I need money!! (Miami, Orlando: health insurance, luxury, income)

[TrishP7]

Originally Posted by bdpop

$15 an hour is not plenty anywhere. You cannot live on that.

Hell to the NO!!

[JSnFla]

Myself and most of the people i know who moved down here were making around 70k up north. None of us has seen more than 40k yet and most have changed careers all together. If u dont have some other sweet deal(ie-free place to stay, rich wife/gf) or just pure love of the lifestyle then it makes no sense to live in florida. if u meet 20 people most likely 15 of them will have moved away within 3 years.

[DailyJournalist]

Originally Posted by TrishP7

I just moved to Orlando..three months now..and just started looking for employment as well. I knew there'd be a major pay cut..but now I'm seeing for what it truly is..its killing me. I made 15 dollars an hour at age 19..not 33!! This is ridiculous!

Florida is not like it use to be..cost of living, with the exception of homes, is equivalent to the cost of living up North. This is nuts!! No matter what..just because homes are cheaper..i really dont see how it compensates, when companies arent willing to pay what homes are worth today..the maintenance..not to mention GAS, FOOD, JUST LIFE..LIVING!! How are we to cope?!! Survive?!! My goodness!!

TrishaP7, the sunshine is not worth it. Florida always has and always will have horrible salaries. It is not worth trying to make a life here with the garbage pay you receive. I was also making $15 per hour working in a Shop Rite warehouse when I was 18 and fresh out of high school. Now I have a college degree and $15 is considered executive pay here in Florida. I am packing up and leaving the end of summer. Good luck TrishaP7, but you know what you have to do.

[DailyJournalist]

Originally Posted by JSnFla

Myself and most of the people i know who moved down here were making around 70k up north. None of us has seen more than 40k yet and most have changed careers all together. If u dont have some other sweet deal(ie-free place to stay, rich wife/gf) or just pure love of the lifestyle then it makes no sense to live in florida. if u meet 20 people most likely 15 of them will have moved away within 3 years.

This is so true, my brother is a union worker that operates construction cranes in NYC for many years and is making close to 6 figures. He came down here to visit and he called a couple of want ads to see what they would pay a highly experienced crane operater in Florida and he was offered $15,lol. Needless to say he said he would "never" move here, Florida is a vacation state only!

[TANaples]

Originally Posted by JSnFla

Myself and most of the people i know who moved down here were making around 70k up north. None of us has seen more than 40k yet and most have changed careers all together. If u dont have some other sweet deal(ie-free place to stay, rich wife/gf) or just pure love of the lifestyle then it makes no sense to live in florida. if u meet 20 people most likely 15 of them will have moved away within 3 years.

They paid him his NY salary and moving expenses. The company he works for seems to like recruiting people from all over. They tried to recruit one guy from Denver and were even willing to increase his salary. He wanted to telecommute instead of relocating, which they were considering, until all the other employees threanted to RIOT if he was allowed to telecommute making $125,000!.

[TrishP7]

Wow..its bad enough..i really have been having 2nd, 3rd, 4th and it goes on..thoughts about leaving FL..but now I'm so convinced. But its soo hard..my fiance and daughter are also with me. He also is struggling. We actually moved down here..due to the weather and he received a promo within his company..so we figured this would be a good deal! But now..i barely ever see him..they changed his shift from 6-3:30 to 3:30- 1 or sometimes 2:00am. Its soo disheartening..in either case, looks like I need to start a new thread.

But basically it just sucks because he makes awesome money here..more than he did up north due to the promo but he doesnt have a life! He also feels like his back is against the wall because there is NOWHERE in FL where he'd make 30 bucks an hour as a "supervisor". He's still getting paid by his company up North.. sigh..his back really is against the wall..not to mention, he works 6 DAYS A WEEK!!

With all due respect..Florida is just not for ME..NOT AT ALL!! Wish I knew better..

[Andzia74]

Today is exactly one month when I left Florida (Deltona) after 6 years of living down there. I came back to NY City. After 2 weeks of arriving here I found job which pays double what I was making down there. My husband found even better job, he makes 2,5 time more money. Our expenses did not go very high. Bills stayed the same, rent went up around $800, car insurance $50 a month, phone bill around $40. Grociery shopping we spend around $75 more then what we used to spent in FL. Our child care went down around $50 a month. Guess what? I am the very happy person I left Florida!!! It was mistake we made six years ago!!! I love NY, and Thanks God we came back. Within a month a can see how our life is improved. It was good decision we made I do not regret! Now, I cannot wait for first snow and beautiful Christmas in NY. Everything is back, like used to be years ago. I wish you all the best.

[WANative]

Things arent any better in Las Vegas. I moved here 8 months ago--lots of jobs here BUT wayyy too many people applying for them!! Similar cities (alot of service industry) which dont pay well. I cant find work here and am totally regretting the move. Its too bad its so hard to get a job remotely. Im sure most of us moved because companies dont take you seriously if you live out of state. Problem is once you get there you have no guarantees and right now the economy is what it is.

Luckily Los Angeles is only 250 miles away and I may have just landed a good paying job...Time to move again!!

[cmls529]

We too are struggling. We were better off in NY. We struggled paycheck to paycheck but our jobs were secure and we knew what to expect in relation to raises, health care, 401K ect. Here my husband worked for 1 company. He was paid an hourly wage but ticket time. So if a job was estimated to take 3 hours thats what he was paid ect. We had no health insurance for 2 years. We just became eligible and it costs us almost $175 dollars a week. The company he works for now is commission based. We qualify for NOTHING!!! Our income level is too high and it's a joke. he has some really good weeks but lately its been really tough. I make $8.50 an hour working part time as a pre-k teacher. I made more working for NY state when I was 17 ($9.50 working with disabled adults) We made a huge mistake but don't have the money to move back. We are stuck here for now and like I tell my husband everyday we must make the best of the situation we are in. Wishing it away only wastes valuable energy and sleep.

[WANative]

Good luck! I know I count my lucky stars that I didnt buy a home and that I still have the money to move--without that I would go insane!!!
I know its a pain but word to the wise--when you are moving to a new city rent for the 1st year and make sure 1) you get a job that pays well and that you like and 2) that you actually like the new city. Sometimes chasing the sun isnt as rewarding as we thought it would be.