Moving from Manhattan to South Florida (West Palm Beach, Hudson: rent, condo, daycare)

[omgadalla]

My family and I are currently living in Manhattan and are planning on moving to South Florida this fall. We are expecting our second child and the timing seems right to leave. We vacationed in West Palm Beach about five years ago and absolutely fell in love with the area. We have lived our entire lives in the North East and the last almost ten years in Manhattan, so we are terribly ignorant on many facets of life down there. If anyone who could provide input it would be greatly appreciated. I'm an engineer and my wife is a nurse, although my salary will stay the same, my wife’s will be pretty drastically cut (by about 50%) so we're trying to gauge cost of living. Does anyone know what the average cost of daycare is for the West Palm Beach area? Do people use Nanny's often? We currently have a nanny but would prefer daycare when my wife returns to work after our second is born. At that time we will have a 2 1/2 y/o and a 6 mo. old. I've seen a lot of threads on this but rarely anyone that actually has info on cost. Also, it looks like you can rent a pretty nice 2 to 3 bedroom for under $1,200/month. I tend to take online real-estate ads (whether craigslist or other) with a grain of salt because here they are rarely truthful or real. The places we have seen for that price range are really spectacular which is hard to imagine considering decent 2-bedrooms start at around $4,000 here. I have a bunch more questions but I'll stop there for now. Thanks in advance for any information.

[saeroner]

Can't really help much. I was born and raised here and I always tell anyone planning to move to P.B.C. to find a place East of i95. Prices are higher but you at least get that "town feel" where you don't get that feeling out west. Take that for what it's worth.

If you want calm and and quiet you can find some really nice big houses (on the cheap) in the Acreage, loxahatchee and jupiter farms areas (far west).

[the-writer-guy]

DONT do it.. manhattan is a much better place to live. You will get bored instantly, its just one big suburb for the most part. Very few places are walkable, you have to drive everywhere and wages are MUCH lower. Stay in NYC.

[runwiththewind4]

Congrats on your 2nd child. It's great that you are keeping your NY salary because the companies down here don't pay. I took a big cut in pay when I moved from L.A. in '94. Florida doesn't have the high salaries compared to NY. They use to tell me the cost of living was cheaper. I felt they just didn't want to pay a decent salary. It's no longer cheap to live here unless you're shopping in the Dollar Stores. We don't have a State tax which is a good thing.

You can get all the info from the Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches - Information and Relocation Package Request

I would get in touch with a realtor in the WPB area if that's the area you want to live. I know a very nice lady in Boca should you be interested in this area. I think she also covers Delray. I live in a condo in Boca and I think they are renting for $1,200 for a 2+2. We have some kids, but not a lot. When I watch "Selling NY" on the H&G Network, it's a joke what they are paying for a small apt./condo. And, they are thrilled they have a view of other buildings. I personally like a view of grass/trees/ocean, not another building, even if it's the Empire State or the muddy Hudson.

I can't comment on daycare/nannies. I googled and found this:
Nanny Services & Nannies - Sittercity

As far as cost of living, Florida...Cost of Living Comparison

Keep some of your warm clothing as it gets chilly here maybe 2 weeks in the winter. Our winters are great, you obviously won't be dealing with snow storms, etc.

Best of luck to you and your family.

P.S. You get more for your money here than in NYC.

[cw30000]

OP,

You wage will go when you move down to FL. You have no income tax in FL. If your gross wage stay the same, that mean actually got a raise by moving to FL. Your net income will increase like 15%.

So, even if your wife drop 50%, you will not see any change in your bring home pay.

I too have lived in Manhattan, for like 20 years and absolute hated it. Now I am living in Jersey, and would move to FL when I can. Probably in the next 2 to 4 years.

[ra1007]

I've lived in Manhattan for a good too many years and Florida (as well as a few other places). PM me anytime. I'll take Florida over NYC any day, especially with the kids. But that's just me....

[i-drive]

Originally Posted by the-writer-guy

DONT do it.. manhattan is a much better place to live. You will get bored instantly, its just one big suburb for the most part. Very few places are walkable, you have to drive everywhere and wages are MUCH lower. Stay in NYC.

Boring people are going to be bored anywhere they go... If you are bored in South Florida, you, yourself are a bore...

Wages depend on your profession, white collar jobs are comparable, service industry wages are lower here, mostly due to union contracts... Cost of living is lower, food and housing, no state income tax...

All said, I agree, stay in Manhattan if your gonna complain about bagels, pizza, and the heat, shopping and all that ...

[runwiththewind4]

I'm originally a NY'er. I agree in part to what "the writer guy" said. It's more of the burbs than a city and you do have to drive everywhere which I like. I remember the days of waiting for the bus and subway in the winter since I lived in Queens and worked on Madison Ave. I remember not liking the crowded hot subways in the summer. I never lived in the city itself.

As far as being bored, life is how you make it anywhere. There's plenty to do depending on your interests. There's certainly enough restaurants, sports or just sitting by your pool entertaining in the winter where you can't do that in NYC. This is not a city and we don't have Broadway if you're into the theatre. Anyone miss China Town? We do have the Kravis Center in WPB, small theatres, Boca Ballet and the Palm Beach Opera. I found a good bagel place and pizza in Boca. I'm not fond of the heat & humidity in the summer or the bugs. We didn't have that in L.A. (lived there 20 yrs.) There's pros and cons to all places. I love my 1,385 sq. ft condo overlooking a golf course and not brick buildings. In watching Selling NY, people pay a million dollars for a condo much smaller than mine. In this economy, you can still get a house/condo that is affordable. Don't pay the asking price, everything is negotiable and depending on how bad they want to sell, I'm sure you'll get a great deal. If you go into this website, you can see what the seller paid, how much tax they pay etc. Options are: name, sub-division, address, etc. http://www.pbcgov.com/papa/aspx/Gene...ralSearch.aspx

[brinked]

we just moved to jupiter from brooklyn. I lived in NYC my entire life and when we had our son last year we just were so limited in NYC. It is so much easier to raise a child in florida. The shopping here is much better. No ridiculous lines, no need to find parking for 2 hours and then pay full retail. If you like a bunch of people to the point you cant even walk at your own pace and smelling cigarette smoke from the people walking in front of you then by all means stay in manhattan.

If you want great free parking all the times, room to breathe, great views, shopping places that are actually kid friendly then move to FL. Everything is just so much newer and cleaner here. Yes it gets hot here, but I would take 95 in florida with central air over 80 with a window AC in NYC any day.