible.

This is not just about St Croix, but...

1. On top of your WAPA bills $$, you might want a generator $$ for the times WAPA doesn't want you to have current. Oh, yes, diesel or propane for your generator $$. And you will want to put your more vulnerable electronics on UPS/surge protection $$

2. The regressive gross receipts tax system guarantees that you will pay more for goods and services here. The territorial welfare system (government with personnel costs at 70%) also adds to the cost of living.

Yes, the gross receipts tax is the tax that keeps on taxing! It's supposed to be re-applied at every transaction, including wholesale, and not just when the final consumer buys the goods or services.