Moving on Up: Living Expenses for the Single Person

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I am 25 and still living at home. A few years ago I thought that I would be embarrassed to say that at this age, but it has pretty much become the norm. It is just now that the majority of my friends are thinking about spreading their wings and branching out on their own, or at least with a roommate. Personally, I have been considering purchasing a house since I was 22. By time I hit 24 I decided that it made more sense for my first property purchase to be for investment purpose, since there was less risk. With my parents allowing me to stay with them in the comfy confines of their Philadelphia twin (rent free might I add) I was in a position to take that chance. Now that a year has passed since I embarked upon my rental property journey, it's time to start thinking about living on my own.

For those of you who are also looking to leave the nest and are unsure of what expenses to expect, I thought I would give you guys an idea of what the average person spends monthly on life’s necessities in five of the most popular cities: LA, NYC, H-town, Chi-town and of course the city of Brotherly Love, Philly.



Below I have included the average expenses incurred on a monthly basis. Average utility expense includes Electricity, Phone, Cable/Satellite, Internet, and Gas as of April 2014 (thewhitefenceindex.com).

Phila-
blog.selfstoragedeals.com

Average Rent 1 bedroom $1090 a month (rentjungle.com as of July 2014)
Average Utility expense January $498.30
Average Utility expense April $206.84

NYC-

worldoftravelusa.com

Average Rent 1 bedroom 2,666
Average Utility expense January $430.81
Average Utility expense April $306.59

Los Angeles-
forclosurelistings.com

Average Rent 1 bedroom $1465
Average Utility expense January $293.49
Average Utility expense April $208.17

Chicago –
123rf.com

Average Rent 1 bedroom $1508
Average Utility expense January $301.24
Average Utility expense April $250.87

Houston-
Rent 1bedroom $1144
Average Utility expense January $380.15
Average Utility expense $267.34

How easily those bills add up. Keep in mind that the utility expense is supposed to reflect television, however in Philadelphia a Comcast bill can be almost half of the utility average quoted above. With that said, I would expect to pay a little more if cable (vs satellite) is a must for you. Oh and don’t forget about those student loans that you’ve been deferring on top of your car note (if, like myself you weren’t smart enough to buy your car with cash). And then there’s always that credit card debt that you accumulated shopping, going on trips and eating out (most of the things that we now wish we had done without). And of course, you still need to eat, put gas in your car, save, and money to spend on a movie every once in a while. After paying all of those bills, you deserve to spend a little something on yourself! I came across a great website called Numbeo.

Houston:
athlecticmindedtraveler.com

This website is great because not only does it break down those everyday expenses like groceries, gas, public transportation etc, but it also provides an intuitive comparison tool which allows you to compare these expenses between two cities.

Whether you plan on staying in your home town or relocating I hope that this information is helpful. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I one day hope to experience life in a new city, outside of my hometown Philadelphia. In helping myself to make narrow down my choices of future relocation, I hope I was able to help you too!