[wizrap]

Originally Posted by oceandreams94

Thank you for the replies!

Ideally we'd like to stay in the northern/north central part of the state. We don't mind moving inland some if it's cheaper over there.

Just checked Alachua County/Gainesville—nothing but manufactured homes here (for the most part).

[kmarc]

There are some good deals in Ocala/Belleview/Summerfield, BUT you have to do some research to avoid the shady areas.

[kyle19125]

You might consider going just a bit north into the southern edge of Georgia just across the state line in Kingsland. It's close to Jacksonville and the beaches in Amelia Island plus gives you a lot more home value with much newer/nicer rental properties.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_ren...83_rect/11_zm/

[Sweetbottoms]

Originally Posted by oceandreams94

Hi everyone! I've been a long time member here and loved the advice everyone gave me years ago when we were looking to move to Florida.

We've been living in Palm Coast for over 10 years as renters and I've noticed rental prices here creeping up over the past few years. Our rent keeps getting increased and yet I'm not making a larger income so we may have to start thinking about moving to a less expensive area.

My question is, is there anywhere in this area of Florida that is less expensive for renters, yet not in an unsafe neighborhood? I've googled but I'm not really finding anything more affordable.

Should we start looking at moving out of state?

Leave the state.. they're not going to go down. They'll be the same on both Coasts. We left for the Carolinas. In Naples we were paying an insane amount (in the end $1500+ for a "condo" which was really just a badly remodeled apartment with water damage and broken dishwasher and cracked tiles) for a 2 bedroom 2 bath 1000sqft piece of garbage. It was the most affordable thing we could find.

We moved to NC. We Pay $1100 (water included) for a 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 story 1,400sqft home, fully upgraded with a fire place and fenced in yard. We are 15-20 mins outside of actual downtown Charlotte. So much to do. Unreal amount of parks to hike and sit by rivers and just enjoy nature. We are 1 1/2 hours to the mountains for Skiing too. Weather is mild enough that you get a season change but its not horrible at all. We'll buy next year when our lease is up. We wanted to rent the first year to make sure. We may even buy the place we are in. They'll offer it for $129,000. We were looking at $350,000+ with $1200 a quarter HOA fees and probably a crappy fixer upper in Fla. Not worth it.

[aewan68]

Originally Posted by cfbs2691

Wow!
A tiny one bedroom apartment in South Florida is around $1300-1600...minimum.
Sorry - I've got nothing.
Best of luck!

In SoFla, that's typically the "starting at" cost, in the nice areas. Then one has to look at the salary they may earn, likely very low in SoFla, then try to figure out how they will pay for all the other high expenses like insane car insurance rates.

No wonder the Palm Beach Post has daily mugshots and crime on the front page. That alone speaks in volumes.

[aewan68]

Originally Posted by Sweetbottoms

Leave the state.. they're not going to go down. They'll be the same on both Coasts. We left for the Carolinas. In Naples we were paying an insane amount (in the end $1500+ for a "condo" which was really just a badly remodeled apartment with water damage and broken dishwasher and cracked tiles) for a 2 bedroom 2 bath 1000sqft piece of garbage. It was the most affordable thing we could find.

We moved to NC. We Pay $1100 (water included) for a 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 story 1,400sqft home, fully upgraded with a fire place and fenced in yard. We are 15-20 mins outside of actual downtown Charlotte. So much to do. Unreal amount of parks to hike and sit by rivers and just enjoy nature. We are 1 1/2 hours to the mountains for Skiing too. Weather is mild enough that you get a season change but its not horrible at all. We'll buy next year when our lease is up. We wanted to rent the first year to make sure. We may even buy the place we are in. They'll offer it for $129,000. We were looking at $350,000+ with $1200 a quarter HOA fees and probably a crappy fixer upper in Fla. Not worth it.

So true, SoFla is so overpriced in relation to what companies are willing to compensate (that is if you can even find a quality job). Driven by greed and the influx of Baby Boomers and people who have deep pockets and can avoid a greedy landlord. We had a friend that was renting a place for 10 years, rent started out decent and the owner was nice during the Real Estate collapse and didnt' raise the rent, but once things turned around the greed became unbearable. What you see in SoFla is true greed and a economy driven not by lot's of high paying jobs but wealth influx from someplace else.

[KWPN]

Have y'all considered buying instead? If you're staying in an area for 10 years, financially it works in your favor to purchase. There are tons of down-payment assistance programs out there.