Offered a relocation to Tampa, can't decide. Help please! (Palm Harbor: real estate, renter)

[cantdecidegrr]

My wife and I have the chance to relocate to Tampa, and are unsure of whether we want to. I've bulleted the high level here, and would love some insight from you all regarding:

*If it were you, would you move?
*Where would you want to live?
*Knowing the area/schools/our details - buy or rent?

The details!!

*We are a professional couple. I've been offered a position that is on Kennedy right by the Westshore mall. My wife can also transfer, and her company is actually located within about 5 min of where my job offer is (ie, still Westshore area).

*We have family that lives in Palm Harbor

* Our current commute to work is 20/mins.

*Our current home is a 3/2 that's about 15 years old, so no updating needed, and our monthly mortgage is $1500/mo for this. We are upside-down; we'd have to rent it (with no profit) to make the move. We'd be draining our savings to make a down payment on a new house, and even then, with only 5% down. It appears - at least based on what we've seen so far - that to buy a comparable (1850 ft) home in an area of town with good schools, neighbors not 5 feet away, and low crime would be at least 275k+. Seems like this would be provided in Westchase, New Tampa, or North St. Pete, or maybe somewhere like Oldsmar. Sounds like (?) this would double our commute from about 20 mins to 40+ plus depending on traffic

* We have 1 child, a second on the way. So daycare and schools definitely factor in. My wife is worried about a long commute meaning that we have less time during waking hours with our son. (And that we'd have to be driving during peak traffic times to drop off / pick him up during daycare hours).

* This new job offers what amounts to a 6% cost of living raise and me a 5k salary bump to make the move, plus up to 4k in move expenses.

* We like the idea of being nearer to family, and in a bigger city with more things to do. But the cost of real estate - esp vs. what it gets you compared to where we live now, in terms of both amenities and location/commute - are big con's.


So given this, we are COMPLETELY up in the air. That's why I'm wondering if any of you can chime in - perhaps there are better locations we can be checking out for the real estate / commute angle? Or any other thoughts that, being locals of the area, we might not know / might help us decide one way or the other??

I know this is pretty wide open - but I'm really open to any and all thoughts from those of you who live there, since so much of the decision seems to revolve around how much extra it will cost / real estate / what we can make work commute wise!!

Thanks in advacne!

[Fireblade3]

All the logistics can be doable given the reason behind the move !
If the reason is very strong or valid then I guess given your situation its doable.

Strong reasons to move and not necessarily restricted to the below would be
1.Strong Compensation package ( Not sure if you consider 5k more than your baseline as strong)
2.Family support ( you seem to have that in the bag)
3.Better quality of life ( not necessarily the beach and all) but better pay/better house/job satisfaction....

If you have 2 or more criteria for the above I think the move is valid.


West Chase/New Tampa may work for you given that budget.

[cantdecidegrr]

Thanks, Fireblade! If it were you, knowing what you do of the area, are there other places than New Tampa / Westchase you'd check out? And if not, why do those particular two come to mind above some of the others we'd been looking at? (Just to be clear - I really appreciate the feedback! I'm more trying to pick your brain about what you know that I don't than anything!)

And to be clear, I really don't WANT to pay 275k for a comparable house - that'd be a way bigger mortgage payment, and basically wipe out the raise aspect, unfortunately. But I am considering it...

[Fireblade3]

Originally Posted by cantdecidegrr

Thanks, Fireblade! If it were you, knowing what you do of the area, are there other places than New Tampa / Westchase you'd check out? And if not, why do those particular two come to mind above some of the others we'd been looking at? (Just to be clear - I really appreciate the feedback! I'm more trying to pick your brain about what you know that I don't than anything!)

And to be clear, I really don't WANT to pay 275k for a comparable house - that'd be a way bigger mortgage payment, and basically wipe out the raise aspect, unfortunately. But I am considering it...

cantdecidegrr

I chose to comment on your question since I was exactly in your situation.....
Had a good paying job/home in a slightly smaller town but then we were missing something(mid life crisis hit us )....and we moved to a bigger city which came with its own problems
But overall we are happy and that lets us sleep well ( and that's how we rationalize )

I just picked West Chase and New Tampa because they are slightly newer neighborhoods and for 275k one should find a reasonable home.The schools seem to be ok if not the best....and they are family oriented and its a 20-30 min drive to your workplace.

I prefer Palm Harbor in itself as you also seem to have family there, but thats a tough market for 275k and also commute is going to be longer.
South Tampa (Palma Ceia) are great areas and have a nice charm around the homes but are very competitive price wise, but the commute will be great for you.
If you dont mind the commute Lithia should be a great place for you (Fishhawk), 275k should buy you a great home/A-rated schools/ family friendly etc.....

[ApolloBeachRetiree]

Is the new job worth the change? And, I am not talking only about compensation. Will the new job leverage current skills, grow new skills, provide better job satisfaction, allow career growth the way YOU want to grow, etcetera?

Answer this and then we can talk cost of living here in paradise versus where you live today. Because there are some differences in what it will cost to live here and some are actually very, very attractive.

[cantdecidegrr]

Thanks Fireblade! I'm not at all familiar with Lithia (?) and Palma Ceia, but I'll definitely check those out! I appreciate it!! And I'm glad to hear the move treated you well - I'm curious, what's made the biggest difference to you, coming from a smaller city?

@AppolloBeachRetiree - that's a great question, thank you! In short, the new job is a good fit. Not "SuperFantasticAmazingPerfect", but leverages all my skills and I'll be perfectly happy there. I'm not sure WHAT my ideal job would be, so this one is perfectly acceptable! Put it this way - if the job were in my current city, I'd definitely take it, no questions asked. But give that the compensation difference isn't huge compared to the extreme difference in house costs/amenities (or so I've seen so far, hence the confusion), that's where I get caught up. Not sure if that answers your question?? I guess to me the job is an interesting one I'll be happy to do and will give me more ability to network / grow... but at the same time, if it just doesn't make financial / life "sense" logistically, I won't be devastated, either. So, so torn!!

[ApolloBeachRetiree]

Originally Posted by cantdecidegrr

Thanks Fireblade! I'm not at all familiar with Lithia (?) and Palma Ceia, but I'll definitely check those out! I appreciate it!! And I'm glad to hear the move treated you well - I'm curious, what's made the biggest difference to you, coming from a smaller city?

@AppolloBeachRetiree - that's a great question, thank you! In short, the new job is a good fit. Not "SuperFantasticAmazingPerfect", but leverages all my skills and I'll be perfectly happy there. I'm not sure WHAT my ideal job would be, so this one is perfectly acceptable! Put it this way - if the job were in my current city, I'd definitely take it, no questions asked. But give that the compensation difference isn't huge compared to the extreme difference in house costs/amenities (or so I've seen so far, hence the confusion), that's where I get caught up. Not sure if that answers your question?? I guess to me the job is an interesting one I'll be happy to do and will give me more ability to network / grow... but at the same time, if it just doesn't make financial / life "sense" logistically, I won't be devastated, either. So, so torn!!

I think that if you don't take it, you'll always wonder (you're torn). I think you should take a house hunting trip to check out the area and see what your family thinks (assuming they can come). Anyway, a 4 or 5 day trip will answer a lot of questions and will help you to solidify your decision either way.

We're good here on City-Data. Most of us love it here in the Tampa area, and, in my case, know we made an excellent choice. However, we're all opinionated and this is a message board. It's only one input of many you should leverage.

[Fireblade3]

Originally Posted by cantdecidegrr

Thanks Fireblade! I'm not at all familiar with Lithia (?) and Palma Ceia, but I'll definitely check those out! I appreciate it!! And I'm glad to hear the move treated you well - I'm curious, what's made the biggest difference to you, coming from a smaller city?

@AppolloBeachRetiree - that's a great question, thank you! In short, the new job is a good fit. Not "SuperFantasticAmazingPerfect", but leverages all my skills and I'll be perfectly happy there. I'm not sure WHAT my ideal job would be, so this one is perfectly acceptable! Put it this way - if the job were in my current city, I'd definitely take it, no questions asked. But give that the compensation difference isn't huge compared to the extreme difference in house costs/amenities (or so I've seen so far, hence the confusion), that's where I get caught up. Not sure if that answers your question?? I guess to me the job is an interesting one I'll be happy to do and will give me more ability to network / grow... but at the same time, if it just doesn't make financial / life "sense" logistically, I won't be devastated, either. So, so torn!!

The biggest difference we have seen is the 'activities' (swimming/chess club/dance/music etc) for the kids, wife is happy that there is abundance of girly parlors ,sense of feeling 'normal' being in a civilization

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by cantdecidegrr

My wife and I have the chance to relocate to Tampa, and are unsure of whether we want to. I've bulleted the high level here, and would love some insight from you all regarding:

*If it were you, would you move?
*Where would you want to live?
*Knowing the area/schools/our details - buy or rent?

The details!!

*We are a professional couple. I've been offered a position that is on Kennedy right by the Westshore mall. My wife can also transfer, and her company is actually located within about 5 min of where my job offer is (ie, still Westshore area).

*We have family that lives in Palm Harbor

* Our current commute to work is 20/mins.

*Our current home is a 3/2 that's about 15 years old, so no updating needed, and our monthly mortgage is $1500/mo for this. We are upside-down; we'd have to rent it (with no profit) to make the move. We'd be draining our savings to make a down payment on a new house, and even then, with only 5% down. It appears - at least based on what we've seen so far - that to buy a comparable (1850 ft) home in an area of town with good schools, neighbors not 5 feet away, and low crime would be at least 275k+. Seems like this would be provided in Westchase, New Tampa, or North St. Pete, or maybe somewhere like Oldsmar. Sounds like (?) this would double our commute from about 20 mins to 40+ plus depending on traffic

* We have 1 child, a second on the way. So daycare and schools definitely factor in. My wife is worried about a long commute meaning that we have less time during waking hours with our son. (And that we'd have to be driving during peak traffic times to drop off / pick him up during daycare hours).

* This new job offers what amounts to a 6% cost of living raise and me a 5k salary bump to make the move, plus up to 4k in move expenses.

* We like the idea of being nearer to family, and in a bigger city with more things to do. But the cost of real estate - esp vs. what it gets you compared to where we live now, in terms of both amenities and location/commute - are big con's.


So given this, we are COMPLETELY up in the air. That's why I'm wondering if any of you can chime in - perhaps there are better locations we can be checking out for the real estate / commute angle? Or any other thoughts that, being locals of the area, we might not know / might help us decide one way or the other??

I know this is pretty wide open - but I'm really open to any and all thoughts from those of you who live there, since so much of the decision seems to revolve around how much extra it will cost / real estate / what we can make work commute wise!!

Thanks in advacne!

Maybe I'm missing something here, but have you even done the math and factored in Murphy's Law?

Let's see: Currently both you and your wife are employed and established where you are, paying $1500 a month for a decent 3/2 (even if you are under water), and have a 20 minute commute to work. You have one child who, I'm assuming, has an established daycare/school routine. Your and your wife have another child on the way and are probably familiar with all the resources in your current community to support an expectant mother.

You are considering moving to Tampa for a $5,000 raise (much of which will be eaten up with taxes AND, I might add, possibly being on the hook for TWO payments if your renter should stop paying the rent ), uprooting a perfectly stable and economical situation. Draining your savings to double down and purchase another home for substantially more money than you're paying now, or at the very least, draining some of it to put a deposit down to rent a place. Probably doubling your commute, which is not just time, but also additional money in terms of gas and wear and tear on the vehicles.

And then there's the move, which is always a stressful event, no matter how well planned. It takes time and effort. Find a place to move to, dealing with the packing and unpacking and everything else that goes along with moving. And your wife would be subjected to this during her pregnancy???? Even assuming you find a renter, are you prepared for the hassle and expenses of being a long distance landlord? What will you do if your renter bombs out? Or if some major repair comes up?

You want to do this WHY? "We like the idea of being nearer to family, and in a bigger city with more things to do."

Is this a great country, or what?

[Stewabby]

I definitely would not suggest buying until you sell your other house. How about renting in Westshore for at least a year? You would be very near to work. Renting in Carollwood would also be an option with very little commute.

Infant daycare can be tough though. Not only will it be about $1k a month it can be hard to get a spot. If you decide to move down research that thoroughly.