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I am a recently divorced mother of 5 (ages ranging from 2yrs - 12yrs). We currently live in NJ and have section 8. We live in a nice suburban area in a 3BR house with a large yard in a culturally diverse neighborhood. I cannot afford child care, so my only income is the child support I recieve.It is impossible to save any money with the bills and so forth. After my youngest turns three, he can go to head start, which is in a year.
I have two sisters that live in Tampa. One of them has three boys (ages 6mos. , 11, and 13). They both work full time. I am considering moving down there, but am wondering if it that move would be wise. I do not have a college education, and have been out of the work force for a few years due to marriage and pregnancy. I need to get to work, education, etc. I am 38 years old. The thought of being close to family is wonderful, but the thought of moving from a beautiful, safe neighborhood to a tight apartment in a "not so safe" neighborhood is not so great either. Are there nice single family homes in Tampa, good neighborhoods that welcome Section 8? Is housing scarce or abundant in Tampa? My sister is willing to take us in so I could build up a small savings before moving in to our own.
The cost of living is very high in NJ, as well as Tampa, from what I've been reading. Where are the chances greater for me to succeed financially as a woman?? -NJ or Tampa, Fl? Would the move be good? Or should I stick it out (barely) another year until my baby turns three?
Last edited by butterfly19; 11-08-2007 at 10:51 PM..
I am a recently divorced mother of 5 (ages ranging from 2yrs - 12yrs). We currently live in NJ and have section 8. We live in a nice suburban area in a 3BR house with a large yard in a culturally diverse neighborhood. I cannot afford child care, so my only income is the child support I recieve.It is impossible to save any money with the bills and so forth. After my youngest turns three, he can go to head start, which is in a year.
I have two sisters that live in Tampa. One of them has three boys (ages 6mos. , 11, and 13). They both work full time. I am considering moving down there, but am wondering if it that move would be wise. I do not have a college education, and have been out of the work force for a few years due to marriage and pregnancy. I need to get to work, education, etc. I am 38 years old. The thought of being close to family is wonderful, but the thought of moving from a beautiful, safe neighborhood to a tight apartment in a "not so safe" neighborhood is not so great either. Are there nice single family homes in Tampa, good neighborhoods that welcome Section 8? Is housing scarce or abundant in Tampa? My sister is willing to take us in so I could build up a small savings before moving in to our own.
The cost of living is very high in NJ, as well as Tampa, from what I've been reading. Where are the chances greater for me to succeed financially as a woman?? -NJ or Tampa, Fl? Would the move be good? Or should I stick it out (barely) another year until my baby turns three?
STICK IT OUT WHERE YOU ARE - PLEASE!!!! You are in a good area, a nice home. People here are having trouble finding jobs as it is, let alone a mom with 5 kids who needs to get more training. My opinion you would be making a huge, huge mistake. I am sure others here will weigh in on this.
What gypsychic said.
I have never heard of single family homes for section 8 in FL. All of the section 8 I have ever seen are apartments or duplexes. Every time I drive by them, they look more like prisons. They are usually seedy, run down, and fenced in. Not even close to an ideal place to raise your kids.
As a single mom with no education and having been out of the workforce for several years, it would be very, very hard for you to get by in FL. You might be able to work at Target or Walmart for $8-10 an hour. It's hard for people with degrees and solid experience to find decent jobs here. There is a lot of competition for even entry level jobs. It is my understanding that Florida is not nearly as considerate of single moms on assistance as the northeastern states.
The cost of living is not that low in Tampa, the cost of childcare is high, good paying jobs are not that easy to come by, and the schools are not that great. Schools in New Jersey are ranked #4 in the nation.
If you can give your kids a fairly safe, middle class life with a decent education, even on assistance, then stay where you are for now. Down here, you would likely be in cramped public housing with sketchy neighbors and not so great schools. You would also probably struggle with finding a job.
The only advantage moving may give you is that you would be closer to family and they could probably help with your kids in a pinch. You should be able to get a Pell Grant and a decent student loan as a single mother in either FL or NJ. Use it to get on your feet ASAP then think about moving once you have marketable skills. If you really want to live in FL some time in the next few years, I would suggest you get a 2-year RN degree. There is plenty of demand for nurses down here and their pay and benefits are decent. You would also have schedule flexibility which would be helpful with kids.
I am a recently divorced mother of 5 (ages ranging from 2yrs - 12yrs). We currently live in NJ and have section 8. We live in a nice suburban area in a 3BR house with a large yard in a culturally diverse neighborhood. I cannot afford child care, so my only income is the child support I recieve.It is impossible to save any money with the bills and so forth. After my youngest turns three, he can go to head start, which is in a year.
I have two sisters that live in Tampa. One of them has three boys (ages 6mos. , 11, and 13). They both work full time. I am considering moving down there, but am wondering if it that move would be wise. I do not have a college education, and have been out of the work force for a few years due to marriage and pregnancy. I need to get to work, education, etc. I am 38 years old. The thought of being close to family is wonderful, but the thought of moving from a beautiful, safe neighborhood to a tight apartment in a "not so safe" neighborhood is not so great either. Are there nice single family homes in Tampa, good neighborhoods that welcome Section 8? Is housing scarce or abundant in Tampa? My sister is willing to take us in so I could build up a small savings before moving in to our own.
The cost of living is very high in NJ, as well as Tampa, from what I've been reading. Where are the chances greater for me to succeed financially as a woman?? -NJ or Tampa, Fl? Would the move be good? Or should I stick it out (barely) another year until my baby turns three?
my heart goes out. i could loan a strong shoulder but that would be short term feel good. tough love would be to say. use the law to get legal support for the kids. do you have any interest in nursing at all
jr college ed only 60 to 90k annual income. biggest bang for the buck i know.
get some counseling for the trama you are going thru.
occasionally i will respond to a post such as your and get a very angry reply. i am guna risk you are worth it.
I'd say if you're thinking about it that you should do all the research you can before making the move. The Tampa Housing Authority has always been helpful for my customers, though not always the quickest to respond <g>! Here's a link to their website --> Welcome to Tampa Housing Authority. They also have a landlord program. Investors may put their homes on the voucher program after going through an application process and a training program. Their homes must also pass a yearly minimum housing inspection. Section 8 housing is available throughout the city and county.
After reading your post, I would also suggest that if you decide to make the move, take advantage of your sister's generous offer. That way, if you should find out that you are not any better off here than there, then going back would be less difficult.
And yes like most of the rest of the country, Tampa Bay housing is abundant.
Butterfly-- listen to Gypsy and Deck. I did the single mom thing, and it was tough with two kids, let alone five. I won't tell you you can't find nice, subsidized housing in the Bay Area, but I will tell you that if you do, you will only be about the tenth person in the history of the State of Florida to do so. Even leaving aside public housing, which totally sucks, most decent landlords don't want the hassle of section eight and you'll end up someplace you don't necessarily want your children to live.
Go for the degree. Then come to Florida. It's a lot easier to negotiate the low wages/high cost of housing when you have some skills with which to suport yourself.
And good luck to you, wherever you end up living.
I am a recently divorced mother of 5 (ages ranging from 2yrs - 12yrs). We currently live in NJ and have section 8. We live in a nice suburban area in a 3BR house with a large yard in a culturally diverse neighborhood. I cannot afford child care, so my only income is the child support I recieve.It is impossible to save any money with the bills and so forth. After my youngest turns three, he can go to head start, which is in a year.
I have two sisters that live in Tampa. One of them has three boys (ages 6mos. , 11, and 13). They both work full time. I am considering moving down there, but am wondering if it that move would be wise. I do not have a college education, and have been out of the work force for a few years due to marriage and pregnancy. I need to get to work, education, etc. I am 38 years old. The thought of being close to family is wonderful, but the thought of moving from a beautiful, safe neighborhood to a tight apartment in a "not so safe" neighborhood is not so great either. Are there nice single family homes in Tampa, good neighborhoods that welcome Section 8? Is housing scarce or abundant in Tampa? My sister is willing to take us in so I could build up a small savings before moving in to our own.
The cost of living is very high in NJ, as well as Tampa, from what I've been reading. Where are the chances greater for me to succeed financially as a woman?? -NJ or Tampa, Fl? Would the move be good? Or should I stick it out (barely) another year until my baby turns three?
We have section 8 here, but not in homes-in apartment communities. Now, for the child care thing, we have a thing here called The School Readiness program, and basically they pay most of your childcare. If you want a good job you could probably find something decent here, maybe in a call service center. Something to last for now, but then you could apply for financial aid and they pay for your school, books, and give you a little money to live off of. This way you could go back to school if you want. I have been in your shoes, just not with 5 kids, just 1, and even though I could never get on Section 8, I work in the rental business so I could tell you a little about it.
There are single family homes in the Tampa Area that accept section 8. I used to work in the Tampa Housing Authority, and one of my duties was keeping the single family housing lists up to date with their owners.
It is extremely hard to get section 8 in Tampa, they had open apps a few years ago, but the system is alreayd seriously overloaded. Transfers from another area's jurisdiction is not guaranteed.
I would probably suggest staying where you are for the time being, but if you do decide to come down to Tampa, make sure you get IN WRITING if your Section 8 will transfer to Tampa, so that you don't get down here, and end up at the end of a waiting list. The last time they had a waiting list, it was 2 years long, so when open apps time came, there were a LOT of folks, who got nothing, and had to wait some more.
Any landlord can decide to accept Section 8. They simply have to apply with the local housing authority, meet their requirements, and list the property. It can be an owner of a Single Family home, or Apartment Complexes.
More and more apartment managers, are refusing to accept Section 8 due to the high number of skipped tenants, and Section 8 not paying their portion on time -- sometimes to the tune of 2-3 monhts of non-payment.
Do your research, but I would suggest staying where you know you have a roof.
I felt it was cheaper to live in NY than in Florida. HOME TAXES ARE CRAZY IN FLA
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