Relocation Anxiety - Second thoughts (Tampa, Christmas: house, schools, allergies)

[user8]

Originally Posted by FloridaKash

Everyone gets nervous before they move. We have moved a few times and were a bit nervous moving to Tampa. No family, no friends, didn't know anybody. We left our family, friends and free rent to move here. Do I regret it? Nope... we love it here. Do I miss our old state? Only during the summer, definitely not during the winter.

my experience mirrors this, except for the free rent thing.

wife and i took the plunge and moved here (with jobs lined up). we didn't know anyone... still don't really, aside from coworkers. it's been an adventure, both good and bad, so far but for the most part it's been a good change. i certainly didn't want to spend my entire life in my home town, nor could i have afforded to. we like it here so far but we're not opposed to moving out west at some point in the future if florida gets old. i'm still trying to convince my wife that colorado is not as cold as upstate ny (she does not yet understand the concept of dry climates).

small piece of advice for florida summers - have access to a pool and/or work in an air-conditioned office. otherwise it's brutal.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by lilacmama32

Kids are 8 yrs and 10 yrs and my oldest does not want to move. My job that I do here will be waiting for me in FL with opportunity to grow. We are opening a new location so upper management positions will be available where they aren't here.

My husband will need to start over looking for a job. He might be able to relocate into the same employer but not the same job. He works for a nationwide company but we aren't counting on him being able to transfer. He would need a job before we moved.

The dream of moving there was because of the weather and the ocean. The thing that made it a reality was me having a job guaranteed, possible opportunities to advance in salary/position, and relocation package to purchase house, moving expenses paid for, etc. What is holding us back is family, friends, living somewhere we feel safe and know our way around. People move everyday and I always wondered what it would be like to move somewhere else. But now that I have kids involved is it fair to uproot them just to 'try something different'?

As kbrk asked we are financially good here. I am afraid my husband might not make what he does in FL and being new man on the block, I am afraid of him losing his job if the company ever downsized. He is very valuable at his current job even though everyone can be replaced, I feel confident where he is now.

I am in my 30's and have never moved away from the surrounding area I grew up. I have traveled to other states for work/vacation but have always lived here. Same for my husband.

Well your husband has a right to be concerned about jobs. The Tampa Bay are is one of the worst job markets in the country.

Can you afford for him to not work and be a house husband? Would he be OK with that if it is financially doable?

I can understand not liking winter, but this isn't warm weather( it will be in about another 2 to 3 months) it is very hot and humid weather.

If he has to work, how would he feel about taking a job like cleaning pools or cutting lawns? A lot of people here work those type of jobs, IMO that would be torture.

From your post he currently has a white collar job. How would he feel about having to take any job, including one that involves working outside?

[mph101]

You should come down and not stay in a tourist area directly on the beach. You don't get a good idea of a area staying as a tourist for a week or 2.
Thats like saying I love Las Vegas but never venturing off the main drag. Then moving into outer Vegas like near Nellis AFB and realizing that you won't hit the strip you live and work and are not a tourist and Las Vegas is brutal hot.
The beach offers sea breezes and a vacation atmosphere. Those sea breezes that make the heat humidity less then in Carrolwood or Brandon. May through late Oct is the same day after day there are no cold fronts that break the heat waves in Chicago or Washington DC from time to time in July or August.
The lack of a state income tax is used a lot as a big bonus for living here. That was a attraction used to draw people to Florida pre AC days.
You need to be very aware of the home owners insurance crisis that is debilitating in even a fixed rate mortgage in all counties but extreme in coastal locations as per hurricane coverage as well as the age of the house. You need to also figure in flood insurance. Never fail to look into mantatory coverages such as your lender will demand and could cause your escrow to go belly up after a few years no matter how good a deal you got on that house. The house will be insured for the replacement of the property not what you paid for it. You can and will expect huge increases in premiums and no selection of carriers or competetion.
Do a google search if no thread hear address the sinkhole insurance coverage going on now. Wind policies are just brutal. Failure to account for these in your monthly house payment is a bad mistake.

If you don't have a job gurantee in writing and any other perks such as moving and fees I wouldn't do it even if I could support my family on a single income. You would be best to move first and then bring the family and husband after all seems secure.

[lilacmama32]

@ MPH101 - My job is guaranteed along with moving/relocation package. My husband needs to find the job before we move.

I hear the cost are high, but how high? Can anyone throw out an example or the cost of the following on a say a $150K house?

Sinkhole -
Hurricane -
Wind -
HomeOwners -
Anything else?

How do the property taxes work? Is it based on the purchase price of your home? Where I live my property taxes are around $2K per year but my coworker in the same school district pays $5K a year (house worth the same) but location made $3K difference here. I live in a subdivision in a smaller rural township than him.

I also hear car insurance is crazy expensive. I pay around $130.00 a month for full coverage on one vehicle and PLPD on the second. I carry a $1000 deduct so my deduct is high. What is the car insurance like there?

[lilacmama32]

Originally Posted by seain dublin

Well your husband has a right to be concerned about jobs. The Tampa Bay are is one of the worst job markets in the country.

Can you afford for him to not work and be a house husband? Would he be OK with that if it is financially doable?

I can understand not liking winter, but this isn't warm weather( it will be in about another 2 to 3 months) it is very hot and humid weather.

If he has to work, how would he feel about taking a job like cleaning pools or cutting lawns? A lot of people here work those type of jobs, IMO that would be torture.

From your post he currently has a white collar job. How would he feel about having to take any job, including one that involves working outside?

He says he wouldn't mind working outside if he had to but I don't know. He did construction years ago before getting into Supply Chain / Logistics. With all the logistics and warehousing in FL I would think he could find something even if it's back to riding a fork truck. He also use to work for Terminex along time ago and I hear there are a ton of bugs in FL :-)

I would really like him to find a job in what he does now but is willing to take something else to hold him over if the price is right. The company he works for the HQ is out of FL but in Miami with locations in Tampa, Lakeland, Sarasota, etc.

[Tim Tim Tim]

If there are locations in tampa, why cant he transfer?

I dont know when your looking to come but my company has been hiring quite a few techs and if hes interested in working/learning cable then there may be an oppertunity when the time comes. Feel free to send me a message if you want more info about it

[lilacmama32]

Originally Posted by Tim Tim Tim

If there are locations in tampa, why cant he transfer?

I dont know when your looking to come but my company has been hiring quite a few techs and if hes interested in working/learning cable then there may be an oppertunity when the time comes. Feel free to send me a message if you want more info about it

I'll shoot you message tomorrow. He works @ General Motors through Ryder so there isn't an option to transfer in his job there from my understanding. He could do MFU but not for GM unless GM has a spot in Tampa we don't know about. I use to do IT support for GM and the only people I talked to were at the Grand Prix Track in Orlando I think.

[gardenpearl]

From what I've heard, costs for sinkhole insurance, flood, homeowners, etc. vary from county to county and also depend on proximity to the water, elevation, and age and construction of the home. The lowest I have heard for homeowners insurance in a new construction, concrete block home away from the water was about $1300 per year for a 1700 sq. foot residence.

I have not heard of sinkhole insurance being required south of Tampa, but it may be. I figured out if I moved from CT to Fla, I would save on income taxes, but my water bill, homeowners insurance, and pest control would all be much more than what I pay in CT.

Also, you may find a condo or townhouse for $150K, but a detached home on that price range will be hard to find unless you want something small. Personally, I have not found a detached home in a neighborhood I'd want to live in for less than $250K in that part of Florida.

[Tim Tim Tim]

Originally Posted by gardenpearl

From what I've heard, costs for sinkhole insurance, flood, homeowners, etc. vary from county to county and also depend on proximity to the water, elevation, and age and construction of the home. The lowest I have heard for homeowners insurance in a new construction, concrete block home away from the water was about $1300 per year for a 1700 sq. foot residence.

I have not heard of sinkhole insurance being required south of Tampa, but it may be. I figured out if I moved from CT to Fla, I would save on income taxes, but my water bill, homeowners insurance, and pest control would all be much more than what I pay in CT.

Also, you may find a condo or townhouse for $150K, but a detached home on that price range will be hard to find unless you want something small. Personally, I have not found a detached home in a neighborhood I'd want to live in for less than $250K in that part of Florida.

you have pretty high taste then. I live across the street from citrus park mall in what I would consider a pretty desirable area right outside of westchase and mines worth maybe 150k or so. There are PLENTY of houses in this area under 200k that are nice, many even in gated communities.

[lilacmama32]

UGH! My mom left a drunk dial voice mail on my phone last night that she is so depressed thinking about us moving. She has tried to be positive to my face but it breaks her heart. She cried all the way home from my house last night after my girls waved good-bye to her (she is my daycare).

I seriously do not need to feel guilty and sad about others when I am trying to figure out my own feelings. I have 'never' lived more than 15 miles from my parents (I am in my 30's) so it's kind of like she is experiencing the my baby-is-moving-away-to-college syndrome. I love my parents so much and feel sad leaving them and taking the kids away.

UGH!!! SCRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAM!