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Not trying to be the negative post of this thread, but am I living in a different Florida or what? The economy sucks, ESPECIALLY out here. We can thank Florida and California for this Housing Foreclosure mess. You got people thinking "oh great I can by a four bedroom house with a yard and pool in Sunny Florida for $200,000-$350,000", but with what steady will you support that new home with? There's literally no jobs out here, NONE! I work in a trucking industry supplying material for home remodeling, farming, beaches, plumbing, landscaping, septic system installations, equestrian facilities (including: riding arenas, stalls, stables, race tracks, round pens, etc.), cast stone / paver and brick manufacturers, stucco and drywall contractors, pool contractors, environmental companies (contaminated soil removal services / hazmat companies), water treatment plants, marine and seawall contractors, driveway and road contractors, nurseries and garden centers, golf courses, sports fields, sandblasting companies, storage facilities, animal rescues, parks, state owned facilities, you name it... they are all hurting from this economy. Everyone from lower class to upper class are cutting their spending, which mean will be negative to any business. One of my relatives just got laid off and he was in the energy industry, working as a Oil Terminal Manager. Another relative does Medical Billing and loses long term clients to someone that is 1% lower in their rates than she is. People are getting so desperate for work it's like a constant, daily battle on who will be cheaper to get the job (the awarded bidder will most likely have bid the job too cheap and end up losing instead of profitting or just get stiffed because their customer doesn't have the funds). If you go to Wellington, known as horse paradise (internationally), you'll see a "for rent" sign infront of every other barn or stable. Animal rescues are barely surviving. Churches are barely surviving. The Fishing market is doing bad.. they had the news earlier in the month that Hurricane Ike (I think) killed a large amount of our Lobster and because people are getting back in their spending that includes seafood, so they are only charging a 1/5 for shrimp from what they would've charged a year ago. I think people just call and vent more to me than order anything. I had one customer tell me how he works in the computer and technology industry and how you got people (like Bill Gates) bringing people from India to do his same job for nothing. Schools are shutting down. Clothing Stores (like Macy's in certain areas) are shutting down. Car dealerships are suffering (obviously). Equipment Companies are suffering (another obvious one). Septic Companies are doing poor. Construction has been dead. Crime is very high, I guess being a cop would be great out here. I don't even know what other industry that is doing well, if someone list some I would appreciate it because I'm searching. This economy got me M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E and stressed out.
I don't know why you would want to leave New York to come to Florida. Florida just got listed in the Top Ten Most Dangerous States. You will always have a better opportunity in New York City. I am from Brooklyn New York (Park Slope neighbors of beautiful Carroll Gardens) and we've been in Palm Beach Gardens / Jupiter for 3-4 years now. I hate it. At first we liked it because the atmosphere seemed friendly, great weather, colorful and nice clean air (well at least much cleaner than NY). I miss the smell of pollution and garbage. I miss the sound of coins rattling in a coffee cup by the bum down the street corner who's wrapped in newpapers freshly drenched in urine, sitting on a milk crate. I miss the trains, especially the F train. I miss the pizza. I miss the noise. I miss the change of seasons. I miss the diversity. I miss the quick new york pace. I miss New York.
Sorry if I scared you, but you wanted honest opinions and experiences... here's one.
If you are so unhappy, which is completely obvious...why are you still here?? Don't freak other people out about FL just because you are miserable.
FL is not for everyone. So go back to NY, I'm sure you have family/friends there who would take you in temporarily.
FL is no more dangerous than Cal, NY, Michigan etc. The job market here is no worse off than SC, Tx or any other place.
As for diversity, FL, especially south FL, is one of the most DIVERSE states in all the U.S......come on now. How ridiculous.
Your post is drama-filled...and therefore misleading.
I am a single, 54 year old caucasion female residing in Albany, NY. Can anyone provide me information on whether it is beneficial for me to relocate to Boca. I currently work for NYS government and am tired of the taxes, weather, and arrogant, rude, beligerent people here!
I am a single, 54 year old caucasion female residing in Albany, NY. Can anyone provide me information on whether it is beneficial for me to relocate to Boca. I currently work for NYS government and am tired of the taxes, weather, and arrogant, rude, beligerent people here!
Well, you need to give a bit more info. Basically, I think the folks will tell you here that the job situation is worse there then even in NY right now. If you have a NYS job, then you are doing better then probably 90% of folks down there. SO......if you are retiring on a NYS pension, you can perhaps live ok down there......if you need a job, chances are slim that you will find one with the pay and benefits you probably enjoy now. You do not say what field you are in or if you would need employment.
Escaping snow and taxes is understandable......but you need to make sure you can provide for yourself down there.......they already have too many folks who go down there blindly saying that if they are going to be broke, they want to be warm and broke. That does no one any good.
As far as people go, people are basically the same everywhere.....I find one usually gets what they are........no disrespect, but having homes in both Florida and NY, I find good and bad folks everywhere.
Every place has good and bad, so it's subjective what is "better".
Florida vs New York?
ECONOMY
Sucks in NY, worse in FL. Again, this is a national problem right now, but if I had to pick. I'd say NY wins this one.
AIR
Point for Florida, much cleaner, healthier air.
JOB MARKET
NY wins
HOUSING
FL wins this hand down. The cost of housing in NY is crazy. You could sell a dump apartment in Brooklyn and with that money buy a nice 4/2/2 in WPB.
COST OF LIVING
Tricky here. Let' s live housing out of it as it was dealt with separately. New York has more taxes, but you also get more choices/quality in what you buy, from food to cloathing. The cost of groceries in FLA is very high compared to salaries. Chelsea Market has prices that are similar to many Publix in So Fla when it comes to fruit and vegetables. You definitely have more options in NY and can find great prices (like in some fish markets in Chinatown, fresh fish and prices that are like West palm beach prices in 1999).
Restaurants: unless you eat out in Midtown Manhattan on a regualr basis, I find NY offers better values than Florida. Quality is better, options are infinite and prices are similar. yes, you can spend a lot of money eating outr in Manhattan or some places in DTW Boorklyn but you can do that also in Boca Raton or Palm Beach Gardens, without having the same quality. NY offers many restaurrants of any kind for very reasonable prices; Mulberry St as "Little Italy" is just a reminiscence today of what it was but restaurants are pretty cheap and quality is still better than most of "upscale italian" restaurants in South Florida.
WEATHER
Subjective subject. I know that the reason for which many move from NY to FLA is the weather. I personally don't like much Florida's weather. Simply out if you can bear hot and humid better than the cold months, than SoFla is for you. If humidity puts you down and you like the change of seasons, NY is better.
ART CULTURE
NY has everything, SoFla very little of it, so NY wins this one hands down.
PERSONAL TIME - PACE
Florida wins this one because you have more time to spedn at home as commutes are - on average shorter than in NY. So you get to spend more time at home and enjoy it more. It might be a relative thing fpr a Newyorker, because unless you really have serious money, in NY you don;t have a house to enjoy; you are normally renting a 1 bedroom or 2 if you can afford it below 100 sf.
In the end, Florida offers the possibility to own a decent sized single family house to people who could not do it in NY, pace is slower and kind of laid back.
Weather is hot and humid, but if you like the beaches, relaxing in the pool (9-10 months/year) then you'll enjoy it.
In Florida though you have to give up on other things: arts, cultures, museum, the city living, shopping and restaurants choices like in NY etc...
In NY however some say they don't get to enjoy all those stuff because they work 2 jobs, commute a lot and spend most of the money in rent and utilities.
So it depends on what's more important to you. But I think that whenever you read a message telling you that one place totally sucks and live is impossible in there, you should not take it seriously. The point is we all look at things in a different way. Often our judgment is based on two things: expectations and comparison.
High expectations can make you rate something worse than it is only because if were expecting too much (or the wrong things). And our judgment often depends to what we compare it to; you come from NY to FLA, you might think West Palm is boring, there is nothing going on, little to do etc... But for someone who comes from a little city in another State, West Palm would be nice, cool, full of restaurants and livey places like Cityplace, Downtown Palm Beach Gardens etc..
No place is totally bad or totally great. Trying to enjoy what a place has to offer instead of longing for what it can't offer is normally a good start to enjoy life and prevent disappointments.
I agree that there is no perfect so it is finding the best for you. I am in Boca though may be moving but somewhere in FL. There are many from NY here especially in the winter. Are you planning on working here in FL? I am not sure if you would wait to find a job but to quit a job that you have now if you need to work you may want to think about. The job market is hard every where. If this is not an issue what made you think of Boca? I would rent first. I am from MI and I agree the lack of winter in FL is wonderful. With any move it is good to have savings as well for those things that seem to happen at the wrong times. Do you know people in FL? That may be something too to think about. It was hard leaving family but for me it was still a better choice to move.
I used to live in Boca (close to the intercoastal for a few years and then west boca close to Camino Real Rd) from 89 till 95. Loved the area. Yeah you had some snobby/bitchy (mizner crowd) people here and there, but you get such people no matter where you live around the world.
Right now i live with my family in the mediteranean (Greece). The weather is great, beaches are beautiful, plenty of nightlife and bars/restaurants etc, but the cost of living is ridicoulesly high and the salaries (career advancement) are crap. Totally crap. Income taxes are very high as well.
Utilities are about : 150euros a month for electricity for a 400sq.ft 3 bdr apt, 170 a month for heating (winter months). We own the apt so thankfully we dont have to pay rent.
so we re thinking of moving back to the US (and maybe back to Boca).
I was wondering, how much money would a couple need to be making (annually) in order to live there in a 2 or 3 bedroom two bathroom condo or a used 4-5 old yo house, in a safe/nice neighborhood (Boca, or Deerfield, Coconut Creek, etc).
How much are the property taxes per year for such a house?
How much does the average private school cost for toddlers? (one is 2.5 yo and the other is 2 months old so no need for schooling yet).
Are the pubic schools in the area nice? As far as i can remember, boca High was a nice school, as well as Spanish River high.
How much would the medical insurance be for a family of 4?
I would really appreciate any info.
I m also considering Virginia as an option, but when i lived in the area (MD) i didnt go crazy. More corporate jobs up there though...
PS: Is there "room" for a nice little restaurant with gourmet food and descent prices in the Boca/Deerfield area?
I was wondering, how much money would a couple need to be making (annually) in order to live there in a 2 or 3 bedroom two bathroom condo or a used 4-5 old yo house, in a safe/nice neighborhood (Boca, or Deerfield, Coconut Creek, etc).
According to my criteria and calculations, a family of 3 or 4 in a 3 bedroom house needs around $150,000 annually.
How much are the property taxes per year for such a house?
As a rule of thumb, figure 2% of purchase price (not a foreclosure or short sale).
There are not too many neighborhoods in Boca Raton with single family houses only four or five years old, a condo maybe, Coconut Creek has more SFH neighborhoods with newer houses, not too sure about Deerfield, certainly Boynton Beach. What is wrong with a 10-20 year old house?
In any case, I believe in Boca Raton the lower end of the range for a decent 3 bedroom house is in the upper $200,000s. but mid-300,000s and into 400,000s obviously give much more choice.
How much does the average private school cost for toddlers? (one is 2.5 yo and the other is 2 months old so no need for schooling yet).
According to my research there is no average. On the lower end, there are a few at around $9,000 per year (now), on the upper end around $20,000, then increasing into elementary, middle and high school to around $24,000 (now). I am talking about Boca, I don't think nearby Delray Beach is different, it may be different in Coconut Creek and Deerfield, but I doubt it. However, there are some private schools that have access to state of Florida subsidies for some years of pre-K, so it may be free at some of them, assuming they are to your taste.
How much would the medical insurance be for a family of 4?
A high deductible ($10,000 per year) would cost around $300 per month.
PS: Is there "room" for a nice little restaurant with gourmet food and descent prices in the Boca/Deerfield area?
I have a neighbor in the restaurant supply business. He sells high to newly opened restaurants and buys low when they fail.
Last edited by bale002; 09-25-2009 at 02:48 AM..
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