Anyone relocate from up north to find cost of living to be more down here??

[Plokivos]

I can't imagine all you from NE arguing about the Sun, state and federal taxes, healthcare cost, alcohol cost, the beach, and the ocean, and cheaper Rent for something you know costs more in NE, such as maintenance in car, quality of food vs cost, and parking and cab you pay for vs in FL. I mean, that's just right off my head things.

Do your math. FL is cheaper. Even Miami is cheaper than NYC (not so much CT, because it's either you're poor or rich).

[rusty78]

Originally Posted by Springtime129

Hmmm, I don't know.

Relocated down here in July. Everyone always says Ct is so expensive to live, but as I go through day to day life in FL I have to disagree. ---My wife and I moved down here in July as well and my initial opinion of Florida was the same as yours. For I still refer to our move as a Financial Hemorrhage!

My car insurance jumped up $100 a month. --Our car insurance doubled and what is even worse, we can now only get a 6 month policy instead of the 1 year policy we were use to.

Food is more expensive/grocery stores are no good. --We try and do most of our shopping at Costco for meats and groceries which is basically the same as in NY...then one of the Walmart's for other items and lastly Public for the rest.

My cell phone bill went up (and they stated it was because of our new address) --stayed the same, even after I switched to a Florida #

Homeowners insurance is crazy....--Homeowner's went up, but we went from a townhouse to a house and we added the optional flood insurance just in case.

And to top it off my taxes on the house just went up $1000 from last year. --In NY we were paying $8000 a year for a 1600SF townhouse, which were just increased $500..here in Florida we are paying $6400 a year...so far a saving...

Oh, and $400 to register each car? We have 3. Bye bye $1200.--same feeling, but like they say it's only a one time fee. In NY you are required to pay 8%+ to register your car the 1st time...so no matter how you look at it, it is cheaper in Florida!!!!

I finally found a job with comparable pay, but hubby has not been able to get anything over $12 an hour which really is not what he is used too. --can't help you with that for I came down retired and have no intention of going back to work.....I hope!!!

Seriously reconsidering going back.--give it some time, my wife and I planned this move over the last 3 years and even after all of our planning --IT STILL DOES NOT FEEL LIKE HOME--it takes time to rediscover our new area...before our move we knew all the short cuts, were the cheapest gas was, the best stores to shop, our friends were close, etc....etc....etc...KNOW we are attempting to rediscover everything we left behind...

Anyone have a different perspective for me?

..this year when you file your taxes might give you a different perspective on Florida...in NY we would have to pay NY State Tax as well as a NJ State Tax since my wife worked in NJ...even worse NJ used my salary to determine what we had to pay for her to work in NJ...adding it all up, property taxes, car registrations, additional insurance costs, we are way ahead of the game.

So all I can say is give it sometime, for eventually from what everyone tells me, life is better in Florida!!!

[Springtime129]

I do just want to clarify.... We DID NOT move down w/o jobs. Hubby qualified for a transfer but took a pay cut, which was fine because I had been offered a job with a good salary. However, the lady outright lied to me about how much I would be making, in reality it was half. So hubby went, found a slightly better paying job, and I did so as well.

The woman at DMV stated to me if I were to buy a new vehicle, I still have to pay yet another $400....maybe that's wrong, don't know.

Yes, CT had state income tax, but I got a lot of that back in my return. CT taxed you on your vehicles every year, but I got some of that back too with my return. Sometimes I wonder when I was figuring this out, where I thought this evened out... Lol

Rusty 78... Your response was very helpful, I am still feeling that way and hope it does change soon. I second shopping at Costco, we go there often.

[newred5]

The 400 plate fee at the DMV is per plate, so if you buy an addition car yes there's an addition fee. If you buy another car and transfer an existing plate to the new car then no fee

[HarryWho?]

Originally Posted by rusty78

..this year when you file your taxes might give you a different perspective on Florida...in NY we would have to pay NY State Tax as well as a NJ State Tax since my wife worked in NJ...even worse NJ used my salary to determine what we had to pay for her to work in NJ...adding it all up, property taxes, car registrations, additional insurance costs, we are way ahead of the game.

So all I can say is give it sometime, for eventually from what everyone tells me, life is better in Florida!!!

$6400 for taxes? Where do you live? That's about what I paid in Jersey for a 35 yr. old 1300 SF house. Here I have an almost new 1900 SF masonary home with a pool and a much bigger lot for $1600.

[runswithscissors]

And to top it off my taxes on the house just went up $1000 from last year.

You mean your property tax in FL compared to CT? Well, if you file homestead they will go down. My tax on a 1200 SF condo is 500.00. Did you compare the mills /assessments?

All the online cost of living calculators say it's cheaper here overall. So make sure you're comparing apples with apples.

Nobody ever said insurance was cheaper here, it's not. It's a state with hurricanes and transient drivers and some without insurance.

You still had to pay state income tax unless you had some kind of earned income credit for low earners, right? I thought it was somewhere between 3 and 5 percent up there in that likely bracket.

"Getting it all back" doesn't compute for me. Sounds like you were overpaying?

Housing is absolutely less here. Perhaps it was the CHOICE you made, though. You can compare cost per sq foot.
I don't know how food can be cheaper in Conn than here.
I think your auto gas in Conn is more, according to checking online - at least the range.
I think your heat bill will be more in Conn.

Where do we have a Costco here?

Your first post states there's ALOT you don't like about it here. The medical care, the people being trash etc. I don't know how someone misses the people if they did all that research you said you did. There was some discussion about subpar schools on that thread, too. Florida was the LOWEST in ranking a couple decades ago, the state was not even a A STATE until the North had railroads, universities, and mass transit etc. So Florida is NOT the same as UP NORTH. The education system has improved tremendously over the decades.

Florida schools rank SIXTH now, overall.

Florida schools 6th in Education Week rankings - Government - The News Herald

How States Compare in the 2013 Best High Schools Rankings - US News and World Report

Maybe you "researched" online and not by coming here enough? But most of this information IS available online.

So maybe actually crunch the NUMBERS.

You also stated you bought a house and REMODELED. A HUGE expense right there.

I'm from Philly. Florida is NOTHING like the North in ANY respect. Never was. Never will be.

[rusty78]

Originally Posted by HarryWho?

$6400 for taxes? Where do you live? That's about what I paid in Jersey for a 35 yr. old 1300 SF house. Here I have an almost new 1900 SF masonary home with a pool and a much bigger lot for $1600.

Harry...as I am sure you know...property taxes are roughly 2% of the purchase price of a home......our home is 2200+SF...costs less than $400K, but added a pool......after all was said and done the Palm Beach County Appraiser's Office Website estimates our taxes at $6300+......so I just rounded it off...but we knew this going in...so no big surprise!!!

[SeaLark7]

We live in Vero Beach, and paid $255k for our 2450 SF pool home in June of this year (our lot is .24 acre). With the Homestead Exemption, our taxes are about $1,950 a year (just got the tax bill a month or so ago).

[Wandawoman]

I also relocated down here in July and Boy am I happy to leave behind renters paying my NY mortgage and $9000 annual taxes. Homeowners is about the same...Taxes are based on the assessed value of you home then -$25,000 to homestead. Taxes will go down. I'm down to about $1100. I purchased my FL home 5 years ago cash when the market was rock bottom. Gas is definitely cheaper by about 30 cents. I now have Metro PCS like many down here do. $25 a line is just fine. I just registered 4 cars so yeah that was a big hit, but also changed ins companies and it dropped almost $1000. NO Inspections! Cable is the same wherever you go. Unless you decide against cable TV and get ROKU.
My husband is retired with a pension and I'm looking to continue working in the healthcare field. We make ends meet just fine PLUS 2 kids in FL colleges. SUNY schools are almost $20,000 a year! I'm no fool!
I am glad that when I put out yard waste it doesn't sit curbside till Spring for the trash men to pick it up. Not to mention ALL THE LEAVES you have to rake and put into paper bags only for them to get rained on an disintegrate. Don't forget the price of heating a NY home with Oil.. something like $4 a gallon and you go through 200 gallons a month
I'm just lovin the sunshine! Hope you change your mind about leaving. Its NOT better there.

[Ginachecked]

I have been here sine June and think Fl is cheaper,
In Michigan I had to wear coats,scarfs, boots,
My heating bill was very expensive.
I ate bigger meals,especially in winter.
It's also hard to put a price on ones sanity. I use to
get depressed each winter. When I see people on the news
shoveling and getting stuck I am thrilled with my decision.