How can people afford to live in FL?

Question

I just moved to FL and am seriously curious how mid to low income people are supposed to get by. My husband has a good job but I go to school and wait tables and we can barely make enough to pay our bills and take care of our son. Rent is so ridiculously high and the wages down here are so low. Seriously how is this legal and what are people supposed to do?

Answer 1

I guess everything is realtive. I've lived in SW Florida for 5 years. We found it very affordable when we came here from the D.C. area where the cost of living is much higher. You can't purchase a decent townhouse in Maryland for under $250,000. Houses are $450,000 and up. I saw a new development being built where the starting prices were 1.2 million. Rents are $1200 a month and up.

I guess you can see that Florida looked like a bargain to us. We were able to get a waterfront home for under $150,000 when they were $500,000+ in MD. I still know of places in the Orlando area where you can rent a townhouse for $650 a month. That seems pretty reasonable to me.

Sorry you find it so bad here. I know of less expensive places to live but why leave a place where you have summer year round? :)

Jim Reske, Realtor
ERA Advantage Realty, Inc
Port Charlotte, FL
http://www.flwaterhomes.com

Answer 2

Here is what people are supposed to do: adjust, learn, and grow! It is a free enterprise economy; similar to those of the other 49 states. You say you just moved there. You may have been taken advantage of by being charged a rent that's noncompetitive. See what you can do to make that work better for you. It might be a good idea to stop thinking of yourselves as mid to low income. We all have the same 24 hours in a day; what we do with those hours determines where we go financially in life. It's a really bad attitude that you have, saying, seriously is this legal. Taking responsibility for your own circumstances is key to getting started on the road to success. If it's the legislature's fault, for not making things better for you financially in some way, then you (as long as you continue to give any credence to that thought) are a victim and therefore powerless to make change in your life for the better. Getting adjusted to a new area will always involve re-learning some things about the differences between the economy in your new place and that in the place you just left. Find a skill, service or product that you can provide that is in high demand that people will pay for, rather than trying to make Florida fit the mold of your old state. An old expression sort-of applies here -- to "carry coals to Newcastle" means to try to furnish a service that's not going to be profitable. Newcastle (England) was an important coal-mining town; they didn't need more coal. Do some research on Florida. What does it have a lot of? Old people. Do old people tip well, better than average, in restaurants; taken as a sector of all restaurant customers? My guess is "no." But Floridians have high demand for plenty of other goods and services. I'm sure of that. Learn the differences and make changes happen. One suggestion: I have a business that's valid in all 50 states, and there are local groups down there in FL just waiting to help you personally succeed. The pre-requisite is a good attitude. My site:

Answer 3

I had to sell my house in FL last year and move to SC because I could no longer afford the ever increasing rates for electricity, homeowner's insurance, property taxes, etc.

My electric bills are now less than 1/2 each month than they were in FL. My car insurance is less than 1/2 as much. Gas here is $2.48/gal.

I had a good job, and was working 10-15 hours a week overtime. I don't know how working class people are supposed to survive down there anymore. I know I wasn't willing to work 20 hours a day, or 7 days a week just to survive.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

It depends entirely on where you live. You give no indication where you are living. If you want to live near the water in a big city it cossts a lot. If you are willing to live far inland or in a small town, it will cost much less. It wouldn't be the 2d fastest growing state in the union if nobody could afford to move there.

Answer 6

Welcome to capitalism, where only the almighty dollar rules....

Too late for you, but what Ive done is avoid having children...they suck more cash out of you than rent does. I am in a similar situation - I make the bread, my woman goes to school and bartends. We live in the SF area of California....you thik Florida is expensive?? They charge $1200-1500 a month for a STUDIO APARTMENT in SF!!! So, we moved 35 miles outside of SF and commute into SF for work and school...thats an option you may want to check....

Answer 7

It is a state all on it's own when it comes to making sense. There is such a huge elderly pop. that trying to make sense of it will never happen. Don't spend too long there if it just isn't going to work. You can have less struggles with a little less sunshine

Answer 8

A lot of people from FL are packing up and moving to TN.

Answer 9

UGGGHHH! My husband teaches at MMI in Orlando. I am due to move there in December. Does not sound inviting.

Answer 10

Tell you the truth I don't know how and I also don't know why? It is so oblivious that hurricanes love to screw that state up that it doesn't make sense.