We're hoping to move to Dunedin-Palm Harbor-St. Augustine or Myrtle Beach SC area (Miami: condo, credit)

[bojaker45]

We have lived in Albany NY for our entire lifetime(s) of almost 62 yrs. and plan on relocating. My wife does not like humidity and we had some investment property in Myrtle Beach SC for 20 yrs.

I hate having limited sunshine here in upstate NY, and the winter cold and snow conditions have made me think of this move for many years. I plan on working fulltime for 1-2 yrs., transitioning to part-time (to get benefits) until age 65. I have a very small banker pension (at age 63) but we have a nice down payment to buy a small townhouse or condo.

If someone can give me a comparison of humidity (length of time, etc.) between Tampa, Saint Augustine FL, and Myrtle Beach SC would be great.

I know that August is very hot and humid anywhere in the southeast, but upstate NY temps in July-Aug was in the low-mid 90's for many days this year. In July our small condo (2 bedroom) gave us an electric bill of $199. and August is 134. We pay $1200 for car ins. on an '08 camry & '10 civic.

I work for a credit union and had call center experience so I imagine I would
get a job within 1 month; however, I don't know how the apt compex management looks at someone who needs a job. I have some cash.

We plan on moving down Sept or October & appreciate any insight; particularly in moving there when it's still hot and humid vs. autumn in NY.

[marcopolo]

Tampa Bay average afternoon humidity is 88%.

Good luck reconciling your hatred of winter cold with wife's distaste for humidity. Something has to give, or you will end up in the desert southwest. Humidity sort of goes along with the water, and all your options have water.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by marcopolo

Tampa Bay average afternoon humidity is 88%.

Good luck reconciling your hatred of winter cold with wife's distaste for humidity. Something has to give, or you will end up in the desert southwest. Humidity sort of goes along with the water, and all your options have water.

I agree, there is no appreciable difference in temps or humidity in any of the places you mentioned. I would take St. Augustine over Myrtle Beach any day of the week. I also think Dunedin/Palm Harbor is much better than Myrtle Beach just in general.

Summers are really hot and humid here in Fla. for a good 4 months, but the rest of the year is beautiful, at least I think so.

[ferret111]

St. Augustine is a really cool city and I would take it over the rest, but Dunedin is a nice second. Palm Harbor is just suburbia to me and Myrtle Beach is a dump. Some people are able to get used to the humidity (or, in some cases, simply tolerate it), but it's going to be humid in all of the places you listed.

[bojaker45]

How about Palm Bay or Melbourne vs. Tampa Bay areas when comparing traffic, employment, etc.?

[cheerbaby112]

Originally Posted by bojaker45

We have lived in Albany NY for our entire lifetime(s) of almost 62 yrs. and plan on relocating. My wife does not like humidity and we had some investment property in Myrtle Beach SC for 20 yrs.

I hate having limited sunshine here in upstate NY, and the winter cold and snow conditions have made me think of this move for many years. I plan on working fulltime for 1-2 yrs., transitioning to part-time (to get benefits) until age 65. I have a very small banker pension (at age 63) but we have a nice down payment to buy a small townhouse or condo.

If someone can give me a comparison of humidity (length of time, etc.) between Tampa, Saint Augustine FL, and Myrtle Beach SC would be great.

I know that August is very hot and humid anywhere in the southeast, but upstate NY temps in July-Aug was in the low-mid 90's for many days this year. In July our small condo (2 bedroom) gave us an electric bill of $199. and August is 134. We pay $1200 for car ins. on an '08 camry & '10 civic.

I work for a credit union and had call center experience so I imagine I would
get a job within 1 month; however, I don't know how the apt compex management looks at someone who needs a job. I have some cash.

We plan on moving down Sept or October & appreciate any insight; particularly in moving there when it's still hot and humid vs. autumn in NY.

Yeah try more like 12-24 months for a job in Tampa, unemployment is at approximently 13%. Humidity is horrible it starts to reach into the 90s in Mid-May until Mid-October (Its just starting to get into the 80s), with Humidity it feels like 103-110 some days.

[BradS1]

Mid May it started heating up a bit more than I like. June/JUL/AUG are absolutely disgusting. Thick, sticky air that makes you not want to go outside. It's like a blast furnace as soon as you walk outside. Sept was fairly sticky also but not quite as bad as the previous 3 months. Maybe I just got used to it and became more tolerable. Basically, you should plan on not opening any windows for about 4 months. It's starting to cool off at night and it feels awesome! Highs are still 85-90 everyday but the humidity is FINALLY dropping.

I think your wife would HATE at least 4 months out of the year here.

Originally Posted by bojaker45

How about Palm Bay or Melbourne vs. Tampa Bay areas when comparing traffic, employment, etc.?

Jobs-No place is Florida has them. The state is devastated. Miami area is probably the best bet if you're coming to Florida for work.

[WANTOUTOFMB]

I also agree with the other posters. Humidity is very bad here in Myrtle Beach during the summer! It is very HOT & HUMID, as are many other locations, including FL.
On the flip side, the Myrtle Beach winter nights are as COLD as the summer days are HOT! Days are pleasant, but the nights are COLD To VERY COLD (generally in the upper 20s to low 30s) not including the Wind Chill Factor.
Just about any location in FL has 15-30+ degree warmer winter nights than Myrtle Beach. They are generally in the same league as most of the Northeast cities in the winter season.
In addition, Myrtle Beach offers little as far as job opportunities go, as does much of FL, with that exception of Miami.
Lack of public transportation, I find another downfall for this area. If one wants to explore other areas, he/needs to drive or fly. No Train Station here is a negative.
My spin on Myrtle Beach is: Not good if you don't like the heat & humidity for 4 months, as stated above & not good for also 4 months if you don't like cold nights. That leaves you with 4 inbetween months! I like the months of April, May & September.
I recommend St. Augustine. I think it offers much more than Myrtle Beach, including warmer winter temps!

[PinballWhiz]

Originally Posted by bojaker45

How about Palm Bay or Melbourne vs. Tampa Bay areas when comparing traffic, employment, etc.?

As far as employment :

St Augustine, Melbourne or Myrtle Beach SC area won't offer as many job opportunities compared to this area. I also read on various forums here that Melbourne was pretty boring. If you're considering SC, Charleston SC will provide more decent job opportunities than Myrtle Beach SC.

[floridianmama]

The humidity anywhere on the East coast in the south is going to be awful in the summer. Have you considered Arizona, or something out that way? If you're looking for sun and warmth with out the humidity, that may be the way to go.