[beach43ofus]

Anyone reading this who is thinking about moving here who is low educated &/or low skilled, & need more than $15/hr to get by, please do NOT come.

If you are making more where you are at, please stay there.

Please read the posts here complaining about low wages, which proves all of those people failed to research the job market, prior to moving here. Now that they made their mistake, & can't thrive here, their endless posts whining about low wages here, should act as your clear warning to stay away.

The cost of living isn't as low as it used to be either, so don't expect to find apartments for $800/month...they are $1,800/mo. minimum...& climbing.

To those who failed to do their homework, and are here now struggling to get by, please make plans to go back to the place where you were making $27/hr in a low education, low skilled service-sector job.

[Ghaati]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

Anyone reading this who is thinking about moving here who is low educated &/or low skilled, & need more than $15/hr to get by, please do NOT come.

If you are making more where you are at, please stay there.

Please read the posts here complaining about low wages, which proves all of those people failed to research the job market, prior to moving here. Now that they made their mistake, & can't thrive here, their endless posts whining about low wages here, should act as your clear warning to stay away.

The cost of living isn't as low as it used to be either, so don't expect to find apartments for $800/month...they are $1,800/mo. minimum...& climbing.

To those who failed to do their homework, and are here now struggling to get by, please make plans to go back to the place where you were making $27/hr in a low education, low skilled service-sector job.

Actually, some service-sector jobs pay pretty well. Aldi's around here is paying $20/hour. It's a part-time gig, but if you work 20 hours a week that's $400/week, with no state income tax. If you and two friends each work a part-time gig and share a 2-bedroom apartment between three people, you can easily rent and have enough left over to save for the future.

Rentals near me (south of Ocala in Lake County) run around $1500 for 2 bedrooms.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by Ghaati

Actually, some service-sector jobs pay pretty well. Aldi's around here is paying $20/hour. It's a part-time gig, but if you work 20 hours a week that's $400/week, with no state income tax. If you and two friends each work a part-time gig and share a 2-bedroom apartment between three people, you can easily rent and have enough left over to save for the future.

Rentals near me (south of Ocala in Lake County) run around $1500 for 2 bedrooms.

I’m camping in Alexander Springs this weekend. It’s freaking gorgeous out here!!!!

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by Ghaati

Actually, some service-sector jobs pay pretty well. Aldi's around here is paying $20/hour. It's a part-time gig, but if you work 20 hours a week that's $400/week, with no state income tax. If you and two friends each work a part-time gig and share a 2-bedroom apartment between three people, you can easily rent and have enough left over to save for the future.

Rentals near me (south of Ocala in Lake County) run around $1500 for 2 bedrooms.

And there are places where 2 bedrooms cost $2,500/mo, so I tried averaging them all out, & was speaking in general terms. My point is, rents have gone up a LOT, so FLA isnt cheap anymore, so don't come here thinking that they are. There are long extensive threads on C-D about how much rents in FLA have climbed.

And, not everyone can work at Aldi making $20/hr....they do not have endless open positions. I'm glad they pay well, but their employees work very hard too, so there are no free rides.

MY OP is to warn people not to come here if they think they will get by on minimum wage, or think employers are going to pay them more than they are worth here, or what they made up North.

Coastal Florida has become very expensive, & high paying jobs are not plentiful, so you have been warned.

This forum is chock full of whiners who complain about Florida not paying high wages, but its always been like that. Why did they come here then? Why not just leave, rather than complain endlessly on a forum & denegrate one of the most desireable states in the USA (see net domestic migration stats)?

Florida is not going to change anytime soon, and most here couldn't care less, that they made bad decisions.

[wp169]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

And there are places where 2 bedrooms cost $2,500/mo, so I tried averaging them all out, & was speaking in general terms. My point is, rents have gone up a LOT, so FLA isnt cheap anymore, so don't come here thinking that they are. There are long extensive threads on C-D about how much rents in FLA have climbed.

And, not everyone can work at Aldi making $20/hr....they do not have endless open positions. I'm glad they pay well, but their employees work very hard too, so there are no free rides.

MY OP is to warn people not to come here if they think they will get by on minimum wage, or think employers are going to pay them more than they are worth here, or what they made up North.

Coastal Florida has become very expensive, & high paying jobs are not plentiful, so you have been warned.

This forum is chock full of whiners who complain about Florida not paying high wages, but its always been like that. Why did they come here then? Why not just leave, rather than complain endlessly on a forum & denegrate one of the most desireable states in the USA (see net domestic migration stats)?

Florida is not going to change anytime soon, and most here couldn't care less, that they made bad decisions.

I lived in Florida 20 years ago, employees at my company were making about $35,000 a year or more if working overtime, a great salary for living in Florida back then, but some had second jobs because they needed more money to send their kids to private schools. I can imagine how bad it is to live in Florida today with the high rents and low-paying jobs.

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by wp169

I lived in Florida 20 years ago, employees at my company were making about $35,000 a year or more if working overtime, a great salary for living in Florida back then, but some had second jobs because they needed more money to send their kids to private schools. I can imagine how bad it is to live in Florida today with the high rents and low-paying jobs.

It can be done, but you must be debt-free, frugal, disciplined, have 2 income earners, & a small family.

Examples: I have no cable tv, & my cell phone plan costs $11/mo.. Those 2 choices alone save me ~$2,400/yr, which I'd have to earn ~$3,600/yr gross to net $2,400. I shop mostly at Aldi, my car is a base model w/o any options. Travel infrequently, 1 kid just graduated w/ $0 college debt (529 plan), pay credit cards off monthly, & we are debt-free, so no interest expenses.

If you live like that, you can get by on $35,000/yr x 2 = $70k. If you make less, you must reduce housing and trans costs...live in smaller home, & drive older cars, eliminate vacations, and eating out. And, no smoking, eating, or drugging.


If you do NOT want to live like this, & make minimal income, do NOT move to Florida.

[MOforthewin]

Originally Posted by beach43ofus

It can be done, but you must be debt-free, frugal, disciplined, have 2 income earners, & a small family.

Examples: I have no cable tv, & my cell phone plan costs $11/mo.. Those 2 choices alone save me ~$2,400/yr, which I'd have to earn ~$3,600/yr gross to net $2,400. I shop mostly at Aldi, my car is a base model w/ 0 options. Travel infrequently, 1 kid just graduate w/ $0 college debt (529 plan), pay credit cards off monthly, & we are debt-free so no interest expenses.

If you live like that, you can get by on $35,000/yr x 2 = $70k. If you make less, you must reduce housing and trans costs...live in smaller home, & drive older cars, eliminate vacatons, and eating out.

If you do NOT want to live like this, & make minimal income, do NOT move to Florida.

The problem is some employees are still paying 2003 wages today. Reading the tampa forum, high skill IT jobs in the tampa area still paying 2005 type wages. No wonder they can't find skilled labor for it

[Ghaati]

We live on $40k/year between the two of us. We own our home outright so no mortgage. We have a fixed income. We make use of the homestead discount since this is our only home. We enjoy dining out a few times every month, and we live in a community with free entertainment available nearby (the entertainment is open to the public). We have no HOA, our amenity fee is under $200/month. We mow our own lawn and clean up our own landscaping. We're both retired, however spouse works 18 hours a week at the country club, which gives him a discount on golf - which he makes use of every week.

If you are selling your home from the north, to move down south, it's likely that you'll have revenue from the sale of your home to buy a new home without a mortgage down south. If that's the case, you can -absolutely- live on under $40k/year income.

[beach43ofus]

Originally Posted by MOforthewin

The problem is some employees are still paying 2003 wages today. Reading the tampa forum, high skill IT jobs in the tampa area still paying 2005 type wages. No wonder they can't find skilled labor for it

Anyone doing the proper relo research will find out that FLA's wages trail the national average, & should not move here, then complain about low wages. They need to stay where they are, until they have saved enough $ to afford it here, or make enough to thrive.

Employers pay as little as they can to get the work done that they need...no more. If they can't get the help, wages will rise, or they will cut services. That's how the free market economy works, & its made America the most desireable country on Earth for people to live (see Southern border).

No economic system is perfect, and no state is perfect, but Florida & the USA are as close as it comes; most would agree. Not everyone has what it takes to live here...or other even more costly places.

I want a waterfront home in Boca Grande w/ a 34' boat out back, but I can't afford it. Who here want to hear me whine incessantly about it, & disparage Boca Grande for being too costly?

To all whiners...go live in Honduras for a year, then come back, & tell us about how bad the USA and Florida are, & how it all needs to change to make you happier. You reap what you sow....stop blaming others, & look within.

[beachmouse]

Originally Posted by MOforthewin

The problem is some employees are still paying 2003 wages today. Reading the tampa forum, high skill IT jobs in the tampa area still paying 2005 type wages. No wonder they can't find skilled labor for it

Alabama has long poached good teachers away from the Florida panhandle with a promise of significantly higher pay and less micromanaging. And the best and brightest kids here so very often bail to Atlanta after college graduation because there’s a better pathway to get ahead there than there is in Tampa or Jacksonville.

In the next couple of years, the public sector employee problem is going to get worse because so many folks currently in those positions are the people who could make it work on 2003 salaries because they have/had 2003 house payments. And now they’re hitting retirement age and the possible replacement pool of employees is not impressed by a job ad for a firefighter that says ‘steady schedule so it’s easy to work a second job as well’ like I’ve seen listed for Pensacola/Escambia. Plenty of places out there that may not have palm tress but don’t require a second job to make life work.