Just out of Curiosity. . . (Cape Coral, Sarasota: credit, relocating, property taxes)

[deschlerj]

If I was to move down to Fort Myers, and living on my own paying all of my bills, about how much an hour would I have to make to be able to make it comfortably a month? I dont want to move down there and have to live paycheck to paycheck. . . Thanks for the feedback!!

[Tarastomsgirl]

well firstly figure what you are willing to pay for housing as thats important,, then figure how much you need to make to pay for rent, plus bills and that will give you about what you need to make monthly.. Check out some rents online

[121804]

Originally Posted by deschlerj

If I was to move down to Fort Myers, and living on my own paying all of my bills, about how much an hour would I have to make to be able to make it comfortably a month? I dont want to move down there and have to live paycheck to paycheck. . . Thanks for the feedback!!

Well, take what you make now & double that for about 3 months. It always takes a few months to get situated in a new place no matter how frugal you are & then some. You need financial security. It's just a given unless you like to live in debt or are ok with it. We don't use credit cards unless we can pay them off at due date, so many live on credit. I don't know why or how. But many survive that way.

Our car insurance went up $120/mn when we moved to SWFL and our renters insurance went up $55/mn.

Elec was definitely high from June-Oct at about $250/mn due to the a/c needing to run 24/7.

All else was about the same & we were coming from TX which is fairly comparable to SWFL.

We know live in NEOH & on less money b/c we are saving more for childrens schooling. We don't notice much of a difference though our car insurance went down dramatically. What we paid in elec during the summer was what we paid in gas for winter. It evened out. I am sure if you live in the EXTREME winter areas, it is different. But we don't live in the extreme weather places

Food & gas is high everywhere. Rent in SWFL is at all times low due to a sluggish job market & excessive overbuilding. You can find some great deals.

Figure out what you need to pay your basic bills. Call around & get some rent prices. It's fairly easy to do, just takes some time.

It's going to depend on what YOU need to live on. Do you have a job in Fort Myers? If so, take that pay & figure out your budget. Some people can live on $25k/yr & others cannot live without making at least $75k. It's all relative to individual need & spending habits.

[pinda]

My husband and I are looking into relocating. I fell in love with Austin, Tx area and he seems to like southwest Florida or Phoenix (Palm Springs too). Do you like Florida better and if you don't mind me asking, what part of Texas did you come from. Any pros and cons for any place would be much appreciated. I am really hoping we will make a decision soon. I would have moved there 2 years ago but it is difficult for him to move. He just got a job which will give us flexibility to move almost anywhere. We have family here in Wisconsin, but I have a medical need for sun and I am desperate to move south so I can feel better in the winter.

What scares me most about Florida is the Forums. People don't seem to be that happy there and in Austin area, overall they seem happy. I was set on Florida until I read these forums for a couple of years now.

Thank you so much for your time and advice.

Everyones advice would be greatly appreciated.
Pinda

[121804]

Originally Posted by pinda

My husband and I are looking into relocating. I fell in love with Austin, Tx area and he seems to like southwest Florida or Phoenix (Palm Springs too). Do you like Florida better and if you don't mind me asking, what part of Texas did you come from. Any pros and cons for any place would be much appreciated. I am really hoping we will make a decision soon. I would have moved there 2 years ago but it is difficult for him to move. He just got a job which will give us flexibility to move almost anywhere. We have family here in Wisconsin, but I have a medical need for sun and I am desperate to move south so I can feel better in the winter.

What scares me most about Florida is the Forums. People don't seem to be that happy there and in Austin area, overall they seem happy. I was set on Florida until I read these forums for a couple of years now.

Thank you so much for your time and advice.

Everyones advice would be greatly appreciated.
Pinda

We were stationed at Fort Hood, TX which is in Killeen, TX, about 40 miles north of Austin.

I am not a fan of extreme weather & need change of seasons. Central TX & SWFL have extreme weather in terms of constant heat. There is more of change of seasons in TX, though, and a definite longer & colder winter. Summers & fall were unrelenting in TX as well as FL though FLs were much longer in my opinion.

The government told us central TX & job circumstances told us SWFL. Neither were my first choice, but there was little I could do at the time

That being said, if I had to choose, I'd live in Austin. MUCH more to do in terms of the arts & education; more more diversity in demographics; more trees & foliage than SWFL; not so desperately dependant on tourism & snowbirds, and people are very friendly. We've lived in seven states & FL was #8. Unfortunately, SWFL seemed to have the grumpiest group of people we've ever encountered but we were told that prior to moving. It was sad but true. Sure there are pockets of very friendly & nice people in SWFL, though!!!!

Property taxes in Austin are a little higher than SWFL but what you get for your money in Austin far exceeds SWFL housing.

Traffic in & around Austin is close to unbearable at times, but a whole new highway system was just recently completed to help the bottlenecking.

It's just dependent on what you like & what your needs are. I didn't want to live in either place b/c it was too far away from family & friends along with just too hot too long of the year.

If it was just my husband & I, we could live whereever. But we have two young ones now, so life is completely different & we love having them in the same part of the country as their relatives instead of 20-24hr car rides once or twice a year.

Either place you'll get the sun Central TX & SWFL are sorta hard to compare b/c they are very much different in many aspects that are relative to the person. Best of luck!

[Tarastomsgirl]

all my utilities went down when I moved back to Fla... drastically.... my car insurance went from $150 to $98 ... I find it cheaper down here by far.. .Do you have any jobs lined up at all?

[pinda]

My husband would have to put in for a transfer and get it. I guess it is good we are flexible, but he really likes Sarasota/Lakewood Ranch area a lot. We would only move to the area where his transfer would be approved but we need to decide where to ask for transfers. I/we have been traveling around the country looking at various option. Unfortunately I need to get as far south as possible for the sun to help me best. We would have liked to moved to North Carolina, but I was told that is not south enough for people with severe SAD, seasonal affective disorder. Sorry it took so long to reply back. I hope you are still reading this.

Anyones advice on nice places to live with lots of sunshine would be appreciated. We can't afford San Diego.

[yachtcare]

Well, the keys in general are really very sunny most of the time, and about as far south as one can get in the "continental" U.S. A seat on the corner of Caroline and Duval in Key West, to watch the loons go by could cheer anybody up. There are some areas that are "affordable" living wise, and you can get most places locally on bicycle. I wouldnt plan on living there without a car however. Good luck with your search

[121804]

Originally Posted by pinda

Anyones advice on nice places to live with lots of sunshine would be appreciated. We can't afford San Diego.

I was going to suggest that I lived there briefly & have family there. It can't be beat & I think most anyone would live there if it weren't so expensive.

I would ask your medical doctor who has diagnosed you & contact some professional agencies that deal with SAD in regards to location.

This is just a public opninion forum & more opinionated than anything else. I've never read a post by a doctor

Best of luck in finding a place that will help you live a happy & content life.

Have you tried the Health & Wellness section on City-Data? You may get much better ideas there.

[BacktoMA4good]

You have to come down here and see if you like it first... For yourself. Some like it here, some don't, some leave thier current state, get here and say "no thanks", or the opposite, they love it. Some go "home", then come back here and find out it's the wrong decision, like me. There are good things here, and bad, like every other place.

If you are looking at Fort Myers, be VERY careful where you look, the cheap places are in very UNDESIRABLE areas. You have to pay more to live in a safe area. Anything below Colonial is ok, with exceptions. McGregor is a good road to live off of. Also look into Cape Coral, but you will have to get a car, and a toll transponder to cross the bridges. Estero is good.

What line of work are you in? The pay is not all great here. That is a big part of making it here.

There is a lot to consider. But there are a lot of people on here to help you.