California or Florida????? (Sacramento, Folsom: homeowners insurance, condos, lawyer)

[marymarymary]

Hi all, I've never ever posted before on a board so but I am desperate for answers and this forum and it's participants seems pretty interesting. I've been agonizing for days on whether to stay in Sacramento (CA in general) or move to St. Petersburg / Tampa (FL in general) area. I moved to Sac from NYC last year for a lobbying job that now went away. The timing now is actually perfect for me to take the July bar exam and become a lawyer (hopefully) since lobbying wasn't as interesting or stable as I had hoped. Now I just need to decide if I will settle in Florida or Cali for most of the future. I DO NOT want to have to take the hellish bar exam more then once but you really need to take the exam in the state where you will be working. I need to make my decision NOW and here's what I've come up with:

CALIFORNIA:
No humidity and relatively nice winters depending on where you are (I don't dig cold)
Way to high housing costs (I'd really rather own then rent)
Onlyn have 2 friends in San Fran and 1 in Sac and I'm finding it hard to connect to people and have no family in the area (I think I'm a bit NY abbrasive for these nice folks over here)

FLORIDA:
No state income tax
Big cities like Tampa seem to have higher rents then Sac and on par with LA
Much lower housing costs to buy and property taxes seem similar to CA
Oppresive humidity in summer but beautiful winters (I'm kinda used to bad summers from NYC)
A little bit of family in area and a cousin who's already offered to set me up with a guy (lol ) and I haven't met anyone in Sac since I've been here.


FINALY, My last concern is with the job market. I would like to do Wills, Trusts, Estates law but I figure that both states are full of older folks and rich folks in general so I think the job market should be pretty much the same.

SO, ANY THOUGHTS ANYONE???????????

[Kingsnkali]

I think you will find housing costs in Florida that will surprise you. Their market has run up much like Sacramento and elsewhere in California. I'm almost sure their property tax rates are higher. And homeowners insurance is much much higher than here. Their board is full of people complaining about the property taxes and homeowner insurance costs.

No one can tell you what to do, but maybe you haven't given California enough time. Don't be pressured by someone "fixing" you up. You might get there and wonder what the heck have you done.

Everyone comes to those forks in the road of life. You seem to have a tough one now. Good luck to you.

[NewToCA]

I agree with much of what was said above. Before deciding to retire in Sacramento a few months ago, I had a serious interest in relocating to Clearwater, FL, in the Tampa Bay area.

The prices for homes are now not much less than Sacramento, maybe a 10-15% difference at most. Many areas are actually pretty similar in price. Florida doesn't have a state income tax, but the property taxes are very high to offset this, and the homeowners insurance costs are remarkably high.

Many pluses to both areas, but the cost of home ownership is fairly similar. In fairness, Florida has some less expensive condos than you can find in Sacramento, but I'm not sure you would be comfortable living in those areas.

Best of luck!

[Hawkeye48]

I'd go with California. Just because I used to live in Sacramento and liked it. There has to be some part of California you'll like. California has the eighth largest economy in the world. That has to translate to a lot of opportunity for an attorney. And with all the baby boomers retiring soon you will probably have a lot of business no matter where you work. Besides, there are no hurricanes in California.

[3pups]

I recently relocated from NY to Florida...For starters, you can't beat the weather down here...the winter has been amazing...we have spent the past 8 months outdoors, which could never happen in NY. One thing to consider is the horrible schools down here...I am teaching in a fairly good district and the school system down here is way behind the rest of the nation. We don't have kids yet, but when that time happens, we will be looking to moving to another state--perhaps California!

[CADRMNDANES]

I have lived near Sac. since 1976. I hate SAC. It is way over price for what you get. Most of the people here are SLOBS!! I moved to a smaller town about 30 minutes away close to Folsom Lake. All of California is getting very expensive. We are looking at other states.
I like the Tampa area and you would do well with the seniors and the retirement areas in Florida! I was actually checking that area out a few days ago. Plus you have family there. That is always a plus.

[CADRMNDANES]

Originally Posted by 3pups

I recently relocated from NY to Florida...For starters, you can't beat the weather down here...the winter has been amazing...we have spent the past 8 months outdoors, which could never happen in NY. One thing to consider is the horrible schools down here...I am teaching in a fairly good district and the school system down here is way behind the rest of the nation. We don't have kids yet, but when that time happens, we will be looking to moving to another state--perhaps California!

I hope you like to have 32 plus kids in the class room. That's why I'm moving our kids out. I'm in an area with very high numbers. The teachers are stressed out. They don't have any help in the classrooms besides parent volunteers.