Quote:
Originally Posted by Pswifey
My fiance and I are looking for the best place to start our new life together. We have considered a move to Florida but being from a small town in NC our entire lives have no idea where to start. We do not currently have children, but do plan for our future to include children. We have 3 pets: a 3 mth old kitten and squirrel, and a 3 yr old pitbull. I have heard some parts of Florida have BSL against pitbulls and that most housing units do not allow them.
Our rental budget to start would be around $6-700. Because the economy in our current area has gone so far downhill, we are currently living on a one-person income (and that is through unemployment benefits). We will both be starting an online job search once we decide where we will be moving. My fiancee has previously been employed in industrial construction and various food service industries. I have been in Customer Service, Real Estate Marketing and other clerical positions. I'm thinking we would enjoy city or suburban life. Any advice on employment and/or finding private home owners to rent from?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
|
I'm not sure if Florida is the answer for you. Florida has been hit even harder than what you're facing at home in terms of unemployment. The two cities with the lowest unemployment rates in the state (Gainesville and Tallahassee) are the equivalent of "false positives" because they're college towns, and Tallahassee is the state capitol. Their rate of unemployment is 8% and probably fixed due to lack of options other than mostly college/government jobs. The next closest cities were in SE FL (Miami/Ft Lauderdale) and NW FL (Pensacola) with unemployment rates above the national average of 10% (they're at 10.6%). After that the next metro area is at 11.2% (Jacksonville).
The numbers get even more grim.
Unemployment Rates for Metropolitan Areas
You might consider Texas. Amarillo (5.3%), Midland (5.6%), and
Abilene (5.8%) have low unemployment rates and aren't one industry towns.
Bigger cities in Texas such as San Antonio and Austin have rates below 7%.
Many people like both of those cities but Austin especially has a pretty nice quality of life going for it.
Austin is a great place for younger singles and young families as well. I would recommend checking it out. A quick search on Craigslist in Austin for 2 bedroom rentals turned up a hundred or so priced between $600-$700 that also allow dogs and cats.
Austin, Texas - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Good luck!
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
