Is South Florida really that cheap? (Leisureville: sale, foreclosures, rent) - Fort Lauderdale area - (FL) -Broward County - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

fauve · 05-24-2010, 01:12 AM

When I moved down here 22 years ago from Manhattan, it was much cheaper. My studio apt up there rented out for $1K/month while I paid $350 for a similar space in Miami Beach. I also earned more in my job down here because they saw NYC transplants as deserving of more money. I worked at that job for 11 years, took 7 years off to be a stay at home mom and they only could pay me $7K more than what they first paid me in 1988 and tens of thousands of dollars less than what I was earning when I left due to state budget cuts when I was ready to return in 2007.

I bought my first house in Surfside for $104,000 in 1991 within walking distance to the beach. That same house, even after the crash runs around $400K now. So housing has gone up 400%, wages have pretty much stayed the same...and dont get me started on health insurance, lol - up around 1,000%?

I haven't very actively tried to get a job in NYC as I hear the employment situation is as bad up there as here and Im over 45 (everything Ive read says over 60 used to be over the hill - now it's 45 and certainly would explain why I have all these fab interviews with no offers), but I have been told by NYC recruiters that the wages are much higher. A 2 bedroom rental in a nice area of the city runs about the same as a rental on a nice house here. ...$2500 or so. My opinion? NYC is cheaper overall if you find a typical NYC apt equivalent to a large house with a pool. It's a lifestyle choice. Wages will be less here though. FPL is higher because houses use more electricity than apts. Car for every member of family is necessary here and not there. Gas is another large expense, etc...

StilltheSame · 05-24-2010, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swimmom32

My electric bill is less here than it was in NJ....My car insurance on my dh's 05 Accord and my 09 Oddessey full coverage is less than NJ by 800.00 a year...My friend is paying less for property taxes here than in NJ....Its not substantially less but savings is savings...

Then its NJ, not Fl. Our insurance was cut by more than 50% for identical coverage. Property taxes (which everyone here complains about being way too high) is less than 50% for amazing property (close to lakes, city etc) and schools - with the schools here - there is no need to pay private school tuition - even with state taxes - we are making out like bandits here - since the salaries are higher than SFl.

Swimmom32 · 05-24-2010, 11:12 AM

I do think it depends...our property taxes in NJ were 12.5 k a year when we left..the schools in NJ again depends on where u live, schools here well my kids are getting an excellent education on both ends and they both attend Public Schools here and socially are doing alot better here...My dh is making the same as he was up North but here there is no state tax so we aren't complaining...financially we are doing much better here than there..I can tell u we are doing better than some of our friends in NJ and NY..

dedemoving · 05-25-2010, 08:21 PM

I am doing opposite move from NJ to FL in 2 months. The NJ Star Ledger newspaper just did a NJ cover section on this calculation from NJ to PA, NJ to NC and NJ to FL.
The amount of savings for people leaving for "greener pastures" to PA and NC were insignificant unless you made lifestyle choices. However, most people go for the bigger home, fancier car, etc. and then very small net gain income, though maybe they are happier away from hustle/bustle traffic, who knows?
For the NJ to FL move if you made between $100-$300K year in family income your yearly savings was something like $10-15K. Those even richer among us who made $500-1 million saved a lot more. This was due to FL having no income tax, which in NJ is stacked so it goes quite high once you reach higher incomes (they add together 2 earners from one family). Everything else equal I have seen washes out. The reason ac for some posters may be high due to large homes? I do not use heat or a/c in central jersey probably 3 mo per year, but my house is only 1500 sq ft. Most homes I see in nice neighborhoods in SF are over 3,000 sq. ft. so not sure of comparison.
Anyway if you are making less than $60K I would not try NJ, unless you are willing to have a roommate, which I did in 1992 when I graduated I started at $37K and 4 of us rented a large (but not fancy) house in Somerset County for 1600/mo.
Good luck

fauve · 05-25-2010, 09:41 PM

That's interesting because NC is usually seen as the less expensive option to South Florida.

deadhead948 · 05-26-2010, 07:42 PM

I left Florida almost 10 years ago to move back to southeast Pennsylvania. At the time the cost of living was the same but i could make a much better living in the northeast. During 2009 the recession was very hard on me. After seeing what has happened to housing in Florida i ran back. The prices down here are increadibly low right now. The northeast hasn't experienced anything like florida as far as housing goes. Aside from that, its no different but isn't housing everybodys #1 expense?

Swimmom32 · 05-26-2010, 07:59 PM

I lived in NC and there is a big difference from here to there..However things will go up as they always do, and it wont be Cheap to live there anymore..We moved from NJ to NC in 07 and from NC to Florida in 09..and although NC is cheaper it certainly isnt Better...

StreetSmarts · 05-26-2010, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swimmom32

I lived in NC and there is a big difference from here to there..However things will go up as they always do, and it wont be Cheap to live there anymore..We moved from NJ to NC in 07 and from NC to Florida in 09..and although NC is cheaper it certainly isnt Better...

It's your opinion that FL is better than NC. I respect that. I believe you are from NY or NJ, so I can see how you'd like S FL. Everyone in S FL is from a foreign country or NY/NJ it seems, lol. But that same logic has people like myself and many family members and friends fleeing to NC, lol. I'm not so sure - at least in my part of NC, that NC is cheaper than FL. In fact, in Western NC, it's not cheaper. But I know the reason and I'm ok with that. It shows how much people want to be here. In Asheville, if you want a nice house, close to everything, you're looking at $250k - $300k (still!) even in this economy. In FL, even in S FL (which for some reason was really expensive at one time), you can get a forclosure and/or short sale all day in the low to mid $100k's. Supply and demand.

It seems like everyone and their brother wants to live in the Asheville area, whereas S FL attracts a different crowd. Not saying anything good or bad (there are some great people in S FL), just that S FL attracts a lot of people that are different from the folks that places like Asheville attract. And for myself and my family, the people that I would like to be around and an environment that I would rather bring up our daughter in is a place like Asheville.

Anyway, got off topic but I wanted to share with you what I know from living in both NC and FL. I've lived in both states about equal the time. But the reason why S FL is so cheap now is supply and demand.

Shoegal1075 · 05-26-2010, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StilltheSame

Electric and gas together is substantially less (even in winter) in Minneapolis than in SFL. I think that speaks volumes.

Still that is just in Minn cuz in NYC you pay a lot more than you would here for heat and/or air - in the summer in NYC my bill was around 300+ I haven't heard that to be the case here unless their system was really old.

I will tell you that I have been going through sticker shock myself. Rents here are exactly the same as in NYC - although you get more bang for your buck. The only thing I see slightly different is that the poor neighborhoods here are much more inexpensive. Where in NY you could live in East NY and pay the same you pay in Woodside.

Food is the same some times cheaper and sometimes more expensive. A lot more wear and tear on the car obviously and OMG the most reckless drivers I have ever encountered. Say what you will but I don't think that the NJians or NYers are the ones in these accidents that I see EVERY SINGLE DAY. I can't tell you that they all aren't from the North East but I can tell you that NYers drive very defensively and learn to drive that way - the drivers here are just reckless with very little regard for others. Not everyone obviously but a lot of people.

Just my thoughts.

Shoegal1075 · 05-26-2010, 08:52 PM

Share where I can find these 100K forclosures.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ComSense

It's your opinion that FL is better than NC. I respect that. I believe you are from NY or NJ, so I can see how you'd like S FL. Everyone in S FL is from a foreign country or NY/NJ it seems, lol. But that same logic has people like myself and many family members and friends fleeing to NC, lol. I'm not so sure - at least in my part of NC, that NC is cheaper than FL. In fact, in Western NC, it's not cheaper. But I know the reason and I'm ok with that. It shows how much people want to be here. In Asheville, if you want a nice house, close to everything, you're looking at $250k - $300k (still!) even in this economy. In FL, even in S FL (which for some reason was really expensive at one time), you can get a forclosure and/or short sale all day in the low to mid $100k's. Supply and demand.

It seems like everyone and their brother wants to live in the Asheville area, whereas S FL attracts a different crowd. Not saying anything good or bad (there are some great people in S FL), just that S FL attracts a lot of people that are different from the folks that places like Asheville attract. And for myself and my family, the people that I would like to be around and an environment that I would rather bring up our daughter in is a place like Asheville.

I want you to share where you can get a forclosure for 100K - I need that secret.
Anyway, got off topic but I wanted to share with you what I know from living in both NC and FL. I've lived in both states about equal the time. But the reason why S FL is so cheap now is supply and demand.