Moving to Florida

[slesh]

Let me expand for a moment on this whole "East coast of Florida vs West coast of Florida thing" based on my 36 years of living in Naples. You've heard "opposites attract" and this is so true of the Sunshine State. The West coast is boring as all hell! Likewise anyone from the East Coast willl tell you how much they enjoy the West Coast "but they could never live there"!. Hence on I-75 Alligator Alley on a Friday night/Saturday morning in pre-Covit times all the eastbound cars are from Collier and Lee counties while all the westbound cars are all from Palm Beach/Broward/Dade.

Also about our passion bodybuilding I can tell you from past experience both as a competitor and retired Florida NPC judge that it too is a completely different animal on the 2 coasts. East coast taken far more seriously, far more hard core. Evening shows the crowds can go wild as you might see at any NBA game. West coast ? Its like attending a wake! The evening crowd politely claps for each competitor and that's it.

Haha so true! I grew up and still live on the east side but when I was a kid my parents would always take us once or twice a year to the Ritz in Naples because it was so quiet and chill. Palm Beach down to Miami Dade is def a shit show most of the year.

 

[maldorf]

I just moved out of FL to go to North Carolina , I was paying 2600 a year for property taxes on a 265,000 house living 25 miles west of Orlando. My 2 cars tags cost me about 160 every year and the reason is because I always got the vanity plates. The people down there were assholes , rude and damn near never friendly. Me and my with both had family down there but it wasn't enough to keep us there . Now North Carolina is not cheap here either, but the people are a hell of alot nicer and way more helpful than Florida ever was for us.

So southern hospitality wasn't down there near Orlando. St. Pete/Tampa area seems ok. I hear South Carolina is really friendly. I think a lot of how inhabitants behave is regional based, with larger cities being a bit less friendly.

Those taxes are a lot lower than what we pay here in Ohio.

 

[greenpathy]

I lived in the Orlando area for the majority of my life. Housing and property taxes are dirt cheap, as is car insurance. There's no state income tax. My whole family is still there, so I visit a lot.

It's hot and humid almost all year, so you'll have to get used to it. Salaries for technology jobs (my field) are a lot lower there compared to California. Cannabis is still illegal, which is a dealbreaker for me. I might move back someday once the prohibition laws are gone.

moved from raleigh to gainesville this april, not sure what you consider low as far as taxes and car insurance because both were very much higher than NC by far...florida is a no fault state with car insurance, so you will def pay more than NC. property taxes are def higher than NC, and Pay in general is lower. Do i like it here yes, but dirt cheap depends where you came from......

 

[m314]

moved from raleigh to gainesville this april, not sure what you consider low as far as taxes and car insurance because both were very much higher than NC by far...florida is a no fault state with car insurance, so you will def pay more than NC. property taxes are def higher than NC, and Pay in general is lower. Do i like it here yes, but dirt cheap depends where you came from......

I came from Florida. I'm in California now, which is why I think Florida is dirt cheap. The pay is much better here for technology workers, so it has been worth living here.

More tech companies are thinking about allowing workers to work from home full time. That would change everything. It would be great to live in a cheaper state like Florida while making a California salary.

 

[greenpathy]

I came from Florida. I'm in California now, which is why I think Florida is dirt cheap. The pay is much better here for technology workers, so it has been worth living here.

More tech companies are thinking about allowing workers to work from home full time. That would change everything. It would be great to live in a cheaper state like Florida while making a California salary.

im not sure how anyone can make it in cali from all the taxes ( that ive heard about).. yes it is nice to not have state taxes here in Florida, id love to live in cali myself, but man it seems like cali is going the wrong way for me political wise, but its a beautiful place.

 

[maldorf]

I came from Florida. I'm in California now, which is why I think Florida is dirt cheap. The pay is much better here for technology workers, so it has been worth living here.

More tech companies are thinking about allowing workers to work from home full time. That would change everything. It would be great to live in a cheaper state like Florida while making a California salary.

Is it more a matter of there are jobs there in California that you just can't get anywhere else? Most of the hiring ive seen for jobs pays higher but isn't enough to make up for higher taxes and much much higher property values. Seems like a losing proposition. I look up little 1400 square foot dumps in Compton selling for $450,000. Its insane.

 

[m314]

Is it more a matter of there are jobs there in California that you just can't get anywhere else? Most of the hiring ive seen for jobs pays higher but isn't enough to make up for higher taxes and much much higher property values. Seems like a losing proposition. I look up little 1400 square foot dumps in Compton selling for $450,000. Its insane.

My last job paid $220k base salary plus more than that in stock. I haven't seen that kind of pay for software engineers in Florida. Like I said, though, things could change as more companies open up to the idea of people working remotely long term.

 

[maldorf]

My last job paid $220k base salary plus more than that in stock. I haven't seen that kind of pay for software engineers in Florida. Like I said, though, things could change as more companies open up to the idea of people working remotely long term.

Were you able to afford a nice house there? Suppose it depends on area too. Homes there are astronomically high even in places Iike Compton. In Ohio $500,000 buys you a nice 3600 plus square foot home with a 3 car garage.

 

[m314]

Were you able to afford a nice house there? Suppose it depends on area too. Homes there are astronomically high even in places Iike Compton. In Ohio in $500,000 buys you a nice 3600 plus square foot home with a 3 car garage.

I was in the Bay Area for 7 years starting in 2010. I almost bought a house in San Jose for 400k then, but didn't. I ended up leaving in 2018 because the average house price in San Jose was 1.2 million.

I'm in Long Beach now (south of Compton) where it's a lot cheaper. I'm thinking of buying a house in the next year, but I'm not 100% sure about the location yet.

I'm renting a 2 bedroom house now for $3000 a month. Long Beach is cheap compared to Santa Monica or San Jose, but it's still expensive compared to most of the country.

 

[maldorf]

I was in the Bay Area for 7 years starting in 2010. I almost bought a house in San Jose for 400k then, but didn't. I ended up leaving in 2018 because the average house price in San Jose was 1.2 million.

I'm in Long Beach now (south of Compton) where it's a lot cheaper. I'm thinking of buying a house in the next year, but I'm not 100% sure about the location yet.

I'm renting a 2 bedroom house now for $3000 a month. Long Beach is cheap compared to Santa Monica or San Jose, but it's still expensive compared to most of the country.

Damn, $3k a month to rent a small house. I feel for you. We pay about $2600 a month on our 15 year mortgage for a nice home. Taxes are so high for you also. Im glad we live where we do. We have a 1/2 acre lot too. Have you thought about leaving the state? Not sure how young you are.

 

[EWRECK]

My son and his wife just bought a 600k ”starter” home in Petaluma Ca. They were paying 4k a month rent which is what their mortgage is now but 1300 a month just in property tax is insane IMO. I lived and was a home builder in SoCal most of my life and the numbers their aren’t much better. I have a custom home on 1.25 acres in NoCo currently and property taxes are 2500.00 a year. Sales tax is 2.8% and gas is 1.90 a gallon. Being in a cornfield isn’t so bad.

 

[maldorf]

My son and his wife just bought a 600k ”starter” home in Petaluma Ca. They were paying 4k a month rent which is what their mortgage is now but 1300 a month just in property tax is insane IMO. I lived and was a home builder in SoCal most of my life and the numbers their aren’t much better. I have a custom home on 1.25 acres in NoCo currently and property taxes are 2500.00 a year. Sales tax is 2.8% and gas is 1.90 a gallon. Being in a cornfield isn’t so bad.

Damn, for $600k youd want a yearly family income of at least $350,000 I would think, to be somewhat comfortable and thats a starter home. Our taxes on a $450,000 home are about $750/month here in Ohio, so you son's taxes are indeed a much higher rate than ours.

 

[toniportray]

The west coast has great culture and career opportunities but the east coast is much more affordable, at least the southeast. FL is a great place to live with no state income tax, inexpensive utilities, very affordable housing, great climate, etc. I prefer the gulf side and further south. The more north you go, the more deep-south like it gets culturally. I'm not saying that's a bad thing but some of my social circle don't care for the pan handle areas.

 

[m314]

Damn, $3k a month to rent a small house. I feel for you. We pay about $2600 a month on our 15 year mortgage for a nice home. Taxes are so high for you also. Im glad we live where we do. We have a 1/2 acre lot too. Have you thought about leaving the state? Not sure how young you are.

3k a month for a house is a lot, but it costs at least that for a 1 bedroom apartment in San Jose. I'd be lucky to get a tiny studio apartment for that in San Francisco. It seems like the prices rise in proportion to the number of high paying technology jobs in the area.

A half acre lot sounds amazing. Another thing about houses here is that they're close together on tiny pieces of land. Property values are too high for everyone to have a big lot.

I moved to California partly for my career and partly for the cannabis laws. I decided I didn't want to live in a state where growing a plant means risking prison time. Now there are lots of options other than California. More states legalize it every election year. It would actually be nice to move back to Orlando to be close to family again. It's just not the right time yet. Elderly residents there will hold on to their prohibition laws as long as they can, even if the majority of the people support legalization.

 

[Bio]

Damn, $3k a month to rent a small house. I feel for you. We pay about $2600 a month on our 15 year mortgage for a nice home. Taxes are so high for you also. Im glad we live where we do. We have a 1/2 acre lot too. Have you thought about leaving the state? Not sure how young you are.

The closer you are to Silicon Valley the more expensive it is. That holds true for any area that have tech companies. It's not like that throughout the entire state. Plus if you do work in the tech industry your income is a lot higher than most.

You mentioned a 1,400 sq' home being 450k. In the areas around Silicon Valley, homes that size millions.

Here's a 1,248 sq' home for $2,182,600. It's great if you've owned your home their decades. Bad if you're looking to live close to where you work. This is not what other parts of California are like.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1400-Gretel-Ln_Mountain-View_CA_94040_M21571-03272

 

[maldorf]

The closer you are to Silicon Valley the more expensive it is. That holds true for any area that have tech companies. It's not like that throughout the entire state. Plus if you do work in the tech industry your income is a lot higher than most.

You mentioned a 1,400 sq' home being 450k. In the areas around Silicon Valley, homes that size millions.

Here's a 1,248 sq' home for $2,182,600. It's great if you've owned your home their decades. Bad if you're looking to live close to where you work. This is not what other parts of California are like.

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1400-Gretel-Ln_Mountain-View_CA_94040_M21571-03272

Yeah, owning the home before the big rise in value would be great. Compton I thought was nothing but a hood back in the 80s but now a tiny little piece of junk home, a fixer upper, goes for $400,000. There is a good show on cable that shows people flipping homes, and Compton is one that they like to use. They buy an old beat up home and then put in about $125,000 and sell the home then for over $625,000. Some of the houses still had bars on the windows! Thats my kinda neighborhood!