Tampa moving in possibly (Miami, University: apartment, rental homes, car insurance)

[sedqq1]

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are thinking of moving to Tampa. There are many places we are considering and we currently located in Madison WI. Main push factors: My wife has had mainly shift work here and I don't get to see her. Less job opportunities and horrid cold.

Based on some research, Tampa is one of the spot I am looking at.

Could I have feedback on the following:

1. How is job opportunities for someone with a Economics and a MBA, with more than 5 years of finance corporate experience and a few years of University experience - mainly in fiscal and admin?

2. Job opportunities for someone with Associates degree and about 5 years of experience in a smoking cessation program to help users quit smoking. Another 5 years doing various jobs.

3. Rent prices.

4. Safety and violent crime

5. Can we get by without a car?

6. Would my work be able to get a 8 - 5pm job?

Thanks.

[jambo101]

Public transportation in Tampa isnot something i would rely on, you will almost assuredly need a car to get around.

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by jambo101

Public transportation in Tampa isnot something i would rely on, you will almost assuredly need a car to get around.

Other than certain areas of Miami, the above applies to pretty much all of Florida.

Rentals will be siginificantly more expensive in Florida.

Look at online job websites for your job related questions.

[MortonR]

I am a former Cheesehead and proud of it. I know Madtown well.

Tampa is the antithesis of Madison. Cost of living will be higher in a number of areas, your vocation will pay somewhere around 10%-30% less than in Wisconsin, and there is no public transportation to speak of. You will have to own a car, and auto insurance is far more expensive in Florida than Wisconsin.

There are a number of financial services firms here, such as Raymond James, but CPAs and MBAs are common and the openings are very competitive. If you're suggesting working at a university forget it. Other than clerical positions places like the University of South Florida are not hiring and are continuing to increase their dependence on grad students and adjuncts.

Your associates degree person will find a job, but it will most likely be in a service industry of some sort and pay $10-$12/hour. There are droves of uneducated and partially educated people here, which drives down the pay scales due to the large pool of potential employees to draw upon.

You don't say what you're looking for as far as housing, but a nice 1-2 bedroom apartment in a nice/safe area will start at about $1200/month or more. Stand-alone rental homes will cost upwards of $2000/depending on the area.

My suggestion: Stay in Wisconsin. Despite the winters the quality of life is far, far better there. I can't qualify exactly what it is, but I can assure you that the quality of life is better in Madison.

RM

[Student66]

While I have never lived in Wisconsin, your assessment of Tampa is spot on correct. I would add: poor infrastructure and increasing Thug Drivers.

[sedqq1]

Originally Posted by MortonR

I am a former Cheesehead and proud of it. I know Madtown well.

Tampa is the antithesis of Madison. Cost of living will be higher in a number of areas, your vocation will pay somewhere around 10%-30% less than in Wisconsin, and there is no public transportation to speak of. You will have to own a car, and auto insurance is far more expensive in Florida than Wisconsin.

There are a number of financial services firms here, such as Raymond James, but CPAs and MBAs are common and the openings are very competitive. If you're suggesting working at a university forget it. Other than clerical positions places like the University of South Florida are not hiring and are continuing to increase their dependence on grad students and adjuncts.

Your associates degree person will find a job, but it will most likely be in a service industry of some sort and pay $10-$12/hour. There are droves of uneducated and partially educated people here, which drives down the pay scales due to the large pool of potential employees to draw upon.

You don't say what you're looking for as far as housing, but a nice 1-2 bedroom apartment in a nice/safe area will start at about $1200/month or more. Stand-alone rental homes will cost upwards of $2000/depending on the area.

My suggestion: Stay in Wisconsin. Despite the winters the quality of life is far, far better there. I can't qualify exactly what it is, but I can assure you that the quality of life is better in Madison.

RM

Thank you. This helps. I guess Tampa is out. So is many places I am looking at. I would still want to move out of Madison WI because my wife is not able to get a 8 - 5pm job. I find it doubtful that all of US would be having her work shift. She did not have shift in Seattle but Seattle only gave me contracts.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by sedqq1

Thank you. This helps. I guess Tampa is out. So is many places I am looking at. I would still want to move out of Madison WI because my wife is not able to get a 8 - 5pm job. I find it doubtful that all of US would be having her work shift. She did not have shift in Seattle but Seattle only gave me contracts.

While it's definitely getting better, professional salaries still track lower than the Midwest here. Unless you have a vocation that's in high demand, I can attest to the fact that IT and financial services pay easily 15%-30% less than in Wisconsin and the Midwest in general.

I'm a bit confused that with your wife's background she can't find a job in Madison that would be clerical, administrative or something along those lines. I don't recall there being a significant amount of manufacturing in the area. Or is it a matter of income, as in the job she has now pays well compared to the alternatives that would allow her to work "normal" hours?

And yes, based on your requirements I don't think you would do well here. It's a smart choice, as so many people come here with the "sun and fun" mentality and aren't prepared for the reality that exists for employment. Unless you're a professional of some sort the salaries are really crappy.

We loved Wisconsin. While yes, the winters can be brutal, especially where you are (we lived in Southeast WI just north of Milwaukee) the quality of life was much better there in so many ways. Florida is nice, but it's far from perfect.

When you find the perfect place to live, let us know. I've lived all over the US and I've yet to find it... good luck!

RM

[sedqq1]

Thank you MortonR. My wife is not able to get those admin assistant jobs. I think it is because companies or orgs would rather hire a idealistic, naive College grad who is willing to "do anything" to have a good reference, to pay their dues, after all that is what they have been taught. Good attitude counts!

Older more experienced workers see BS.

Not looking for perfection but something better. Me not being able to see my wife for the 2 years I have been here means something. When she goes for interviews and the employer sees the wedding ring, she says she was already "outed." Employers want employees to work any shift and her being married meant there would be resistance. They rather have someone else. Of course this is based on opinion not "concrete proof." How do you prove this anyway?

Technology and globalization is a force that ripples through and it is not getting smaller, only bigger. My job is comfortable but when the heat is turned hotter and I need another job in another place, then I may not be in demand at all.

What I do is not complex. And I find that there is less opportunities here than in Seattle. (Madison, WI)

Seattle was bad because it tended to give contract jobs. Contract job can be unnerving after a while because the pay check is not coming in!

[Concert D Major]

Florida has no state income tax which is a plus and the winters are nothing compared to up there. Job wise, the pay basically sucks. I used to work at USF as a staff accountant. $38k/year and no pay raises. After a year of job searching with an MBA and CPA, I scored a new position at a whopping $47,500.

We have a bus system, but it's not very good and there's no trains/subways or anything else. You really need a car to get around and car insurance is stupid expensive here. It keeps getting worse and worse every year with premiums spiking.

Rent prices have also really jumped over the last 5 years and it's also getting worse. Same thing with house prices. Look at a sinkhole map of the Tampa Bay area. That plus the threat of hurricanes (excuse used by insurance co's), and homeowner's insurance will also be high.

[sedqq1]

Thank you Concert D Major.