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Old 12-09-2014, 09:22 AM
 
1 posts, read 1,931 times
Reputation: 10

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Hey city-data!
So I am 21 and I have lived in Chicago my whole life. I am planning to move to Florida in May. I am considering Tampa, Naples or Miami. I have family in Lehigh Acres, Fl. but everything is so scattered and far from everything. Being raised in a city makes it so hard to even want to consider driving 30-45 mins to get anywhere. So I'm looking into bigger cities.
My sister is thinking about moving with me too... She's currently in an HR Department and she does have her associates.. I forgot in what LOL
I have about 7 classes to take to get my Associates degree but am holding off because of what I owe in school and an issue that is getting taking care of. I am currently a supervisor for a bank (2 1/2 years) and prior to that I had retail/customer service experience. I also bar tended part time for a couple months, which I liked but interfered with my schedule so I had to leave... I am fluent in Spanish (if that helps) I have a car that is fully paid off. I am currently renting an apt and my lease is up in May... So im trying to see what recommendations and experiences I get before I go and start looking for jobs/apts and visit to see if I actually like it... Also I am willing to get any other recommendations for other cities.

All the info and feedback is appreciated! Thanks!
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Old 12-09-2014, 09:34 AM
 
14,798 posts, read 17,685,669 times
Reputation: 9251
Quote:
Originally Posted by jeesp14 View Post
Hey city-data!
So I am 21 and I have lived in Chicago my whole life. I am planning to move to Florida in May. I am considering Tampa, Naples or Miami. I have family in Lehigh Acres, Fl. but everything is so scattered and far from everything. Being raised in a city makes it so hard to even want to consider driving 30-45 mins to get anywhere. So I'm looking into bigger cities.
My sister is thinking about moving with me too... She's currently in an HR Department and she does have her associates.. I forgot in what LOL
I have about 7 classes to take to get my Associates degree but am holding off because of what I owe in school and an issue that is getting taking care of. I am currently a supervisor for a bank (2 1/2 years) and prior to that I had retail/customer service experience. I also bar tended part time for a couple months, which I liked but interfered with my schedule so I had to leave... I am fluent in Spanish (if that helps) I have a car that is fully paid off. I am currently renting an apt and my lease is up in May... So im trying to see what recommendations and experiences I get before I go and start looking for jobs/apts and visit to see if I actually like it... Also I am willing to get any other recommendations for other cities.

All the info and feedback is appreciated! Thanks!
Why are you asking here?
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Old 12-09-2014, 10:01 AM
 
35,309 posts, read 52,305,052 times
Reputation: 30999
Theres nothing like Chicago in Fla, yeah Florida is very spread out with thousands of suburban sub divisions, people dont actually live in the cities they just work there. , you'll need that car to go everywhere as public transit is almost non existent.
Plenty of jobs around the Tampa area,just Google the job you are looking for, as an example =.
Works for any profession=
https://www.google.ca/#safe=active&q...+jobs+in+Tampa
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Old 12-09-2014, 02:08 PM
 
Location: Lincoln Park, Chicago
498 posts, read 724,621 times
Reputation: 777
Second what Jambo said. People in Florida don't live in cities. People who live in "Tampa" don't actually live in Tampa. Everybody drives everywhere and it's very spread out, so the traffic can be maddening. But you're probably better off asking in the Florida forums.
Tampa population: 350k
Tampa metro: 2.8 million

Miami population: 420k
Miami metro: 5.6 million

Naples population: 20k
Naples Metro: 320k
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Old 12-09-2014, 03:20 PM
 
Location: Chicago
38,707 posts, read 103,185,348 times
Reputation: 29983
Quote:
Originally Posted by jeesp14 View Post
I want to move to Florida
OK, so go ahead.

You'll get more feedback over in the Florida forum and/or any appropriate sub-forum.
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Old 12-09-2014, 07:46 PM
 
23 posts, read 27,904 times
Reputation: 51
I'm from tampa, just moved to chicago. Theyre extremely difference cities. As others have mentioned, there is no "downtown" that people live in. People live in suburbs and commute downtown, it turns into a ghost town on weekends and nights, though there is a push to change that with some new apt/condo buildings being built downtown.

Housing is cheap, my wife and I lived and a "luxury" 1BR, 850sq ft, brand new building, huge balcony facing west over the water, got to watch the sun set every night over the bay, located in the nicest part of town, for about $1100. You can easily find a mid range 1 BR in a nice part of town for 800-900.

My main problem with florida is lack of character. Its endless shopping malls and chains. Nothing like armitage, clark st, Milwaukee ave exists in tampa. Food is also terrible in comparison to chicago. Lack of quantity of variety.

The weather is basically 2 seasons. Summers are brutal, 90s with 90% hummidity, you basically cant spend more than 10-15 seconds outside before you start sweating. It also rains basically every day from 4-6PM. The "winter" on the other hand is amazing. Its basically 70 and sunny for 5 straight months.

taxes are non-existent. no state income tax, no property tax, low sales tax, its a HUGE difference.

beaches are the best asset. some of the best on the entire planet within are located between tampa and sarasota.

So basically, if you want cheap housing, low taxes, and better weather, choose florida. If you want big city, great food, character, and are willing to deal with bad weather and high taxes, stay in chicago.
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Old 12-09-2014, 07:47 PM
 
Location: Nashville TN
4,918 posts, read 6,470,242 times
Reputation: 4778
Florida is amazing this time of year, rest of the year I hate their hot and humid I wouldn't move to Florida if my life depended on it.
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Old 12-09-2014, 08:40 PM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
8,851 posts, read 5,873,004 times
Reputation: 11467
If you've lived in Chicago all of your life, and want to go and experience another part of the country, I think that's a good idea. Even though Tampa doesn't have a downtown like we're used to here, it's a nice area. I personally couldn't live in the type of humidity that they have in Florida. It's always good to try new places. You'll really appreciate home when/if you ever move back.
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Old 12-09-2014, 10:16 PM
 
Location: TOVCCA
8,452 posts, read 15,043,863 times
Reputation: 12532
Florida: The only state flatter than Illinois!

Study says Illinois is second flattest state on mainland - Chicago Tribune
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Old 12-10-2014, 09:11 AM
 
Location: broke leftist craphole Illizuela
10,326 posts, read 17,429,546 times
Reputation: 20337
I'd love to move to the south as well, however you'd better be sure you and your sister can get a job that pays decently down there. If I were to move down South my job would probably pay half as much and I'd have to F around with temp agencies again. A lot of even skilled professional and manager jobs down there that pay decently at a lot of places here would pay $35k or less and have much worse or no benefits. Even the COL difference won't come close to canceling out that.

Last edited by MSchemist80; 12-10-2014 at 09:22 AM..
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