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Im considering relocating to Boca. I work as a Software Engineer does anyone know how the job market is ? I looked on indeed, but first hand accounts would be helpful too. If other markets (Jacksonville, Orland) would be better please suggest. I dont mind a commute so if I cant find work in Boca I would commute to FL or even Miami if need be. I plan on renting for at least the first year, any advice you can offer there would be nice. East vs West? Gated a must? Thank you.
STEM related jobs are not South Florida's strong point, but Software jobs are probably more plentiful than others in the industry here. My neighbor works in Sunrise, but is a Electrical Engineer and I know the company he works for has Software Engineers as well but they are not the same company they were a number of years ago and may not be around too much longer. I also had some client firms in and around Boca and knew of some companies that closed their doors who had and laid off a lot of people with that title. Your best bet is to seek out small businesses seeking the expertise, salaries might be lower than what you can score say in the SF Bay Area or elsewhere. Orlando and Tampa probably have more opportunities.
Why Boca? Have you ever been to Boca? Do you know what to expect, COL and housing options?
Boca tends to be more expensive in the desirable parts. Rentals do not come cheap, especially gated.
Also you do not want to commute to Miami, it would be brutal with traffic and will get old real fast. Unless your coming from LA and the 405 commute and enjoy it, I would not even suggest it.
Why Boca? Have you ever been to Boca? Do you know what to expect, COL and housing options?
Thank you. Well Boca appears to be safer than other cities. I have been to miami, but not Boca. And from what I read online most with families advise Boca over a big city like F.L. or Miami. I have considered COL and even if I took a major pay cut and increase in rent I feel it would be worth it (looking to escape the cold up here)
Boca has crime issues, a lot of it is spillover from Miami-Dade and Broward. Also the HNW people attracts a lot of thugs, especially around the Mall. There is still three unsolved murders that happened at the Town Center Mall a number of years ago.
I would choose Boca over Miami for many reasons and if you can find a position with a company that will entertain an out of the area candidate (most here tend to say "Local Candidates Only") and if the job pay's a decent wage, I personally would not move to Boca for less than $90K/year and that's considering your the only wage earner.
Keep in mind that many people do not know this but, you can expect to pay more for health insurance, that is if your covering your spouse and family, typically a single person get's nearly 100% covered by most companies here, but you can figure a family will cost you upwards of $1k+/month depending on what plan they have, that's co-pay and with Obamacare who knows how long that will last till they dump coverage and tell you to go to the Exchange to get it which will be even more $$$.
Health Insurance is high in South Florida because of the aging population and high % of seniors and retirees, if you moved someplace where this was not the case, your costs would be much lower.
Car insurance is very high here, even if your a safe driver and over the age of 26, you can expect higher rates depending where your coming from and what you drive. Sure you can drive a beater car and drop comp/collision and get your rates low, along with having the minimum required by law, but with the amount of uninsured drivers on the road here, is it worth it?
Rental rates are high, I will be renting out my home in Wellington, granted it's a nice home in a gated upper scale community, for $3500/month, when I move to California in February. I have seen homes in Boca that are comparable for around the same rate, maybe not as nice for less and depends on the area. I own another home here that rent's for less but the tenants have been in it for while and I have not brought up the rate since they are good tenants.
If you want to buy, the biggest thing you have to consider is property taxes and home owners insurance, both can be high depending on where your house is located.
After you take out all those given expenses from your salary, not even including everything else, you have to ask yourself if what you can get here will make it doable, that is if you plan to save into a Roth IRA or company sponsored 401K? Most do not and live paycheck to paycheck or on credit cards.
While the allure of the Margaritaville lifestyle is great for some...reality on what you can make possible is what's most important, can you afford it? Is it worth it at the end of the day. It just all depends on how frugal you are and what sacrifices you are willing to make and for many living here it's hard to make those, especially in Boca you will see lot's of wealth and for kids growing up in the school system, peer pressure and material status is often flamboyant, a lot of kids grow up here with silver spoons in their mouth, driving cars to high school that most working professionals might have in their 30's or 40's. Many just cannot support that on what they make here, not everyone is a Doctor or Lawyer, or earns $150K/year to afford that.
Im considering relocating to Boca. I work as a Software Engineer does anyone know how the job market is ? I looked on indeed, but first hand accounts would be helpful too. If other markets (Jacksonville, Orland) would be better please suggest. I dont mind a commute so if I cant find work in Boca I would commute to FL or even Miami if need be. I plan on renting for at least the first year, any advice you can offer there would be nice. East vs West? Gated a must? Thank you.
Their are plenty of opportunities for you here. I think this market is ripe for people you like versus overdeveloped really competitive markets were your competing with thousands of people. South Florida is a really nice place to live and based on perception Palm Beach County is probably the richest out of the three. Contrary to popular belief lots of different people live here its not just seniors and elderly people which I expect as it gets more expensive not to be the case anymore or they are here most likely rich and have a second home. I don't consider the dynamics here anything different than somewhere like Westchester county NY with rich parents or spoiled kids. Orlando has a pretty decent market and I think its stronger than Jacksonville as far as tech jobs go. Look at Downtown Delray because I think it has a more dynamic professional scene then Boca.
Thank you. Well Boca appears to be safer than other cities. I have been to miami, but not Boca. And from what I read online most with families advise Boca over a big city like F.L. or Miami. I have considered COL and even if I took a major pay cut and increase in rent I feel it would be worth it (looking to escape the cold up here)
I lived in the City of Boca Raton for 17 years, attended school there, owned a home there. I have 3 siblings who lived there about the same amount of time. My wife lived there 27 years and her sister lived there 20 years.........NONE of the above still live there today. Boca is a punchline, filled with wannabe rich and plenty of scammers. I have lived in Ft Lauderdale and graduated from Univ of Miami and those cities offer real opportunities compared to Boca.
There are trailer parks in Boca, low income housing, plenty of blue collar people yet for some reason everyone from NY/NJ thinks it is wealthy country clubs or waterfront mansions. It clearly has some of that but it certainly isn't the majority of the town. What really strokes me out is the people that live in the average homes (250K 4/2 1500 sq ft ranch on 1/5 acre) and they act snobby because they live in "Boca".....ummm yeah, the Boca out on 441 about 10 miles west of the city limits!
$1900 2/2 condo in Boca West, yes that is the price! Why? The 70K mandatory country club membership with 10K annual dues.....ouch! There are about a dozen available..... : http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...94-81652?row=2
Scores of sub 40K retirement community condos.......yet it is "Boca Raton".....blasphemy!
I lived in the City of Boca Raton for 17 years, attended school there, owned a home there. I have 3 siblings who lived there about the same amount of time. My wife lived there 27 years and her sister lived there 20 years.........NONE of the above still live there today. Boca is a punchline, filled with wannabe rich and plenty of scammers. I have lived in Ft Lauderdale and graduated from Univ of Miami and those cities offer real opportunities compared to Boca.
There are trailer parks in Boca, low income housing, plenty of blue collar people yet for some reason everyone from NY/NJ thinks it is wealthy country clubs or waterfront mansions. It clearly has some of that but it certainly isn't the majority of the town. What really strokes me out is the people that live in the average homes (250K 4/2 1500 sq ft ranch on 1/5 acre) and they act snobby because they live in "Boca".....ummm yeah, the Boca out on 441 about 10 miles west of the city limits!
$1900 2/2 condo in Boca West, yes that is the price! Why? The 70K mandatory country club membership with 10K annual dues.....ouch! There are about a dozen available..... : http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...94-81652?row=2
Scores of sub 40K retirement community condos.......yet it is "Boca Raton".....blasphemy!
True there are shady parts of Boca, dumpy locations but that's almost entirely true of most parts of South Florida aside from the wealthy enclaves, more so when you move into Broward, parts of Pompano and Lauderhill, real nice places to live and mostly where the crime spills over into Boca originates.
Problem with Miami, there is limited opportunity and jobs don't tend to pay much better yet the COL is extremely high and the nice parts are more expensive than PB County.
Boca is full of wealth, you don't have to be a Accounting major to figure that out, just get a lawn chair and sit near Yamato and St. Andrews around 8AM in the morning on a weekday when school is in session and count all the luxury cars you see pulling into St Andrews or Pine Crest, those are not people living in the trailer parks. Or just walk up by Spanish River and check out the student parking lot, I went by there last week, saw a almost every luxury car Braman sells and then some sitting in the parking lot, along with brand new domestic and foreign brands. No hand me downs, sure their parents are probably leasing them but again those are not trailer park folk paying pricey lease payments and astronomical car insurance rates for their kids to drive to school in. Not just Boca, head down to Parkland and drive by Stoneman Douglas, not much different...and that's just scratching the surface.
You see more luxury cars by volume inn Boca on the road any given day, more so during season, than any other part of PBC. Sure their are posers, Boca is full of pretentious people and many of them.
Whether or not the jobs you can score will pay to make it worth the hassle is the question, there are plenty of better places someone in a STEM related field would be better off, not just salary but for multiple opportunities.
It would be helpful to know more about you and your interests before I or others could suggest something relative to a community to live in.
I'm guessing you are male and under 30, if so, East Boca (specifically Mizner Park area) or Atlantic Ave in Delray Beach would be areas I'd think you'd find appealing.
There are both secure buildings and communities (gated) in Boca if that's your interest, you might find that you didn't need it after you become a resident.
Quote:
Originally Posted by joeblow2193812
Hello
Im considering relocating to Boca. I work as a Software Engineer does anyone know how the job market is ? I looked on indeed, but first hand accounts would be helpful too. If other markets (Jacksonville, Orland) would be better please suggest. I dont mind a commute so if I cant find work in Boca I would commute to FL or even Miami if need be. I plan on renting for at least the first year, any advice you can offer there would be nice. East vs West? Gated a must? Thank you.
Im considering relocating to Boca. I work as a Software Engineer does anyone know how the job market is ? I looked on indeed, but first hand accounts would be helpful too. If other markets (Jacksonville, Orland) would be better please suggest. I dont mind a commute so if I cant find work in Boca I would commute to FL or even Miami if need be. I plan on renting for at least the first year, any advice you can offer there would be nice. East vs West? Gated a must? Thank you.
Boca Raton is very safe, so you don't need to be in a gated community. You will see more gated single family home communities the further West you go, while you will see more condos/apartments and non-gated communities the further East you go. It comes down to preference. I personally would live around Downtown Boca Raton. It's a great community and like I said, it's very safe. There is a large university, so the population is a mixture of students and upper middle class families.
If you find a job, it will most likely be in Fort Lauderdale. You can commute, but during rush hour can be brutal. I have friends that do it, so it definitely isn't a rare thing. If you have any other questions feel free to ask here or send me a direct message. I also lived in Orlando too.
Great information thank you everyone. Well to answer a few questions in the thread...
I currently commute over an hour each way so a long commute Im already use to. Im almost 40 and its time for a change, no kids currently but that may change (hence why Boca seemed more appealing). Im open to moving to Fort Lauderdale which should make job options more centrally located, yes? I had this (likely incorrect) stereotype that you cant find safe apartment complex in lauderdale -- its not true if you are willing to pay? I understand companies may not hire out of staters, which is why I may just move, plant new roots and roll the dice for a few months. F. Lauderdale area pays higher than my current location, but I still expect at least 20% pay cut and have to pay twice the rent. I priced health and car insurance and find those increases "doable" as well. Yea on paper its a sizable yearly loss, but money that would be used vacationing to florida anyway.... Its also not so much about the money anymore either
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