[Sheehy]

Are you wanting to do anything in Sales? I've got a sales position open right now in Gainesville. I pay 30% of sales and 10% off renewing accounts you've brought in for as long as you work at the company... For a hard worker, it can add up. Email me here if you'd like more information. I have an online magazine called Welcome Home My Florida.com Check it out if you have time. Deborah

[OREGONRAIN]

Originally Posted by acs.1979

Wow...that sucks about the wages. Everything else I have read about the place is so positive. I will definitely keep looking into G-ville....and perhaps the pros still outweigh the cons...I am hoping to find somewhere with a strong / thriving job market though. One of my biggest complaints about where I live now is that one has to fight hard just to get a job, even a lousy one. Where can one go where the employers are practically begging for decent employees?

Does anyone know of an area in Florida that has a cost of living comparable to Gainesville, but also has a stronger economy with more opportunities? Also, how is Atlanta living? I would probably like the place if not for the traffic and pollution.

I would say Jax or Tallahassee would probably have more job opportunites for you. If your set on Gainesville though ,just see what success you have with job possibilities and interviews and take it from there. Perhaps something decent will come up in Gainesville, and that is where you will move. I understand what you mean about the Portland economy, I guess you mean the one in Oregon. I see more people out of work here or working in low paying jobs with college educations. Its not a myth alot of kids that got college degrees are working in Starbucks in Portland and other minimum wage jobs. Good Luck, Don't give up on your dream.

[CEGator]

It is difficult to find a job if you are looking not to work for the University of Florida or UF Shands Hospital. Anything outside of the university, good paying jobs are few and far between. Even to get a job at UF, you have to know somebody. Even then, UF is in the middle of a hiring freeze.

Gainesville is a nice town but finding job opportunities that pay a decent salary is very difficult especially if you are fresh out of college or just in the beginning stages of your career. This is probably why there is a gap in ages in Gainesville. A bunch of twenty year olds because of the university then very few 30 year olds then it picks back up with 50 year olds because of all the professional positions at UF and Shands and a ton of retirees but that's typical in Florida.

[GR82BAGATOR]

I live about 35 min. outside of Gainesville, and yes you can get a very nice home for a lot cheaper there, and your taxes will be less than Alachua county. I have a 4/3 (3000 sq ft)house (on 1 1/4 acres) we built in 2001 for under 100K (appraised at 270K) and the taxes are $1600 per year with homeowners of $920. I work for UF and right now there is a freeze on hiring and we have not had raises in the past 3 years that have kept up with the cost of living increases. I'm not sure about business in the private sector, but right now it's going to be hard to get a job at UF or Shands without knowing someone. Gainesville, is still a small town at heart and it pays to be from here and to know someone. This town is way more liberal than most surrounding areas and the average age is like 23 so be prepared for that. Our sales tax rate is 6.25% & gas is about $2.80 per gallon.

It is still one of the cheaper places in Florida to live, Jax is much more expensive but you can earn higher wages there. Take a look at this website to do some comparisons: Salary.com.

I have lived here my whole life and I think North or North Central Florida is still the best part of Florida to live in & raise a family even though the further south you go there are more job opportunities and higher wages. You just have to decided what you are looking for and go for it! Good Luck!

Oh and by the way, when I graduate I want to move out to Oregon/Portland area. I was just there in September and fell in love and be prepared people in Florida are no where near as nice as out there and we move ALOT faster here! Seriously...be prepared!!!! I can't wait to move out to the PNW I just loved the pace....all our Interstates are 70mph....imagine my surprise when I saw most of Oregon was 55mph or less and Oregon had zero police presence...U see alot of cops here! With regards to the speed limit, I can see why you drive slower in Oregon, here you'll never be at risk of driving off the side of a mountain! haha Oh and we do not have Starbucks or dairy queen on every corner...be prepared!

[jrf]

Once you have a profession or years experience, it seems to be stuck around $15/hr for technical jobs and possibly around $20/hr on professional types (with luck, but unstable unless with the big names or government). Hospitals (Shands, VA), UF and the government are usually the ones with decent pay. Often offered to outsiders or with connections maybe. They are usually hiring over the internet on their websites, but the jobs are hard to get.
Once outside of these, it is very unstable and not so well paid. A lot of the money comes from outside, via retired people or students whose parents can afford it.
A lot of small business here. One good way to ask for jobs around town is using the yellow pages for the category that corresponds to your field and start cold calling. Have a resume ready to send with a cover letter. We are already feeling the housing stall, which may give you an advantage when negotiating for purchases. Rent is cheaper than buying when calculating monthly. We personally own properties here and are considering going north to work for a while.