[tami vamos]

Hi, i am new to posting here but have been reading these posts for years. My husband and I have been anquishing over whether to sell our house and move to Florida or not.
Here are our reasons why we would.
We are not big income producers. Have always worked hourly and made about 30k.
We could sell our house here in baltimore for around 330000 and walk away with about 230000. We would be able to buy a house in cash. A car in cash. Pay off the car we have and buy our daughter a car.
We like the beach and have a few friends already there.
Bored living here. Not alot of close friends and not much to do with our small income.
Why we are struggling?
My son and his wife are here and they just had our first grand child.
My Family is in New Jersey just three hours away but i dont see them much.
Any suggestions?

[newyorker24]

Originally Posted by tami vamos

Hi, i am new to posting here but have been reading these posts for years. My husband and I have been anquishing over whether to sell our house and move to Florida or not.
Here are our reasons why we would.
We are not big income producers. Have always worked hourly and made about 30k.
We could sell our house here in baltimore for around 330000 and walk away with about 230000. We would be able to buy a house in cash. A car in cash. Pay off the car we have and buy our daughter a car.
We like the beach and have a few friends already there.
Bored living here. Not alot of close friends and not much to do with our small income.
Why we are struggling?
My son and his wife are here and they just had our first grand child.
My Family is in New Jersey just three hours away but i dont see them much.
Any suggestions?

It might work well for you. Just keep in mind that $30k for an hourly job is around $15 an hour, which isn't that easy to come by here unless you have specific training/experience/education. But if you'll be here with no debt and no mortgage/rent, should be fine to make $10-12 an hour instead. Plus we don't have state income tax.

[RMD3819]

Originally Posted by tami vamos

Hi, i am new to posting here but have been reading these posts for years. My husband and I have been anquishing over whether to sell our house and move to Florida or not.
Here are our reasons why we would.
We are not big income producers. Have always worked hourly and made about 30k.
We could sell our house here in baltimore for around 330000 and walk away with about 230000. We would be able to buy a house in cash. A car in cash. Pay off the car we have and buy our daughter a car.
We like the beach and have a few friends already there.
Bored living here. Not alot of close friends and not much to do with our small income.
Why we are struggling?
My son and his wife are here and they just had our first grand child.
My Family is in New Jersey just three hours away but i dont see them much.
Any suggestions?

How much cash, after all the cars are paid for, would you come to FL with?

How much do you want to pay for a house?

Are you coming with school age kids?

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by newyorker24

It might work well for you. Just keep in mind that $30k for an hourly job is around $15 an hour, which isn't that easy to come by here unless you have specific training/experience/education. But if you'll be here with no debt and no mortgage/rent, should be fine to make $10-12 an hour instead. Plus we don't have state income tax.

For one person with no credit card payments, just phone, car insurance, gas & food plus cheap rent it's fine...Two people, you're pushing it.

[newyorker24]

Originally Posted by Ladywithafan

For one person with no credit card payments, just phone, car insurance, gas & food plus cheap rent it's fine...Two people, you're pushing it.

They won't have rent to pay if they buy a house with cash.

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by newyorker24

They won't have rent to pay if they buy a house with cash.

I understand that, they will however, have taxes, home insurance, possibly a HOA fee if it's in an association. Apparently they feel they have a small income where they're coming from and can get around 200K for their home. If only one income of 30K in Florida, after FICA, SS, Federal tax & say $350 for health insurance deduction for two, net income would be around $1,500/month before car insurance, food, gas, phone & utilities. Do the math. Doesn't leave much for IRA contributions, tangible savings, entertainment, clothing & miscellaneous. Add to that some hobbies such as boating or golf as well. They're not going to feel much different in Florida living on a small income except hot.

[newyorker24]

Originally Posted by Ladywithafan

I understand that, they will however, have taxes, home insurance, possibly a HOA fee if it's in an association. Apparently they feel they have a small income where they're coming from and can get around 200K for their home. If only one income of 30K in Florida, after FICA, SS, Federal tax & say $350 for health insurance deduction for two, net income would be around $1,500/month before car insurance, food, gas, phone & utilities. Do the math. Doesn't leave much for IRA contributions, tangible savings, entertainment, clothing & miscellaneous. Add to that some hobbies such as boating or golf as well. They're not going to feel much different in Florida living on a small income except hot.

Agreed. I was assuming they would both be working.

[NALEXAND]

I visited OP when I worked for Sprint and absolutely loved it. My co-workers in VA couldnt understand what I liked about KS period but I thought it was a great town! OP is very nice! I could live there and have considered it if I could get over the fear of tornadoes.

Originally Posted by AnnieinKC

Don't be so hard on the midwest! "You get what you pay for?" LOL!

Being single/no kids, I LOVE Florida and go then often on weekends. Expensive? Can you say foreclosure?!! LOL! Ft Myers has $260k houses 2 yrs old selling for $40k cash at auctions right now (April 2011). My ex-cleaning lady moved to Coral Gables with her retiring husband. They only paid $54k for a house foreclosure. My friend in Boca Raton paid $48k cash for a beautiful condo in a gated community. He just bought 40 acres on a foreclosure in Tallahasse.

But I live in Overland Park, KS, an affluent suburb of (Johnson County) Kansas City on the Kansas side. I have a gorgeous apt, 18' bedroom with big walk-in closet, 11' bathroom, vaulted ceilings, 8 1/2' w white brick/brass fireplace, 10x17' patio with privacy fence/triple doors overlooking landscaped courtyard & pool, 1 bd/1 bath apt for $640 month. 7' wide marble vanity/sink in bathroom. Water, sewer, trash and heat are paid. I only pay $31 mth light bill (goes to $61 during 2 mths of hot summer running central a/c). Year-end total light bill was $441, which I pay once a year. WHERE ELSE can you get that?!! We also have beaches at numerous surrounding lakes & Oceans of Fun / Worlds of Fun, Legends tourist spot with everything including The Schlitterbaum water fun, hills, farms (if you drive way out), ALL the great stores both luxury & middle class, numerous museums, great schools and colleges, every convenience & numerous exceptional medical facilities. New contemporary museums going up. We have the Country Club Plaza covered with beautiful water fountains and completely lit at Christmas on Kansas City, MO side (google it). 20 miles to the airport.

$640 month - that's why I can afford to fly every month and have a cleaning lady (I love last minute deals). Car insurance full coverage is only $71 mth here. I only earn $35k yr before taxes - don't need much money to live in luxury here. Growing up, I've lived in Hawaii, California, North Carolina, Dallas and New York. Kansas City is the cheapest luxury living you'll ever find in the US.

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by newyorker24

Agreed. I was assuming they would both be working.

Gottcha. If they were both working, I see no problems whatsoever.

[nclui01]

I'm personally SICK of everybody moving up here to NC...I live here, and the population increase in just the last year has just EXPLODED! I live in a pretty small town, too, and I can't believe all the traffic on the road now...NO kidding, just w/in the last year we have very heavy traffic like in FL, but in a lot smaller spaces! Also, all the richer northern people moving down here are driving the prices up, because they think they're getting 'a good deal,' and it's killing the rest of us!!! I'm actually wanting to move to FL because I LOVE Miami, the beaches, the clubs, the food, etc...I'm also half-Cuban, so I love the cultural aspect of it, and that everybody speaks Spanish. Honestly, though, I don't enjoy Mexicans very much, so if you move up to NC, expect to see a TON of them (I looked at the population data, and their population has increased by like, almost 100% in the last couple of years here), AND a LOT of black people, too. Not trying to be racist, just telling it like it is so people know the truth. Also, all of the nicer, quaint areas like Asheville are becoming big, suburban areas because everybody's moving here, and they're losing their 'quaint-ness,' which is what people came here for in the first place. PLEASE stop moving here unless you want to turn it into another Florida!! Move somewhere else, like Cali., Texas or SOUTH Carolina!!