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Old 03-02-2007, 03:56 PM
 
7 posts, read 24,107 times
Reputation: 14

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Hello, I have been reading these boards for about a week now, obviously because I am thinking of moving to Florida. I was hoping that some of you could help me out with information. What I have gotten from these boards:

1.) Florida sucks

2.) Florida is expensive

3.) It is only a matter of time before you will be mugged or killed.

4.) Florida sucks.

5.) Florida is expensive.


Kidding aside, I was hoping someone could give me a link or let me know how I can find out the average's for bills. Meaning average electricity, gas, homeowners insurance, all that good stuff. I would like to compare average cost here compared to Florida and try to see how big of a difference it would be.


Also, if there is anyone out there reading this that has moved from Colorado to Florida, could you please let me know if you felt it was a good move? I really am concerned about crime/schools in Florida. If I could be convinced that I can find somewhere in Florida that is comparable to Colorado, I would feel better about the move.

Thanks for your help!
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Old 03-02-2007, 04:10 PM
 
2,313 posts, read 3,192,429 times
Reputation: 471
Quote:
Originally Posted by kilikikina View Post
Hello, I have been reading these boards for about a week now, obviously because I am thinking of moving to Florida. I was hoping that some of you could help me out with information. What I have gotten from these boards:

1.) Florida sucks

2.) Florida is expensive

3.) It is only a matter of time before you will be mugged or killed.

4.) Florida sucks.

5.) Florida is expensive.


Kidding aside, I was hoping someone could give me a link or let me know how I can find out the average's for bills. Meaning average electricity, gas, homeowners insurance, all that good stuff. I would like to compare average cost here compared to Florida and try to see how big of a difference it would be.


Also, if there is anyone out there reading this that has moved from Colorado to Florida, could you please let me know if you felt it was a good move? I really am concerned about crime/schools in Florida. If I could be convinced that I can find somewhere in Florida that is comparable to Colorado, I would feel better about the move.

Thanks for your help!
Actually it is not that expensive to live in Florida except for the Insurance. Taxes are not really much higher if at all then other parts of the country millage wise. The problem is the property values are high, so the taxes are high, no mystery there.

In north Florida you can find $125 to $175,000 homes in most towns and millage rates in many 20 to 40% lower then South Florida. Less property value added to lower taxes = lower cost of home ownership. Pretty much what it was in South Florida 10 or 15 years ago.

The cost of most everything else is on par with the rest of the country, not overly expensive. It is all a matter what you want or are looking for. Now, the insurance is a whole other issue and is defiantly a stumbling block.
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Old 03-02-2007, 04:11 PM
 
Location: Florida
55 posts, read 228,826 times
Reputation: 46
Any particular area you're looking to move to? I live in Central Florida. Re; expensives - my electric bill has gone up due to higher gas/fuel charge. I used less electricity last year but my bill is higher this year. I just paid my electric bill today - $170.74. Last summer, our electric bills were;

June $398
July $404
August $395

House is 1650 sq. ft and we have an above ground pool, filter runs 8 hours a day in the summer. I also have a gas stove and water heater to offset electric bill.

Home owners insurance is high ... our jumped to 1550/year and we are not on the coast. If you are a new home owner to FL, property taxes are high as well as home owners and that is IF you can get the insurance.

Schools suck here. Doesn't matter where in the state you live.

Auto insurance is higher here than up North where we're originally from.

The above expenses are from living in central FL....much higher if you go to the coast.....I've read here people who live in North FL, cost of living a little cheaper. Of course, South FL......I won't go there.

Also....what kind of job are you looking for? Pay here is much lower than Colorado unless you have a white collar job.

We're moving hopefully within the year. We have 2 houses in Highlands County for sale.

Good luck to you.
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Old 03-02-2007, 04:18 PM
 
Location: Tampa Bay
489 posts, read 2,015,248 times
Reputation: 405
Do you have a city in mind? I don't think it is a good idea to generalize Florida. I have lived in two different cities in FL - after living up north for 30 years - and obviously (see my screen name), I am miserable in Ft. Myers but loved St. Petersburg, still love it, and will be going back as soon as financially possible. Amazing what a HUGE difference a mere 120 miles can make. Ask posters, when they are commenting on "Florida" to tell you what city they are currently residing in so that you can gather information on the different areas of FL. I've hinted about this before, but it is still not being done. I used to generalize myself until I lived in two different cities in FL. As an aside, I walked several evenings on the beach with a very nice older lady visiting Pass-A-Grille (one of the many beaches in the St. Pete area). She makes an annual trip there, and when I was telling her much how I loved it there and that she should move since she so clearly loved it, too, she replied that she lives in Denver, CO, and that she loves the life she has there and wouldn't think of ever leaving Denver. Good luck to you.
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Old 03-02-2007, 04:22 PM
 
2,313 posts, read 3,192,429 times
Reputation: 471
Quote:
Originally Posted by kath2210 View Post
Any particular area you're looking to move to? I live in Central Florida. Re; expensives - my electric bill has gone up due to higher gas/fuel charge. I used less electricity last year but my bill is higher this year. I just paid my electric bill today - $170.74. Last summer, our electric bills were;

June $398
July $404
August $395

House is 1650 sq. ft and we have an above ground pool, filter runs 8 hours a day in the summer. I also have a gas stove and water heater to offset electric bill.

Home owners insurance is high ... our jumped to 1550/year and we are not on the coast. If you are a new home owner to FL, property taxes are high as well as home owners and that is IF you can get the insurance.

Schools suck here. Doesn't matter where in the state you live.

Auto insurance is higher here than up North where we're originally from.

The above expenses are from living in central FL....much higher if you go to the coast.....I've read here people who live in North FL, cost of living a little cheaper. Of course, South FL......I won't go there.

Also....what kind of job are you looking for? Pay here is much lower than Colorado unless you have a white collar job.

We're moving hopefully within the year. We have 2 houses in Highlands County for sale.

Good luck to you.
How much per KWH has your bill actuall gone up? Those high bills come from usage and you have control over that. You can't blame those bills on anybody but yourself.
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Old 03-02-2007, 04:25 PM
 
Location: Florida
55 posts, read 228,826 times
Reputation: 46
ENERGY USE

DAILY AVERAGE USE 43 KWH/DAY

USE ONE YEAR AGO 52 KWH/DAY

I have Progress Energy.

Enough said.
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Old 03-02-2007, 04:34 PM
 
1,775 posts, read 8,099,312 times
Reputation: 799
I have a small home in Citrus County that is 990 sq/ft. my electric bill at peak season in the summer for AC and Peak season in the winter for heat is $180.00 and that's usually just 2 x a year but my average bill is $80 - $100 each month.

Our water bill today came in for $30 for sewer and water usage.

Our home insurance is $650/yr for a home valued at $100,000.

I think the schools in my county are ok. I have a special needs child so i guess i really can't say much about a regular classroom.

Jobs in Citrus County.. we have 2 hospitals and lots of doctor offices if you in the medical or secretarial field. My husband is an auto tech and there's a few big dealerships around. Plenty of restaurants/shopping centers.

Crime here is low i think. Most we hear about is an occasional robbery but nothing i would consider being a scary place to live. We have a lot of officers on the roads here.


I live in Inverness population just over 7300. it's a nice town with a 7 chain lake in the middle for swimming, boating and fishing. They keep it looking nice with boardwalks and parks all around. I've lived here 7 years but have been around the area for 12.
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Old 03-02-2007, 05:00 PM
 
Location: Orange County x 2
99 posts, read 553,705 times
Reputation: 41
Hi there. Check out a thread I started a while back. It may answer many of your questions. It did help me quite a bit.

https://www.city-data.com/forum/orlan...my-budget.html
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Old 03-02-2007, 05:01 PM
 
2,313 posts, read 3,192,429 times
Reputation: 471
Quote:
Originally Posted by kath2210 View Post
ENERGY USE

DAILY AVERAGE USE 43 KWH/DAY

USE ONE YEAR AGO 52 KWH/DAY

I have Progress Energy.

Enough said.
What was the cost of that bill? I have my bill here and I used 570 for the month an average of 20 per day. My bill is $75.78 Now looking at the bill they charge more for over 1000 in use for the month. It is actually a lot almost 20% You pay more for exesive use on my bill. Point is though, telling someone you have a $400 bill does not mean they will have a bill like that. All the matters is the cost per KWH and how you use it. You can just turn off the switch and the cost goes to zero, it is your choice.
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Old 03-02-2007, 05:22 PM
 
Location: Florida
55 posts, read 228,826 times
Reputation: 46
Like I said above, the cost of that bill paid today was 170.74.

The bills from last summer (2006) were kwh usage per the months of June, July and August LESS than the previous months of 2005 but the fuel/gas charges were higher.

The point was cost of living can be higher in Florida then other states.

My relatives up north pay an average of 150 per month for heating in the winter. Also, their car insurance and homeowner's are cheaper than Florida.

It can be expensive to live here.
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