Yes or No Florida is not an affordable place to live now at this time?

Thinking of moving to FL, wondering if it is a good state to move to or not regarding affordabiltiy if your a middle class person with family young children?

What cities are safe and good or should i stay where i am?

We live in central florida. Orlando is safer than Tampa... Miami is just dangerous.

Prices were great until 2 years ago when homes became inflated. The average 1100 sf home here was about 90 thousand.. the same home now is 200 thousand.

Rent has gone up also. Insurance is at an all time high. We have had some destructive hurricanes. It wasn't fun.

It's gonna depend on your perspective. If you are coming from New York or California, It's great. If you are coming from a reasonable place like San Antonio Texas then you will be shocked.

Middle class can make it here. Your rent will be about 12-1500 and your other expenses such as groceries, entertainment are about the same as anywhere else.

not knowing where you are, how can we help you on that one?

in reference to florida, it is in fact a state where your taxes are lower (as it texas), so in that respect it is more economical to live in than most other states. it is, however, a state that taxes you on personal property that you buy, such as a car. you have to report purchases like a car, furniture, appliances, etc. then the state computes depreciation and you pay taxes based on the age of the item for a time until the state's time period has ended.

probably the easiest way to determine whether it is affordable for your own family, while working in the sort of industry you already work in, is to use the internet to go to the states' chambers of commerce and look at demographics on your state now, then to look at those for the state of florida.

most cities have a chamber of commerce too.

other than the everglades, i've been all over the state numerous times. there are pros and cons to every city. you have to determine what aspects of your life are most important to your family, then go from there. i.e., do you want to live in a place that is known for the best schools? what type of schools, grammar, middle, high, college? do you want to live in a city with synagogues, for example, since florida is in the bible belt? where down there would you find synagogues? these are just a few examples.

it would be a good idea for you and the mother of your kids (if you live together) to each take a piece of paper, fold it in half, write the word "needs" on one side and the word "wants" on the other. you sit across from one another, not showing the other what you are writing until each one of you are done. then you compare what she needs and wants to what you need and want. you could have your kids do that too, if they can.

as for myself, my needs are met in these florida cities: sanibel, clearwater, st. petersberg, captiva (all on west coast), kississimee, jacksonville (great roads there, but a little too pentacostal for my liking), and miami. i also like most of the keys. but i am i and you are you.

you should also consider types of housing. so many of the florida cities and towns have good and bad trailer parks. you might want to rent land in a trailer park and put a trailer for your home on it, but you may not. you may be able to afford a house. you have to tailor suit your decision for first, your needs, and then, your wants.

after you determine that florida is viable for your family by researching facts and figures from the chambers of commerce, then it might be a good idea to drive down there, especially at the end of may. why do i say then? because april through may are the most popular seasons, as well as hottest and sunniest weather. else, you might want to see the bad side and go in hurricane season, which is in the autumn.

if you wanted to move to kansas, wouldn't you want to learn where tornados tended to hit? same for florida with hurricanes.

there are many factors to consider. it's all a personal decision.

i wish you the best decision for you and your family and much contentment wherever you go or stay.

Is it affordable. Well let's just say, the income is a lot less. What people make up North is twice as much than Floridians. As for a life here, it's nice before October and after November (when hurricanes don't occur). I lived in Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and now Jacksonville. Fort Lauderdale is fun if you're young, or friendly if you're old, but a lot of spanish and New Yorkers there. Tampa is small, no beaches, and FAST drivers, didn't like it there at all! As for Jacksonville there are a lot of nice places to live. Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra, Saint Augustine, Mandarin, Julington Creek, Fleming Island. Do not live in these parts of Jacksonville, Orange Park, Middleburg <--- only if you're a redneck!

Yes, less expensive. Avoid bad neighborhoods in general, bit the souther tip - Miami, are not good.

Florida is still affordable. We have seen alot of growth in the Central Florida area and with growth you have to take the good and the bad. If you don't mind commuting to work Deltona really gives you the most bang for your buck in regards to housing. You are about 20 mins. to Daytona Beach and about 35-40 mins to Orlando.

it would help if you told us where you live?? duhh!
In re: to Florida - south Florida - terrible value.
There actually is no middle class opptys here.
kind of like the haves and the have nots.
unless you are in the service industry - then you can do well.
real estate is prohibitive and jacked up. almost unaffordable.
and the people in south florida are rough. not the best area to raise the children. the schools suck and the parents could give a crap about their kids and what they are exposed to.

i used to live in west palm beach,and its way to expensive.if youre renting,the cheapest thing you gonnfind is a trailer park.where i was the cheapest house for sale was 1 million dollars.now i live in california,and i love it.everything its afordable where im at,and its nice.

yes and no... sum things are cheap and sum arent

Hi ,
Yaa Florida is still affordable. We have seen alot of growth in the Central Florida area and with growth you have to take the good and the bad.
And for buying houses in Florida yo can get very easily loans .i can provide you very good deals from my lenders for Florida but not for Texas .And also the prices in Florida are going down now .I would also suggest you not to have a house in Miami.
For detailed information write to me at kishaloy_bhowmick@yahoo.com o rcall me at 480.751.4125 .

regards,
kish

Last I heard prices of the homes were actually falling. Good time to buy!
Sarasota is nice as well as Lake Worth - I have a friend that has lived in both areas

NY,Texas and Calif are just as bad ,stay were you are ,you all ready know were the deals are

No it is NOT an affordable place, but it's not that bad.

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