Realistic Cost relocating from California to Florida (Jacksonville, Miami: car insurance, condo)

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

You're welcome!


Clermont would be your best bet, imo. $250k is a very low budget though for a house here, Florida is a lot cheaper than California, but $250k here is still a low budget. Avoid Davenport and Four Corners... mostly short-term rentals there for Disney tourists.

That's an old narrative. The Davenport area is heating up with first-time year-round buyers due to the lower price point and proximity to Orlando along with the quality of home for the price. I would recommend speaking with a realtor and doing some more investigation versus the often somewhat narrow views of people on this site.

[thereisnohope]

I'm sorry to take an exit on the transport subject but I'm looking for the same thing here as some folks moved from CA to Central Florida. I was checking on moving prices and it's very expensive. Van Lines and Pods companies are asking something in between 10k and 13k. Man, I don't think my belongings worth that much! Californians, any tip for affordable moving to FL?

[DancingK]

Originally Posted by thereisnohope

I'm sorry to take an exit on the transport subject but I'm looking for the same thing here as some folks moved from CA to Central Florida. I was checking on moving prices and it's very expensive. Van Lines and Pods companies are asking something in between 10k and 13k. Man, I don't think my belongings worth that much! Californians, any tip for affordable moving to FL?

No problem, I have many curiosities with this move including the transportation.

I have minimal amount of furniture and see quotes around $4-$6k with quotes from handful of companies, I've also looked at renting a truck etc but that seems to be more expensive at least for the amount of furniture I have. If the truck rental would be a better option for you the only thing I believe you'd be missing is how to get your vehicle over as well - tow / shipped? I quoted having my car moved and they were all between $1200 and $1800.

Transportation aside, I'm now trying to delve deeper into realistic cost of living... It's clear housing is cheaper in Florida compared to California but how does it really compare day to day, bills etc?

Could anyone speak into their bills (without me being too intrusive hopefully)
I'm curious about the monthly costs if anyone wouldn't mind providing some costs they face around the Orlando, Lakeland, Davenport, Vero Beach, Clermont and Leesburg Areas.

For a 2-3 bed home

• Electricity - does open plan living space cost more to cool/heat?
• Water - Does this differ greately for pool owners? Would an overground, non permanent pool structure be similar in cost?
• Vehicle Insurance - Small SUV
• Wifi - is coverage good? Any recommended companies?
• I may have missed some but really any home owners willing to share realistic costs, would be greatly appreciated

[BGS91762]

Originally Posted by DancingK

Thank you both, definitely doesn't seem as extreme as the Inland Empire then... that's good to know

The heat in the IE of So Cal maybe hotter but feels way better because of lower humidity. I live in the IE and travel to Central Florida often. The heat and humidity in FL makes the IE heat feel wonderful. I laugh when people say the IE is hot. They need to Visit FL and they will never complain again.

[Cornhusker_CA]

I moved from San Jose to Orlando in May 2019. I rented an empty container for a month from PODS, including transportation was $4400, I hired local movers in San Jose for 3 hours, cost was $450. Movers for unloading in Orlando for 2 hours, cost was $250.

Car insurance in Florida is quite high but no smog check, no frequent car break-ins like in California, much cheaper gas prices are positive.

My monthly water bill was $100 in San Jose, I am paying $20 in Orlando area.

[SellingNWCape]

For those making the move: if you find van line companies to be too expensive, check PODS or (UHaul for similar option) and if they are too expensive, check renting a UHaul to make the drive yourself and if you find that too expensive and/or don't want to make the drive yourself, look into ABF UPack where they drop off a trailer, you (or someone you hire) load it over a couple of days, they come pick it up and deliver it to your new location in about a week and you (or hired help) then have a couple of days to unload before they pick it back up. Note that this option only works if you live in an area (& are moving to an area) where you have a driveway or someplace you can park a semi trailer for the 3 days they leave it for each way. Otherwise you have to do what we did where you arrange for the ABF trailer to be taken somewhere like their ABF station for unloading and reloading onto a moving truck for "final mile" delivery on a moving truck that will leave with the movers the second they are done unloading at your new residence. (Loading if the opposite.) With ABF UPack they charge you by the linear foot for the space you use on the trailer.

If you have a lot of furniture that is easily replaceable and that's going to eat up valuable truck or PODS container space, sell it off before you move so you're not paying more than the furniture is worth. The other plus is that you don't risk your furniture getting scuffed, knicked, or broken during the moving process. Check out places like IKEA, Rooms To Go, Ashley Furniture, American Signature Furniture, Badcock, etc. and make sure replacement will be cost effective for you. Always lots of deals around holidays and many offer financing.

[LPnerd]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

That's an old narrative. The Davenport area is heating up with first-time year-round buyers due to the lower price point and proximity to Orlando along with the quality of home for the price. I would recommend speaking with a realtor and doing some more investigation versus the often somewhat narrow views of people on this site.

this is no longer true of davenport . people with vacation homes here haven't been here in a couple years now, plus no renters were here for a year or more and it's just now beginning to pick up, so many rental owners have sold, like HUNDREDS of them, and davenport has been the happy recipient . The home we just bought ( at a ridiculous price point BTW), is in one such development, we have nice yards, almost all homes have pools, it's small quiet and safe, and whereas it used to be 3/4 rentals, now in a subdivision of about 200 homes, the HOA reports only 8 of them remain rentals, and all 8 of them remain empty. Homes in this neighborhood are on the market about 14 days. and almost all have had multiple offers and sold well above ask.
I suggest you seek a realtor familiar with the area. or look on you tube for realtor videos in our area.

[LPnerd]

Originally Posted by DancingK

No problem, I have many curiosities with this move including the transportation.

I have minimal amount of furniture and see quotes around $4-$6k with quotes from handful of companies, I've also looked at renting a truck etc but that seems to be more expensive at least for the amount of furniture I have. If the truck rental would be a better option for you the only thing I believe you'd be missing is how to get your vehicle over as well - tow / shipped? I quoted having my car moved and they were all between $1200 and $1800.

Transportation aside, I'm now trying to delve deeper into realistic cost of living... It's clear housing is cheaper in Florida compared to California but how does it really compare day to day, bills etc?

Could anyone speak into their bills (without me being too intrusive hopefully)
I'm curious about the monthly costs if anyone wouldn't mind providing some costs they face around the Orlando, Lakeland, Davenport, Vero Beach, Clermont and Leesburg Areas.

For a 2-3 bed home

• Electricity - does open plan living space cost more to cool/heat?
• Water - Does this differ greately for pool owners? Would an overground, non permanent pool structure be similar in cost?
• Vehicle Insurance - Small SUV
• Wifi - is coverage good? Any recommended companies?
• I may have missed some but really any home owners willing to share realistic costs, would be greatly appreciated

you won't want a above ground pool here, we have thunderstorms with winds often and well those other things, LOL. Plus most HOA don't allow them. Your cost of living here, compared to CA. is much cheaper. once you get settled in. As far as moving, sell your stuff and buy a home here that's furnished, there's dozens of them.
we use spectrum and have been happy, cell phone is Verizon, water bill will be about 1/4 of what you paid in CA. car insurance is cheaper, home owners might be about the same, maybe a bit cheaper depending on where you live in CA.

[drive carephilly]

Originally Posted by thereisnohope

Van Lines and Pods companies are asking something in between 10k and 13k. Man, I don't think my belongings worth that much! Californians, any tip for affordable moving to FL?

We sold a lot of our furniture before we left. Packed up one small pod - IIRC, it was around $5000. It was worth an extra $5k-$6k to pay to move stuff we planned on replacing in a year or two anyway (and probably wasn't even worth that much).

I'd imagine shipping is more expensive now with all of the supply chain problems.

[drive carephilly]

Originally Posted by DancingK

For a 2-3 bed home

• Electricity - does open plan living space cost more to cool/heat?
• Water - Does this differ greately for pool owners? Would an overground, non permanent pool structure be similar in cost?
• Vehicle Insurance - Small SUV
• Wifi - is coverage good? Any recommended companies?
• I may have missed some but really any home owners willing to share realistic costs, would be greatly appreciated

I live in Orlando so OUC is my utility company. Water and electricity is all one bill. There is gas in my neighborhood but we don't have a connection (yet). If you do have gas that bill would probably be from TECO. We also get reclaimed water from OUC for irrigation. The season dictates a lot - how much the sprinklers run and how much a/c we use but our bills have been between $240 and $330 a month for everything. Also, keep in mind that I'm in a 65 year old mid century house with poor insulation in the ceiling and with single pane windows. It was built before central air so it was designed to be drafty. We'll fix that stuff eventually, just saying that if you're in a newer build your insulation will likely be a lot better. If you have a smaller lot you'll have less stuff to water.

Full coverage (our car is a 2018 model), two drivers, and it's around $1100 for the year. We chose the higher coverages but with higher deductibles so it balances out a little. Just the one car though. For us a 2nd car just isn't a necessity and we prefer to spend that money on other stuff anyway.

We have Spectrum for cable, the intro rate expired so we're paying $71/mo. We've both ween WFH so have been putting our system to the test. We only run into trouble if we're both on a video call and the kid is streaming something at the same time. We've been offered faster service for an extra $15/month but it hasn't seemed worth it. AT&T is laying fiber in the neighborhood now. I'll see what their prices look like when they're finished.

We do our own pool maintenance. Our pool gets full sun for most of the day. The only time I've added water to the pool is a few times towards the end of the dry season when the water got low enough that the skimmer was sucking in air. Maybe I added 1500 gallons total? It was barely a blip spread out over two water bills. Otherwise, the rain is enough to keep the pool full.

We do pay landscapers to do the lawn (mostly because I have no place to put a lawn mower and it's just easier to not sweat maintaining the equipment) but we pay less because we do our own weeding/mulching/hedge trimming.