Orlando income question vs. cost-of-living (Baldwin: apartment, renting, home)

[elranzer]

Job offer in Orlando, Lake Nona area. The starting salary is $75,000 with the usual benefits from a big, private firm. It's a mid-career, non-supervising IT job.

Is that low or middle-income for Orlando and its cost of living, adjusted for the Lake Nona neighborhood in particular? Is that a decent salary for what IT professionals make in this area?

Will be doing apartment hunting next week.

[Arcenal813]

Are you single? Kids?
$75k is well above the median here.
Dépendant on the above questions, you might be quite well off.

[brinkofsunshine]

If you’re single with no kids you can live very comfortably on that salary.

[boy3365]

I don't know about the income relative to your field and other areas, but that is an overall great salary here.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by elranzer

Job offer in Orlando, Lake Nona area. The starting salary is $75,000 with the usual benefits from a big, private firm. It's a mid-career, non-supervising IT job.

Is that low or middle-income for Orlando and its cost of living, adjusted for the Lake Nona neighborhood in particular? Is that a decent salary for what IT professionals make in this area?

Will be doing apartment hunting next week.

That is a good income and higher than average for an individual.

[elranzer]

Single, mid-30s, male, no kids (no plans on it). Aiming for a 2-bedroom apartment so I have a guest room for my parents when they visit.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by elranzer

Single, mid-30s, male, no kids (no plans on it). Aiming for a 2-bedroom apartment so I have a guest room for my parents when they visit.

You'll be perfectly fine then. You can live in some of the most desirable areas without issues. I am also your age, but I have kids. If I didn't, my main picks as a young professional male would be centered around downtown, Ivanhoe, Thornton Park, South Eola, Eola Heights, Baldwin Park, and Audubon Park. I may be missing a few areas, but these in particular come to mind.

Expect to pay anywhere between $1,600-$2,000 for a decent 2/2. You can find good units for ~$1,600 if you look around.

[cfenn006]

Originally Posted by elranzer

Single, mid-30s, male, no kids (no plans on it). Aiming for a 2-bedroom apartment so I have a guest room for my parents when they visit.

You'll be fine as long as you are just aiming for staying single and only renting a 2 BR apartment. If you end up starting a family (lots of us had no plans either but it happens, especially in your 30's LOL) or wanting to buy a decent home, $75K may not be enough, costs are rising and home prices are increasing every month.

[kyle19125]

The median individual income in Orlando is 28K (2019 number) which is no where close to comfortable for living expenses as it's estimated the "living wage" here is in the neighborhood of 35K.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

The median individual income in Orlando is 28K (2019 number) which is no where close to comfortable for living expenses as it's estimated the "living wage" here is in the neighborhood of 35K.

I personally wouldn't be able to live comfortably in Orlando (single or not) at under $50k/yr. Either I'd have to have a roommate to afford a decent place, or I'd have no car.

$75k for a single mid-30s male is very good for the area.

Originally Posted by cfenn006

You'll be fine as long as you are just aiming for staying single and only renting a 2 BR apartment. If you end up starting a family (lots of us had no plans either but it happens, especially in your 30's LOL) or wanting to buy a decent home, $75K may not be enough, costs are rising and home prices are increasing every month.

This is true... Although I'd assume that, as an IT professional, OP's networking circle would likely have him romantically involved with a like-minded professional, so the household income would be much higher than with his alone.