Which Would You Choose Alabama or Florida (Tampa, University: car insurance, buying a house)

[BEVH]

Have a job possibility in the SE and would work from home but travel to both AL and FL. Would have a choice which state to live in. What are the Pros and Cons of each state if you know. Need to have some solid answers to make a decision. Would be buying a house for mom at 175 and one for us at 200-275. No idea what taxes or insurance would cost so ideas please.

[Southlander]

You can actually buy a house and pay taxes on it at those prices in Alabama! You might want to post your question in the Alabama forum as well.

[dcabrer1]

Florida a million times


To make a long story short, living in Florida is way more expensive than it is in Alabama but its money well used though if you have alot of it. If you don't, you may be one of those who would tell everyone that Florida sucks

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by dcabrer1

Florida a million times


To make a long story short, living in Florida is way more expensive than it is in Alabama but its money well used though if you have alot of it. If you don't, you may be one of those who would tell everyone that Florida sucks

I agree. If you have a good job opportunity, it's a no-brainer - pick Florida. This place is paradise if you have a good job/income. I am not knocking Alabama, have only gone through there, but I love the tropical lifestyle and what we have here, so I just couldn't live anywhere else.

Good luck to you.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by BEVH

Have a job possibility in the SE and would work from home but travel to both AL and FL. Would have a choice which state to live in. What are the Pros and Cons of each state if you know. Need to have some solid answers to make a decision. Would be buying a house for mom at 175 and one for us at 200-275. No idea what taxes or insurance would cost so ideas please.

Alabama has rock bottom property taxes and they have beaches too. It is also much easier to visit surrounding areas from there than way down in Fl where getting anywhere takes several hours. I just moved/early retirement to Fl after spending my whole life here off and on, and Alabama is on my short list of ultimate destinations.

Go online and go to the Alabama state site, (or anywhere) read about the Retiree Incentives they have a brochure. The only thing that doesnt apply is the retiree specific stuff like the income exclusion for pension, but the brochure lists all the taxes for the state and why they want people to move there.

Alabama has a distinct community feel and southern hospitality that you don't find in Florida, a state of people who basically can't be bothered.

But you cannot judge from a distance without even visiting both. What some feel is southern charm may feel like redneck to others.

But it depends on your personality obviously. Since nobody knows you it's a personal thing. Go to the Alabama forum and read the tone of the people compared to here and you'll get the feel. One lady posted to a person of color or Hispanic or gay I forget..."Of COURSE we'd welcome you here our little town welcomed Cuban refugees way back in the 60's please come give us a chance".....something to that effect. I have yet to read "we'd welcome you" on the Florida forum. You read mostly "it's not that bad there" hahahaha.

Palm trees do not mitigate a host of other issues imo. And for that matter, other states have palm trees and beaches to.

[JustMeInBrandon]

BEVH:

My husband and I just moved to Tampa from Birmingham, AL last year. I had lived in B'ham from the time I was 12 until 46. I guess it all depends on where you want to live in either state. Alabama is beautiful and obviously has more seasonal changes than Florida. We love Tampa, but the heat and humidity down here are stifling in the summer. Even though B'ham was hot and humid too, it was not this bad. You can wear your shorts in Alabama from April through October but you have beautiful leaf changes in the fall and beautiful flowering dogwoods, azaelas, pear trees, etc. in the spring in Alabama (and lots of daffodils). The winters are not bad in Alabama either. The traffic is a lot better than Tampa and generally the city of Birmingham is either banking/laywers (north side) or hospitals and the University of Alabama at Birmingham campus (south side). The rest of the business are not in the city limits of B'ham but rather the outskirts. The Alabama/Florida beaches are 4-1/2 to 5 hours away from B'ham and the Tennessee mountains are about 3 to 3-1/2 hours away. There are several great state parks with lakes with fantastic fishing, gorgeous golf courses, Talledega for two NASCAR races a year, etc. Car insurance is MUCH cheaper in Alabama as are property taxes. Don't get me wrong, I do love being close to the beach, seeing palm trees out my door, and wearing shorts most of the year here, but I do miss certain things in Alabama. Go to AL.com and click on either B'ham, Huntsville, or Mobile and there are forum categories under those that should help you out with north, central, and southern Alabama. Hope it helps. Let me know if you need any more information.

[Alphaman]

Florida but if I was going to pick another state it would be California or coastal texas.

[Keeper]

If you are going to be traveling via planes depending on what part of AL, it is not going to be easy to get there. B'ham has direct flights to Tampa but other cities are not that easy to get in or out of without going through Atlanta or another hub.

You can get A LOT more house in AL for the price you listed. HOI and property taxes are much lower in mid- N AL. HOI will be higher in S. AL for the same reason they are high in FL., hurricanes. There is a state income tax in AL but the low property taxes more than make up for the no income tax in FL.

What are you looking for in a place to live?