it it cheaper to live in Tampa? (Gulfport: real estate, rent)

[deebin]

I am from the NYC area. Would living in the Tampa area be significantly less expensive? How about health insurance premiums, utilities, auto insurance, property tax, food, etc? Then there is no state income tax as a benefit.

[BucFan]

Yep - cheap to live here. Utilities aren't bad compared to the northern states - no state income tax. Real estate taxes aren't bad. But there is a trade-off (lower salary, questionable cultural activities, high unemployment, possibly poorer schools).

[LKJ1988]

It cost alot to live in TAMPA. Maybe not as high as NYC but the pay is way less also, so it all comes out in the wash about the same.

[PopnFresh]

"..questionable cultural activities."

Have yet to go to a questionable show at the Performing Arts Center. Broadway touring companies, Opera, locally written and produced music and plays. Ecclectic live music anywhere from Skipper's to Janus Landing. Sunday Jazz brunches on the water front. Art strolls through the Ybor and Gulfport galleries. PLEASE Define questionable. PLEASE specify which cultural activities.

[FloridaKash]

Cost of living calculators say Tampa is a little cheaper than average compared to the rest of the nation. I thoroughly investigated the cost of living in Tampa and is is more affordable than most places (please note, I did not compare Tampa to the deep south or midwestern states though).

[annaegel]

Having moved from NJ (Bergen County), housing is cheaper and property taxes are cheaper. However, there are other expenses that I did not have to pay for or was cheaper in NJ. It is a must to have a bug guy spray your lawn and someone to get rid of the creepy crawlies inside. Did not have to do that in NJ. My property is larger than the one in NJ, so the cost to maintain my lawn is much more ($40 per mow compared to $14 to mow). In NJ we had the winter oil bill of around $350 per fill which lasted almost the whole season. I pay around $300 a month or more for electric to cool my larger house, year round. Groceries, I have had family/friends come down from NYC, NJ and say the food is more expensive down here. You will need a car, so you will be paying for gas, insurance (we pay about the same as NJ), and if you don't have a car, you have to buy one. By the way, the drivers are worse than NYers!

Culturally, I say it is not as wonderful as NYC, but there are some good places. If you like opera, there is an opera house, but nothing compares to the Met! We do have Broadway plays, but they use second rate actors most of the time, still enjoyable though. In Ybor City (pronounced ebor) has many clubs, jazz/blues, latin, etc. Also some nice restaurants in Ybor City. I have heard good things about Skipper's Road House.

It has taken me almost 5 years to get use to the change from up north. It takes a while to get use to the heat and humidity. I miss my home town in NJ and visiting my family in NYC, but now I am not sure if I want to go back. For 4 years, I was desperate to go back.

Good luck finding a job. It is difficult to find any kind of job, even working at Busch Gardens or any of the supermarkets.

You did not mention kids, so I won't go into my spiel on how far behind the education is down here compared to NJ.

Come down and visit. You can get a better idea of the area and where you might want to live. I would suggest you rent first. If you end up not liking it down here, it would be much easier to pack up and go, than not have to worry about selling a home.