Any Florida Getbiggers?

[Teutonic Knight 1]

Wiggzy (aka gib) & his version of Jesus should be there  

[Rambone]

it rains every day here?  that's news to me, though i thought it rained every day in florida, or is that just during hurricane season?

many people leave for florida, and then they come back

E

It pretty much hasn’t rained for a month down here. March is usually a dry month for us. My grass is getting crispy

[Agnostic007]

I've been in Cali for close to 20 Years.  I'm sick of fucking paying close to $2000 a month in State Tax, then still paying $3.29 a gallon of gas when it's in the low dollars everywhere else. We get fucked 50 ways until friday out here.

I've been seriously considering Florida but want to know what Cities Getbiggers can recommend to live in.  Don't say Miami.  I love Miami but your dollar doesn't go as far as other cities when it comes to buying a home.

The key for me is a city with a good airport since I travel a lot for work.  So no hour drive to a decent airport.

Thanks

Ive been in Tampa for about 18 months. We are moving to St. Petersburg in July, We want to be closer to the beaches and like the St. Petersburg vibe more. I do recommend a coastal city as being in the interior like Orlando can be stifling hot in the summer. We chose Tampa kind of as a guess. We weren't familiar with Florida but knew we wanted good beaches, a good international airport and diversity. Being in our 50's Miami was too much for us. Sarasota, Naples Fort Myers  seemed like rich old white folks and not a lot of bang for our buck.

[EBA84]

it rains every day here?  that's news to me, though i thought it rained every day in florida, or is that just during hurricane season?

many people leave for florida, and then they come back

E

Sure seemed like it last year. There were maybe two or three good months. There are definitely things I liked about Pittsburgh but winter wasn't one of them. It hasn't rained here in a while. When it does rain everyday it is for like 15 or 20 minutes and then the sun comes out. Fronts pass through quick down here.

[Kwon]

I like that USA has such a diverse weather.

Tropical in the South and Ice Cold in the north.

[Teutonic Knight 1]

I like that USA has such a diverse weather.

Tropical in the South and Ice Cold in the north.

Alaska & Hawaii , just like Somalian Swedes & Swedish Swedes 

[LurkerNoMore]

I moved to Ft Lauderdale in 2007 right out of college with my MHA.  When I came here, I had two options.  My employer here in Ft Lauderdale, or Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami (admin offices in Aventura).    I was new and did not know either area.  I chose Ft Lauderdale specifically because I asked for 6 weeks vacation per year.  JMH offered me 3 weeks to start and 1 extra week every 4 years.  My employer here offered me 5 weeks to start and 1 extra week every 5 years.  I turned down JMH and an extra $35K a year starting for the Ft Lauderdale option and have never looked back.  I couldn't remain sane down there with the old ass  15mph driving Jews that fall asleep at every red light.  Everything overrun from May-September by their teenage grandchildren with their big ass noses.  Orlando is awful with the humidity.  At least here, the ocean winds keep the humidity pushed out west a bit.  So it isn't bad.  
In 7 years I am fully vested here and can retire if I wish.  I do not plan to stay here.  However, I have a home and rental property here so I am sort of tied into this city for a bit.  Most likely I will still come down in the winters, and spend summers someplace cooler.

[Kwon]

I turned down JMH and an extra $35K a year starting for the Ft Lauderdale option and have never looked back.  I couldn't remain sane down there with the old ass  15mph driving Jews that fall asleep at every red light.  Everything overrun from May-September by their teenage grandchildren with their big ass noses.  

Only jews in Miami?

[Rambone]

Only jews in Miami?

He’s right. There are tons further north in Boca Raton/Delray(Genova)/Boynton Beach as well. They’re from NY/NJ and are terrible drivers and miserable 24/7

[El Diablo Blanco]

Ive been in Tampa for about 18 months. We are moving to St. Petersburg in July, We want to be closer to the beaches and like the St. Petersburg vibe more. I do recommend a coastal city as being in the interior like Orlando can be stifling hot in the summer. We chose Tampa kind of as a guess. We weren't familiar with Florida but knew we wanted good beaches, a good international airport and diversity. Being in our 50's Miami was too much for us. Sarasota, Naples Fort Myers  seemed like rich old white folks and not a lot of bang for our buck.

How did you like Tampa vs. St Pete. What I'm finding with St. Pete is that the housing market is not that good.  Not many nice homes for sale.  From what I heard, you essentially need to live and work in either.  Apparently trying to cross that main bridge during rush hour can take over an hour in either direction.

[LurkerNoMore]

Only jews in Miami?

North Miami area...  Hollywood/Hallendale are the old struggle all their lives middle class senior types.   Aventura has the younger middle age with a bit more money types. 

Miami itself is mostly kneegrows, cubans, and "miami whites" at this point.

[Agnostic007]

How did you like Tampa vs. St Pete. What I'm finding with St. Pete is that the housing market is not that good.  Not many nice homes for sale.  From what I heard, you essentially need to live and work in either.  Apparently trying to cross that main bridge during rush hour can take over an hour in either direction.

Tampa- Pros: Has the airport, Hardrock casino, decent boardwalk, shopping and restaurants. Housing is plentiful, updated/modern and affordable.
           Cons: No beaches, 30-70 min from a good beach even though parts of it are bay. Not a lot of good live music options

St. Pete- Pros: Close to great beaches which we like. Not too far from the Airport, its just over the bridge. More of a party vibe with live music venues. Good restaurants, diverse crowd. More of a vacation feel
             Cons: Houses tend to be decades older, smaller sq ft. Higher priced. If you do want to go into Tampa the bridge can be a pain if during rush hour. Farther from the Casino where I play poker often.

There's nothing really wrong with Tampa depending on what you prefer. Coming from Austin Tx we miss that small downtown live music vibe and the wife being Vegan, has a lot of choices to dine in St. Pete vs. Tampa. I know people that live on or near the beach in St. Pete that rarely go to the beach. We aren't those people so I think it matters to us to be close to a good beach. And being retired, we can plan our commutes across the bridge into Tampa during low traffic volume times.

[catracho]

Except for my time in the ARMY, been in South Florida all my life. You want night life then you live in expensive Brickell by downtown, you want quite you go to St. Petersburg area. Orlando is always full of tourists due to Disney and the theme parks. But the weather is the best and no state tax.

[Agnostic007]

I've been in Cali for close to 20 Years.  I'm sick of fucking paying close to $2000 a month in State Tax, then still paying $3.29 a gallon of gas when it's in the low dollars everywhere else. We get fucked 50 ways until friday out here.

I've been seriously considering Florida but want to know what Cities Getbiggers can recommend to live in.  Don't say Miami.  I love Miami but your dollar doesn't go as far as other cities when it comes to buying a home.

The key for me is a city with a good airport since I travel a lot for work.  So no hour drive to a decent airport.

Thanks

We ended up choosing a 3 bedroom condo in Treasure Island off Gulf Port Blvd , The balconies look out onto a inter coastal channel with boats which is kind of what I wanted as a view from our house. The beach and boardwalk are just across Gulf Blvd. We can literally walk to the beach in 5 minutes. It's about a mile from Johns Pass which is a really cool area with local bars and restaurants.  Its a 10 min drive to downtown St. Petersburg. We'll be moving in at the end of the month. Finally going to feel like I'm living in Florida

[joswift]

We ended up choosing a 3 bedroom condo in Treasure Island off Gulf Port Blvd , The balconies look out onto a inter coastal channel with boats which is kind of what I wanted as a view from our house. The beach and boardwalk are just across Gulf Blvd. We can literally walk to the beach in 5 minutes. It's about a mile from Johns Pass which is a really cool area with local bars and restaurants.  Its a 10 min drive to downtown St. Petersburg. We'll be moving in at the end of the month. Finally going to feel like I'm living in Florida

sounds great

[BIG ACH]

I did just that...

Lived in Fl for 3 years then moved to cali (SF Bay Area) for 3.5 years, then back again to Fl since 2017.

Even with a nice tech job, I found Northern California to be ridiculously expensive.  And with three kids I wanted to buy a house bigger than a refrigerator without having to do a 4 hour daily commute... staying in Cali didn't make sense to me.  Luckily my company agreed to let me move to our Florida office.

I do really like Florida, but I miss a lot about California.

There are pluses and minuses. 

Smaller job market in Florida especially if you're in tech.
Much much cheaper houses in Florida.
Constant heat vs perfect weather all year long
Hurricanes vs wild fires
Liberal vs conservative (depends who you are either could be a plus)
Disney World vs Disney Land
Flat lands vs mountains
Trucks vs Teslas

[Agnostic007]

I did just that...

Lived in Fl for 3 years then moved to cali (SF Bay Area) for 3.5 years, then back again to Fl since 2017.

Even with a nice tech job, I found Northern California to be ridiculously expensive.  And with three kids I wanted to buy a house bigger than a refrigerator without having to do a 4 hour daily commute... staying in Cali didn't make sense to me.  Luckily my company agreed to let me move to our Florida office.

I do really like Florida, but I miss a lot about California.

There are pluses and minuses. 

Smaller job market in Florida especially if you're in tech.
Much much cheaper houses in Florida.
Constant heat vs perfect weather all year long
Hurricanes vs wild fires
Liberal vs conservative (depends who you are either could be a plus)
Disney World vs Disney Land
Flat lands vs mountains
Trucks vs Teslas

Pretty much sums it up except at least in Tampa the weather is pretty good Oct-May then June=Sept hits 90 and muggy. At least that has been my experience.