[MR83]

I am hoping to move to florida with my fiancee in 2-3 years and i was wondering the amount of money we would need to save before we moved down. we would be renting a place. i was hearing of people moving down with as little as $4,000. what would you guys recommend?

thanks

[FloridaKash]

Originally Posted by MR83

I am hoping to move to florida with my fiancee in 2-3 years and i was wondering the amount of money we would need to save before we moved down. we would be renting a place. i was hearing of people moving down with as little as $4,000. what would you guys recommend?

thanks

Depends on a lot of things. Will you have a job when you arrive? What type of rental are you wanting? Are you used to a lower/med/high income lifestyle? Will you need to buy a car? Where are you coming from? How much stuff are you bringing with you? How are you bringing your stuff with you? Are you planning on selling all your stuff an buying new stuff? Are you going to buy new stuff retail or at garage sales? Are you wanting to move directly into a rental or stay at an extended stay motel while you look at neighborhoods? What type of monthly income are you currently accustomed to?

[mango23]

Originally Posted by MR83

I am hoping to move to florida with my fiancee in 2-3 years and i was wondering the amount of money we would need to save before we moved down. we would be renting a place. i was hearing of people moving down with as little as $4,000. what would you guys recommend?

thanks

I guess as much as possible it would depend on what level you need to live at. You could rent a trailer or something till you get settled or live with friends. Split a place with someone, lots of possibilities. You will need income though at some point so you will need jobs. The last thing you want to do is sit around like you are on vacation till the money you have is gone then decide maybe you should get a job.

If you rent say a small apartment you will be looking at first and last plus a security. Then you need to get utilities on plus deposit and so on. In other words for example say an $800.00 a month apartment to get the key to the door and everything turned on you may be $3000.00 out of pocket ten minutes after you arrive. Add to that expenses you haven't thought about that come up every month like a car break down and so on. On short money your back could be against the wall real fast.

Not to be downer but $4000.00 would be minimum unless you are moving with a good job you can start right away. Beyond that you will just be on a treadmill trying to stay above water till you decide to go back where you came from like so many others. It is funny I am writing about this now. Just yesterday I met a guy who fits the example I just gave. I was leaving a friends condo and his neighbor a kid maybe 25 asked if I had a cigarette. I said no and he asked if I would give him a ride down the Race Track station and he would walk home. I said if he wasn't in a hurry I would give him a ride but I needed to make a few stops and I would bring him back.

While in the car we are talking, turns out he is a collage graduate and a writer. He worker for a newspaper in Pittsburgh but came to Florida with a job offer on the Sun Sentinel. Getting out of the cold was very tempting and they came. Of course the job didn't pan out their money soon ran out, they are now staying with friends in the condo next to my friend. Naturally their car gave out and they now have no car. Long story short. No job, no money, no car and no prospects, plus a new baby.
This guy is by no means a bum but his back is against a wall and he sounded pretty sacred and unsure what to do next.

[MR83]

coming from NJ,
she will most likely but i may need some time to find a job
probably only bring a few things, not a lot of furniture
and anything we buy we will try to buy cheap anyway we can
we are lower income about $65k combined (we are young) so don't need anything fancy.
we have our own cars.
i didn't think about extended stay, but we were hoping to find an apartment to move into right away
we wanted to go somewhere in palm harbor FL or somewhere around there. if you have any other suggestions on where to go i will appreciate it

[MR83]

[quote=mango23;18304172]I guess as much as possible it would depend on what level you need to live at. You could rent a trailer or something till you get settled or live with friends. Split a place with someone, lots of possibilities. You will need income though at some point so you will need jobs. The last thing you want to do is sit around like you are on vacation till the money you have is gone then decide maybe you should get a job.....

yea i think $4 grand is a little low, but we would only move if at least one of us had a job lined up. i was thinking more like $8,000 to move with and both of us having a job right away and as for the cars, my parents would give me their 05 camry with about 35k miles on it (their work is 2 miles away) so i hope that will last and her car should be fine.

[beachmouse]

Figure about $500 per car for new license plates when you get down here, and another $500 for driver's license, first car insurance payment, and utility hook-up. U-Haul will probably be $1000-$1500 if you need to rent a truck. At least another $1500 for first month rent/deposit.

So we're talking as much as about $4500 before you even get to buying groceries. Even without the truck, you're still going to have gas, hotel, etc. expenses on the way down.

[MR83]

thanks beachmouse.
ok so i'm in a good situation to save to so i guess ill shoot for $8-10k before considering the move

does anybody have any suggestions for a nice place to live for average income mid to late 20s couple?
such as good entertainment, night life, beaches and anything else that might appeal to this age range?

thanks

[beachmouse]

SW Florida (Naples, Fort Myers, Punta Gorda) is the seriously old part of the state. PG is by far the most elderly metro area in the country. If you don't need a 'New York City' sort of club scene, which you really only get in Miami, pretty much every other large to mid-sized metro area is going to have their fair share of entertainment options.