[aek1983]

I am looking for some honest input on where to live in Florida. I am 23, single and want to get away from the snow of Ohio. I have family in Osprey so I am familiar with some of the areas. I was wondering what the good places for young, single people are. I have been looking into Tampa/St.Pete, and would like to know which would be better, what the differences are, ect. Cost of living is not too much of a problem. Also, I am a teacher if that makes any difference. Thanks for your help!

[dufala15468]

Being Of The Same Age, An Being Afew Steps Ahead As To Already Moved, Live, An In-state Vacationed In Florida, I Feel That The Best Situation Would Be To Move Around Those You Know An Go From There. Florida Can Seem Over Welming, And Feel More An More Like A Bad Desision By Your Self Just Working, Sleeping. I Moved To Ocala (w/family In The Bay N Jax Area), From Pa, An Now Plan On Moving To Either Area After The Time Wasted Here. Whats Great For You Is That The Osprey, An The Sarasota Area Is A Buitiful Area, An Living On The Coast Is What It's All About.............hope This Helps.......

[mwheeler8]

i am as single mother of 2 and im looking to move to florida just dont know what part ,I have section 8 i just need a job and need to know what side of town to move on.what is a descent area ,what could u tell me about florida

[TXRyan23]

My wife and I wanted to move back to Florida (as I'm a native) first we looked at the unemployment rate in Tampa which I believe was like 13%, not good.. then got a couple auto insurance quotes, cheapest being $380 a month.. not good.. Thinking we could possibly relocate our jobs, There is cheap housing (now) but the icing on the cake for us was being told by the License Office/DMV that our licenses (together) would be $108.50, our license plates/registration would be (together) $635.00..

unemployment rate in Houston is 8.3%, insurance quote of $176 (no pip required) cheap housing, beaches nearby, $50 for both licenses and $400 for both tags/registration...

Think really hard about the small stuff and fees before moving to Florida.

[lulu57]

My husband and I moved to Central Florida (Dunedin) 6 weeks ago after living in the Chicagoland area for the last 15 years. Growing up in New England, we got tired of the midwest. But don't be surprised when you get here. These are our observations so far:
- houses are cheaper but home owners insurance is very high. We were paying $800 a year in western Chicagoland and are paying $2,100 here for a house that is 600 sq ft smaller. They make you jump through hoops to even get insured. We're not even in a floor or evacuation zone either.
- Car insurance is high here. $1,300 a year vs. a little over $800 for 2 cars in Chicago. They really get you when you register your car. Each of us was hit with an automatic $250 per car fee for being a first time Floridian. It cost us about $900 to register 2 cars - I'm due again in March and it was about $100 plus dollars for both our licenses.
- It is not necessarily as cheap to live here as you would think. Groceries are higher and it seem to me that the grocery stores have less selection in each aisle. Dry cleaners are more expensive as items in the KMart and Walmart.
- I am unclear who designed the road systems and the traffic patterns. Although traffic is significant less than we were used to, we spend a lot of time just sitting at red lights. It's as if the engineers didn't consider flow patterns.
- Jobs are scarce with a high unemployment rate. Come with a job.
- Taxes are definitely cheaper. We no longer have the 3% personal income tax or the $9000 annual house taxes. We're paying about $2,100 for our house in Pinellas county.
- The weather is definitely better although the humidity is taking some getting used to. But, we now can have an outdoor lifestyle all year and there are a lot of sunny days. No endless gray dreary days.
- It really simplifies your life - the lifestyle is less stressful, you need less stuff (no attic and no basement in the houses).

Our suggestion is to really research the area in which you are considering moving. We have friends who moved to other areas of FL and hate it because it wasn't what they expected. We tracked the market and the community for a couple of years and vacationed here different times of the year to really get a feel for the community. Bottom line, we're glad we moved, we love the area and the neighbors have been great - because they are all here from somewhere else too.

[Sunny-Days-in-Florida]

Originally Posted by lulu57

My husband and I moved to Central Florida (Dunedin) 6 weeks ago after living in the Chicagoland area for the last 15 years. Growing up in New England, we got tired of the midwest. But don't be surprised when you get here. These are our observations so far:
- houses are cheaper but home owners insurance is very high. We were paying $800 a year in western Chicagoland and are paying $2,100 here for a house that is 600 sq ft smaller. They make you jump through hoops to even get insured. We're not even in a floor or evacuation zone either.
- Car insurance is high here. $1,300 a year vs. a little over $800 for 2 cars in Chicago. They really get you when you register your car. Each of us was hit with an automatic $250 per car fee for being a first time Floridian. It cost us about $900 to register 2 cars - I'm due again in March and it was about $100 plus dollars for both our licenses.
- It is not necessarily as cheap to live here as you would think. Groceries are higher and it seem to me that the grocery stores have less selection in each aisle. Dry cleaners are more expensive as items in the KMart and Walmart.
- I am unclear who designed the road systems and the traffic patterns. Although traffic is significant less than we were used to, we spend a lot of time just sitting at red lights. It's as if the engineers didn't consider flow patterns.
- Jobs are scarce with a high unemployment rate. Come with a job.
- Taxes are definitely cheaper. We no longer have the 3% personal income tax or the $9000 annual house taxes. We're paying about $2,100 for our house in Pinellas county.
- The weather is definitely better although the humidity is taking some getting used to. But, we now can have an outdoor lifestyle all year and there are a lot of sunny days. No endless gray dreary days.
- It really simplifies your life - the lifestyle is less stressful, you need less stuff (no attic and no basement in the houses).

Our suggestion is to really research the area in which you are considering moving. We have friends who moved to other areas of FL and hate it because it wasn't what they expected. We tracked the market and the community for a couple of years and vacationed here different times of the year to really get a feel for the community. Bottom line, we're glad we moved, we love the area and the neighbors have been great - because they are all here from somewhere else too.

Thank for the update on current information.

I cannot wait to not see those gray days. Today was one of those days, gray with rain and dark at 5.

What town did you move to?

[lulu57]

Dunedin, north of Clearwater, 25 minutes to the airport and 4 miles to the beach on Honeymoon Island.

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by Sunny-Days90

Thank for the update on current information.

I cannot wait to not see those gray days. Today was one of those days, gray with rain and dark at 5.

What town did you move to?

Glad to see you're still around Sunny...

No gray days in Texas.. It's been in the mid 70's all week..

[Sunny-Days-in-Florida]

Originally Posted by TXRyan23

Glad to see you're still around Sunny...

No gray days in Texas.. It's been in the mid 70's all week..

Hi Ryan!

We are heading to Fla within the next couple of months.

Come on home to Florida Ryan.

[sweatyhotviolentwestpalm]

Florida's first gang census shows the state has 1,403 documented gangs with 56,200 members, associates and suspected members.
You being a teacher from up north is alway's a + as I hear the schools aren't all that great in South FL anyway.Maybe a few .I mentioned gangs cause little Johnny gets his start on the plaground in & around schools.
If you don't mind the constant oppressive non stop heat & humidity South FL is for you if you like a cool down for longer than a consecutive month Tampa is a good location. I think there is more to do in Tampa than the WPB area for your age. FL unemployment now stands @ 12.4%. very high.
Good luck.