Family of 6 relocating to Tampa area! (Lakeland, Sarasota: apartment, rentals, insurance) - Tampa Bay - Florida (FL) -Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater - City-Data Forum

SowBeFruitful · 10-29-2015, 06:47 PM

Hello everyone! So, here's the deal....my husband and I are planning to move in February (after the birth of our 4th baby) to the Tampa area but are open to other areas if they will fit our family better. The issue we are having is finding a decent place to live without having to spend tons of money a month. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

First: My husband works in manufacturing, so we are looking for an area that would have opportunities for him as he is the primary bread winner.

We are looking for a 3 to 4 bedroom 2 bath in a safe area, schools are not an issue because we homeschool.
Most of the places we have researched seem to not be up to par and are having issues with those who run the complexes and it makes us leery.

Overall we want a safe and clean place to live. I'm an artsy fartsy momma who plans on taking the kids out a lot to the beach, art museums, crafting and performing arts classes and the like so an area that offers that would be a plus.

Not sure I have given enough detail but this is our first time moving and we just so happen to be making the move out of state so I am not sure of what other details need to be included but I don't mind questions if it's needed to offer more help!

Thank you for any help that you guys can give!

GrouperK · 10-30-2015, 12:30 AM

What kind of manufacturing? Has he applied to any jobs yet?

jambo101 · 10-30-2015, 01:02 AM

What aspect of manufacturing? as i envision general warehouse work or assembly line work which will give you minimum wage in Fla.Also whats your price range for this house or apartment?

MortonR · 10-30-2015, 03:29 AM

Very little manufacturing in this part of the state. Mainly service businesses, IT, financial, that sort of thing.

Are you planning on moving without having a job set up first? If so, you better rethink your plans unless you have some serious reserves in place. Florida is not a cheap place to live. It sounds like you're looking for an apartment, which will cost you well ver $1,000/month based on what you describe. If you're thinking about renting a house, the rental market is on fire here. There are rentals in my neighborhood of the size you're looking at that typically go in the $2,000/month range.

Where are you moving from? Car and home insurance is very expensive here, too.

RM

gypsychic · 10-30-2015, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MortonR

Very little manufacturing in this part of the state. Mainly service businesses, IT, financial, that sort of thing.

Are you planning on moving without having a job set up first? If so, you better rethink your plans unless you have some serious reserves in place. Florida is not a cheap place to live. It sounds like you're looking for an apartment, which will cost you well ver $1,000/month based on what you describe. If you're thinking about renting a house, the rental market is on fire here. There are rentals in my neighborhood of the size you're looking at that typically go in the $2,000/month range.

Where are you moving from? Car and home insurance is very expensive here, too.

RM

I agree^^. Also manufacturing areas and artsy/fartsy/beachy areas do not go hand in hand here. I would say more manufacturing is in the center of the state, like around Lakeland, but we would need more info from you on that.

CubsFan20 · 10-30-2015, 08:34 AM

DO NOT MOVE HERE WITHOUT A JOB!!!!

We have enough out of work people already

SowBeFruitful · 10-30-2015, 10:22 AM

GrouperK: Yes he has applied to jobs....a ton of them and they won't hire him unless he is already living in Florida

Jambo101: He does aerospace, coiling, molds etc for manufacturing. Once we get settled he plans on going to school for CNC certification which will pay him more and then continue his education in Manufacturing Engineering. As far as price range for renting, our maximum is $1200 and that's cutting it considering we aren't sure what he's going to be getting paid when we move and we don't want to deplete our savings.

MortonR: We are moving from Cleveland, Ohio. I have heard about the high insurance premiums. In Cleveland for full coverage we only pay $160 a month, I am not sure how much that will increase by in Florida.

GypsyChic: We are looking everywhere....I am willing to travel to get my artsy fartsy fix. My focus right now is trying to secure a job for my husband and that's proving to be quite the task. We are considering getting a mailbox at UPS and using the phone feature on Google to get a google phone number but I'm struggling with the dishonest aspect of that especially since it could back fire if we are unable to fly him down when they call for an interview.

jambo101 · 10-30-2015, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SowBeFruitful

Jambo101: He does aerospace, coiling, molds etc for manufacturing. Once we get settled he plans on going to school for CNC certification which will pay him more and then continue his education in Manufacturing Engineering.

.

Ultimately you'll have to move to the place hubby gets a job, heres some resource on where the best chances for jobs are=
https://www.google.ca/#safe=active&q...ies+in+florida

SowBeFruitful · 10-30-2015, 11:49 AM

Thanks Jambo....We know the jobs are out there, it's getting someone to bite with our address being out of state. It's rather frustrating.

seain dublin · 10-30-2015, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SowBeFruitful

GrouperK: Yes he has applied to jobs....a ton of them and they won't hire him unless he is already living in Florida

Jambo101: He does aerospace, coiling, molds etc for manufacturing. Once we get settled he plans on going to school for CNC certification which will pay him more and then continue his education in Manufacturing Engineering. As far as price range for renting, our maximum is $1200 and that's cutting it considering we aren't sure what he's going to be getting paid when we move and we don't want to deplete our savings.

MortonR: We are moving from Cleveland, Ohio. I have heard about the high insurance premiums. In Cleveland for full coverage we only pay $160 a month, I am not sure how much that will increase by in Florida.

GypsyChic: We are looking everywhere....I am willing to travel to get my artsy fartsy fix. My focus right now is trying to secure a job for my husband and that's proving to be quite the task. We are considering getting a mailbox at UPS and using the phone feature on Google to get a google phone number but I'm struggling with the dishonest aspect of that especially since it could back fire if we are unable to fly him down when they call for an interview.

You really need to rethink this. Moving anywhere when you have children depending on you without a job(and a good paying one) is foolish, moving to FL in this situation is extremely foolish.

It's not a state you want to find yourself down on your luck in.

And artsy/fartsy...you will have to drive to Sarasota for your fix. But that is the least of your issues.

You also better check out salaries. Your husband's take home pay for his line of work might be $2,000(and that is being generous). That gives you $800 for everything else, if you could even find a house to rent for your maximum price of $1,200.

There is animated video called "Moving to FL" that addresses this.