Moving to the 1st world

[MinnesotaEric]

Again, you are not paying for the block you live on. Electricity does just fall out of sky on you block.

How do you think electrify gets to your house?

There are also people on stand by to be at your house as soon as you call.

I am not sure the rates, but I suspect they can generate cheaper than what they pay you. So lose for them


Cut the cord, and find out value m

The monthly meter fees pay for maintenance regardless of power used, not used, or whatever.

In my neck of the woods, our meter fees are $36 a month. How much more do you need to maintain underground wire? Then, on top of the power used, my power company charges an additional $17.88 a month for the luxury of uncontrolled demand.

Rates | Itasca-Mantrap

 

[Jim Shooz]

Speaking of 'power'... your appliances will work here in Aus as we're 220AC. If you were to choose to move to North America, you will need to replace all of your electrical white goods as they run 115AC.

A bigger problem with your white goods power is that US power AC (Alternating Current) cycles at 60 cycles per second whereas here (NZ) Aus and I think SA it is 50 cycles per second. Anything relying on AC frequency for control, clocks, electric motors, won't run properly.

 

[MacLawn]

zimbo, I'm from Georgia, USA, but lived in Japan over 25 years, and been about everywhere. Don't even think about moving much except a few clothes (very few!), and what your wife wants! Location is everything. We considered retiring in New Zealand or Australia until I learned how expensive it is!! They must not want us, and after getting there, we could afford to live on our retirement income, it's the up front amount the government requires! Canada, WAY too cold! The old Mississippi boy is right on, we also live there. Know the state well, and it's absolutely a great place!! Horses, farming, blueberries, about anything will grow. A bit ho' and humid for a while, but other than a few western places in America, we don't have much excellent weather year round here. Kalifornia, most Sektors, have good weather, but drought and high cost is prohibitive for me. I've lived in Kalifornia, love it, but canno' afford it now.

Check out the Richmond/Columbia/McDuffie/Lincoln counties of Georgia, then Aiken, South Carolina. Talk about horse culture!! Not to mention golf... Excellent farming land, not real cheap, but affordable by western prices. Y'all excuse me while I go touch up my long driveway with my JD2210...

 

[Redneck in training]

Mississippi is the poorest state so I am guessing the cost of living is also low. I used to work there for several months last year. The weather and nature there are very nice. Only the alligators freaked me out. :laughing: I was taking a hike along a creek in the jungle and there it was right on the path.

 

[ArlyA]

Toooooooo hot. In fact IA is to hot as well. ;-) Most people here in Houghton (UP of Michigan) have no air conditioning. The BIG lake keeps us cool in the summer and warm in the winter....

 

[Zerk]

5.5 MW is tiny plant, so not typical. Sure you got your decimal points right? Usually that smal is very old stuff or old hydros. A


10 year pay off, is a bad investment.

 

[Zerk]

Toooooooo hot. In fact IA is to hot as well. ;-) Most people here in Houghton (UP of Michigan) have no air conditioning. The BIG lake keeps us cool in the summer and warm in the winter....

I dunno, I sitll like AC. It still gets to hot for me, even near the big lake. Don't run it as often, but still a savage without it.

 

[Redneck in training]

5.5 MW is tiny plant, so not typical. Sure you got your decimal points right? Usually that smal is very old stuff or old hydros. A


10 year pay off, is a bad investment.

The whole utility is small. It has only 2200 meters. The point I was making was that the utility is hostile to PV and then builds a solar plant that should supply about 10% of power while the sun is shining. When I decided to install PV I asked them what the connection rules are. They gave me a pamphlet describing net metering. But after I installed the system they backpedaled and told me that it would be unfair for other members (we are all shareholders) to pay for my system. In addition they took away my winter heating rate increasing my electric bill by about 600 USD per season. Pissed me off but I would install it anyway.
Speaking about a bad investment. People buy expensive cars and nobody asks them about the break even point. I drive my old junker and have 24 kW of solar panels. Since I have to report the performance of the system after every anniversary I keep track about it on monthly basis in a spreadsheet. My electric bill is about 195 USD/month lower than it would be otherwise. If the system lasts 25 years it will save us about 35000 USD after it breaks even (assuming constant cost of electric power). If we buy electric car (Bolt) it will save us another 200/month in fuel cost.

 

[Redneck in training]

I dunno, I sitll like AC. It still gets to hot for me, even near the big lake. Don't run it as often, but still a savage without it.

Right. We pay for energy year around. It is either heating or AC. There are few weeks in spring and fall when we don't need either.

 

[Zerk]

Right. We pay for energy year around. It is either heating or AC. There are few weeks in spring and fall when we don't need either.

You are in a hot area. In UP you don't use AC as much.