[Heidi Peterman]

Hi I have a 10 year old boy ,& a 3 year old girl. My Husband & i are in our Mid 30's. I am a Hairstylist Of 20 years,Looking for a chain salon ,in a mall perferrabily.
My husband presently works for our city newspaper as a route coordinator, Basically ,He doesnt have a trade, he did work as a installer for Ionics corp.
Installing House & comerical water softening&clerifing Systems. LOTS of plumbing work. We dont make much money ,and we arew looking to rent,SOMEWHERE,Apartment? Townehouse?Condo? Mobile Home ? Home?
We have always owned our own home here in Pittsburgh, Unfortunatley,Loss Of Jobs Have placed us in a BAD CREDIT CATEROGORY.We have NO[u]FAMILY,
WE have been to flordia several times,Miami,Punta Gorda,Daytona Beach,Orlando,& OUR PERSONAL FAVORITE ENGELWOOD BEACH.
We think we can aford 750.00 a month Not including utillities. If utillies are included. we can afford 900.00 a month.
We are not looking for a furnished place. We do have our own.
PLEASE HELP US WITH AN AREA? AND HOPEFULLY A WEBSITE to find a place. WE would like to be out of PITTSBURGH,no Later than LATE SEPTEMBER.

[hollys0822]

Hi Heidi,

I am not from Florida but from New England and basically my family and I are in the same boat as you. We own a home in NH but are looking to move to FL. for financial reasons. It is just not a good life here anymore. Things are so expensive and with both of us having to work 60 hours a week just to stay afloat is taking a toll on our kids (9 year old twins). I want to be able to provide for my family AND have the time to enjoy them as well.

My husband has also been injured and although he is still working right now, sooner or later he will no longer be able to.

Just wanted to connect to someone in the same situation and figuired maybe we could share information about relocating to Florida. I've been looking at Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville.

They all seem to have their good and bad points but I am trying to find out more specific neighborhood information. So far, I have been able to figuire out to stay out of Metrowest Area in Orlando.

Jacksonville seems to be a good place to live but I am trying to figure out more about the job market there and then there is Tampa, which I need a lot more info on.

So if you want to share some information please PM me and see what we can find out.

Holly

[pianogal]

Ladies, I sympathize with your situations, however Florida has become a very expensive state to live in as well. I am from Orlando and would never suggest you move here with the intentions of purchasing a home unless you had a MINIMUM of $250,000 to spend. Then you have to add in taxes and outrageous property insurance - sometimes Home Owners Association fees as well. Those could add up to the same amount as your house payment. Ours almost does.

There are less expensive areas of Florida, i.e. the panhandle and perhaps Jacksonville (although not significantly less). Have you thought about the Greenville, SC area or Huntsville, AL? We have looked into both of those because they are expanding economically but still have a much lower cost of living than Florida. They also have mild seasonal climates.

Hopefully, you will get other suggestions from folks who live in less expensive areas. Good luck!

[Prichard]

The job market in Florida was great two years ago, but now with the housing industry on it's back, things have slowed down considerably.

Real Estate is still relatively expensive in Central Florida, with the low-average house of roughly $250,000. Rent in Central Florida for a 3/2 house in a "spotty" neighborhood would be around $1,500/month, net of utilities, lawn and some maintenance (taxes and ins would be paid for by landlord). 3BR appartments are very hard to find. 3BR and 2BR condos owned by private people are out there for rent - I believe they rent for about what low-average houses would rent for.

Be careful moving to Florida - the weather is nice; the grass and trees stay green year round, the beaches are fun, and the theme parks keep you and your kids entertained. But, it's expensive to live here, jobs pay substantially less than up north, it's an "at-will" state, and unions are frowned upon in many areas. We also have a lot of illegal immigrants that take all of the construction related jobs.

Personally, I would never move to Florida without already haveing a 100% certain job lined up, or without enough money in my back pocket to live on for one year without working. There are a few exceptions to this, like if you are a medical doctor, Physician's Assistant, RN, or own your own business and are expanding into Florida for economic reasons.

[Heidi Peterman]

WOW The website i have visited, 3with homes for rent & sale inhcluding all above townetomes etc. Have been quiet reasonable. Most are from private owners, which i perfer.Hol;ly i will need to let u knnow later this evening.
I am a HAIRSTYLIST, I coulnt EVER afford to even look at aq home 250K.I do have a friend that is in same $ situtation,as husband & i and moved to an area in FLORDIA ,which am forgetting,which one. She's doing better than she has EVER done here in PITTSBURGH.
Not Be RUDE, But U are Very Discouraging People,And GOOD thing Thing i am not SUCIDEUAL

[Rhett_Butler]

People are just being realistic. When and where did your friend move??? It would make all the difference and explain a lot potentially.

$750 a month in rent is not going to get you far and will probably not put you in an area of Florida that would be adviseable for your children.

Also, do the people that are being "reasonable" about the prices on the townhomes know of your credit situation yet??? You might be in good shape if they are (as you said) private owners doing thier own financing.

Trust me..... (and I know what I'm talking about here.. ). The people giving you advice in this thread thusfar would NEVER intentionally steer someone away from the state. They just don't want you to run head first into a financial buzzsaw upon your arrival.

Good Luck to you...

[pianogal]

Originally Posted by Heidi Peterman

WOW The website i have visited, 3with homes for rent & sale inhcluding all above townetomes etc. Have been quiet reasonable. Most are from private owners, which i perfer.Hol;ly i will need to let u knnow later this evening.
I am a HAIRSTYLIST, I coulnt EVER afford to even look at aq home 250K.I do have a friend that is in same $ situtation,as husband & i and moved to an area in FLORDIA ,which am forgetting,which one. She's doing better than she has EVER done here in PITTSBURGH.
Not Be RUDE, But U are Very Discouraging People,And GOOD thing Thing i am not SUCIDEUAL

Heidi, I believe you have misunderstood our intentions. Florida is a beautiful place to live, but many move here without understanding the financial climate. You are certainly welcome to move here, just check everything out in advance to make sure you're not disappointed after making such a huge move. Prichard and I both live in the Orlando/Central Florida area - it has become much more expensive just in the last few years and I have seen young families struggling to make ends meet just as you describe you are there. Heck, my disposable income is much less than it was just 5 years ago even though I make more money now. It has affected even those of us who are at the heighth of our earning power.

However, I don't think you specifically mentioned which area of Florida you liked. There are areas of Florida that are less expensive, I just don't know about them first hand.

I'm sorry you felt we were unwelcoming - it was not meant that way.

[ftmyerssucks]

With what you can pay with two little kids, dont even look at south florida (either coast).
A decent townhouse/house around Ft.Myers/Cape Coral is $1,200 plus its a very boring area for both you and your kids.
A decent townhouse/House around Miami/Ft.Lauderdale is $1,500.

We got a 4br/2.5ba/2car garage in the most central location in a community that mainly the wealthy live in for $1625 but most things here at $750 are 1 bedroom apartments.

[House4Sale]

I know I sound the broken record but Spring Hill has TONS of nice rentals, Not shoddy properties but new houses, many w/rent to own options. There's also a huge news distrib. plant of major paper on Cortez about 8-10 min. drive from our area which I applied at. Also, there's a few great hair salons on Cortez where all the new stores are going in. In fact, I found one of the best hair gals in a long time in one of the strip malls there. Her name is Jammie Lynn and she gives the greatest of cuts! I'd have to find name of shop but I think it just states "Hair Salon" on the sign.

Anyway, the cost of living is less there. Gasoline 10 - 12 cents less a gal. then down here. Three major Wal-Marts where people save and so on. The area is working hard to get more family oriented eateries and such.

There are several realtors here at the forum that know the area well. They may be able to help. Best wishes!

[pianogal]

Originally Posted by House4Sale

I know I sound the broken record but Spring Hill has TONS of nice rentals, Not shoddy properties but new houses, many w/rent to own options. There's also a huge news distrib. plant of major paper on Cortez about 8-10 min. drive from our area which I applied at. Also, there's a few great hair salons on Cortez where all the new stores are going in. In fact, I found one of the best hair gals in a long time in one of the strip malls there. Her name is Jammie Lynn and she gives the greatest of cuts! I'd have to find name of shop but I think it just states "Hair Salon" on the sign.

Anyway, the cost of living is less there. Gasoline 10 - 12 cents less a gal. then down here. Three major Wal-Marts where people save and so on. The area is working hard to get more family oriented eateries and such.

There are several realtors here at the forum that know the area well. They may be able to help. Best wishes!

Thank you, House4Sale....this sounds as if it may be just what these ladies are looking for....