[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by StreetSmarts

i rent a small house. we like it cool in our house. our house is 25 to 30 yrs old and in the summer we have power bills in the 280-300$ range.

Our house was built in '87. 2 stories, original unit, ours runs around the same as yours and we keep it cool as well.

[retired11]

The salaries are terrible.

[aridon]

Originally Posted by retired11

The salaries are terrible.

Depends on what you do and where you work.

[beachmouse]

Originally Posted by StreetSmarts

i rent a small house. we like it cool in our house. our house is 25 to 30 yrs old and in the summer we have power bills in the 280-300$ range.

Wow. We've got a 1700 sf house built around 1982 and our summer electric bills run in the $150-$175 range since we've done some energy efficiency things (new windows, higher SEER heat pump, energy star appliances). And that's with spousal unit setting the thermostat to 'meat locker'.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by aridon

Depends on what you do and where you work.

Retired11 doesn't work.

I agree with your statement, I make more here than I did previously. But I have a role where I can work anywhere so I can take advantage of COL arbitrage.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by markjames68

Retired11 doesn't work.

I agree with your statement, I make more here than I did previously. But I have a role where I can work anywhere so I can take advantage of COL arbitrage.

My company is headquartered in North Carolina and operates nationwide. My salary is based on a national scale, not on Florida averages. This is the case for many folks here.

[PDF]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

My company is headquartered in North Carolina and operates nationwide. My salary is based on a national scale, not on Florida averages. This is the case for many folks here.

Well that's nice of them.

[gauchere90]

I moved down to FL (Tampa bay area) a year ago from up north (Columbus, OH).

Advantages: Beautiful weather pretty much constantly, easy access to all kinds of amazing beaches, ocean views, opportunity to take lots of cool road trips around the state and visit different islands and parks, lots of palm trees and neat plant life, fabulous clouds and sunsets, beautiful rain and tropical storms in the summer, just a general change of scenery from up north.

Disadvantages: Terrible grocery stores with terrible produce and just poor selection overall (even in "upscale" areas), lots of shady run down strip malls, crummy gyms and stores, everything is very spread out and roads are not designed in a way that is convenient, lots of sketchy/sleazy people on drugs everywhere (even in nicer areas), less progressive and/or uneducated individuals, fewer professional opportunities outside tourism, serious mosquitoes and various bugs that bite you in the summer.

A lot of people would list the hot weather/humidity in the summer as a disadvantage, but for me, that was something I knew I had signed up for and it doesn't affect me nearly as much as cold weather/ice. It really just depends on your preferences. I do have to take precautions here with the blazing sun by wearing a special hat and long-sleeved fishing shirt when I go out during the day. And if I do any sort of prolonged activity outside, like swimming at the beach, I am slathered in the highest SPF. You have to do this unless you want to get burned. Overall, I still love Florida as much as I did before I moved here, however now I am more wised-up to the realities of being here year-round versus being on vacation. A lot of things are not as nice as where I moved from but there are also some nice advantages. It's definitely not a perfect state by any means, but really no place is. Every city/state will have things you don't like.

[Trigger-f]

Right..

Fyi..

Leisure and hospitality is the the 5th employment sector in Tampa Bay.

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Economy at a Glance

Seems 'you' need to be educated.

As for rundown areas..

Legacy of neglect: Slumlords play the system | The Columbus Dispatch

Besides the weather, it doesn't sound you find anything appealing down here. Why not move back to Columbus where everything is much nicer?

[Iching]

Originally Posted by gauchere90

I moved down to FL (Tampa bay area) a year ago from up north (Columbus, OH).

Advantages: Beautiful weather pretty much constantly, easy access to all kinds of amazing beaches, ocean views, opportunity to take lots of cool road trips around the state and visit different islands and parks, lots of palm trees and neat plant life, fabulous clouds and sunsets, beautiful rain and tropical storms in the summer, just a general change of scenery from up north.

Disadvantages: Terrible grocery stores with terrible produce and just poor selection overall (even in "upscale" areas), lots of shady run down strip malls, crummy gyms and stores, everything is very spread out and roads are not designed in a way that is convenient, lots of sketchy/sleazy people on drugs everywhere (even in nicer areas), less progressive and/or uneducated individuals, fewer professional opportunities outside tourism, serious mosquitoes and various bugs that bite you in the summer.

A lot of people would list the hot weather/humidity in the summer as a disadvantage, but for me, that was something I knew I had signed up for and it doesn't affect me nearly as much as cold weather/ice. It really just depends on your preferences. I do have to take precautions here with the blazing sun by wearing a special hat and long-sleeved fishing shirt when I go out during the day. And if I do any sort of prolonged activity outside, like swimming at the beach, I am slathered in the highest SPF. You have to do this unless you want to get burned. Overall, I still love Florida as much as I did before I moved here, however now I am more wised-up to the realities of being here year-round versus being on vacation. A lot of things are not as nice as where I moved from but there are also some nice advantages. It's definitely not a perfect state by any means, but really no place is. Every city/state will have things you don't like.

I agree with you. Our biggest complaint are the slobby/scammy and druggy people. I really have to pay attention when I go cycling since I spent quite a penny on some of my bikes. Luckily, we bought a house in Dunedin before we sold it house a couple of weeks ago but Clearwater is a truly depressing area - empty stores/unfinished construction projects/lowlifes/trashy and people everywhere yo go. Sprawl is also a challenge, every piece of land is for sale and most likely will get developed - no good.

We also had great neighbors and met some cool people but overall after 2 years I indifferent. We'll try to buy a smaller place closer to the coast in the future so we can rent it out and come down in winter times. We're in our mid thirties and I'll revisit FL later again.