Salary and Cost of Living in Burlington area (apartments, rental market)

[Silvanus]

I recently graduated and started looking into "dream jobs." I am being very idealistic and looking for a job that I would stay with for a long time (10+ years) and I'm starting at the top. In Burlington, VT. Although it's very unlikely I will get the job I am interested in knowing about the Burlington area before I get put on the spot.

I've lived in the south all my life and I've done research on comparing south to north cost of living and housing. I'm a bit worried that if I do manage to snag this job that I would cut myself short and not be able to live on the salary offered.

Entry level salary in the area is around 30k

Im very good with money and living expenses. I don't need cable. I only eat out when I can afford it, although I splurge on hot dates ($100/night depending)


Rent - $700-800? /month (Not sure about roomates yet)

I don't need much, I enjoy working and depending on how work goes I might be traveling a lot.


Questions:
About how much should I plan on spending on

Taxes?

Car insurance?

Utilities? (water,electricity/gas, internet)

Where should I look at apartments /housing? (Work is in Burlington)

I'm going to break things down into a spreadsheet so I can really get an idea of what I'm looking at.

If things go well I will plan a vacation trip to check things out and see how I like it.

Sorry if this is a bit scatterbrained, I wanted to put it all out there. I've done research but still had some questions. I found a lot saying it'll cost "more" but no numbers.

Thanks

[Djuna]

Did you plug your numbers into this?

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

[Silvanus]

ya, I found a few different calculators. I know that its about 20-30% increase from what I'm at now. But I didn't want to use numbers that aren't real. As in, taking what we pay down here and comparing it to up north.

Also, I just graduated so I don't have a "real" job to compare to. but 30k for me is about 38k in Burlington. I know someone who makes 24k and she couldnt make it on her own with 2 roomates, but I think she splurged too much. I'm lucky enough to not have debt to pay off though.

I guess the real thing that scares me is taxes. Fresh out of college and trying to be prepared for the real world I guess lol.

[Silvanus]

With the numbers I put in, I would need to make $50k/year just to live on, no splurging and not included taxes.

I highly doubt that number is going to happen.

CoS per week?
Rent - $700
Utilities - $100
Driving gas- $50
Food- $120

Car insurance - $300/year

I guess I'm just trying to figure out how people are making it on 30K salaries. It doesn't seem possible, but that's why I wanted to ask about real numbers.

I have a friend who makes 24k a year and couldn't make it on her own down here with roomates. I think she splurged too much though. The comparison put 24k=30k in Burlington.

I know numbers aren't going to be completely accurate and I'm just trying to find a way to make it work on paper at least. I need to know what to ask for.

[arctichomesteader]

Burlington is ridiculously expensive. $30K is a bit low unless you're pretty frugal there...

Other parts of the state can be less expensive but have fewer jobs too.

[Silvanus]

I could be frugal, I don't mind raman and I could probably cook and spend less on food than I have planned.

I'd be moving to Burlington for the job though, so I couldn't live too far out of the city. I have the feeling this is going to just be something to talk about if I'm lucky enough to get a callback. But like I said, high hopes!

[joe moving]

depends on your definition of making it and how many you are?

cell -$55.00
car gas -$50.00
food, etc. -$500.00 - seems generous if you don't eat out so much, but real tough if you do eat out.
car ins -$50.00 - could be lower on cheaper car obviously
rent -$750.00 - dunno about burlington myself but i hear it is pretty rough on the rental market
electric -$50.00
internet/phone -$63.00
heat -$75.00

thats 1593$/month - 30k for a single person might be around $2000 or so post tax per month?>
i would say missing from that are some savings/investments, health ins, any other insurance you need.

[Vermonr]

My expenses per month:

rent: 710
heat: 55
electricity: 45
internet: 40
gas: 20-40 (I walk to work)
food: 80 (probably a high estimate)
entertainment: 100 (probably a high estimate)

So almost 1100 per month. I'm surviving on my paycheck, but not saving up much money.

My parents are covering about 500 in student loans, car insurance, and cell phone bills because I can't afford it right now.

[CAVA1990]

In this economy you should try getting a job first then all these other things second. With no experience you'll be lucky to find anything anywhere, even at $30K.

[Silvanus]

*facepalm*
I plugged in 700 for rent and then left in in the weekly formula...
I feel stupid.

Thanks for the input It helped me wrap my head around stuff more than I had (and see the mistake in calculations)

I noticed both of you have electric and then heating expenses. Why? (i assume gas/electric but want to make sure)

I corrected my numbers and readjusted for a comfortable living and brought it to a decent 30k a year. So that doesn't sound bad for barely making it. (to me "making it" would mean not eating raman 3 times a day during the week, not having a car, and basically being miserable)

I'm lucky enough to not have student loans and my parents are going to help me in the moving/ job process as a graduation present.

Thanks for the info. I was pretty depressed when I thought I would have to ask for 50k only to eek by.