has anyone moved from florida to WV or vice versa (Bluefield: sales, real estate)

[shell18_86]

hi i currently attend college and i am writing a paper on weather it would be more beneficial for me, as a radiologist, to live in florida or west virginia. if anyone has moved from florida to west virginia or from west virginia to florida please answer a question for me. what is, in your opinion, the difference in the cost of living? is there a big difference and if so why. thank you so much

[David Kennedy]

It's cheap to live in Wv.
That's why per capita we rank #1 with military retirees.
Wv is safe. It's too convienient to jump on a plane and go to the outside world.

Florida has weather events and animal life that we do not experience.

Our drawbacks are not having a highway system in any sense and a poverty education level for our people.

My daughter lives in Ft. Lauderdale. The small concrete block homes around her were built in the 1950's and sell for 500k.
In Wv, 500k will buy a nice house almost anywhere.

Civilization is creeping in and good sushi and calimari can be found almost anywhere in Wv.
What more is there?..
Work here, make the money and get out of dodge from Dec to March...not hard to do. good luck.

[Janet O.]

Would love to respond however the questions are too generic.
I was born and raised in Winston-Salem, NC. Had many family members in Bluefield, WV. Spent many summers there also. Some of my West Virginia relatives retired to Florida.
I have lived on both coast in Florida and the most Northern and Southern most parts of Florida over 27 years. I now live in Connecticut.
Cost of living: Depends on where you go in Florida or West Virginia to live.
I have been researching buying in West Virginia which is how I happened upon your post, but anyway back to your questions.
You are going to find that your rate of earning is going to pretty much match your cost of living whether you are in WV or FL.
I made better money in Florida (everywhere that I lived) than in NC however the places I lived in Florida cost more money to live there.
One very important thing to think about is: it is easier to sell a more expensive home and move to a less expensive place than it is to sell a less expensive place and move to a more expensive place. Meaning...If you buy in WV (lower cost of living) and you later decide to move to Florida (higher cost of living) it will be a more challenging financial situation. Remember the opposite is also true. If you start out in Florida you will be setting yourself up to move to WV and start out in a better financial situation.
However if you are going to stay put..."I Love West Virginia and I would go and stay there which is why I am looking for property. By the way..."You can make a killing in CT but it cost every penny to live here plus the ones you haven't even earned.

Good luck.

[clintsullivan]

I think even the lowest cost of living areas in Florida would exceed the highest cost areas in WV. Florida has no income tax but makes up for it in state and county sales taxes as well as property tax.
I think Florida insurance costs, auto & home, exceed WV. We pay less than $1,000 a year for the best homeowners insurance I could get for a 2100 sq ft good quality home. Auto insurance is about the same for a 2005 Nissan Titan. Our real property tax for the home & almost 4ac was $1,700 for 2008. This will be coming down as the county re-assesses considering the sharp decline in house values.

Utlity costs are far less expensive in WV. We have one of the lowest electricty costs in the country. A friend moved to Jacksonville a few years ago and his electric bill for two people is more than double mine for four people in nearly equal sized homes. Our average is $160/month for a 2100 sq ft all electric home except woodstove for partial heat.

If you desire the best proximity to travel arteries and areas outside WV, the Eastern Panhandle has it. You can reach Dulles or BWI in less than 1 1/2 hours. We have commuter rail service to MD & DC and it's easy to reach I-95 or I-81. Also the Hagerstown, MD airport, which is about 30 minutes from Shepherdstown, just added a low cost non-stop flight to Florida.

As in most locations, housing styles and prices are widely varied in the eastern panhandle. Property size typically runs from 1/4 acre to 20 acres. Home styles include small townhomes to large historic homes. Typical prices currently are anywhere from $90,000 to $500,000. Monthly rents are typically from $600 to $1,200. Our house market severly declined over the past year but it looks like we may be at or near the bottom and ready for a slow return to normalcy. Also interest rates are in the 4-5% range and there is an $8,000 federal tax credit for first time homebuyers (people who have not owned in the past 3 years). Like everyone is saying, now is the time to buy.

Food costs are probably similar. I'd have a hard time comparing food costs generally because we eat mostly organic and we fix nearly all meals at home. For our family of four we spend about $250 per week in groceries & sundries.

I like the general State political climate in Florida. They are often on the forefront of returning personal rights and freedoms, but on the local side they are fast destroying personal property rights especially within the large planned communities. Even in the most wacky liberal area of WV, where I live here in Jefferson County, we still mostly have property freedoms and relatively low property taxes. Nobody complains about my chickens, rabbit, dog, or cats.

Hope this helps. If you have an specific questions about the Eastern Panhanle feel free to e-mail me. I've lived in Jefferson County for about 37 years now and am a real estate appraiser, so I know the area fairly well.
squintsul2003@yahoo.com

[red.ochre]

Originally Posted by shell18_86

hi i currently attend college and i am writing a paper on weather it would be more beneficial for me, as a radiologist, to live in florida or west virginia.

Where are you attending college?

[BJC]

Not that it matters, but perhaps English is not a 1st language, or perhaps this is a young person who is used to senting text messages all the time.

[PopsGifts]

I moved from Dade Co (Florida City, about 30 mi So of Miami near Homestead) to Baltimore, and now in the E Panhandle of WV.
Miss many things about Fla, but the pay scales are a bit higher near here for the same job...Notice that I said near...
A short 20 minute commute to NoVA will get you at least 50% more money for the same job because the cost of living is so much higher in NoVA.

Live in WV for the lower taxes, lower housing costs, lower utility costs and room to breathe...and commute 20-30 minutes to NoVA for higher wages.

[Hinton Bound]

Originally Posted by BJC

Not that it matters, but perhaps English is not a 1st language, or perhaps this is a young person who is used to senting test messages all the time.

Too funny B. I read the OP and the first thing I thought to write was "Is your CAPS key not working?" I don't know if the paper is on the weather, or if OP meant whether (interchangable with "if"). I'm not an English major, but for some reason those things just jump out at me... Must be those pesky three "R's" that we covered in grade school. Probably not required to be a Radiologist- that's all pictures anyway, right?

I think the other posters did a fine job answering the OP's question.

[red.ochre]

Originally Posted by Hinton Bound

I'm not an English major, but for some reason those things just jump out at me... Must be those pesky three "R's" that we covered in grade school. Probably not required to be a Radiologist- that's all pictures anyway, right?

Annoying but true, Florida and West Virginia have a capital (not capitol) letter, as does the reference to self, I (not eye or aye). I'm not qualified to be grammer police either, but radiologists are responsible for (not four or fore) writing (not righting) interpretations, and simple grammer errors could or would (not wood) be (not bee) a detriment to (not too or two) those entrusting their (not there) lives to them.

It's using words such as college or university with grammer or spelling errors in the same sentence that makes it fair game. Pull! As for the second language possibility, if they are an illegal alien in our college system, I would be more than helpful assisting them with their arrest and deportation.

The user only has two posts. Regardless, facts such as this are stated in other threads, that with the slightest amount of effort in research, could have been found without asking.

[GottaHerdOn]

Cost of living: Compare prices in two cities - CNNMoney.com

Go there, and put in an x amount for income... you could use the national average and then you can compare the cost of living between two places.