[marymarymary]

Anyone out there lived in both CA and FL recently or have any thoughts on the differences between the two? I am desperate for answers and this forum and it's participants seems pretty interesting. I've been agonizing for days on whether to stay in Sacramento (CA in general) or move to St. Petersburg / Tampa (FL in general) area. I moved to Sacramento from NYC last year for a lobbying job that now went away. The timing now is actually perfect for me to take the July bar exam and become a lawyer (hopefully) since lobbying wasn't as interesting or stable as I had hoped. Now I just need to decide if I will settle in Florida or California for most of the future. I DO NOT want to have to take the hellish bar exam more then once but you really need to take the exam in the state where you will be working. I need to make my decision NOW and here's what I've come up with:

CALIFORNIA:
No humidity and relatively nice winters depending on where you are (I don't dig cold)
Way to high housing costs (I'd really rather own then rent)
Only 2 friends in San Fran and 1 in Sac and I'm finding it hard to connect to people and have no family in the area (I think I'm a bit NY abbrasive for these nice folks over here)

FLORIDA:
Big cities like Tampa have higher rents then Sac and on par with LA
Much lower housing costs to buy and property taxes seem similar to CA
Oppresive humidity in summer but beautiful winters (I'm kinda used to bad summers from NYC)
A little bit of family in area and a cousin who's already offered to set me up with a guy (lol ) and I haven't met anyone in Sac since I've been here
Bigger Jewish population (Which I am, although I'm not AT ALL religious but really relate culturally )

FINALY, My last concern is with the job market. I would like to do Wills, Trusts, Estates law but I figure that both states are full of older folks and rich folks in general so I think the job market should be pretty much the same.

SO, ANY THOUGHTS ANYONE???????????

[logybogy]

BIG difference is Florida has no state income tax. You won't be throwing away 9% of your money.

But on the other hand, you get paid in sunshine here. Salaries are much lower than CA. So when you add property taxes, insurance, and the lower incomes....it may come out to be a wash depending on your situation.

[pianogal]

I will offer my opinion having lived in both places. I lived in Tampa, moved to Fresno, CA. then moved back to Orlando, FL.

The Florida humidity is a HUGE adjustment after living in CA. - I had lived in the southeast my entire life - moved to CA in August to teach at a college in Fresno- flew back to Tampa for Christmas vacation - stepped off the plane and felt as if someone had thrown a wet blanket over me. You could literally 'feel' the humidity. This lasted for the first day or so when I was outside, but I adjusted quickly.

We could not afford to buy a home when we lived in California - way too pricey and it's only gotten more expensive since then. We own a new 3200 square foot home with pool here in Orlando. One of my best friend's daughters is a doctor living in San Diego, Ca. She and her husband are trying to buy their first home. They can find nothing they can afford and this is on a doctor's salary!

Almost everything was more expensive in California as compared to Florida....from food, insurance, etc.

I found I had a problem adjusting to green winters and brown summers. That may sound strange, but having grown up where it was brown in the winter and green in the summer, I just couldn't seem to adjust to the reverse.

In our experience, the salaries were not that much different. DH started a new job here in Florida for $600.00 a year less than California. After a 3 month trial period he got a 4K raise to his full starting salary. So he actually made more here in Florida. This may not be true across the board but it was for us.

Now for the positives for CA.....what a gorgeous state!! From the beaches to Yosemite, Mt. Shasta and San Fran....I loved that part of California. I much more of a mountain person than I am a beach person. Currently I live less than 30 miles to the beach and go once every 2-3 years! I would much rather hike in the mountains.

However, I love to visit Florida's springs to canoe and snorkle, snorkling and diving in the keys is awesome, Florida has some great state parks in which to camp and you don't have to worry about bears! I like to hike when the temps are below 70 - so I don't do much hiking here, but there are so really nice trails for those who do.

The people - perhaps it's because I grew up in the south, but I never did relate to west coast people that well. It almost felt like I was living in a different country. Florida people are from all over, but I had no problem making many friends. Getting involved in a church or organization with people of common interests is a big help. Although I got involved in church in CA as well, perhaps I didn't give it enough time.

I hope I've helped give you some insight. Sorry for the rambling....

Good Luck on your decision.

[gypsychic]

I'm a native Floridian and have never lived in California, but for years I wanted to and visited several times.

Bottom line, my hubby is an architect and the salaries were not higher in California than they are here, in fact they were about the same. The area we wanted to live was Central Coastal Cali and there are NO jobs even approaching the salary he earns here in Tampa. The cost of living would have been in the stratosphere, even several years ago - half-a-mil for a starter shack on a postage stamp yard. And cost of living across the board was higher on every front - groceries, gas, etc.

Yes, it is beautiful there, but if you have to struggle just to get by, it's just not worth it. Yes, Florida is humid, but we have gorgeous winters, best in the country - vegetation is lush and our beachs are some of the best in the world. I think that in Florida you can earn enough to have a nice lifestyle and maybe even have a little cabin in the mountains somewhere for your mountain fix (we do). I much rather live where we can set aside some money for FUN - like vacations and eating out, instead of spending every penny on a mortage or just trying to make ends meet.

Also, there are lots of friendly people here (depending what town you move to) so I don't think you will have a problem making new friends.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

[marymarymary]

Thank you both for your detailed responses, they were very helpful. I actually grew up in upstate NY and lived in Brooklyn for the past 10 years so I'm used to humid summers. I really don't like them but I know I need to trade off a few things in life. NOw, just a few more questions if you don't mind.........

1) Do you think that the cost of living in Florida is quickly catching up with California as I've had some people tell me?

2) Does anyone know any inexperienced lawyers pretty much right out of law school (or no legal experience since law school) and their experience with looking for entry level law jobs in CA as opposed to FL?

Much obliged for your answers!!!!!

[AJGUERRINI]

Originally Posted by marymarymary

Anyone out there lived in both CA and FL recently or have any thoughts on the differences between the two? I am desperate for answers and this forum and it's participants seems pretty interesting. I've been agonizing for days on whether to stay in Sacramento (CA in general) or move to St. Petersburg / Tampa (FL in general) area. I moved to Sacramento from NYC last year for a lobbying job that now went away. The timing now is actually perfect for me to take the July bar exam and become a lawyer (hopefully) since lobbying wasn't as interesting or stable as I had hoped. Now I just need to decide if I will settle in Florida or California for most of the future. I DO NOT want to have to take the hellish bar exam more then once but you really need to take the exam in the state where you will be working. I need to make my decision NOW and here's what I've come up with:

CALIFORNIA:
No humidity and relatively nice winters depending on where you are (I don't dig cold)
Way to high housing costs (I'd really rather own then rent)
Only 2 friends in San Fran and 1 in Sac and I'm finding it hard to connect to people and have no family in the area (I think I'm a bit NY abbrasive for these nice folks over here)

FLORIDA:
Big cities like Tampa have higher rents then Sac and on par with LA
Much lower housing costs to buy and property taxes seem similar to CA
Oppresive humidity in summer but beautiful winters (I'm kinda used to bad summers from NYC)
A little bit of family in area and a cousin who's already offered to set me up with a guy (lol ) and I haven't met anyone in Sac since I've been here
Bigger Jewish population (Which I am, although I'm not AT ALL religious but really relate culturally )

FINALY, My last concern is with the job market. I would like to do Wills, Trusts, Estates law but I figure that both states are full of older folks and rich folks in general so I think the job market should be pretty much the same.

SO, ANY THOUGHTS ANYONE???????????

------------------------------------------------------------
I have lived in both States (NorCal & SoFL) and most of the answers you received are correct, but for a very specific missing item.
Living in Florida you will have to accept the chances you will be hit by a hurricane and this brings about very high insurance premiums, which I think nowadays are higher than earthquake premiums in the Sacramento valley.
On the other hand, there are no State income tax, thus I think the situation evens-out.

[PBCboy]

The insurance pries in Florida are throwing many people out of the state. They are outrageously high!

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by marymarymary

Thank you both for your detailed responses, they were very helpful. I actually grew up in upstate NY and lived in Brooklyn for the past 10 years so I'm used to humid summers. I really don't like them but I know I need to trade off a few things in life. NOw, just a few more questions if you don't mind.........

1) Do you think that the cost of living in Florida is quickly catching up with California as I've had some people tell me?

2) Does anyone know any inexperienced lawyers pretty much right out of law school (or no legal experience since law school) and their experience with looking for entry level law jobs in CA as opposed to FL?

Much obliged for your answers!!!!!

Marymary - the cost of living is rising rapidly here (mainly in regard to housing/taxes/ins.) but it varies from area to area. I believe you will find good employment opportunities in the Tampa Bay Area which is a good sized metro. Costs here are still extremely reasonable compared to metro areas in California even including our high insurance premiums. When you factor it all in, it is still VERY much less than California. And of course, it all depends which city or county you are in, and how much or little housing you require. Areas of South Florida are beginning to rival California in regards to housing expenses, so I still say Tampa Bay area would be a good fit for you. Lots to choose from here as far as lifestyle (beach, urban, etc.)