[gatorblueyes]

Hello! I am about to graduate in June and am starting my job/new home search. I would like to move to coastal florida preferably not the panhandle. I would like to be in a younger area with plenty to do socially. I don't expect to make less than $60,000 and will likely be more around $70,000. I am single so that will be my household income. The areas I am interested in are WBP thru Ft. Lauderdale, St. Pete/Clearwater and last choices of Daytona Beach (family) and Jax Beach...

Any info or suggestions are greatly appreciated. I tend to lean towards the Southeast coast of Florida. Thanks!

[tampaguy03]

Fort Lauderdale!

[gatorblueyes]

Originally Posted by tampaguy03

Fort Lauderdale!

But where??? It seems like such a big place that I don't even know where to start.

[urbandeco]

If you are planning to relocate to SE Florida I can offer advice as I live in Boca Raton. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach are the three most populated counties. However, Martin County just north of PBC and now Port St Lucie county are growing fast. (Please provide questions and your interests so we can answer)

If you are just graduating, I am guessing you are 20's to poss 30's. You would probably enjoy Ft Lauderdale or even Miami Beach. Both of these places have become quite expensive as has everywhere. If you choose Ft Lauderdale, I would definitely recommend staying east of Federal Hwy (US 1) as this is an area where mostly young urban professionals would choose to live, work and play. The western suburbs are more family oriented. Ft Lauderdale, especially the downtown sector and the beach areas have been booming with restaurants, new apartments etc,,so you should be able to find a nice rental to start. Ft Laud has some interesting neighborhoods. You just need to look and seriously the place is ever changing, as a lot of money and investment has moved in and the place is beginning to look and feel more urban. Old hotels along the beach are being torn down to make way for new condos and such. As all places, there are also a lot of yucky areas heading towards and bordering I-95. A good key to follow, is stay away from apartments etc that are near I-95. Eastern locations are much nicer. Or western, if they are far out west past the Fl Turnpike.

If Lauderdale is not your thing, you can either head more south into Hollywood, also building like crazy. Or you can begin to head north into places like Pompano ( I;m not crazy about this place) However, it is improving and there are nice areas along the beaches. Then you head into Deerfield Beach. Just north of here is Palm Beach County. It starts in Boca Raton. This is a fairly wealthy, well maintained and manicured city. It also is booming and you may want to check this place out. There are all kinds here. It does have a high single population but it may seem materialistic. I also like Delray Beach just north of Boca. Check out Atlantic Avenue when you come! WBP, is another city you may want to consider.

[Angelrocks]

Do u want to rent or own? My personal favorite is Boca Raton and northward. Farther South, the more I feel like an alien.

It's going to cost a lot of money to live in S. Florida. The traffic is unbelievable here. Do you like gridlock? During rush hr. I drove 13 miles from Ft. Lauderdale and it took about two hrs. to get home. Traffic is actually less congested in NYC and LA.

Do you want to live in an area where there a lot of immigrants? Do you speak Spanish? What line of work are you going to do? I just need to ask these questions to find out where you could actually make that kind of money.

Pay scale for each job is different in each location. My friend actually makes more money doing the same job in St. Augustine than he did in Ft. Lauderdale. It's really important to know the line of work your going into. This way you can place yourself properly in the job market.

St. Augustine, Jacksonville, Orlando, Boca Raton and Tampa seem to be my favorite spots.

[rkumar3]

I would cut to the chase and recommend Delray Beach since it offers a lot in terms of quality of life, less congestion, glitz, tourism etc yet offers one of the nicest down town (booming very much) and the beautiful beaches. You are also close to Boca which offers plenty of job opps (specially in the high end such as tech etc), high end restaurants, bars, theatre etc.

Not to mention it is very central so you can easily commute down to Fort Lauderdale or all the way north to Palm Beach Gardens etc (if and when needed). Please feel free to PM me if you need info about the housing etc and I can certainly hlep.

[gatorblueyes]

Thanks so much for all of your replies!!

Urbandeco: I used to live in St. Lucie county (grew up in PSL and Ft. Pierce) and don't care to go back. It has virtually no infrastructure for the influx of people moving in there. I may need to sneak a peek back to martin county though. I love being outdoors and I love to fish and dive so I do appreciate that area for those reasons.

I just turned 30 and will be getting my master's in Physician Assistant studies. Like I said before I am hoping to make $70k my first year which should be attainable as a Dermatology PA which is what I hope to specialize in. That being said am I correct that it might not be enough for areas like Ft. Lauderdale???

Orienting me to places "east of US1 in Ft L" is very helpful!!! That is the kind of steering I am looking for. I would like to own a home but I know that might be tough. I have a dog so that is going to factor in to my considerations. If I do move down there it might be possible to bunk with friends while I save for a few months.

I would like nicer areas but don't want to get into the "materialistic" as you pointed out. I am far too down to earth to enjoy much of that lol. Other
people have mentioned Delray to me so that has gotten my attention now!

Angelrocks: I would like to own if possible. I am nervous about the traffic. I have had several rotations in the heart of Jax where 20 minute commutes turned to hour and a half commutes very quickly. I stated above in this post my profession and expected salary. I don't speak spanish and would like to avoid getting into areas where it would be a requirement. Also safety is important. I am going to be a single female living alone with my large dog lol.

rkumar3: Delray definately has my attention. I do like it's location and accessability.

Important to me besides what is already stated is the ability to have plenty of options for entertainment/enrichment (theatre, jazz fests, outdoor activities) and access to the water for fishing/scuba/boating. I do not have any children at this time so school zones etc aren't a priority. I also want to avoid "too much" which for me would be Miami beach.

[gatorblueyes]

If anyone on here is from Delray Beach please let me know!

[rkumar3]

I live in Delray... Let me know if I can help you with anything. You can also write to me directly at rkumar3@yahoo.com since I check that much more often than this forum.

[Nirvana-Guy]

Originally Posted by gatorblueyes

Hello! I am about to graduate in June and am starting my job/new home search. I would like to move to coastal florida preferably not the panhandle. I would like to be in a younger area with plenty to do socially. I don't expect to make less than $60,000 and will likely be more around $70,000. I am single so that will be my household income. The areas I am interested in are WBP thru Ft. Lauderdale, St. Pete/Clearwater and last choices of Daytona Beach (family) and Jax Beach...

Any info or suggestions are greatly appreciated. I tend to lean towards the Southeast coast of Florida. Thanks!

Where did you get the $60k - $70k salary range? That seems awfully high for a recent grad. Is that a FL estimate? Have you looked at MonsterJobs or CraigsList to know IF you can make that kinda cash down here??

Enjoy the beach during the upcoming hurricane season and enjoy paying between $6,000 - $12,000 year on homeowner's insurance.

You will have plenty of money to buy sodas and enjoy at the beach after paying all that!