College student relocating from MI (Tampa, Fort Myers: apartments, renters, insurance)

[adwmu74]

I am a 24 year old male college student who plans on relocating to Florida after my next lease is up in August 08'. I still have 2 years left of school and plan on finishing my degree (either biology or enviromental studies) in Florida. I am also currently working on a HVAC tech. career diploma online as I work in maintenance at an upscale hotel. When I get down there I will be looking for a maintenance position or HVAC position and I was just wondering how prevalent these type of positions are and if the pay is decent to live on. I want to be on the Gulf side of Florida and not right on the water (b/c of storm surges from hurricanes) but preferably within a half hour drive of Gulf beaches. The two cities I have been most interested in are Fort Myers (I have a good friend who lives there) and Tampa area. I like larger cities and crime is not a big deal to me b/c I grew up in the Flint area and I am used to it. I currently live near WMU and I like being able to walk to bars, stores, etc. I would just like some info on the cheaper areas on the Gulf side to live and areas that would be better for a single male my age. Also any info on how bad it actually is to ride out a hurricane and how long the brunt of it lasts would be helpful. I know that homeowner insurance is ungodly expensive and I was just wondering if it was the same for auto insurance and renters insurance. I've pretty much made up my mind that this is where I am moving but I would just like to know a little more about what i am getting myself into. The sunshine and beaches will make the extra cost and snowbird time well worth it. Thanx for your input!

[Team_Roberts]

I would suggest checking out some of the employment websites like Find Florida Jobs and Employment Listings in Florida - Floridian Jobs.com , Tampa Bay Breaking News, weather, sports and things to do from TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online. or Monster Jobs - Get work. Network. Build a better career. Today's the day.. There is plenty of nightlife in the Tampa area. One of the larger bar scenes is Channelside and Ybor City, although there are many others. Insurances are higher then some other parts of the country, but as you said.... the sunshine and beaches are worth it!

The Temple Terrace and New Tampa areas are located near USF which may be some interest to you to finish your education. They are located inland, but can still make the beaches and easy day trip and just north of Ybor City.

If you decide to move to Tampa, best of luck and keep us posted.

[adwmu74]

Thanx for the websites. I found several jobs that I would qualify for already and alot of other info on the Tampa area newpaper site

[detroitrockcity]

Davison actually....dude if you are an hvac tech you can probably get a job before you get here!...go on craigslist or jobing, or just start calling. I am a construction worker and i found a decent job in a few days but there were always HVAC jobs starting at 18 going up to 25 ...im looking in to going to school for that now, that is the most prevalent career ive seen during my job search. You should have no problems...the weather is great here too...good luck i love it here so far even though im not making that much cash.

[detroitrockcity]

its cheaper...if your address was near flint we paid super high rates....Apartments are more expensive, but if you have a roomate and want to rent a house you can get an awesome deal on brand new houses especially if you go to the a little north of tampa in the smaller places. For 1200 you can get a sweet pad, but you cant get a decent 1 bedroom apartment for 600 so splitting it is ideal!