relocating to Fargo (Bismarck, Bottineau, Abercrombie: sales, apartments, rentals)
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frndz,
Me and my wife is relocating to fargo shortly. we are from india. i have been to US before on business trips , but that hardly gives any idea what a relocation takes. i am looking for the following information:
1. i have seen online ads of appartments ranging from $300 to $800 - is there any hidden cost?
2. how much on an average are the grocery bills? electricity, gas, water??
3. is clothing very expensive?
essentially i am looking at cost of living in Fargo. any rough estimate will do. i know these depends on person to person, but any indicators will be great.
thanks.
frndz,
Me and my wife is relocating to fargo shortly. we are from india. i have been to US before on business trips , but that hardly gives any idea what a relocation takes. i am looking for the following information:
1. i have seen online ads of appartments ranging from $300 to $800 - is there any hidden cost?
2. how much on an average are the grocery bills? electricity, gas, water??
3. is clothing very expensive?
essentially i am looking at cost of living in Fargo. any rough estimate will do. i know these depends on person to person, but any indicators will be great.
thanks.
1. Most apartments will require a deposit, which could be anywhere from 99 dollars to a months rent. Other then that there are no hidden costs.
2. I'm not sure on grocery bills, maybe 60 to 80 dollars. I don't think you would have to pay gas or water if you are getting an apartment but electicity would be maybe 30 to 50 dollars.
3. Clothing can be cheap or expensive, Fargo has a lot of retail options.
Overall, North Dakota has one of the lowest costs of living in the US. In fact Fargo's cost of living is big reason why some companies like Microsoft are putting heavy emphasis on moving into Fargo.
Thanks a ton. any insight on phone rentals etc?
how much is the income tax? i know that depends on your income but is there a slab like we have in india? e.g if you earn x amount you pay y tax. my wife is working here and i am hoping she will get something there as we move in considering the fact the unemployment rate is very low.
sorry to bombard with repeated questions, but i dont know anybody there. hence want to get some insight before jumping in.
Last edited by fromindiatous; 02-16-2008 at 12:57 AM..
As for the phone...I assume you meant phone bill. Some folks only have cell phones and those prices vary of course depending on plan... most folks have local phone service hooked up at home along with long distance....bills for both can range from 50 to 80 dollars...(at least that is mine)....there is usually a one time hook up charge.
One more thing....I assume you know about the winters. I love them but they can take some getting used too.
To add to what Dan said:
North Dakota is ranked 42, with 1 being the highest local/state taxes as % of income.
Also, since 2000, five states have experienced double-digit drops in their tax burden rankings. New Mexico has dropped 29 places, Idaho 23 places, and Utah 19 places. Georgia and North Dakota have dropped 15 and 10 places, respectively. New jersey has seen the highest increase since 2000, jumping from 24th place to 10th place. Arkansas and Indiana have both risen 10 places. The tax burden includes all taxes. Property, local/state income tax, etc.....
Adding to the electricity rate question, wife and I will be moving to the Bottineau, ND area (Lake Metigoshe) next summer and the rates there are amazing low. 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour if your on a dual-fuel system, a little bit more if your total electric. The power company that services that area has not had an electric rate increase since 1986.
Good luck fromindiatous on your move.
Gas, Electricty, and Water will vary depending on many factors. I live in an older home that is not very energy efficient and I have a family of four and we average about $225 per month. Some apartments include electricty and water in your rent. Where will you be working? Maybe I could give you some advise on finding an apartment close too work.
i rent a nicer 2 bedroom apartment close to the mall in fargo i paid a $300 security deposit and 595 a month for rent which includes a 2 car garage. i pay roughly 40 bucks a month for electricity, 110 for cable tv and cable internet to cableone, 60 a month for a cell phone (no house phone). i have 2 kids and myself and my monthly grocery bill is around 200. state taxes are pretty minimal but will depend on how much you make. i dont know the clothes you are looking for but Fargo isnt much different then any other place in the US i assume, if you stay away from them idiot Abercrombie and Fitch type stores you should be able to find clothes for a resonable price or you can always shop online. if you have a car you will have to have insurance on it but it will vary greatly depending on car model, driving record, type of insurance so forth, gas right now in fargo is around 2.90 to 2.99 a gallon.
This site (Sales Tax Look Up - Zip Code Sales Tax Search) shows sales tax by zip code, but I will tell you that every zip code I've looked at in ND is pretty reasonable, and if you live in the western part of the state and can go across the state line to Montana, and there's no sales tax there. I currently live in Oklahoma; my town has a sales tax of 8.5% (including tax on food) currently -- going up to 8.75% in a few months. Bismarck ND has a sales tax of 6%-tax food exempt.
Of course property taxes here in OK are 0.5-0.9% versus 1.7-2.0% in ND. Frankly, I'd rather pay a bit higher property taxes if it means decent roads and schools. The roads here are a disgrace. One good thing about OK is that with the current Governor, all OK high school students get free 2-year college tuition.
Thanks a ton folks. its real good insight and will help a lot in my relocation. one more thing i found on the net is Fargo people are very warm and helpful... i can see that here. i really didnt think that all you guys will give your best to help me out.
Fargobob - i will post where my work location will be in a weeks time. right now there are some formaities to be finished and i am keeping my fingers crossed. (you can call me superstitous).
Dan - thanks for your post. i am aware of the temperature there and frankly speaking its a bit worrying me since where i live in india the lowest temparature in winter doesnt come down below 60 to 65 degree F!! and from what i see on the net, thats probably the highest temparature on some summer months.
this is one reoson i was asking for clothings because here we dont need any warm clothes!!
Thankz ssgoodman for the clarity on cost of living and thankz StartingOverAgain and MikeyToo for the insight on Tax.
1 more clarification folks and i hope thie thread will be helpful for all the people to are planning to recolate within US or from outside. Here in India there is only 1 tax - no division between state tax and federal tax. i am finding it difficult to understand how the tax is calculated. from the site lets say the following line "-- 2.1 percent on the first $53,200 of taxable income.
" does this mean that if i earn $53,200 i can staright away calculate 2.1 percent tax on it? or there are other terms like Federal tax etc...
thankz once again folks for helping me out. cant wait to move there...
What you're talking about are 'Tax Brackets', which mean, in a nutshell, that US federal taxes are based on how much you make - kind of a sliding scale. Unfortunately, there are many different fees/taxes on one's income. Not only are there Federal Taxes, State Income Tax and Social Security taxes, there are property and sales taxes on top of that. All utilities (such as telephone, gas, electric, and cable) also have a tax. But, the benefits of having nice schools, roads, and other amenities make those fees/taxes easier to accept.
The 2.1% that you are quoting, however, is nowhere near what your actual tax burden will be. A good rule of thumb for most deductions (not including deductions for IRA's or Insurance) is about 20-25% of your income (or at least that's what it was for me before I became disabled ).
Best of luck on your relocation; that's going to be quite an adjustment! The fact that your English seems to be really good will definitely be a plus.
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thanks folks
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