Do You Live In Tampa--but From Michigan?

[iluvflorida]

Originally Posted by KEMOZ

iluvflorida wow!!!! Interesting story. Sorry about the divorce, but good to hear that you are "still" striving for the better. You implified how life doesn't stop because of a certain person, place or thing! You go girl! ha-ha-

My question is, Why are you choosing Tampa? I know you said you have cousins, but what "really" steers you to such a place? Why not Tallahassee or S. Florida again?

Hi Kemoz,

Yes, my divorce has definitely made me stronger I love the weather in Tampa and how it is close to all the beaches; there are many things to do in Tampa for nightlife like Ybor City and because I am a huge New York Yankees fan, that is where their spring training takes place lol...being close to family is also important to me...I guess I could go back to Tally or S. Florida, but I reall would like to give Tampa a chance for what I have seen What part of Michigan are u from? I really miss being near the ocean...big reason I miss Florida...have you been down to Tampa for a visit to see how life is down there?

[KEMOZ]

I'm in a suburb of Detroit (Westland area). Raised in Ferndale MI. And yes, we have visited Tampa. My father stayed in St. Pete for 6 years or so and I would visit once a year--but at that time, I wasn't interested in the thought of living in Fl. But we enjoyed my dad and his boat/fishing tours. He would take us to a nice area of the Gulf of Mexico. He would also take us to the bird places to watch them beautiful birds!!! At that time, I thought he was insane..for a man to love them birds so much...But now I see why...

Me and my husband visited Tampa a couple weeks ago and stayed on the Bay for a week. We like New Tampa but I would still like to be a little closer to the water. And although we have visited many areas of Florida...for some reason, Tampa stayed in my mind!!! There is a church I'm interested in --that also keeps my mind on the prize. We are struggling to get there (with having so much to do--rent home, find jobs, find schools for kids, a nice neighborhood, etc.)...but I have a good feeling that Tampa would be a good place for us.

Anything you would like to share--would be a pleasure to read.

Thanks

[iluvflorida]

Originally Posted by KEMOZ

I'm in a suburb of Detroit (Westland area). Raised in Ferndale MI. And yes, we have visited Tampa. My father stayed in St. Pete for 6 years or so and I would visit once a year--but at that time, I wasn't interested in the thought of living in Fl. But we enjoyed my dad and his boat/fishing tours. He would take us to a nice area of the Gulf of Mexico. He would also take us to the bird places to watch them beautiful birds!!! At that time, I thought he was insane..for a man to love them birds so much...But now I see why...

Me and my husband visited Tampa a couple weeks ago and stayed on the Bay for a week. We like New Tampa but I would still like to be a little closer to the water. And although we have visited many areas of Florida...for some reason, Tampa stayed in my mind!!! There is a church I'm interested in --that also keeps my mind on the prize. We are struggling to get there (with having so much to do--rent home, find jobs, find schools for kids, a nice neighborhood, etc.)...but I have a good feeling that Tampa would be a good place for us.

Anything you would like to share--would be a pleasure to read.

Thanks

Always follow your intuitions...if you have a good feeling about Tampa, I think you should do it Maybe we will be neighbors when I move down there...Florida always stays with me and is always on my mind...I would always wake up happy there...Clearwater Beach is beautiful and Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota is beautiful too...the sand is white and so soft on the feet...both of those beaches are listed under Florida's top 10 beaches...i saw it on the travel channel...lol...let me know if you ever need any more info...it's great to make new friends and I will pray that you and your family make a good decision and have a great move

[MIgal]

My family just moved to the Tampa Bay area in June due to my husband transferring with his current employer. It has been an adjustment for sure...the biggest difference for us is the summer heat (I am not complaining) here it is 90 deg. + for July, Aug, poss. Sept. every day, not like MI where it will be hot and humid in the 90's for two days and then plummet into the 70's the rest of the week. You learn very quickly that any physical activity needs to be done in the early a.m. hours or late p.m. hours or you will need to have gallons of H2O with you if you do and risk sweating to death! I am a big nature lover and I love all of the birds, butterflies, palm trees, beaches, sunsets, and flowers that you see here that you can't see in MI. Don't get me wrong I am sure I will miss the fall colors and the beauty of the snow (just not the cold and the driving in slush all winter!)

So far I can say the people are nice, although you will find very few are native Floridians, mostly transplants. I can say you will need to have a fairly high income(in my opinion) to be able to afford FL living. I would say you can live comfortably if you are making $90,000 + per year in your household, otherwise you have to have no debt and lots of savings to afford things here. From what I have heard, employers pay a lot less down here than in MI. Example, I was making $40,000 in MI working for an insurance agency (10 yrs experience) and here in FL they start at $25,000 for the same experience level. I guess it may depend on the industry??

Also, you are trading high heat bills in MI winter for high electric(A/C) bills in Fl in the summer. I find the rates for electric to be more here, water also. Housing I would say is to your advantage to buy or rent right now. Tampa area truly is a great place to deal on an existing or new home right now. People are dying to sell and are willing to deal, so many homes are going into foreclosure that you can get a really great deal. The biggest difference we had in buying a home is that here property is a commodity, you can't find a lot of land unless you are very wealthy or want to live in the boonies somewhere far from everything. In MI we had an older home in the Grand Rapids area with a nice big front yard and large backyard, here we are literally on a postage stamp sized lot (renting) and our new home is on a 50' lot. The houses are close together and all look very much alike. Also, the further north (north of Tampa city)you are willing to live, the cheaper the home prices. (At least that's what we found) Also, the schools are iffy here -now that's what I hear from some native Floridians I know that have also lived in MI, they say that FL schools are not nearly as good as MI schools are. Granted my daughters are just starting next Monday, so we'll see. We are in Pasco Co. schools which are supposed to be A rated (according to FL standards) I have heard Hillsborough is not as good from several people. A lot of parents homeschool or go private here. Property taxes are very high here also, insurance (auto and home) is also. My husband and I knew several people from his work that transferred from MI and some from FL and they had told us these things prior to committing on our move here, so we were fully prepared for these things ahead of time. We actually considered moving in 2006 and postponed it to this year.

So, I guess I am saying if you can deal with these type of changes in order to have beautiful weather and no winter, than I would say to make the move.

I do have one other piece of advice though, I would not recommend moving in the middle of FL summer. The reason being - I have two daughters and they have met only a few kids their ages (and yes, we have a community pool, playground, etc. and do use it almost everyday) people do not come out very much in summer here - it is strange to us because that is us native MIanders time to be outside and enjoy...but it has been deserted in our subdivision all summer....I was told it is due to the heat, unless you are near water, you don't want to be outside in the mid-afternoon. If you have younger children and your wife stays home, then you may meet some other families...just my experience.

Anyway, that is my take on FL - AND I DO LOVE IT SO FAR!!!Just trying to give you a Michigander's point of view...

[cunparis]

Originally Posted by MIgal

Property taxes are very high here also, insurance (auto and home) is also. My husband and I knew several people from his work that transferred from MI and some from FL and they had told us these things prior to committing on our move here, so we were fully prepared for these things ahead of time. We actually considered moving in 2006 and postponed it to this year.

I'm building up an excel spreadsheet of our current costs, tampa, & charlotte. Can you tell me how much property taxes are? Are they really much higher than other parts of the US? I'm renting an apartment in France so I have no idea how much these property taxes are!

I'm also considering a move to Charlotte.

[tampaguy03]

Originally Posted by cunparis

I'm building up an excel spreadsheet of our current costs, tampa, & charlotte. Can you tell me how much property taxes are? Are they really much higher than other parts of the US? I'm renting an apartment in France so I have no idea how much these property taxes are!

I'm also considering a move to Charlotte.

I think the best rule of thumb is multiply the homes price by .018 for a relative average. You can also go to the Hillsborough County Apraisers website.
The property taxes are on the assesed value minus $25,000 homestead exemption(taxable value) though, not the market value. As an example, the market value of my home is 240k(even though it coudl go ont he market for about 300k at this time), the counties assesed value is 100k, minus my 25k exemption equals my taxable value of 75k.

[EB2]

Originally Posted by KEMOZ

Are there any Michigan folks on this post? We would like to hear from you if you used to live in Michigan and moved to Florida. Tell us about your experiences...the pros and cons. Would you or did you move back to MI? What are the differences between the two states (good or bad).

Or...were you originally from MI, moved to Florida...then moved somewhere else? Where did you go and why?

Thank you for sharing...
...From a family trying to ESCAPE Michigan blues & cold winters !

From Michigan, here! There are a lot of pros/cons. I'll keep it short and sweet, and just say that Florida isn't for me (right now, anyway. We'll see 40 years from now).

I miss Michigan a fair amount, but it is a little too cold. I'm looking at moving to NJ as an alternative (I love it, and am happy there, and it's not quite as cold as MI )

Good luck!