Pros and cons of Florida

[KDM31091]

I see a lot of people on various forums complaining that people should NOT move to Florida, it's becoming a lot more expensive, pushing out the middle class, etc. No offense but it seems like here in Delaware a lot of the prices are the same, so I don't see the deal with the "pushing out the middle class" thing going on in Florida.

Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of living in Florida? Is it really as expensive as people make it out to be? Or about average?

BTW: I'm about 16 years old living in Delaware currently. Not going to college but more likely beauty school or culinary school. I want to be a hairstylist or pastry chef. Yes, I'm gay, if that wasn't obvious. lol. Me and my significant other will be moving in summer 09 and Florida/Orlando area is one of our options.

 

[tampabrad]

I moved to Tampa 10 years ago from the Philly area. I actually went to U of Delaware. Lived in Philly here and there.

When I moved here, my rent was about 600 a month for a very large 2 bedroom apartment. I own my home now, but my last rent was about 800 for a very small 1 bedroom. Rents around here have almost doubled and most nicer apartments have gone condo which have driven up the rentals even more.

Unfortunately, the pay rates have not matched the cost of living. I work in the service industry for tips and the increase in population has not matched the cost of living either.

As for anything else, I really can't say. Groceries and gas are probably on average. Car insurance seems to be slightly less.

If you are looking for a place with museums, theater, and all around culture, this area is really not that. Tampa is not horrible, but it doesn't compare to the Philadelphia, Washington DC, New York area. On the other hand, Orlando has Cirque, will be getting a permanent Blue Man show, theme parks (of course) and lots of new concepts in restaurants. Just like any city, there are the tourist places, just more of them down here.

Other than the hurricanes, the weather is great. Yeah it does get hot and humid in the summer but it is @70 today and people were complaining that it is cold.

The beach is about 1.5 hours in either direction.

A big tip for you:

Make sure to have money saved up. Florida is a very transient state. Most apartments will not rent to you if you do not have a job, first and last months rent and security deposit. If you don't have a job, a co-signer may be necessary. Make sure you have good credit so you can open a bank account. Better yet, try to open a bank account with a bank in Delaware that has a branch where you are going to move. When you get a place to live, get a drivers license and do not tell them you have a car. It is a lot easier that way. Then transfer your tags and insurance after you have the license. Most utilities will charge you a deposit. Tampa Electric charges almost $200 just to get electricity turned on. A car is necessary, public transportation in central florida is horrible. Consider selling all of your furniture, you can get new down here and it will save you from renting a truck. Mine cost about $1200 10 years ago. Plus, gas was much cheaper then. You could furnish a small apartment for about $2000 at a Rooms to Go or something similar. And there is an IKEA opening in Orlando soon.

Hope this helps and Good luck.

 

[mickhyperion]

Wow, very informative post, Tampabrad. Thanks!

 

[SpongeScott]

Pros:
--weather
--always something to do
--more than likely within driving distance to WDW

Cons:
--housing costs
--property taxes
--homeowner's insurance
--traffic congestion
--weather
--education: greater emphasis on standardized testing than learning

 

[KDM31091]

Wow sponge, lots of cons there (I mean, I knew most of them, but still, when you list it like that...)

 

[scorp111]

Wow sponge, lots of cons there (I mean, I knew most of them, but still, when you list it like that...)

All pros/cons will also depend on the actual conditions of where you currently live. For example, traffic.

Traffic in Florida vs. Traffic in Alabama? Much worse

Traffic in Florida vs. Traffic in London, England? Anybody will have a very hard time convincing me that Florida is worse.

When you add the variables of what part of Florida etc, it becomes even more individualized.

 

[NemoRocks78]

Cons:

- Traffic
- Traffic
- Weather
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Weather
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic

:lookaroun

 

[haveyoumetmark]

I think a major con is construction. There is always road construction everywhere you go, causing most of the traffic. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought this was one of the fastest growing states population wise. So it can't be that bad. The weather is hot, a lot. We had Winter this year for like, what, two weeks? That was at 60 degrees. That depends on your local, because I'm in the middle part of the west coast, the ocean breeze is very very nice. I love it here, but it may not be for everyone.

Plus, wdw being a 90 minute drive is great.

 

[maelstrom]

--education: greater emphasis on standardized testing than learning

That's everywhere.

 

[palmage]

I have a beautiful home on the beachs of St Pete, so I'm tainted.
I could never live inland, nothing but bugs and heat.
Traffic is traffic is traffic

 

[KDM31091]

I have to wonder. Why is traffic such a commont complaint? Obviously, the area has traffic, but I'm kinda confused. I don't think it's anything new. I would expect traffic in ANY city basically. I realize it's not a drive in the park, but surely there's less traffic-y areas?

 

[KDM31091]

Cons:

- Traffic
- Traffic
- Weather
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Weather
- Traffic
- Traffic
- Traffic

:lookaroun

I'm assuming you live in Florida (USF = universal studios florida?). Well if it's that bad, couldn't you move? People who complain about these types of things confuse me. Just move if it's bugging you so much.

However, people leaving Florida due to traffic will essentially cause the same problems in the new spot. Let's pretend they move to North Carolina for a beautiful neighborhood from Florida. That NC neighborhood slowly becomes known and popular, sprawls into a city, and then they head to Virginia, the process repeats...you cannot escape these things forever unless you go to rural Kansas or something. There's a reason those areas have no traffic - it's not worth living there - no offense to anyone who does. :wave:

 

[haveyoumetmark]

I'm assuming you live in Florida (USF = universal studios florida?). Well if it's that bad, couldn't you move? People who complain about these types of things confuse me. Just move if it's bugging you so much.

However, people leaving Florida due to traffic will essentially cause the same problems in the new spot. Let's pretend they move to North Carolina for a beautiful neighborhood from Florida. That NC neighborhood slowly becomes known and popular, sprawls into a city, and then they head to Virginia, the process repeats...you cannot escape these things forever unless you go to rural Kansas or something. There's a reason those areas have no traffic - it's not worth living there - no offense to anyone who does. :wave:

That's essentially what's been happening to all of Florida recently.

 

[fillerup]

Not really a pro or con, but pretty indicative of the state of things down here.

One of the major movers (I forget which), Mayflower or North American or someone, announced recently that in 2006, for the first time in their history, moved more people out of Florida than in.

A hopeful sign I suppose.

 

[Valawen9]

Its definitely expensive living in Florida. I've only lived in Orlando for about a month and its just a little less than where I'm originally from. I know I wouldn't be able to afford living on my own back home in West Palm Beach...its just way too expensive there.

I just hope that by the time I go to buy a house in Florida I'll be able to because I really couldn't live anywhere else. I love it here aside from the hurricanes, but last season we didn't even get any.:sohappy:

 

[SpongeScott]

Its definitely expensive living in Florida. I've only lived in Orlando for about a month and its just a little less than where I'm originally from. I know I wouldn't be able to afford living on my own back home in West Palm Beach...its just way too expensive there.

I just hope that by the time I go to buy a house in Florida I'll be able to because I really couldn't live anywhere else. I love it here aside from the hurricanes, but last season we didn't even get any.:sohappy:

And there is another con for Florida. It's almost impossible for someone young and single like yourself to be able to afford a home. It's tough enough for a married couple to be able to make it.

 

[dcibrando]

traffic?

isn't the traffic problems mostly related to just I-4? I mean if you lived in/around Orlando and worked for Disney...you would have other roads of transportation rather than I-4?

 

[SpongeScott]

isn't the traffic problems mostly related to just I-4? I mean if you lived in/around Orlando and worked for Disney...you would have other roads of transportation rather than I-4?

The traffic is rough all over the state. It's not just I-4.

 

[mom2of2]

traffic is bad in the WDW area most of the time. Add construction, accidents, tourists etc and it can be a nightmare to go 2-3 miles in 20-30 min! And that's just on 192! I'm not even talking about I4

 

[cloudboy]

Other than the occasional rush hour traffic on I-4, and maybe 192, I don't find that Orlando traffic even gets close to what I experience up here in Boston. I find people think the slightest bit of heavy traffic is bad down there. I also find that it's about impossible to afford a house anywhere in the US right now. But once you do get your foot in the door, at least you start making some of that money back.

My questions are these: How bad, really, is the weather in the summer. It looks like maximum temperatures are not much higher than what we get up here, but there could be a lot of other factors, too. How bad is the threat of Hurricanes, and tornadoes. And how does Orlando compare to some place like the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area?