[ashton8806]

Hello! I have been looking around here a little, and please forgive me if I ask something that has already been discussed.

My boyfriend and I are looking to move to South Florida. We want to stay away from cities (Miami, Orlando, Etc). I was looking at forums and everyone was talking about how they wanted to leave because they couldn't afford the houses.... some BEAUTIFUL houses I saw for sale are going for about 250k. In Maryland, where we live now, you could buy a pretty decent shack for about that price. So personally, I think the prices are incredible in florida, but because I don't live there, I could be missing something. taxes, insurance, etc. All things we will of course have to look into as we progress in our house purchasing.

We are specifically interested in West Palm Beach area. And there is of course that problem of finding jobs. My boyfriend is an aerospace/mechanical engineer so he was looking along those lines. I am really in a non specific field, I am content with nannying, waitressing, etc. Until I find a job that is more permanent. Who knew a college degree could get you this far... Anyways, so of course we wouldnt be moving until we both get jobs, but just wondering what some other good areas would be. And what good communities are in West Palm Beach. Since we live in Maryland, we can't do drive-bys to see which ones we like, so if we have a list already created it will make our search that much easier. We are not having children, so we aren't worried about schools and things like that. We are young and like to go out, but we dont want to live right in the middle of the action. Well, hopefully I didn't just talk about everything everyone else has talked about.

I appreciate any comments or advise you have. Positive or negative. :-) Thank you!

[jambo101]

Personally if i were going to make a move that big i'd certainly take at least a 2 week trip to the area to get semi familiar with the area so that if jambo101 says Flagler Beach is a great place to live you move there only to discover you dont like the place..
If the greater Miami area is not where you want to be i'd look further up the coast,Jupiter,Melbourne,Sebastian, St Augustine.
As for jobs? i'd take the low prices of houses in Florida as an omen as to its job prospects.
In the mean time i'd check out the local papers in the areas for houses for sale and job availabilities.

[RMD3819]

Jobs first, housing second-in that order.

[FL2MT]

Something that I think you should do rather than thinking about housing is to move down and rent an inexpensive apartment for 6 months or a year first. You have no kids so something small should be just fine. Plus that way you can both begin with 'starter' type jobs until you find something more permanent and you'll have several months to look around at different areas and find what you like. The Federal Reserve recently signaled that interest rates aren't going anywhere until at least late 2014 so there's no rush to buy right away.

Save up some $$ so you have expenses covered for a few months, find a modest apartment and make the move. If it doesn't work out you can always go back, but at least this way you don't get stuck with a house if it doesn't work out. You're young and without kids so now is the time to take those types of chances. If you don't like the big city-type area of Miami you probably need to start looking from West Palm and north. The whole stretch from West Palm to Miami is pretty much developed.

[user8]

plenty of houses available. visit the area first to get a feel, find jobs, then worry about housing.

rent first. florida is not like maryland in that ghettos are interspersed with gleaming communities. you might see a rental that looks great on paper, only to find that a block away looks like a 3rd world country.

[beachmouse]

For any aerospace job withing a hundred miles of KSC, your boyfriend is going to be competing with laid off NASA engineers for every single posting.

[jambo101]

Plan-B, double up on your winter vacations to Florida..

[ashton8806]

Yeah renting seems like a great idea! Definitely a smart move before making any serious financial commitments. And of course jobs come first, it would be stupid on our part to move without any money coming in. We thought about all those NASA workers, thats a real shame. Makes things a lot harder on him to find a job relating to that field. We will definitely keep all of your suggestions in mind. Its good to have a little insight from people who are more experienced and live in the area. Thanks so much!