Tell me the Negatives..... (Tampa, Orlando: mover, mobile home, buy)

[gypsychic]

JasonO - a young student such as yourself will do fine here on little money and have a great time. It is a totally different thing to be a young single student with few responsibilites, renting a simple apartment than having a family and a mortage. Florida does NOT equal California, not even close. A good lifestyle and good time can be had here for little, it all depends on what one's priorities are and how creative one can be.

I think you will like it here!

[JasonO]

Well like I said, I'm sure I can swing things for the next few years - I'm thinking long term in case I like it here enough and want to stay, whether or not it WOULD be doable to have a family and a mortgage on my expected salary.

Sounds like it would be

[SunKrist]

Originally Posted by JasonO

Okay. I realize that people have different ideas of what a "good lifestyle" would be, that's part of the reason I am curious what it is that people consider a lot of money When people say they need alot of money to live here, do they consider "living" to be 4 weeks in Hawaii every year? Or just being able to pay for a house and food?

You mentioned that your dad makes 35k a year, does your mom work too or is he the sole provider? (Sorry if this is too personal, feel free not to answer if you don't want to).

I'll be living in grad-student-poverty the next 7 years or so (under 20k a year) and expect I'll be okay, but I'm also single, no kids, and perfectly happy renting a small 1-bedroom apartment so that is doable. I imagine trying to raise a family on that would be another matter entirely. Once I finish I hope to be starting in the realm of 50-60k (maybe less, but unlikely to be more - academics don't make as much in my field as they do in many others!)

I was just trying to get a sense for whether people saying "Don't move here if you don't have money" consider anyone making more than minimum wage to have money, or consider Family Medicine doctors to be poor because they don't make as much as neurosurgeons

Sounds like, as I expected, the answer is somewhere in between. Its not rural nowhere, but nor is it so. cal. Given I live a relatively modest lifestyle, and that I tend to be interested in very career-oriented women so by the time I start a family my eventual wife will likely be earning as much or more than I do, I expect things would work out fine if I decide I like Tampa enough to stay

That's quite a ways into the future, but hey, never hurts to plan ahead. Thanks for the help!

That's okay. It's not too personal. Yes, my dad makes between $30,000 and $35,000 (sometimes less; it's never the same, because he owns his business and has no employees). No, my mom does not work. She never has since she got married. I have an older sister (who married 5 years ago) and a younger brother.

I, too, suspect you will be fine making $20,000. And I also think $50,000 to $60,000 is quite reasonable for a family, especially if you find a career wife. So, yes, the answer is "somewhere in between." It's not rurual, and it's not CA.

[Jammie]

Jason, you sound happy about the answers, too. I'm so glad you asked that because I was getting the impression that if you made less then 100,000 per year, you may as well forget it.

Sunshine, you have been so honest and it was so nice of you to share the info with us. At first I was disappointed when I was reading this because you said at 35,000 per year, your parents were hoping to move. (Where are you going?) As I was reading that I was thinking, "Yes, we do make more then that per year, but we've both always worked full time and we've had our present jobs for several years now." But thanks to you and Cariad and InFtMyers, and others, I'm much more confident that we would be just fine there. (If we can tolerate the traffic and high population.)

We would be coming down with a guaranteed yearly income of about 25,000 and of course, we'd both work, too. I would definitely still have to work full time and DH would at least work part time if not full time. We wouldn't plan on having a mortgage since we'd be able to afford a small, modest senior condo. I don't feel we'd need to "tighten our belts" at all because we've always lived modestly. Also, there's just NO way I plan on driving there so we would be down to one vehicle, too. It sounds like it would work out well for us, too.

[SunKrist]

Originally Posted by Jammie

Jason, you sound happy about the answers, too. I'm so glad you asked that because I was getting the impression that if you made less then 100,000 per year, you may as well forget it.

Sunshine, you have been so honest and it was so nice of you to share the info with us. At first I was disappointed when I was reading this because you said at 35,000 per year, your parents were hoping to move. (Where are you going?) As I was reading that I was thinking, "Yes, we do make more then that per year, but we've both always worked full time and we've had our present jobs for several years now." But thanks to you and Cariad and InFtMyers, and others, I'm much more confident that we would be just fine there. (If we can tolerate the traffic and high population.)

We would be coming down with a guaranteed yearly income of about 25,000 and of course, we'd both work, too. I would definitely still have to work full time and DH would at least work part time if not full time. We wouldn't plan on having a mortgage since we'd be able to afford a small, modest senior condo. I don't feel we'd need to "tighten our belts" at all because we've always lived modestly. Also, there's just NO way I plan on driving there so we would be down to one vehicle, too. It sounds like it would work out well for us, too.

Yes, it sounds like you and your husband will do just fine. If there were kids involved, I would be a little less optomistic. That's one of the reasons why I don't see myself staying here and starting a family, even if my parents weren't planning on moving.

Our destination is East Tennessee, near Knoxville. Real estate is about 1/2 the price, not to mention home owner's insurance. My mom's best friend and her husband have already bought property there. My mom and I have been up there three times already. Even my sister and her husband are tentatively making plans to relocate there, once their construction business gets more established. I immediately fell in love with the mountain landscape. I've been around beaches and palm trees all my life, so I feel a better appreciation for the kind of nature TN offers.

Anyway, I'm so glad I've been able to help a little. I hope you are able to find a happy place to settle in down here.

[Jammie]

Oh that sounds great!!! So many Floridians are heading for either Tn. or NC. They do have much milder winters then we do up here so you should be able to adjust nicely. I'm just the opposite~I've lived in the wide open spaces my entire life and I'm ready for the sub-tropical setting. I hope you have good luck in your move, too. Do you have a date set yet?

[SunKrist]

Originally Posted by Jammie

Oh that sounds great!!! So many Floridians are heading for either Tn. or NC. They do have much milder winters then we do up here so you should be able to adjust nicely. I'm just the opposite~I've lived in the wide open spaces my entire life and I'm ready for the sub-tropical setting. I hope you have good luck in your move, too. Do you have a date set yet?

LOL, yes, I can see why you would prefer the beach . And yes, there are sooo many Floridians moving to TN. It seems like we meet people on a weekly basis who are moving from FL to TN or the Carolinas. I think the Tennesseans are feeling a bit overwhelmed .

We don't have an exact date, but where shooting for 2010 or before. My dad hasn't actually been up there yet, so he and my mom are trying to work things out for him to take a trip around September. It's hard because of his business, but hopefully it will all come together.

Thanks, and good luck yourself .

[anywherebutpinellas]

Jammie - In Pinellas County, which includes St. Pete, you will be surrounded by water on three sides - and it's the gulf of Mexico, not an ocean. Keep in mind, if we ever have a hurricane bearing down on us, people living on the beaches will have to evacuate, then all the people in mobile homes, then others who just have the sense to leave. You can get out only by going north on U.S. 19 (bad), the three bridges (bad, too) I-4 towards Orlando (really bad) and that's it. They say that if we get a direct hit, we will be an island due to the flooding.

Also, Pinellas has so many little towns and they blend into each other, all pretty much the same. They are absolutely NOT divided by any green space or parks or anything like that. Every vacant piece of land is still being built on - which I find very odd, considering that we were told to conserve water back in the 70s. Now I guess they just build and don't care where the water's coming from.

[Jammie]

Anywhere, thank you for the info. As you have probably already read, we've never been to the Gulf side of Fla., but we've heard so much good about the St. Pete area. It is a bit disappointing that ALL of those towns blend into one huge city. You've probably noticed where I'm from so you know we aren't used to traffic or crowds. We love Orlando, but the crowds and traffic wouldn't make it a comfy place for us to live. We had gotten a vacation guide for the St. Pete area and it looks absolutely beautiful there. So even if we would decide against it, I know we'll visit there some day.

I've gotten just a bit behind in postings so forgive me if you've already mentioned it, but where are you planning on moving to when you retire?

[anywherebutpinellas]

There is an excellent website called Moderator cut: link removed. Just type in Pinellas County and check out the demographics. I don't know much about the Dakotas, and understand you are sick of the cold, but you can still come south - just consider a different county. I think the east coast (especially Volusia) is nice. Or consider Georgia, Tennessee or the Carolinas - Florida is just not good right now.