# Housing - How Much Do You Pay? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 3, 2003, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housing-how-much-do-you-pay/179447 "2003-06-03T21:02:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![catnoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@catnoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catnoe)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housing-how-much-do-you-pay/179447/41 "2003-06-04T16:41:02Z")
One bdrm, approximately 900sqf basement apartment in D.C. rent - $1232. elec - $70. cable(TV, computer, phone) - $177. Round up to $1480. a month. Thanks for reminding me, got to go do the bills. ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housing-how-much-do-you-pay/179447/42 "2003-06-04T18:48:38Z")
I rent a storefront apartment in the downtown of a small town. Spacious, 2 bedrooms, 19th century architecture, v. nice. Rent: $400 Garbage & water: $20 Electricity: $75 Gas: $50-100, depending on the season Total: about $650. Wow, I’m pretty lucky, aren’t I? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housing-how-much-do-you-pay/179447/43 "2003-06-04T19:01:38Z")
2-BR, 1000 sq ft apartment in Seattle, WA rent: $900/mo utilities: $200-300 a month, depending on how much City Light is gouging us at that particular time ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housing-how-much-do-you-pay/179447/44 "2003-06-04T19:14:50Z")
Currently: 4 br 2 bath home: $1150 (spread among 6 people) Utilities (electic/water/sewer/trash): from $80 in the winter to over $300 in the summer. Not energy efficient. ☹ Gas: from $10-$20 in summer to $80-$90 in winter. Gas heat, and some of the house people are always cold, so they turn up the heat so the house becomes a blast furnace. Phone: $40/month w/o long distance. Internet: $45 So the total house bill is around $1500 this month, not including food. To where I’m going… Rent: $549 Electric: $50 in the summer, roughly, so I’m told. Likely to be near-nil in the winter. Gas: $10, roughly Water, etc.: paid by complex Internet (think I can do without my broadband? Huh.): $45 No freakin’ land line. My soon-to-be total: ~$650 before food, car insurance, bills…so depending on the month it’s a lot more than that. Damn, I was a clever Ninja to get a second job! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pipper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c2a13f/32.png) [@pipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pipper)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housing-how-much-do-you-pay/179447/45 "2003-06-04T19:15:34Z")
101 year old 2 flat greystone in northern Lakeview, Chicago. MTG- $2900 Insurance - $120 Taxes - $520 Utility - $300 (average- much higher in winter - paying to heat both units). So total out is $3840, but rental of the second unit brings in ~1500 a month so net outlay = $2340. ---
**Author:** ![WestTexas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c67d28/32.png) [@WestTexas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WestTexas)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housing-how-much-do-you-pay/179447/46 "2015-02-05T18:44:39Z")
3600 sq. ft. masonry on 16 acres, plus shop and 2 car garage. Paid for, but a 30 year at 4% would be about $2150/month prop taxes $5600 per year (~$470/month, but keep in mind Texas has no state income tax). $180/month on avg. electric for house, 10.6 cents per kW-hr. On well, so no water bill. On septic, so no sewage bill. (These things require maintenance from time to time, though). No gas or other utilities. Phone is $200 a month (land line and three mobile phones with data). Take trash to dump once a month in the pickup, $25 min. dump fee. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housing-how-much-do-you-pay/179447/47 "2015-02-05T19:00:32Z")
This thread hadn’t been touched in over a decade, and most of the information herein is probably well out of date for those who contributed oh-so-long-ago. Please feel free to start a new thread on the topic if you wish. I’m going to close this one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/housing-how-much-do-you-pay/179447.md?page=2)