[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by adjusterjack

Add humidity to all that.

Arizona is a much better and dryer climate.

I can't say how fast you'll get a job but you can easily get a decent apartment for $1000 per month.

Sure, you'll have a couple of summer months of over 100 degrees, but it's a dry heat. LOL.

Just came back from a trip to Phoenix. It's OKAY... If you don't like anything green, water, etc.

Not everyone wants to live in a desert. I was sick of it after 5 days.

[Dave_n_Tenn]

Florida can be great for healthy, happy, vibrant, outdoorsy young people. We need young people. I don't think 1K per month will get you a decent place to live, but you can/may find a roommate to share the expenses.

You'll never know what it's like, if you listen to the naysayers. Pay no attention to the in-penetrable, hard headed, low level thinkers.

I'm retired and still enjoy the outdoors all year. Yes... I worked 35 years here for the electric company and the first 25 were outside battling all the hot-humid-nasty weather nature can throw at us Floridians. I'm still here, raised 4 kids who are all adults over 30, made a good life, and now my grand kids are learning to enjoy all the state has to offer.

I say give it a whirl.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by Dave_n_Tenn

Florida can be great for healthy, happy, vibrant, outdoorsy young people. We need young people. I don't think 1K per month will get you a decent place to live, but you can/may find a roommate to share the expenses.

You'll never know what it's like, if you listen to the naysayers. Pay no attention to the in-penetrable, hard headed, low level thinkers.

I'm retired and still enjoy the outdoors all year. Yes... I worked 35 years here for the electric company and the first 25 were outside battling all the hot-humid-nasty weather nature can throw at us Floridians. I'm still here, raised 4 kids who are all adults over 30, made a good life, and now my grand kids are learning to enjoy all the state has to offer.

I say give it a whirl.

This is pretty spot on.

Agreed on looking for roommates too.
A lot of the newer construction in the major urban centers have individual bathrooms for each bedroom too, so you won't have to share one, if that's a concern.

Originally Posted by Ghaati

For most of the year in Florida, you will be indoors, in air conditioning, and out of the sub-tropical heat. Or you'll be inside, away from the rainy season. Or you'll be inside, away from the love bugs, or mosquitoes.

Highly disagreed.

Originally Posted by Ghaati

Don't come to Florida hoping to find a job, without any money to invest in a home and savings to last your first year.

Right. Line up a job FIRST.
Get SOMETHING, ANYTHING in your field of study, even if the pay sucks (it likely will.) It's just entry-level at this point, and Florida is known for paltry entry-level wages. However, start there. Get the job offer, accept it, THEN move, preferably in a roommate situation. From there, your quality for life will only increase. You won't be "entry" for ever, and before you know it, you might end up being bombarded left and right with solid paying jobs.

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by SyreneSpence

Hello,
I am a 23 year old male from the state of Washington. Recently, I graduated from university with a degree in Applied Computing, but I feel rather hopeless for the field of coding and even IT- I've attempted applying over 700 times here in Washington state, the home of Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, and so forth, without any luck. I am not sure what to do as a career so far.


Anyways, onto my consideration to why I want to move to Florida: I've grown long-tired of winter and gray skies. I never cared for the weather here even as a child. The sunlight has always been an elixir of life to me, and I've always felt being unable to go outdoors for 9 of 12 months of the year is simply draining. I want to be able to enjoy the great outdoors, grow tropical plants, attend year-around swapmeets, and stop getting sick so easily from the cold.


I've heard about the increasing prices to the lower wages, cost of living, massive car insurance rates, housing insurance rates, new mandatory flood coverage, rampant bugs, and hurricanes, but the one thing I seek cannot leave my mind: sunny skies and year-around warm weather.


Would Central Florida be ideal for a person like me? I am aware Central Florida may experience frost occasionally and has about 1-2 months of cold.

Are my ideas outlandish? Please let me know anything I must! I'd rather prepare slugs for dinner than stay in the cold. If I had to do that to save money, I probably would!

With your lifestyle and talents for frugality, I'd say you are barking up the wrong tree. The USA (and especially Fla) is no longer affordable for people like you, and millions of other Americans. That's why Americans of ALL ages are moving to other countries. Try Spain or Portugal.

Watch this video. Fast fwd to the 2:00 mark.

Pay attention to the prices when she goes to the grocery store.

Forget Florida. We have a serious affordability problem in the US, and the next president ain't gonna fix it.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXP5fdFq2Xc

[hank3winger]

computing doesn't really pay what it used to you can move to florida and work for tips on the beach and make close to the same amount of money with not that much stress sorry you picked that field but i used to be in it made alot of money then quit and moved to the mountains to ride atvs and boat on the river good luck

[Arcenal813]

My friends who got into IT and stuck with it now ALL make over $100k, yes, including the ones who live in Florida. Most are in Orlando or Miami areas. We are in our mid-late 30s. One is a software development manager for Oracle. His base salary is in the $200k range. He makes over $300k after bonuses and whatnot.

Entry level jobs just don’t pay well in Florida, but stick with it and it can, and most likely will.
OP is 23.
My first engineering job was as a CAD drafter 10 years ago. I made $17/hr. Had I quit and started waiting tables, I’d be nowhere near where I am now.

My advice: stick with your IT field, and accept a job within that field, even if it seems ****ty at first. You’ll thank yourself much sooner than you think.

[sitonmywhat]

Originally Posted by SyreneSpence

Hello,
I am a 23 year old male from the state of Washington. Recently, I graduated from university with a degree in Applied Computing, but I feel rather hopeless for the field of coding and even IT- I've attempted applying over 700 times here in Washington state, the home of Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, and so forth, without any luck. I am not sure what to do as a career so far.


Anyways, onto my consideration to why I want to move to Florida: I've grown long-tired of winter and gray skies. I never cared for the weather here even as a child. The sunlight has always been an elixir of life to me, and I've always felt being unable to go outdoors for 9 of 12 months of the year is simply draining. I want to be able to enjoy the great outdoors, grow tropical plants, attend year-around swapmeets, and stop getting sick so easily from the cold.


I've heard about the increasing prices to the lower wages, cost of living, massive car insurance rates, housing insurance rates, new mandatory flood coverage, rampant bugs, and hurricanes, but the one thing I seek cannot leave my mind: sunny skies and year-around warm weather.


Would Central Florida be ideal for a person like me? I am aware Central Florida may experience frost occasionally and has about 1-2 months of cold.

Are my ideas outlandish? Please let me know anything I must! I'd rather prepare slugs for dinner than stay in the cold. If I had to do that to save money, I probably would!

We moved from Massachusetts to Hawaii. Our small 2-bedroom is $1800/month in the heart of Honolulu. We get a wet season, Oct-March, but it's streaky. Coldest it gets is about 65, and there is not the oppressive Florida humidity like you get for most of the year, down there.... I mean, really. I lived in Florida, and when you walk outside in the summer it feels like you're instantly wearing a parka meant for Alaska. Some homes and apartments here in HI still don't have A/C because of the near-constant breeze. Single apartments and studios are cheaper. Especially outside Honolulu. i know someone who might connect you to an apt. for about $1,000/month. Not a realtor, just a friend. Gas is astronomical. Lots of electric cars, and lots and lots of every conceivable type of what I call "Two-Wheeled NOISE Machines." Gas per gallon is $4.65 here. but our car insurance bill is not bad. 2019 Nissan Sentra, about $1,050 for the two of us, for the full year. That's including collision coverage. Island prices are high, but even fast food joints offer $15-$18 to START!

Beaches, churches, entertainment, lots of places to go hiking. Surfing. Strangely, no ferries, apart from a twice per day ferry connecting Maui with Lanai. Larry Ellison owns Lanai, but the established town there remains. And don't forget the FISHING. Freshwater is hard to find. There are places for that on Kauai.

[sinatras]

Originally Posted by sitonmywhat

We moved from Massachusetts to Hawaii. Our small 2-bedroom is $1800/month in the heart of Honolulu. We get a wet season, Oct-March, but it's streaky. Coldest it gets is about 65, and there is not the oppressive Florida humidity like you get for most of the year, down there.... I mean, really. I lived in Florida, and when you walk outside in the summer it feels like you're instantly wearing a parka meant for Alaska. Some homes and apartments here in HI still don't have A/C because of the near-constant breeze. Single apartments and studios are cheaper. Especially outside Honolulu. i know someone who might connect you to an apt. for about $1,000/month. Not a realtor, just a friend. Gas is astronomical. Lots of electric cars, and lots and lots of every conceivable type of what I call "Two-Wheeled NOISE Machines." Gas per gallon is $4.65 here. but our car insurance bill is not bad. 2019 Nissan Sentra, about $1,050 for the two of us, for the full year. That's including collision coverage. Island prices are high, but even fast food joints offer $15-$18 to START!

Beaches, churches, entertainment, lots of places to go hiking. Surfing. Strangely, no ferries, apart from a twice per day ferry connecting Maui with Lanai. Larry Ellison owns Lanai, but the established town there remains. And don't forget the FISHING. Freshwater is hard to find. There are places for that on Kauai.

As a Maui homeowner, it's quite true that Hawaii weather beats Florida weather any day of the week.

[Vector1]

Originally Posted by sinatras

As a Maui homeowner, it's quite true that Hawaii weather beats Florida weather any day of the week.

That depends on what parts of HI vs. what parts of FL you are talking about.
I could go into detail, but suffice to say HI is the most expensive state to live in, especially the smaller islands. Back when the national average for regular gas was $2.80 I paid almost $6.00 in Lanai.

As to the question of what part of FL to choose, if you are use to cold/cool weather, stay away from the interior of the state, as you do not get the same breeze you do on the coasts. That is not to say you must be on the gulf or ocean, but the closer you are the better temperature wise.
As another poster suggested, "Stuart south on the east coast and Cape Coral south on the west coast is where there’s a true tropical climate", with very mild winters, and not the oppressive heat in the middle of the state.

[movin1]

I lived in IL most of my life and hated the weather. I moved to Naples, FL and didn't like it after 5 years, so I moved to Las Vegas and love it here.

Others have pointed out the reasons: high humidity, rain, hurricanes, bugs, high housing prices, etc. Spend a week or two in summer there before you commit to FL.

I sold my house in FL in 2019 at a low point in real estate prices, it has nearly doubled in price since then. Home prices are near an all time high in FL now, not good values IMO. You don't get very nice homes for a lot of money. My house in Vegas is worth about 1.5 times what I paid for it in 2019, so prices have gone up here too, but not as much as some places in FL.