[cltsig]

We like the Tampa/St. Pete area. We're north of Tampa in Pasco County. Yeah, traffic can sometimes suck, but the infrastructure is slowly catching up. You can get Gulf of Mexico canal waterfront for as low as $400k, but something pretty nice can be had for $500k. Not sure how that compares to Seattle, but I think it's reasonable to be waterfront. Don't forget no income taxes offsets a lot of the cost of insurance. I believe Florida's real estate taxes are par or below those of most states.

[bamboosmom]

You can even try North Port or Port Charlotte. The home prices are more affordable right now in these areas compared to the East Coast of Florida and you get alot more house for the money. My friends live in Deerfield Beach on the East Coast. [moderator CUT] Sarasota os also nice. Lots to do during the day and also at night.

Lee and Collier Counties here on the SW Coast are nice too btw. Naples is gorgeous but expensive in most areas for those big mcmansions!
Lee has alot of nice developments and homes on the water also. The SW Florida International Airport is right there also. It's about 30 min. from Punta Gorda where I live, so if you have to travel you won't have a long ride to the airport

[sami]

Hey, I will give you an idea of things in the St. Petersburg area. I will repeat what I put on other threads. I live in a working class area, though there are lots of middle class areas around here.................I will use my expenses as an example. My house cost $125,000 in January 2005 and is now worth $160,000. A middle class house can run from about $175,000 to maybe $300,000 (of course there are more expensive ones). This is for a nice neighborhood. In my house there are 2 people.....expenses a month run $100 winter electric without a lot of heat and $200 in summer with 12 hours of air conditioning a day. Unlimited local and long distance telephone with tax is around $75. Basic cable is around $50. Water without much lawn watering averages $100. Cell phones and internet are probably about what you already pay for. Taxes are around $3,000 a year but then you get a homestead exemption on your primary residence that really keeps taxes from going up too fast. Property insurance is just HORRIBLE: $1,400 in 2006 and maybe $1,000 more in 2007....but we use a lot less heat and little winter stuff. However air conditioning is higher here. Yes, our utilities went up in price too...This is a 1,050 square foot (heated) house.....Remember that a more expensive and bigger house will have higher costs. About other things: Hurricanes can get bad, but you can (try) and prepare. Buy a cement block exterior house that is high and dry. Do NOT buy near water. Budget for hurricane protection such as wood panels (cheap), hurricane panels (modest), rollups or shutters (expensive). Get a good roof or tie down yours with extra clamping. All this really helps..... Crime is higher in the bad neighborhoods, but many better areas are not as bad as you think. If you can live in or near a city (Seattle).... Crime is higher than in the midwest or small towns, but I have seen a lot worse...... Jobs are plentiful but do pay less than where you are BUT the more skills you have, the better the pay. There are diseases here, but West Nile is not a big problem so far. You are more likely to get some diseases here, but you are more likely to get others elsewhere. This is NOT a disease ridden dangerous to your health area. Taking care of yourself is more important to your well being than worrying too much about germs.... Every place you live has good and bad areas--like south St. Petersburg--but a good real estate agent or friend in the area can tell you where to go or not. (Heck, I go where I please, I have lived in hellhole areas in the past. St. Pete is nowhere near the worst even in the worst neighborhoods.) I greatly enjoy the Florida lifestyle and have been here for under 2 years (but I did spend 13 years in Puerto Rico after leaving NJ). Many are comfortable with our quality of life....and I am on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale (I am mostly broke.) LOL

[sami]

Hey there are LOTS of threads with LOTS of ideas on this web site: city-data.com (yea you gotta figure out how to get here). I mean there is plenty of what you want to know. I'm Sami and I have a big mouth when I get going! LOL

[2fla]

Originally Posted by sami

Hey there are LOTS of threads with LOTS of ideas on this web site: city-data.com (yea you gotta figure out how to get here). I mean there is plenty of what you want to know. I'm Sami and I have a big mouth when I get going! LOL

Sami: I appreciate all the input you give on these threads. Keep it up!

[Florida Impressions]

Some things to think about if you are contemplating living on the coast...

1. Everything rusts. Cars, grills, lawnmowers, light fixtures, mailboxes, cats and dogs, everything.
2. Wind. You get a nice seabreeze almost every afternoon in the summer, which helps keep it a tad bit cooler. Unfortunately the seabreeze occasionally reaches speeds of over 74mph. This really isn't a big deal when you get used to it, and gives you an opportunity to wave at your relatives watching the news up north.
3. Bugs. This is pretty much true with all of Florida, but there seems to be a higher concentration of bothersome "noseeums" along the coast. Some areas along the water can be completely unbearable in the summer months.
4. Tourists. Plan on things taking longer. Grocery shopping, driving, eating at restaurants, etc. A lot of people visit the coast, and they are in no hurry to do anything. Personally, I don't mind the extra time, but it drives some people crazy.
5. Taxes. They tend to be a bit higher on the coast, but that's the price to pay for living in paradise.

But all in all, I drive past the water every day on my way into work, I surf or fish on my lunch breaks, I boat whenever the sun is shining and I generally have a great big smile on my face.

[sami]

Originally Posted by 2fla

Sami: I appreciate all the input you give on these threads. Keep it up!

Hey I do not know how long or how often I'll do this, but I am really enjoying myself......... I have way too many %&## opinions. But I try to give ideas more than push..... I was up all last night--and I should NOT do that......

[Rebecca in Tampa]

Tampa area is a great area. All of Florida is getting hit w/high insurance, so be sure to do reasearch in that area. There are some great choices in the tampa bay area! Citrus/Oldsmar is a beautiful part of town and close to everything!!!

Wesley chapel/ New Tampa are booming, but the jobs seem to be elsewhere, which means your commute is going to be long!!! Traffice in that area is horrid!

St pete is nice. It has its very very shabby areas, so the crime rate is higher, therefore, I would check each area you are considering not the overall crime rate for the city! There are some great parts of St. Pete. I lived there for 4 years and LOVED it.

I would also avoid brandon/valrico areas when looking cause the I 4/275 exhange is Horrid also!

good luck.
[moderator CUT]

[sami]

Originally Posted by 2fla

Sami: I appreciate all the input you give on these threads. Keep it up!

aaaawh.......... thanx.....I am glad I can help sometimes...... ooops, I answered twice..........but really say thanx friend!

[ex-floridian]

My member name says it all; EX-FLORIDIAN. If I can help save ANYONE from the hell that my birth home has become, my efforts will be well worth it!

My husband and I just left New York South and moved to Vancouver, WA in May. I don't know anyone here. Didn't have a job. DIDN'T CARE! So far it's the best crazy thing I've ever done in my life...

I am a true native Floridian. Born in Gainesville, raised in Jacksonville, went to college in Tampa and stayed for the next 15 years. I can trace my family roots back in Florida for hundreds of years. It WAS a laid-back, friendly, inexpensive and economically viable place to live, and I LOVED it! Sure, there were challenges - heat, bugs, mold, but I didn't care...

Until the Northern Invasion. Laid-back has turned into stress. Friendly into anger. Inexpensive to entirely unaffordable, since salaries cannot possibly keep up with the rate of housing inflation,making it economically impossible.

What's worse, most of my friends have moved out and my entire family is leaving, as well. Brothers went to Georgia, parents to Virginia, aunts & uncles from Portland to Arizona. NONE OF US CAN STAND IT ANY MORE! My great aunt had to LEAVE the house she was born & raised in BECAUSE SHE COULD NO LONGER AFFORD THE PROPERTY TAXES!

Stay in the Northwest. You will die from the heat and suffocating boredom. Imagine living in a New York nursing home. That is the essence of what Florida has become.