Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Tampa Bay
 [Register]
Tampa Bay Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 01-28-2007, 08:23 AM
 
22 posts, read 151,542 times
Reputation: 19

Advertisements

After replying to another discussion, I figured out how to post my own question!!!! Duh! So, I will ask again for advise on moving to Florida. Is the cost of living really that bad? My husband & I live in East-Central Illinois & are planning to relocate to Florida at the end of the year. I would love some advise from people who actually know about Florida & not from people up here who think they know everything (if you know what I mean)!

My sister lives down in Pembroke Pines, near Miami. I would love to live near her, but based upon the cost of apartment in & around that area I doubt we can afford it. We have been looking at all areas in Florida, but are not sure which areas would be for us. Help!

We are in our early 30's, no children. Don't really enjoy the bar & party scene on a regular basis. Love to dine out & go shopping. We are looking for a "mid-sized", "mid-classed" area to relocate to. We are used to living in a city with a population of around 100,000. It is a college town, but not a crazy, congested big city (like Chicago for example). Would like to be fairly near to the beach (30 min or less). Any advise?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 01-29-2007, 08:28 AM
 
129 posts, read 477,973 times
Reputation: 74
Hi,
I will not try to discourge you. I have been bashing SOUH FL. in the other threads. However if you are open to move any where in FL. you might want to look in north or west coast. I can tell you it is expensive in southern fl. Dade, Broward Palm Beach. I have lived here for 20 years. So do your research and visit the area. Good Luck
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-29-2007, 08:34 AM
 
22 posts, read 151,542 times
Reputation: 19
Default thanks for advise..

I am planning a trip down to visit my sister in May. However, just from the research I have done online I pretty much know that we would be strapped financially if we chose to live down around Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. I have been looking in the Tampa/Clearwater or the Jacksonville area. It is hard to know what the best decision would be & unfortunately there is just not enough vacation time from work to be able to visit all the possible areas before relocating. Thanks again for input..........I would appreciate any that I can get!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-29-2007, 11:26 AM
 
129 posts, read 477,973 times
Reputation: 74
Branson205 its me again. If you do move to fl. espeicily south fl. Please be careful with tyour cash flow. If you think you will have a problem wiyh living expensive here you will. We are having alot of forecloser due to the fact people took interest only or adjustable mort. It can be costly here. I know I am a signel mom with two sons. Came close in losing everything incl. home. However I managed to pull it together and I am doing so much better. Just remeber o figuire out how much cash flow you have a month then how much is going towards bills and debit etc. Have Fun looking.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-29-2007, 03:59 PM
 
1 posts, read 5,333 times
Reputation: 10
ketchsail3@yahoo.com
Some years ago I took early retirement from non-behavioral psychology (individual//workshops//group practice) and now want to begin a teaching career. I have FLorida professional certification in Soc Sci, I also have taught ESL for several years. I need a resource to evaluate my credentials and where best to apply them. I would like to teach while attending classes to upgrade my teaching skills. My residence preferences are North or West Florida. All advice welcome. Meljii

Last edited by meljii; 01-29-2007 at 04:10 PM.. Reason: Didn't capitalize the "W" in West
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-30-2007, 01:41 PM
 
Location: Plant City FL
5 posts, read 37,614 times
Reputation: 10
I moved from St. Louis to Tampa (now living in Plant City) in late 1995. Yes it gets hot here, and the summer lasts longer than it does up north, but as it's been said many times on these forums, it's Flordia! Your electric bill will run higher than what you're used to due to running the AC more often (we had to run ours in December last year), and if you buy a home, I highly recommend biting the bullet and purchasing a second meter from the water company (about $500 in my case) for your sprinkler system (you don't pay sewage on what you water the grass with) and the water bill won't be so bad.
IMO a few things that could be deal breakers are the property taxes and home-owners insurance (if you can get it). We were lucky and bought our home 5/99 and have very reasonable (comparitively) taxes and insurance premiums. Good luck!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 01-30-2007, 02:57 PM
 
713 posts, read 2,669,350 times
Reputation: 154
Default South Florida is expensive but you might try entral cities.

Many towns there are in the path of a boom and if you get in now, you can grow with the city and the city with you. Look for ex: under zip code 34608 and just look at all the beautiful homes for cheap. Yes, do your home work and much luck to you.

Last edited by House4Sale; 01-30-2007 at 02:58 PM.. Reason: Sorry, it's "Central" not "Entral" LOL - spelling
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-03-2011, 09:11 AM
 
1 posts, read 3,491 times
Reputation: 11
Oh Know,I have been living in Flordia now for 6 yrs,If i could reverse the move it would be done.Not that bad of a place,live by Ocala winter tuff,summer HA you do not want to know.I come from N.Y. so i know rip off prices,but this place WOW,they either think you a millionair or stupid.Very very expensive not what it used to be.And if you think you might want to work well its going to be for free because THEY DO NOT WANT TO PAY YOU.Good Luck
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-03-2011, 11:11 AM
 
121 posts, read 385,557 times
Reputation: 35
Of course pay is bad if you live out in the middle of nowhere. The cost of living here in Tampa Bay region is pretty low compared to national standard. Most of the NY Yankees live here in Tampa during spring training, so it can't be that bad.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida > Tampa Bay

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top