Thinking about moving to the area. (Miami, Tampa: middle-class, transplants, apartment)

[Christwhat]

Ok, I know everyone has seen these threads more than once but I've been looking and figured I'd get some opinions..

As of right of, I live in central Massachusetts with a pretty secure manufacturing job making pretty decent money. I'm sick of this area, I've been here all my life(I'm 25). So, I'm thinking of moving south and Florida sounds like a good option.

I've got 2,000 saved and was thinking of dumping everything and moving. Put as much in my car as I can fit and go.. No moving truck, no plan.

I have no family(haven't seen or talked to any family since I was 15) or any close friends, so this place really isn't 'home'. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sad or depressed, just fed up with the familiar.

I've seen some 'pay by the week' room rents on craigslist or something along those lines.

Well, my main question is, how doable this might be. I've got many years in the manufacturing field with a few more in sales.

I was wondering how the job market is in the area? Is there any manufacturing companies in the area? Honestly, Id work anything, I've always had a job.

Bills:
$300 car
$100 car insurance
$100 cell phone

Stupid idea? Can I get a decent paying job? Or a couple lower paying jobs? I really want out of New England... I'm want something new.

[beninfl]

Originally Posted by Christwhat

Stupid idea?

No, much, much worse than that. No job = No rental/housing approvals and your cash will burn pretty quick at the weekly rental places.

Unless you want to move down and try to work for Arbys or something, I'd really focus on saving SIX MONTHS of living expenses, and THEN moving down for your job search.

$2000 just wont cut it I'm afraid...........

[Cardiff by the Sea]

If you browse old threads on this forum, you will read many posts about how difficult it is to get a job and how jobs pay lower in Sarasota than other places. Here is a recent one.

//www.city-data.com/forum/saras...s-working.html


The main thing that is booming now is construction, but it is boom bust. I think it would be a good idea if you did research on the job market and determined what skills are needed here and tried to get training for that area. Also Tampa is more likely to have jobs than Sarasota.

If I were in your shoes with nothing tying me down, I would go to the Dakota oil fields. They are begging for bodies and pay high. You could get some good skills there and save a bunch to move to Florida after a few years.

Good luck.

[Picshooter]

Cardiff has some good advice regarding the oil fields of Dakota.That's if you are willing to put up with that lifestyle.

I did something similar to what you are proposing almost 40 years ago. And if I could do it , anyone can. I was 20. I came down with some clothes and my toolbox. Like today the economy was in the toilet. I had a skill (auto mechanic) and I felt I could find work. I did, but it was a fraction of what I was earning up north. And I feel this is a different more difficult time.
You might need two jobs. Are you ready to settle for living to work rather than working to live? This is a nice area. Plenty are doing well financially. It depends on the person. Are you that person?

[Harbor Hopper]

1. Your car insurance will likely go up significantly down here. FL has high insurance premiums
2. What on earth are you doing with a $100/mo phone bill?? Dump the big carrier. We switched from Sprint ($180 for 2 phones) to Boost and are saving over 60%, with the exact same coverage
3. As others have stated, you may want to tough out one more winter and keep saving. This time next year, when you've saved $10,000, revisit the idea.
4. There is some manufacturing down here, but nothing like up north. From what I hear, they don't pay very well either for general mfg jobs. I got a call from King Plastics after moving down here. They were looking for a project manager and saw my resume online. I told them that I wasn't looking since my company allowed me to move with my job and work from home down here. I did ask what the pay range was, and was flabbergasted with the $30-35k range! I was making that 17 years ago just out of high school!! You can also check out Tervis Tumbler in Osprey/Nokomis. Probably don't pay the best, but it's a job. Good luck!

[Cardiff by the Sea]

There is a window manufacturer in Venice "PGT" hurricane windows. Every local builder I saw was using them, so they should be doing well. You could check with them.

[Sunshine Rules]

What manufacturing jobs we have are mostly in Manatee county/ Bradenton. There are a few larger companies such as Sun Hydrolics and Tropicana, as well as a number of smaller companies. Unless you have a specialization a company is looking for, expect pay to be less than you are getting up north. I know, I used to work in the HR department of Bausch & Lomb when they were in Bradenton (before they moved the plant to Ireland....) and was in charge of doing wage surveys for the plant. Even though that has been a number of years, I doubt the pay levels have changed significantly. Employers here find they can pay less because of what they call the "sunshine factor," ie people like you wanting to move to FL for the sunshine. They can pay less because there are people willing to work for the wages offered. Expect benefits to also be less, some of the smaller manufacturing companies do not offer health insurance or other similar benefits (they get around it by having you work less than 32 hours per week).

Some of the other posters on this thread have given you good advice. You will need more than $2000 to move down here - you should have enough funds to last at least 6 months. Car insurance will cost more, plus you have to pay to register your car in FL & new tags. Cheap rent = not so nice rentals, you would probably find yourself having to move to more expensive housing which would burn through your cash. Plus, what if you had some sort of emergency that ate into your funds, like a root canal? Stuff happens?

I would recommend doing more research on wages here before you make plans to actually move. Come down for a visit and check things out first hand. If you can wait that long, come down here in the summer months to visit so you can experience the heat & humidity first hand that you will have to put up with as a year round resident. Many of us adapt to the summer months, but some people cannot. Whether you are one of the ones that can adapt or not is good info to have before you pack up your belongings and move here.


I have lived in the area here for 30 years and have seen a lot of transplants come and go. Those that stayed tended to do so because they did a lot of research before they moved and had a good idea of the positives AND the negatives of moving to the Sun Coast.

[Enigma777]

Originally Posted by Christwhat

I've got 2,000 saved and was thinking of dumping everything and moving. Put as much in my car as I can fit and go.. No moving truck, no plan.

Stupid idea? Can I get a decent paying job? Or a couple lower paying jobs? I really want out of New England... I'm want something new.

I'm also from New England and understand where you are coming from. I actually did the same thing you're thinking about, but I had a pretty healthy resume working in tv news in NYC and I was about 15 years older than you. Frankly, it worked for me--I went to Miami and I did not know a soul. Found a job in my field and apartment near the beach relatively quickly. After a while, I got married and moved to SW Florida. We are about to sell and go back to SE Florida.

There is very little manufacturing in this area. There are also not that many single people your age here (I'm assuming you are single from your post). Most younger people leave Sarasota when they graduate as there is just not a lot for young people here in the way of jobs, activities or other young single people. The majority of the population is families and retirees. If you really want SW Fla, I'd advise you try St. Pete or Tampa. Much younger demographic and more jobs. The cost of living is not much more there. Otherwise--I'd go to Ft. Lauderdale/Miami or Orlando area. The cost of living is higher there, but there is a much younger population, more to do and a lot more jobs. Sometimes taking risks pays off--it always has for me. If you want to try some place new, better to do it while you can, then to regret not doing it later.

[Cardiff by the Sea]

^^Good advice.

[macyny]

Amazon is opening a large plant in Bradenton sometime this year. I heard they are hiring over 3,000 jobs. I don't know what sort of jobs, but I heard it will be sometime next year.