To move or not to move... (construction, live, jobs)

[jake4sally]

Thank you for the insight. We have made a great living both in Wyoming and Texas with the remodel / additions business so we were hoping Florida would be the same. We're reaching our 50's so we would like to move the business now and get out of the cold and extreme heat. We know that Tampa will have the heat and humidity, but we're used to that in TX. We have all the information on certifications so hopefully this will be semi painless oncewe get there.

[tampa-chrissie]

We made that exact decision early last year. We sold our Seminole Heights home and moved to Chattanooga, where my husband was from. A few months after we bought our awsome home we got a job offer to return that we couldn't refuse. Six months later and we sit in this horrible housing market longing for our big yard and spacious home, that sits empty.

We have mixed emotions about all of it. We were happy with our new life in Chattanooga. We hadn't completely found our groove, but we were getting there. Now we are thrown back into the high cost of living here, the insurance and property tax problems that are hurting the economy. But we did go to the beach last weekend. If the job offer had not brought us back here we could have been very happy. I wasn't much help, huh?

Let me know if I can answer any specific questions or if you want to buy a house in Chattanooga!

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by jake4sally

Thank you for the insight. We have made a great living both in Wyoming and Texas with the remodel / additions business so we were hoping Florida would be the same. We're reaching our 50's so we would like to move the business now and get out of the cold and extreme heat. We know that Tampa will have the heat and humidity, but we're used to that in TX. We have all the information on certifications so hopefully this will be semi painless oncewe get there.

There is always a demand here for quality people in construction. My hubby has a great job as a project manager with Hillsborough County, so he deals with a lot of construction people. As someone else mentioned, there is a LOT of demand for handyman/remodelers, they are hard to come by, as others are tied up on big jobs, you would have no problem at all, I could almost guarantee it.

To Helix - I agree with the poster who recommends you make a list of pros and cons. Although hubby is staying here for his job (job market in Tampa is great, IMO), we have purchased a home in Asheville, NC and have one foot out the door. I spend a great deal of time there, and hubby comes up when he can, then I come back here for winters. I love the lifestyle in the mountains of WNC - 4 beautiful seasons and cost of living is very low compared to here. But no jobs, I mean NO jobs, unless self-employed or in medical field, that is why we have our current arrangement.

You really need to compare the pros and cons of each area and figure out what is most important to you. I always enjoy tampaguy's posts, because he reminds us of what is good about the area, and yes even though I complain this is far from the worst place to be by a long shot! We just ate at the Rusty Pelican right on the water the other night - it was fabulous and the beauty of it brought tears to my eyes.

Anyway, I wish you luck, - I know it's a difficult decision to make.

[jake4sally]

Thank you all so much for the words of encouragement. We are very excited about our decision to move, we just wish it could be tomorrow. We're planning to visit the Clearwater area in March for a look around. We would rather live outside of Tampa so we are focusing on Clearwater, Largo, St Pete area. Any thoughts? Thankfully we do not have to worry about issues such as schools and family type activities since we are childless now.

[roaring-rox]

Hi jake4sally,

Where do you live in Texas now? Is it it Dallas? Austin?

Wondering b/c I live in Florida and sometimes think Austin would be a good place to live. I did live in Dallas a long time ago, and it had some things about it I liked alot, but think it is probably too crowded/polluted now. Am a native Floridian so may not move out of state, but interested in others' perspectives on places. Some of your comments about Texas made me take notice that you might have some insights that I could add to my own debate of what the heck to do in the future---stay or go.

[jake4sally]

Roaring - If you like the college town feel then Austin is great. They are known for their live music, mostly country and bluegrass. The town has grown considerably so traffic has become a large issue. You are centrally located between San Antonio (love the river walk there) and Dallas (hate everything about it except the pro sports). I have lived most of my 8 years in the Fort Worth area. My 1st year was in Dallas. I couldn't wait to leave. There usually is a rivalry between those of us who live in FTW and those that live in Dallas. Fort Worth is much more laid back, friendlier. Dallas is pretending to be high society when your really not. We call it silicone and cocaine, everything is fake.

As for living in TX in general, you will love the people. They are the main reason I moved here from Denver. The weather is different to say the least. The saying in TX is just wait 5 minutes, it will change. Our winters can be from Nov-Mar (ice storms all this week). Our summers are unbearably hot. It is nothing to have 3-6 weeks straight of 100+ weather. No rain in the summer - for months.

Cost of living wise, there are pros and cons. You can find rental houses for 600-2500 a month. Apts usually range from 450-900 for 1 bedrooms. We have no state TX like FL, sales tax will be around 8.25% or higher. House buying is all over the board. It all depends on the area of course. Quality of housing is a different story. We started our business in Wy and CO 20 years ago and were shocked at how shabby the building is here. We call them throw away houses. They are contantly building new houses, so if you buy a new house today good luck selling it in 5 years. Everyone just buys a brand new one. I lost 20K on my last house because they built a Super Walmart in the lot behind me (which was not supposed to be commerically zoned according to the commission and the home owners association). Its all politics.

Traffic - forget it. No matter where you are going, you'll be in it up to your knees. I live in the "county" and it can take me 15 minutes to go 1 mile up the road. They will never catch up to the population boom.

Probably more info than you needed. Guess you can tell TX has taken its toll on me....we're ready to move on.

[roaring-rox]

Thanks, jake4sally, for giving me your take on Texas.

Since you are in the construction business, your comments about the quality of new houses in Texas is always good to keep in mind. Your comments re-inforce my feeling of not wanting to live in one of those new zero-lot subdivisions here or in any state. Have a nephew who worked in the construction business here in Florida and he also said it was unbelievable how shoddy the new houses are constructed.

When I lived in Dallas years ago, I lived in a central location near Southern Methodist University and next to Highland Park. I am far from 'snooty' but did love the location and high-end places I could plug into. Loved Neiman-Marcus, but it drove me crazy how the women there seemed to dress to the nines constantly. Kind of a contradiction.

I used to comment that it was a wonder they didn't vacuum the bushes outside their houses in Highland Park, everything was always kept up so much. Still, since I lived near an artsy neighborhood on Travis in the Knox-Henderson area, it was comfortable enough for me to feel down to earth in spite of the 'hot to trot' syndrome. I had a love/hate relationship with Dallas, I guess.

Am wondering, since you lived in the area, were you familiar with the Knox-Henderson/Highland Park/SMU areas? When I lived there in the 1980s, it was easy to get around...it was a perfect location then...could get downtown on a clean bus in 15-20 minutes. My yearly car mileage was negligible and I did explore Dallas and Fort Worth a fair amount.

If you are familiar, is that area congested and hard to get around in traffic now?

Doubt would move back there...Dallas's air quality is a 2, which is very, very bad.

All in all, have to defend Dallas a little...thought it was a dynamic place, but can take people calling it 'plastic' because that was definitely going on there too.

[jake4sally]

The Highland Park / SMU area has changed much like the entire metorplex I think. It is still a nice community, but some of the older houses there are getting run down. The traffic is horrible in and around downtown now. Downtown is also pretty run down. It seems that FTW cleaned up their downtown, brought in new business, built beautiful loft apartments and Dallas just went the opposite. I know some folks who bought 1/2 million dollar lofts in Dallas to see homeless people at the shelter across the street. As far as Dallas goes I like the SMU area okay or around Coppell. They have built some beautiful homes in that area, some of the more quality work.

[roaring-rox]

Thanks, jake, for info on the SMU/Highland Park area. Too bad the downtown has gone down in Dallas.

Doesn't sound good that some houses in Highland Park are getting run down. Well, saves me a trip.

[lastmfirst]

original poster- we are also looking to move out of Tamps- possibly to the North side of Atlanta- check it out!