Cost of Living.. (Tampa: sales, apartment complexes, to rent)

[ironsmurf]

Hi Folks,

Im still struggling to get my head around the above and as my visa is in the latter stages Im now starting to get a bit apprehensive. My fiancee and myself are starting completely afresh.. She is a dancer, mainly at Busch gardens and im a personal trainer/group instructor. We want to live waaaay within our means to start off so we are looking at one bed appts to rent close to busch..
Now, as you can imagine dancing aint the best payer so Im coming over there with $10k saved to help till I get something sorted with work..
MY thoughts at the moment are while we are getting started earning around £3k per month between us with a $650pm appartent.. You think we can survive on this.. again Im just tryin to think worse case scenario.. anyway thats just the start..
My fiance starts as a CNA next year and is looking to be put through her RN while working.. WHat I want to know is once established what constitutes a good quality of life over there with regards to money.. We don't need a huge house or flash cars but we want to enjoy ourselves and not be restricted through money so i guess what Im saying is what annual salary are we aiming for between us? A wee breakdown of costs would also help for say if we eventually had a $900pm mortgage.. Ive no idea about insurance, medical insurance etc so would like to know what we are looking at there..
Looking for some genuine advice on this one.. Im not doing this for a rough idea as to what life may be like there.. this is genuinely happenning.. Im leaving everything I know to travel to the other side of the world where Ill know nobody or nothing..
With that in mind please don't turn this into "I hate everything about Tampa" thread.. its unhelpful, I don't need negativity in my life and quite frankly its boring..

To anyone who takes time to help me on this, thanks in advance..

[vaughanwilliams]

Is that 3k British Pounds or 3k Dollars? If pounds, that works out to $4710 a month or $1177 a week or $61,230 a year. That's probably average for Tampa Bay, so you'll survive. You'd be amazed how many people get by on half that. Obviously, the more you can make, the better, but that's true where ever you are.
I admire your sense of adventure. Chances are, you'll be fine as long as you keep working.

[ironsmurf]

Thanks for that and I mean dollars.. What you said about people surviving on half that is a huge cause of confusion with me.. (im easily confused) people constantly harp on about how expensive life is over there yet People in low paid jobs seem to manage, have a car and a place to stay. Over here on $30k you'd be in trouble.. THanks for your encouragement and yeah ill be working.. trying to find a way to advertise myself before I even arrive so I can hit the ground running!! cheers.

[Sumermarie]

If you use your money wisely then you should be fine.

I would avoid raising your debt to income ratio when you get here. For example, don't go out and buy two new cars for yourselves, that will take out a big chunk of what you'd have to spend.

I would also say it depends on what you consider "comfortable". We're comfortable as long as we can pay our bills and have some money left over every paycheck. (With a portion going into savings as well) Other's, if they want no savings and like to blow all their free cash, might have a harder time of it here.

[ironsmurf]

yeah we definately want to spend it wisely.. we may need to trade in our car over there and get a new one though.. Im hoping I can bike most places.. I think the main thing is that we don't worry about money as I can see the strain it has on people.. We want to enjoy life together in tampa and be able to plan our wedding without additional stress..

[Sumermarie]

^With the exception of the Pinellas Trail (in Pinellas County) and a few biker friendly areas, biking in Tampa is not something I would recommend. I'm sure you could do it but safety would be a real concern as there are news reports all the time about bikers getting run over or ran off the road.

If you want to live in the Busch Gardens area, there are some parts to be wary of. There are nice ones, but you really have to search for them. An option for you might be some apartment complexes near the college, as they cater to mostly lower income students. It would be a great place for you to start and the area is terribly bad.

[ironsmurf]

yeah your fair enough with the cycling as I remember the cycle lanes wer not adhered to by drivers.. Im a triathlete so its road cycling all the way.. I rode at san antonio and flatwoods? great fun! again the doom mongerers on here assured me there was no road biking in tampa.. its everywhere! some people must not leave their homes..
These are the appartments we are looking at http://www.kormanriverchase.com/temp...apartments.asp.. We know someone there and they like it so may be ok?

Thanks again..

[cheerbaby112]

Reviews: River Chase FL LLC - Google Maps

[Tootsfromscotland]

Hi there Ali, thought I'd add my tuppenceworth just from my observations and learnings over the last few weeks
Groceries are more expensive over here...think $3 for a loaf of bread being cheap! Ive had a few shocks coming out of Publix etc when I've done my grocery shopping. On the flipside though, fuel is much cheaper so that probably balances it out a bit.
Insurance is horrific and far more expensive than back home. I'm $109 a month for myself and Keith to drive a 5 year old MPV. Medical insurance is very expensive too if you don't have an employer subsidising that for you. Hopefully though, with R looking to move into nursing, you will eventually be able to lower those costs because hospital/healthcare companies do contribute really well to health insurance costs.
Mobile phone costs are waaaaaaaaaay more expensive out here! Forget your £20 a month contract phones! Again, I got a right shock! Im paying $90 a month for 2 very basic mobile phones on contract. And thats the cheapest I could get!
Rent is far more than home (im paying $1500 a month for a 3bed townhome which is actually really cheap for this area! I wouldnt have dreamt of paying anything LIKE that back home) If you're only looking for a 1 bed then you'll find something reasonable though) Cost of cars I think is much the same. Cost of furniture - can be reasonable- depends on where you shop. Not a whole lot cheaper than home I dont think.
On the positive side, there is less tax all in all. Less sales tax, and no state income tax. There is still federal tax, social security and medicare to come off of my paycheck though, and because I an alien non-immigrant, I'm not entitled to claim tax relief on dependents etc which was another bummer that I hadn't accounted for! Eating out is way cheaper too! And the cinema is cheaper ..at least cheaper than the Odeon!
Electricity is pretty expensive...Im yet to receive my first bill..dreading it! I do think though that this townhome must be difficult to keep cool, simply due to being on 3 floors and with heat rising, the AC needs to work harder to keep it cool. Im trying to keep the AC off as much as possible!
I got cable/tv/phone via brighthouse for just over $100 a month..thats for the higher package though and can be cheaper.
Hope this helps!

[ironsmurf]

Originally Posted by Tootsfromscotland

Hi there Ali, thought I'd add my tuppenceworth just from my observations and learnings over the last few weeks
Groceries are more expensive over here...think $3 for a loaf of bread being cheap! Ive had a few shocks coming out of Publix etc when I've done my grocery shopping. On the flipside though, fuel is much cheaper so that probably balances it out a bit.
Insurance is horrific and far more expensive than back home. I'm $109 a month for myself and Keith to drive a 5 year old MPV. Medical insurance is very expensive too if you don't have an employer subsidising that for you. Hopefully though, with R looking to move into nursing, you will eventually be able to lower those costs because hospital/healthcare companies do contribute really well to health insurance costs.
Mobile phone costs are waaaaaaaaaay more expensive out here! Forget your £20 a month contract phones! Again, I got a right shock! Im paying $90 a month for 2 very basic mobile phones on contract. And thats the cheapest I could get!
Rent is far more than home (im paying $1500 a month for a 3bed townhome which is actually really cheap for this area! I wouldnt have dreamt of paying anything LIKE that back home) If you're only looking for a 1 bed then you'll find something reasonable though) Cost of cars I think is much the same. Cost of furniture - can be reasonable- depends on where you shop. Not a whole lot cheaper than home I dont think.
On the positive side, there is less tax all in all. Less sales tax, and no state income tax. There is still federal tax, social security and medicare to come off of my paycheck though, and because I an alien non-immigrant, I'm not entitled to claim tax relief on dependents etc which was another bummer that I hadn't accounted for! Eating out is way cheaper too! And the cinema is cheaper ..at least cheaper than the Odeon!
Electricity is pretty expensive...Im yet to receive my first bill..dreading it! I do think though that this townhome must be difficult to keep cool, simply due to being on 3 floors and with heat rising, the AC needs to work harder to keep it cool. Im trying to keep the AC off as much as possible!
I got cable/tv/phone via brighthouse for just over $100 a month..thats for the higher package though and can be cheaper.
Hope this helps!

Thanks for this Tracy,

overall though are you finding cost of living better than here ie do you enjoy a better quality of life.. As ive said before a lot of stuff does seem more expensive but then you hear people living it up on $30kpa between them.. Looks to me like people generally get paid more over there.. I know youve not been over long but have you and the family taken to it well? Think its a better life than back home? I cannot believe how nervous I am getting now.. Rach is mega chilled which is driving me nuts..
I think one prob investigating stuff from over here is you look at reviews ie workplaces, areas (like above) life etc. I think 99% of people who use review forums do it vent anger over their own individual bad experiences whereas in truth most people are completely content.
WEll I better bet out and clear the driveway.. -25c last night..!!
Take care and keep in touch..