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Old 02-24-2009, 08:44 AM
 
5 posts, read 15,594 times
Reputation: 13

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My husband and I with 2 boys are seriously considering moving from CT. to FL. Are kids are stuck in the house about 5mos out of the yr and were just plain sick of the cold and high cost of living here. We both make very good money and can barely afford ct. anymore. My parents live in New Port Richey, but I really don't like that area. Was considering Wesley Chapel or Lank o Lakes area. We need a great school district, sense of community and just nice people!!! I'm a RN and don't think I will have a problem finding a job. Anyone suggest nice place to work? With not a huge commute? Anyone have any info on transferring my license?? Can't find much about it. Ct. I feel, has nothing to offer. Very high house taxes and car taxes together it's about $8000/yr!! Oil bill is about $300/mo and power between 150-250/mo, it's crazy!! My husband is a linesmen for the phone company and were worried about him finding a job, so that's holding us back a little. Any input or info from people living in that area would be greatly appreciated
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Old 02-24-2009, 09:50 AM
 
Location: Tampa, FL
27,798 posts, read 32,231,199 times
Reputation: 14611
search the many threads about nurses/RNs looking for work and you'll fin out a lot abou the local opportunities.

go here for Board Overview - Florida Board of Nursing - Board Overview obtaining a license to practice - start early because it can take awhile.

search wesley chapel for housing information
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Old 02-24-2009, 09:33 PM
 
Location: Tampa
1,246 posts, read 4,636,065 times
Reputation: 957
We moved from NJ to Tampa Palms in New Tampa, a 10 minute drive to many hospitals like University Community Hospital, Moffit, Shriners, Tampa VA as well as a slew of doctors offices and clinics.

However, we are sorry we did not move to Seven Oaks in Wesley Chapel. Schools down here suck compared to NJ and probably CT. Kids are meaner, teachers are not very good. Not all teachers are sexual preditors, however, I never heard of any in NJ as I have heard of story after story. Though we live in an "A" rated school.

Seven Oaks has a nice pool and an almost water park feel with sprinklers. They have an indoor mini theatre that you can watch your DVD's and all kinds of classes. Taxes would be cheaper in Wesley Chapel than where I am, though you will be paying over $2,000 a year for the ammenities. We pay less than $200 because everything has already been payed for.

Our electric bill is $350 a month compated to the $500 a season for oil, and we pay for other things that we did not have to pay for in NJ. Our property is larger, so we pay more for the lawn to be mowed ($40 vs. $14 a mow). We have to pay for lawn maintainance like spray for the million of bugs that can destroy your lawn or eat you alive like the fire ants. We also pay a yearly fee for termites and indoor pest control for all the creepy crawlies that make it into your house. Taxes, we payed $4,500 for our small house in NJ. In Florida we pay $7,500 for our larger property. You will find you will be paying more for gasing your car per week because you are driving EVERYWHERE and nothing is just down the street, it is miles to get to the grocery store.

Jobs are in short supply, but you being a nurse you should not have any problems finding work. Your husband, unless he is in the medical field too will have a hard time finding work. My husband was just layed off and there is NOTHING for what he does as a computer programmer. If I could sell my house, I would be moving BACK! I do love the winters down here. Summers are our winters. The heat is sufficating. I would suggest renting. That way if you end up not liking it here, you can always move back. We would be competing with the many houses that are either in forclosure or having a short sale (bank buy out), so we are reluctantly staying put.
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Old 02-24-2009, 09:52 PM
 
Location: Tampa, FL
27,798 posts, read 32,231,199 times
Reputation: 14611
very good information about what it takes to own a house in FLA - sometimes not a pretty picture. Thanks for the warning and recommendations.
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Old 02-25-2009, 09:28 AM
 
13,768 posts, read 38,061,280 times
Reputation: 10686
I agree with the rent before you so you can get a feel for the areas. However, remember everyone's experience is different. As an example the cost of your house your taxes may not be as much as Annaegel if your house cost less. A 200K house your taxes would be around 4K a year, same goes for electric if you have a larger house it is going to cost more than a smaller house. You won't have a high electric bill during the winter, but in Summer it will be high. I never had anyone spray for bugs or termites, never had a problem either. My DH sprayed around the outside of the house twice a year. He also mowed, sprayed and fertilized the yard. You don't have city/state income tax in FL nor do you pay tax on food.

Check with Verizon they are the local telephone co.

Annaegel.. sorry about your DH's job. Depending on his speciality, have him contact some temp agencies. There are jobs out there but most are contract work.
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Old 02-25-2009, 10:17 AM
 
Location: Tampa, FL
27,798 posts, read 32,231,199 times
Reputation: 14611
h20 bills for watering your lawn can be pretty steep as well.
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Old 02-25-2009, 05:44 PM
 
13,768 posts, read 38,061,280 times
Reputation: 10686
If there are water restrictions you can't water everyday however you are right it will increase your bill if you water your lawn. Mine went up $20.00 with lawn watering when I had new grass and had to water everyday. The biggest problem is most ppl over water their lawns.
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Old 02-25-2009, 10:36 PM
 
2,539 posts, read 4,072,351 times
Reputation: 999
Depending where you live in WC, some parts have reclaimed water and their restrictions aren't as severe. It's a fixed rate for reclaimed water, was $6 a month several years ago. It's also a seperate line coming in to the lot.
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Old 02-26-2009, 10:12 AM
 
Location: Tampa, FL
27,798 posts, read 32,231,199 times
Reputation: 14611
My father at SSC once told me his water bill was nearly $100, of course he had to have a beautifully green lawn. This was a few years ago.
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Old 02-26-2009, 10:41 AM
 
Location: Massachusetts
26 posts, read 72,535 times
Reputation: 21
Just a tip on watering, no matter where you are, it is better to water 3 times a week for longer period of time than everyday. Two benefits there, one, it lets the water get deep into the grass, with shorter watering periods, the water stays on top and evaporates quicker. Also, I found that the water bill was less with watering 3 times a week vs everyday.

Example, I have 4 zones, run each zone 30 minutes, 3 times a week vs everyday for 12 minutes per zone....lawn looked better with the first.

I hear that a lot people have a lawn service....are you not allowed to mow your own lawn?? Just curious, buying a walk along mower is 300 bucks or so....your return on investment is well below a year, depending on how much you pay a week....
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