[AlexisfromPR]

Good afternoon everyone and nice to meet you all! I've been actively looking into this website for quite some time now (a few months now). As stated in the thread title, I am a 32 years old professional young man looking to relocate from PR to FL by November (preferably Central FL or North FL). I have a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a major in Public Relations and an Associate's degree in Culinary Arts. I'm bilingual (write, read and speak) English and Spanish (Spanish being my native language). I do have a somewhat strong accent, but it's just a lack of practice I think.


I'm not sure if this piece of information is important, but I lived in Lakeland, FL in 2007 for a few months while helping taking care of a family member, which unfortunately, passed away. I've been to FL on vacation 4 times, 2 weeks each time (Orlando, Kissimmee, Tampa & Fort Lauderdale). I don't have any family in FL. I do have a good old friend living in FL since 2004 with his wife and children.


Unfortunately, in PR, one can land a job at the minimum wage ($ 7.25 an hour), full time, BUT you need to be available 24/7 (different shifts each week, so forget words like steady and planning and welcome words like erratic and "flexible"), you have to be proficient in Microsoft Office, and have vast experience in Customer Service AND have AT LEAST an Associate's degree . (I have all of that, but that's not really the point here.). Oh, and it will probably be through a placement/temporary agency, since most companies do not hire people directly. Also meaning that there's not a single shred of job security nor any benefits at all from the employer like health insurance benefits, extra vacations days, wage increases based on performance...nothing at all . Just a measly paycheck that is not even enough to cover a single person basic needs, let alone a whole family and a deep feeling of uncertainty.


Yes, I know that some people will argue (or try to, at the very least) that the cost of living is higher in FL than in PR. Well...let me tell you something first. Welcome to PR in 2016, where the ONLY thing cheaper than FL (and most of the states for that matter) is housing and to some extent also medical care. Everything else WAS cheaper in PR. Food prices in supermarkets are so high than one can no longer afford to be properly feed. It's also sad and pathetic to see so many carts full of junk food being paid with food stamps and us honest, hard working people with our carts almost empty. I know that many people do need the assistance with housing, food stamps, utilities vouchers, etcetera, but here in PR it has become a sub-culture thing, where you can see entire generations on these "assistance".
One can even hear at the train, or the bus stops or in the supermarket, everywhere lots of people, YOUNG IN PRODUCTIVE AGE people arguing that's it's way better to live of all those help and earn money in whatever not-so-legal way, than to actually earn a living through honest work and help the economy's growth! Twice now I've heard young women talking about getting pregnant from whatever guy just to get more economic assistance, or to qualify for a specific voucher or something! (I was in shock when I found out how many there is and not only the ones I though like food stamps, housing and utilities vouchers. There's a lot more, to the point that a family of 5 receiving multiple/full benefits may receive a total of $2,200 - $2,500 in those assistance vouchers and benefits!).


Gasoline prices are coming down now but they stayed high way after everyone's else had already went down. The overall cost to own a car here in PR is way higher than in most states, thanks to the maintenance, because ALL the streets in the metro area of PR and the main roads (yes people, ALL of them), are so damaged that it really takes a toll on the cars (unless, of course you drive a 4x4 Bronco with a customized all terrain suspension or a Jeep Renegade with Yokohama All Grip tires or something like that). I myself drive a 2010 Suzuki SX4 Crossover All Wheel Drive.


Don't get me started on crime and utilities costs...we are really small compared to most states and yet we go over the 1,000 mark of violent deaths per year. Most of these violent deaths are related to gangs fighting over "territory" in the ghettos and in the projects and most of the "victims" are young men in their 20s. I'll say """""victims""""", because I myself come from a very bad place to grow up and live, Buen Consejo in Rio Piedras (a very poor and crime ridden slum in the San Juan county) and went through many hardships to get a good education and became a hard working, decent citizen, so because of that I also strongly believe that you can do anything if you try hard enough and also you will make yourself a victim if you believe it hard enough, so most of them actually CHOSE to become victims...but anyway, the utilities...the cost of electricity in PR is the highest in the entire nation! (kilowatt wise) And overall the cost of utilities (water, gas and electricity) is one of the highest in all of the US.


Well, I believe that the point has been made. I just want to truly get ahead in life and eventually have my own home and family in the future, but sadly, the way things are going, I will not be able to achieve that in PR. Unless I have what we puertorricans call a "digger" or "pala", which I don't have and don't care to have anyway (having a "digger" or a "pala" is a way of saying that one have someone influential inside a company that can boost you straight to the top without actually earn it or without having to prove yourself...)



Now, onto the questions. And I apologize in advance because I am sure that many more will arise.


I will have saved a little more than $5K by the time I relocate in November. Will that be enough to start? I mean; getting a car that last me without trouble for at least 8 - 10 months (I will bring my SX4 to FL at that time), at least 2 months worth or rent utilities and food and some spare money for gasoline or something. Thoughts on this?


Ok, now the "fun part".


Any suggestions on where to find a place to live that's not so expensive? Say no more than $550 monthly rent? After all it's just for me. Note: I do prefer a house over an apartment, so I can go higher, say $600 for a house. Or maybe there are other options? Price ranges? And on that note, I really, REALLY like to have a yard (at least a small one), so I can grow a small home garden.


Any "special" taxes, deductions or laws I should know about that are different from PR? I'll say one. In PR you don't have to pay a monthly car insurance. In FL you do (and all other states, I believe). What other monthly cost do I have to take into consideration when doing my expenses budget?



I really don't have any problems at all with the "traditions" thing, so I can live in central FL, where there's many puertorricans or North FL, where's there aren't that many. As stated before I just want to truly get ahead in life and have my own home and family in the future and the way things are going, I will not be able to achieve that in PR. I know said Central FL or North FL, but it can be anywhere in FL. I do however have a preference for those areas because I have found that there's many well paid entry level jobs related to my education and experience in Central FL, especially in the Orlando area, and in North FL because Tallahassee is the capital of FL and there's many government buildings there. Yes, I am looking forward to get a job in one of the counties or the central government of FL where I can grow professionally. Any insight on this people? Where are the best places to get a decent job? What are the best options for my BA?


Oh! And the other reason for North FL is because the northern part of FL seems to be more rural (away from all the hustle of more crowded cities of FL), cheaper (rent wise), there's more places where I can have a home vegetable garden hehehe, and have a better quality of life as well, etcetera, etcetera. However, I do understand that it does have one big drawback. Daily commute to work WILL drain the wallet like there's no tomorrow, since the mora rural an area is, the less jobs available in the area I am looking for, so I will have to travel further. So...any ideas or suggestions on this?


If I work in Orlando, taking into consideration everything stated before, is there actually anything and anywhere to be considered? (location, rent and commute expenses wise)?


If I am to live in North FL, is there any good opportunities for me there, even more so than say, in Orlando?


What and where would be the best places to set foot when I relocate? (please explain the pros and cons, ex. Jacksonville: pros: *** cons: ***)


How "friendly" is the state of Florida in regard to auto-employment or side business, specifically a food oriented side business? I was planning on having a food truck on weekends (Friday through Sunday).


Any tips, suggestions, info, insight, honest, non-biased and educated opinions on everything that was explained? Maybe from your own experience' if similar to my "situation?



For now let's start with that, shall we? And again many thanks in advance everyone!


PD: Excuse me for the emoticons, but they looked kinda funny, so I just had to use them to spark some life into the long post of mine!

[jwolfer]

If you want to work for government I would suggest checking out usajobs.gov . Any job with federal government would go through there, you could possibly find a job in PR and move to FL with the Fed Government.

Jacksonville and Orlando( as well as Tampa and Miami) are centers of Federal and Military jobs.

A food truck can be quite a bit of work. Be sure to research all the required licencing etc. But I know a guy who is a nurse and has a food truck at festivals etc. He does BBQ.

Orlando/Kissimmee as you know is "New Puerto Rico" so you could move to some neighborhoods in Kissimmee and feel like you never left la Isla del Encanto. Downtown Orlando and Northern suburbs like Maitland and Winter Park have more professional opportunitues.

Jacksonville has 1.5 million in the metro, its smaller than Orlando( just to be clear I am talking metro not city limits, Jacksonville has the highest in city limit population in Florida, really the entire East Coast excepting NYC and Philadelphia) but it is and older city( not median age, actually Jax is younger than much of FL.)

Traffic in Jax is marginally better than Orlando overall, but it still sucks on I-95, I-10 and I-295. There is a growing Hispanic population in Jax, largest proportion of which is Puerto Rican. Jax is more Southern but it is a Navy town so lots of people end up here from elsewhere via Navy so its not like people have never seen outsiders or yankees. Large Filipino and Arab communities in addition to African American community in Jacksonville as well.

Tallahassee is much smaller than Orlando or Jacksonville. State Government is the big employer there but it seems very much based on connections to get a good job. Much of the rest of North Florida is very rural, employment opportunities are not as great. But if you want a big piece of land to grow vegetables and raise chickens etc, you could find that.

Rent of under $600/month would require a roommate for most places. You may be able to find something in a small town or the hood.

[AlexisfromPR]

Hey there jwolfer! Thanks for all the information. So Jacksonville and Orlando should be the places for me to target for work. However, it doesn't have to be specifically with the federal government, I am looking for work in the counties as well. In case of going south, I'm thinking Tampa would be better than Miami (cost wise)?

I don't really care much for feeling home sick, since hopefully I should adapt pretty quick. However, knowing the places where there's more ummm diversity would be nice, because I think it may lower the chance to encounter racist people. Pathetic huh? In this day and age that shouldn't even be a concern, but still is...we are all humans after all...

I laughed so much when I read that part of raising chickens! LOL! I don't want a big piece lf land nor raise chickens. I just want to have a yard or something to have a vegetable home garden. That's why I prefer houses instead of apartments, because even with a small yard I should be able to do tomatoes, lettuce, cooking herbs and spices and the such.

I've seen houses (2 beds and 1 bath) going for $600 @ month in Jacksonville posted in the Internet, so I thought that maybe I should be able to find something decent for that price. What about in the outskirts of Orlando? Say, 30 to 45 tops away from Orlando? Will I'll be and be to find something decent going for around that price range? Thanks!!

[FromCTtoFL]

"I will have saved a little more than $5K by the time I relocate in November. Will that be enough to start? I mean; getting a car that last me without trouble for at least 8 - 10 months (I will bring my SX4 to FL at that time), at least 2 months worth or rent utilities and food and some spare money for gasoline or something. Thoughts on this?"

Just wanted to comment on the above statement & question. We relocated to FL last May (and LOVE it...but that's another story). Try to save as much money as you possibly can. I know that $5000 seems like a lot, but it will go very quickly. Consider that most rentals will require 1st, last, and security deposit prior to you even moving in. If you're looking at a $600/month rental, that would be $1800 up front. Plus, there may be application fees, fees for credit reports and background checks - that may be an additional $25 - $100. Also, you may have to invest a little time & money preparing your new rental home and making it move-in ready. May need to purchase cleaning supplies, bug spray, window treatments (like cheap blinds or curtains, but still - it adds up). Not sure about your utility services (electric), but sometimes they require a deposit or a connection fee of some sort. You're up to about $2000 of your $5000 before you've even moved in. Plus if you need to buy a car, consider the costs associated with that as well - registration fees, insurance etc. Again, my advice is try to save every dollar you can - even if it means postponing your move a few months.

[AlexisfromPR]

Hi the CTtoFL! Glad to know you love it FL I'm hoping it will go the same with me! Well, I was thinking the same about saving as much as I can...that's good advice, thanks! I wasn't aware that they may require the last payment as well

[AlexisfromPR]

How about a job clerical job paying $12.00 per hour? Full time me jib offer in Orlando. It's that good?