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People love to diss California but evidence shows it has a much more lucrative job market with more diversity and higher salaries. There are problem spots like the SF Bay area but they're not as widespread as one is lead to believe by the right wing press. Some will argue Florida is cheaper but salaries are such that in most of the major metro areas rent inequality has become a huge problem, with no relief in sight as the population continues to grow...minus higher paying jobs to offset the cost of living.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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Depends on your field of expertise but CA does have many more opportunities for more people at higher wages. That is not to say there are no well paying opportunities, careers or wealth, in FL either—plenty of successful medical, law, finance, small business owners in my building and neighborhood.
You will need higher wages in CA , however, to cover much higher COL expenses, driven mainly by housing and taxes, and you would be well advised to shoot for being above average and in a well paying field. The median income in CA is $63,000 but the average cost of living is $84,000—do the math.
Interesting take above on FL’s inequality while glossing over the situation in CA (and I’m not a right winger) which (1) has the highest poverty rate in the nation (higher than FL) and (2) 1/4 of the nation’s homeless population (not just limited to some pockets of SF either—4 of the top 10 homeless cities are in CA; FL not even in the top 10)...again, best not to settle for being average—no matter where you live.
Last edited by elchevere; 12-10-2019 at 07:29 AM..
So first, cost of living and the job market are two different things. You can't just add one to another.
That being said, California has the bettter job market (it's not even close) even despite the considerably higher COL.
For someone who's seeking career growth and networking opportunities, it's definitely going to be a trade off. If you can find a high-paying job in Florida and have no ambition to progress upward in your profession, then good for you. But just know the trade off is that you'll lack opportunities for job hopping, moving up the corporate ladder and making connections with other white collar workers.
Last edited by citidata18; 07-04-2020 at 06:24 AM..
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
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California for sure. Not to mention Florida has some of the lowest wages in the country coupled with a cost of living above the national average, especially in Broward, Dade and Palm Beach counties, which are almost as expensive as Socal for apartments and condos
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