Thinking of leaving L. A. for Tampa Bay (St. Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale: apartments, rent)

[RJS110689]

Hello.

I just recently graduated from high school and I'm going to start working soon. I have been living in the L. A. area all my life, and even lousy apartments are costing at least $850.

I've been wanting to leave the state for a while, and Florida was one of the new locations on my radar. My main question is: Are there any kind of apartments in either Tampa or St. Pete where rent is $650 or less?

[Alphaman]

Any appts in that price range will be in a undesirable area I`m afraid.

[tampaguy03]

Originally Posted by RJS110689

Hello.

I just recently graduated from high school and I'm going to start working soon. I have been living in the L. A. area all my life, and even lousy apartments are costing at least $850.

I've been wanting to leave the state for a while, and Florida was one of the new locations on my radar. My main question is: Are there any kind of apartments in either Tampa or St. Pete where rent is $650 or less?

Look at craigslist or tbo.com, or the apartment guides. They are out there, but nice ones at that price in a safe area are in the burbs, like carrollwood, or near usf campus, or brandon/riverview...
a buddy of mine was looking for the same in South Tampa...at that price they were very small and old, no amenities, but good location..he did get a good find in The Cove Apts off Westshore Blvd in South Tampa, with one month free, it put him at around $650, and it's on the Bay, three pools, tennis, raquetball, gym, cable, water, and trash all included, nice loaction, nicely landscaped, about 3 miles to downtown and 2 miles to Westshore district, walkable neighborhood.

[RJS110689]

So the nice, cheap ones are in the suburbs of the city? Hey, I'll take anything just to get out of southern California.

[Angel and The Dolphin]

If you rent a "private apartment" as opposed to a large complex you can find things for around $700 in SoHo/Hyde Park which is a great area to live in if you're young. Check out Craig's list and tbo.com. I would stay away from Carrollwood and the like at your age and coming from SoCal. The culture shock is apt to kill you. Try DownTown St. Petersburg, South Tampa, Ybor City. I'm sure there are other neighborhoods that are young and urban but I don't know of them

[rich67]

I left the L.A. area about 15 years ago to come here. It's definitely less expensive to live out here- gas and insurance...oh...and car registration. I would guess you're paying about $200-300 a year for registration? I pay about $50. Plus, I don't have to get my car smogged out here either (Pasco).
Apartments can be found (studio or 1 br) in nicer areas for $650. It won't be in the heart of Tampa, but will be in a nicer outlying area. Anything larger will definitely cost in the $800-$1000 range per month. It's a lot better out here than Cali, IMO. The only thing I miss are the mountains.

[FIU2000]

The humidity takes some getting used to as well. I moved from Mission Viejo, CA as a kid thinking Florida would be the same weather. Um, not so much! The winter is awesome and dry lasting about 5 months or so from Decemberish to April or May. Sometimes it starts or ends a little sooner or later. The "wet" season is hot (and muggy) and and it rains usually about once a day on average. We are also planning to move to Tampa from the Fort Myers area in the next 2 years. It just has more going on. One thing I would say though is that you may want to think about school. Competing for a job that's not minimum wage will be tough without a college education. Florida might still be cheaper than CA even paying out of state tuition for a while. My husband didn't go to college right away and now at 30 he is working a full time job and taking night classes. It's a struggle (prior to this he worked for both Guitar Center and Mars Music) When I met him in 2000 he was making like $7 an hour. He made $8/hr for a long time. He now works as an instrument man for an engineering outfit making $14 but he started at $10 just a few years ago after working in a call center in Fort Lauderdale for $13. It's a decent job for someone with only high school but it's not easy labor. It's outside in the heat with the bugs.

Anyway not to bring you down but just think about it long and hard before making the leap. If your parents aren't like ready to kick you out or anything, take advantage of it and save up some money, try community college at least, and take some time to think about what you really want to do.

Good luck!

[InLuvWitFlo]

If you have a high school diploma there plenty of call center jobs in tampa that pay anywhere from $12-$14hr, amscot will hire you on the spot for $12-13$ an hr but be prepared to really work, work, work. If you're looking for a 1 bedroom that shouldnt be that hard to find for $650-$700 but be sure to visit the apt first, those apt guide pictures can be decieving. Getting around in tampa can get tricky if you dont have a car so think about that as well also dont limit your search to tampa or even florida for that matter. I lived in tampa for a few years and while i didnt care for tampa too much, overall i really enjoyed florida. Good luck.