Any Ex-South Florida People On Here That Moved to SoCal? (San Diego: sales, apartment)
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Thank you expatCA! I'm very familiar with central and north Florida but not south Florida. Our plan was Orlando but the job opt is in Ft Lauderdale. The prices remind me of Newport, Irvine, and Tustin areas. I like those areas but not their prices. Do you miss Murrieta? Do you know of any areas in south Florida like Temecula/Murrieta? I love humidity so the weather is not a problem for me, my kids will have to get used to it though. Although I don't know what humidity in south Florida feels like. I did find that car insurance was cheaper in states like GA and LA than CA but not South FL.
If the job is in So FL, it will be a bit harder to live near the Central Coast.
Hi we're doing the opposite moving to South Florida from SoCal. After reading your reasons to leave we may need to reconsider and stay where we are. We currently own and have been looking at the cost of rentals in areas like Pembroke Pines, Parkland, and Wellington, and have found it to be 2x as much as our mortgage. My car insurance (geico also) quote said it will double to $4000 a year (4cars and young driver). Im still shocked that Fl cost that much since I'm only familiar with Orlando and Jax.
I can get from Temecula to Carlsbad in 35-45 mins, which is good to me since you get used to driving out here. I will say that traffic is becoming very congested in that area due to the influx of people moving to the area with all the homes being built, but its still a very nice area to live in you really don't have to leave the area for anything. I will agree with another poster that Vista and San Marcos are areas you can check out also.
Hi,
I live west of downtown Fort Lauderdale near Plantation. Pembroke Pines is southwest of me, Parkland is out west north of Coral Springs on the edge of the Everglades and Wellington is in Palm Beach county much farther north from me. To be honest, all places you mentioned are expensive and desirable zip codes here.
Rental rates are very high here in general and worse in Miami even up into Palm Beach it is costly. If you a family and need more space it can cost you plenty for a big house.
Car insurance very high yes, but $4000 a year for 4 cars sounds very low for here, especially for a young driver, I cover 2 cars and have great coverage but not the highest or lowest deductibles and it cost me over $3,000 a year for two average cars, great driver records, no points or accidents. You really should use a zip code and address for the quote from a place you see for rent, as garaged location can vary the cost substantially.
Other parts of Florida are much cheaper to live in but are very different vibe and culture.
The drive from Temecula to Carlsbad does not look to be bad compared to here yes, I did it when I was out there on my last interview. I work in Miami and the drive is terrible and most of Broward is also getting bad, 595 and 95 crawl at rush hour into miami some roads are just packed and now it is spring break so it's even worse.
Biggest reason for wanting to leave is the job options for me here, I am at the end of my rope and am depressed with my current situation, making less money than I made 8 years ago any job I took in the past 4 years offered substantially less and no raises but everything cost more, where I live was $1400 a month when we signed the lease, the landlord kept raising the rent and now it's 1900 a month reason we can no longer stay, only option is a 1 bedroom apartment which is around $1500 to $1600 a month depending on where and if it is updated most are not and have old smelly carpeting and old appliances. Most home rentals here are also expensive and not updated, unless you want to pay a big premium most houses for rent are dated and often look seedy or are in areas less desirable.
With the pay increase I'm getting I can rent a nicer, newer and more modern home with a 2 car garage in Temecula for the same price as a dated here, we are leaning more towards a smaller place condo style or townhome.
One thing you have to watch here is some of the lower priced rentals do not have hurricane shutters or are not hurricane safe, if strong hurricane came through most would be destroyed and receive heavy roof damage. Many are 1960's construction with carports.
Unless you have great careers lined up that pay great wages you may want to stay put, I am looking forward to the move out there I had a good time here and will miss it but I won't miss the labor market for my field, some of the people here are also hard to deal with mainly from the tri-state area.
And CA is 19th in Cost and FL is 32 in cost. This is on the State run plans but FL seems to be doing better though it does not have 2015 info yet.
Some FL plans are actually going down in cost, 4 companies have said between 8 and these are Aetna Health, Molina Healthcare of Florida, and Sunshine State Health Plan.One an average of 12% less.
I expect most to go up as the costs are going up as more people use more services and many who could not get insurance before are now covered and many of them have very expensive health needs and everyone bears the cost of these. Plus a huge number of the young are paying the penalty rather than buying insurance so the expected gain in funds there did not occur. Then there are the subsidies that can drop the cost to 1/10the normal and those not qualifying have to pay more to make up the difference. Overall it will not get better.
Like I said everything cost more in South Florida, I do not know how this data is compiled as I read car insurance reports which fail to mention how bad it is here to insure a car. If you want to save money, do not move to South Florida.
Like I said everything cost more in South Florida, I do not know how this data is compiled as I read car insurance reports which fail to mention how bad it is here to insure a car. If you want to save money, do not move to South Florida.
Car insurance is one of those low-cost items, not noticeable unless you're a student. Income taxes, sales taxes (if you buy really expensive things), and property taxes are the true measure of COL.
Check carefully. FL overall is less expensive due to the difference in housing costs and no income tax. However rentals can be equal or more depending on the city chosen, though it can also be a LOT less. Auto insurance will vary depending on where you live, just as it does in CA. I moved to TN and my insurance went down from what it was in CA and in checking in FL, where I may move (hate cold) it was the same cost as TN and less than CA.
The areas you are looking at in FL would be similar to renting in the Bay area or more expensive areas of SoCal. Temecula is a lower cost area and I lived in Murrieta for 9 years. One advantage where you are looking is being closer to the beach, warmer water than CA and a longer beach season than CA has and I grew up in Newport Beach. The humidity can be an issue in So FL, so check it out. I am looking at central FL on either Coast.Ocean breezes make a large difference and milder weather in the winter than where a I am and not as hot then either, so a nice balance.
Like anything else, check it out carefully, visit several times if possible, so you know for yourself.
You are correct about South Florida, median housing to buy is lower in my area than North County San Diego and in Temecula it's around a $125,000 difference comparing medians. Rents are close if not the same and often the rentals that I viewed were nicer than here, updated, modern appliances, flooring and bathrooms. People also make less money here, I do and would continue if I stayed, it wasn't always that way but it has been that way for 4 years. Also property taxes are steep here and also if you own the property insurance rates can be excessive. I already mentioned car insurance, very expensive here.
Carlsbad, La Jolla and Encinitas rentals are all comparable to places along the coast here and many are not as nice unless you want to up the price because South Florida often has a a zone of low income housing just west of the beach and then the burbs out west where it get's more expensive. Big difference I saw when I was out there, CA does a better job of not destroying the coast line with high rises and million dollar condos like Miami and downtown Fort Lauderdale is full of.
TN is a much cheaper place to live than here, but if you want to buy in the affluent areas of Nashville like Brentwood is get's very expensive and we have a lot of affluent areas on the borders here where everything just spreads into each other that drives up rentals and homes to buy because people want to live where their kids can go to the best school districts.
I never had a problem with the weather here, people say it is humid but I am use to it.
Thank you expatCA! I'm very familiar with central and north Florida but not south Florida. Our plan was Orlando but the job opt is in Ft Lauderdale. The prices remind me of Newport, Irvine, and Tustin areas. I like those areas but not their prices. Do you miss Murrieta? Do you know of any areas in south Florida like Temecula/Murrieta? I love humidity so the weather is not a problem for me, my kids will have to get used to it though. Although I don't know what humidity in south Florida feels like. I did find that car insurance was cheaper in states like GA and LA than CA but not South FL.
Hi,
I been to Temecula on my last visit no place here looks like it, in Broward there is no land left just look at the map they have built out to the everglades, Sawgrass Expressway is the border of man and wild and half of Broward County is in the everglades so no building or development. Also you mentioned an area called Wellington and if you are working in Fort Lauderdale that commute would be long and not fun traffic here get's worse each year. Palm BEach county use to have more land and was not as developed last time I was up there it looked so different and sprawl like here and farm land and high crime areas out west due to severe poverty.
Also with the flat land for someone from CA it must be a hard transition? The weather here is not that bad but some people do not like it I am use to it, hurricanes when they hit are not fun and when they are like Andrew was the mass exodus out of South Florida will be like the apocalypse is coming they emergency plan is to turn 95 and the Fl turnpike into northbound lanes only and gas stations will be out of gas and lines will be long after Wilma in 2005 I got a taste of it. Unlike CA you can head east into Nevada or Arizona here you are on a penisula with no place to go but north and take 7 million people and a % who would be leaving by car place them on I5 and wonder what traffic would be like and that is only South Florida if another Cat 5 was making a swoop from the keys northbound the cone would swath over central FL and even more people would be trying to escape. I think a lot of people here live in denial and always push CA on the earthquake issue.
Earthquakes are only scary when they happen. Don't require evacuation, though if you live in an apartment building and a somewhat reasonable earthquake strikes, you may sleep 1-2 nights outside to hedge your bets on a stronger or similarly strong quake striking and bringing down the place. No evacuation, no "earth-quake proofing" your homes (that's already done in the building codes). That being said, California is due for a big one, and they do unsettle a lot of people, myself included.
The Mountains provide a nice backdrop in SoCal, and some weekend getaways. I don't know why they need adjustment, most of SoCal is hilly which can make biking cumbersome if you're not used to that. That's the only adjustment I can think you will need.
I live west of downtown Fort Lauderdale near Plantation. Pembroke Pines is southwest of me, Parkland is out west north of Coral Springs on the edge of the Everglades and Wellington is in Palm Beach county much farther north from me. To be honest, all places you mentioned are expensive and desirable zip codes here.
Rental rates are very high here in general and worse in Miami even up into Palm Beach it is costly. If you a family and need more space it can cost you plenty for a big house.
Car insurance very high yes, but $4000 a year for 4 cars sounds very low for here, especially for a young driver, I cover 2 cars and have great coverage but not the highest or lowest deductibles and it cost me over $3,000 a year for two average cars, great driver records, no points or accidents. You really should use a zip code and address for the quote from a place you see for rent, as garaged location can vary the cost substantially.
Other parts of Florida are much cheaper to live in but are very different vibe and culture.
The drive from Temecula to Carlsbad does not look to be bad compared to here yes, I did it when I was out there on my last interview. I work in Miami and the drive is terrible and most of Broward is also getting bad, 595 and 95 crawl at rush hour into miami some roads are just packed and now it is spring break so it's even worse.
Biggest reason for wanting to leave is the job options for me here, I am at the end of my rope and am depressed with my current situation, making less money than I made 8 years ago any job I took in the past 4 years offered substantially less and no raises but everything cost more, where I live was $1400 a month when we signed the lease, the landlord kept raising the rent and now it's 1900 a month reason we can no longer stay, only option is a 1 bedroom apartment which is around $1500 to $1600 a month depending on where and if it is updated most are not and have old smelly carpeting and old appliances. Most home rentals here are also expensive and not updated, unless you want to pay a big premium most houses for rent are dated and often look seedy or are in areas less desirable.
With the pay increase I'm getting I can rent a nicer, newer and more modern home with a 2 car garage in Temecula for the same price as a dated here, we are leaning more towards a smaller place condo style or townhome.
One thing you have to watch here is some of the lower priced rentals do not have hurricane shutters or are not hurricane safe, if strong hurricane came through most would be destroyed and receive heavy roof damage. Many are 1960's construction with carports.
Unless you have great careers lined up that pay great wages you may want to stay put, I am looking forward to the move out there I had a good time here and will miss it but I won't miss the labor market for my field, some of the people here are also hard to deal with mainly from the tri-state area.
Im noticing the cost of big homes out there are very expensive. We have a 3300 sq ft home and will need the same size at least 3000.
I did the quotes based on the homes we liked in parkland and wellington. When I did one for the west side of Lake worth it was higher but the rep said there are ways I can get it lower since we have really good coverage now. She said we wouldn't need as much as we have here.
The drive is not bad I have found so many shortcuts I know how to get there and back in no time but sometimes that traffic gets me. I see more people have found those same shortcuts so it takes a little longer sometimes but still better than sitting in traffic. Traffic here starts around 2 sometimes but it gets congested closer to 4-5 and I mean congested but you get used to it, or maybe I'm used to it.
The job is a pay increase but we will be spending more so were wondering if its worth it even with the pay increase. We will have the opt to transfer if a job opens somewhere else thats one of the reasons we are on the fence.
You really have me thinking! I was driving around today noticing so much is being built around here and the surrounding areas I wondered what am I doing leaving. Im used to that though being military everytime we get used to a place its time to move. I think you will really love it here maybe not the dry heat and traffic but the people are nice and there is so much to do. Although its traffic it never takes me more than 1 1/2 (sometimes an hour, I'm a Ca driver..lol) to get to beach area or places like Pasadena. Don't forget its only 3 1/2 hrs to Vegas from here on a good day.
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, i tried many times to figure out how I could knowing I couldn't
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