well. Im in buffalo, NY with a well paying job, bought a house a year ago, but i think its time for a change. Me and my girl really wanna move south. I personally cant stand winter/snow and i want to be more around the car scene action. id really like to work in the industry, but i know the chances of that a re few and far between. we're considering NC, SC, FL, and possibly GA.

basically im just looking for some helpful insight. Where has jobs available? what is the housing like? prices? anything u can give me.

from looking online, dosent look like FL has many garages with their housing, lol. that is one thing I MUST HAVE is a garage. at least 1 car garage!.

anything you guys feel is pertinent info is much appreciated!!

well here in raleigh, the job market is booming pretty good, anymore if you are looking at new houses, most are being built with atleast a single car garage, most with a double. but i like it. we still get winter weather, i am getting ready to post some pictures in the "snow" thread so you can see.. the only problem is, i am from colorado, and its not like snow i am used to. it doesnt pack down and give traction. it packs down and freezes into ice.... but in any case, thats whats up with raleigh.

FL has garages. It's all we can have since there are no basements here.

It really depends on where you want to live. I know you mentioned getting into the car industry, but out here on the east coast, you are pretty much limited to body shops and/or bikes/choppers. There are a number of custom car shops, but nothing like what you'd find in Cali.

Do you want to be near a major metro area?
What did you get your college degree in? This may help you define what kind of jobs are available.
What about climate? If you move to Florida, you'll have 2 seasons: Hot, and Really Hot & Humid. The other states may offer actual seasons.
How about taxes? Florida has no state income tax, where as Georgia and the Carolina's do. However, FL is currently dealing with increased insurance and property taxes due to the hurricanes over the last few years (can't speak for the other states though).
What kind of things are you and the wife into? Do you like the beach, the mountains, etc?

that's all I can think of for now, I'm sure I'll have more to add later

i have lived in NC and SC and they both suck personally lol. But depending on what kind of job youre wanting to go into determines really where you need to live. All states you stated have a good job market but only near the cities so you would have to make a commute considering housing near cities are stupidly priced and are more "unsafe" than the next few towns over. where I live is mooresville and the majority of the people commute to charlotte every morning and evening. but like i said though, depending on the work you are wanting to do determines where you should really go.

Not sure what parts of Florida you're looking at, but the majority of houses in the Tampa Bay area have garages. Tampa Bay consists of four counties - Hernando, Hillsborough (Tampa), Pasco & Pinellas (St. Petersburg & Clearwater). In my neck of the woods (Pinellas County), three bedroom, two bathroom houses with a one / two car garage can cost anywhere from $160,000+ (the average prices I've seen would be around $200,000 - $250,000). Part of it depends on how far inland you want to be (coastal housing obviously is ridiculously expensive). Unless you don't mind living in a questionably 'safe' area.. then you'll be looking at the cheaper end of the stick.

Right now, the best bang for the buck in Tampa Bay would be Pasco County (from what I've seen). There are a lot of houses still being built in that area (most of the people work in Tampa or Clearwater, and have a drive of 30 minutes to an hour and a half, depending), and they have some decent pricing. I checked on a town home about a year back and it was running for $180,000 (it was still being built) and was a three bedroom, two bath w/ a one car garage (about 1,800 square feet, two story). I had to pass it up due to some marital problems.. but it was a great deal. Real nice place, the houses in the neighborhood were around $300,000-$500,000 (most of those were four bedroom, two/three bath, two/three car garage, freaking huge, and brand new).

But yea, I have quite a few friends that just recently bought houses in North Pinellas County and South / Central Pasco County. Decent pricing and that area is typically nice and quiet. Their main complaint? They have to drive a bit further to get to work.

Like I mentioned a little bit earlier, your best bet for jobs in this area would be: Tampa, Clearwater & St. Petersburg area (the three major cities in Tampa Bay).

thanks for the resonses everyone!! I currently work in Global Resourcing for a very large bank(largest credit provider in the world). We actually have an office in Brandon outside Tampa. That was my first thought to just transfer there like I told Muffin a lil while back. But they way things are going in the company, Im not sure how well suited i would be there. I travel to India, Phillipines, etc for work, so I know that part of my job is a tough one to find like it, but Im open to change.

for the housing you guys spoke about....do you make $ to afford those types of prices? Being Buffalo is in the top 5 highest texed areas in the country and yet the city has fallen to one of the lowest paid and smallest job markets as well, I make a pretty good dollar, and my house is only about $95k which is pretty good especially considering im only 25, and my girl is 23. We live better than alot of people around here.

I went to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh for school and got a degree in Audio/Video Production, which i dont utilise in my current job, lol. And I think it would be tough to make similar $ using my video/graphic skills.

I definately want to be near a major city. I cant do the "boonies", lol. just not my style.

thanks for all the info! keep it coming!

If travel is important for your job, keep in mind you'll want to be somewhat close to an airport. Of course, most major Metro areas have one, so that kills 2 birds with one stone. Also, focus on your transferable skills from your current job as well as your degree. It will open up a lot more opportunities than if you just focus on resourcing and/or video/graphic design. (BTW, Bonedaddy is a graphic designer, he may have some input here that would be useful.)

You won't likely find a house for 95K in Florida, at least not near any major metro areas. Hell, you'd be hard pressed to find a Condo in Tampa for that amount.

I'm in Jacksonville Florida. It is currently the cheapest in the state of Floridas for housing (but that is changing quickly). All new houses have garages, and lots of the older ones as well. As stated in Fl people have garages. I know Jacksonville has lots of banks, but so does the other big cities in FL as well.



FU Tuning

you can still get houses for around 95k up in pasco and hernando counties... as far as didtance to the city me being fimilure with the buffalo area can kinnda give you a comparison.. the new port richey area which is pasco county is about like niagara falls as far as distance form the city.. north tampa is like orchard park.. its a quick jump on the expressway and your in the city in no time.. you could also compare brandon to orchard park.. as far as distance tothe actuall city.. but brandon is one of the more expensive places to live. if oyur worried about price stay out of clearwater/st.pete area which is pinellas county. and stay out of brandon.. look into spring hill, new port richey, and wesly chapel... you will get your best bang for your buck in those areas... there out a little bit but are growing areas... we have a very good road and highway system and its pretty easy to get around down here....

im not so much worried about staying in global resourcing. i also work for/with system administration for multiple countries, so that adds to my capabilities.

my main concern is that i dont want to take a step backward in pay. i have a good paybase so thats where my main issue is at this point

AEROGEARZ24 wrote:you can still get houses for around 95k up in pasco and hernando counties... as far as didtance to the city me being fimilure with the buffalo area can kinnda give you a comparison.. the new port richey area which is pasco county is about like niagara falls as far as distance form the city.. north tampa is like orchard park.. its a quick jump on the expressway and your in the city in no time.. you could also compare brandon to orchard park.. as far as distance tothe actuall city.. but brandon is one of the more expensive places to live. if oyur worried about price stay out of clearwater/st.pete area which is pinellas county. and stay out of brandon.. look into spring hill, new port richey, and wesly chapel... you will get your best bang for your buck in those areas... there out a little bit but are growing areas... we have a very good road and highway system and its pretty easy to get around down here....

thanks for that comparison...that helps a bunch!! are you originally from buffalo?? i live in depew/lancaster currently. we're about 10 mins to the inner city.

Don't just look at pay though. Look at cost of living versus income. Here's a cost of living calculator that may help quantify the difference.


Here's another that actually has Buffalo.




Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Thursday, February 01, 2007 10:44 AM

^^thats what i was getting at when i said "do u guys make the $ to afford those price houses", lol. just didnt articulate it well, lol.

and thanks for the calculator links!!

according to that, it says to move to tampa, i would be able to make close to $7k less than i do now......how could that be?

i know buffalo is taxed like u wouldnt believe but damn, lol

You have to factor in all kinds of different costs, such as housing, groceries, insurance, electricity, etc., etc., etc.

$7,000 year is a difference of about $580 per month, and I'd wager most of that difference is in housing and electricity.

Just out of curiousity, what is the average cost of an apartment near rural Buffalo (for example, from Casey's information, Orchard Park)?

MOVE TO GA!!!! lol seriously the out- skirts of Atlanta aren't a bad as far as living area goes, and if you can deal with traffic. the car scene is big here, NOPI's home base, tons of body and performance shops, atlanta motor speedway (were nopi nats are held) lanier motor speed way, atlanta dragway(commerce), and we got the GA mountains which are a good place to test your car's suspension or take a nice stroll. check out importatlanta.com, yes i know it's an import web site but it's got a $hit load of members and is good referance to the car scene, also jobs and houses for sale are posted on there. weather is humid in the summer, chilly in the winter(nothing compared to NY), spring and fall are awesome. plus you'd be a great addition to the Street Visions GA chapter .





my $0.02


_______________________________________________________
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AIM & Y!: COGcaviZ24

i would say the avg. cost is roughly $600-$650 or so, depending on whats included. but avg would be about 600. Orchard Park would probably be a bit more since its a bit more pricey around there.

COGcaviZ24 wrote:MOVE TO GA!!!! lol seriously the out- skirts of Atlanta aren't a bad as far as living area goes, and if you can deal with traffic. the car scene is big here, NOPI's home base, tons of body and performance shops, atlanta motor speedway (were nopi nats are held) lanier motor speed way, atlanta dragway(commerce), and we got the GA mountains which are a good place to test your car's suspension or take a nice stroll. check out importatlanta.com, yes i know it's an import web site but it's got a $hit load of members and is good referance to the car scene, also jobs and houses for sale are posted on there. weather is humid in the summer, chilly in the winter(nothing compared to NY), spring and fall are awesome. plus you'd be a great addition to the Street Visions GA chapter .

we were online last night looking all around ATL. that was one of my choices. it was wierd looking at the mountain region, as i didnt really realise it was like that in GA, lol. ignorance i guess. or lack of exposure.

and id definately like to see whats up w/ SV

im not from up there but my parents are both form Niagara Falls... so i was up there all the time growing up.. and still go up every few years... one thinkg to keep in mind is that we dont have to pay for heat that much down herre in the winter.. plus almost everyting down here is eletric not gas.. there is very little gas downhere as far as heating and cooking like up north. the cost of gas is a little cheeper.. and taxes for the most part are cheeper. the thing that can get you down here though as Thomas said would be the insurance. but other then that Florida is one of the cheepest places to live relitive to income. one thing you will notice in this area is there are TONS of buffalonians down here.. you go to a Sabres/Lightning game and its about 40-45% sabres fans, kinnda liek it is there when toronto comes to town..lol.. and a few years ago when the bucs and bills played there was prob 30-35% bills fans there which is alot for a NFL game.. there are Bills bars everywhere... so yuo wont be out of the loop in that aspect..lol

GO ALABAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


-Brandon

it was kinda perfect timing, but i just left a meeting here at work and we were talking about the tax that you guys in florida are paying for the hurricane dmagae, and heres the deal

you are being charged 1% on all insurance premiums, wether its mortgage insurance, car insurance, home insurance, life insurance, etc. that 1% tax is only being charged until the end of 2007 when the tax will be lifted.

coincidence it came up today, as we were discussing our mortgage insurance premiums with MI companies.

Just an FYI for ya in case u were interested, lol

redecocav wrote:GO ALABAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.........................ur joking right?

i would consider tampa or orlando, ive lived in orlando for a few years but i love the tampa area, thats where i'll probably move when i get my degree in a couple years. Central Florida area is where its at!

i like FL, but my girl dont. but still an option

where outside ATL is decent?? college park looks pimp!

union city looks alright too

A friend of mine had moved here to Charleston, SC from NY and he is really happy here. He said the difference in the cost of living is amazing. Anyways Street Visions would love to have you!

^^^really?? thats always good to know!! cus lookin at the pics and stuff, it seams REAL different than NY. not that its a bad thing, lol. thats what i want!