| Florida...
Posted: 7/2/2009 2:39:14 PM | I know it's a very vague title, but I'm going to be "visiting" Florida and I'm going to be down there for a month plus. While down there I'm going to look at places to move to seeing as I'm sick and tired of Washington State. I'm going to be in Key West for majority of the time.
So as a question, I was wondering where people might suggest looking for apartments, cheap but good. I'd prefer not to be a minority, but it doesn't bug me too much.
Also good places to meet people aside from the beach.
Thanks in advance and if you don't want to post here, feel free to message me.
I'm leaving for Florida tomorrow, so just excuse the about me. | |
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| Florida...
Posted: 7/2/2009 4:19:30 PM | I live in the Tampa Bay area. Unemployment is high here as it is all over the state. I suggest you find a job before moving here. Don't count on finding a good paying job and an affordable place to stay in Key West.
Your questions are pretty broad. Florida is the second or third most populous state in the nation. Large metropolitan areas are Miami, Tampa Bay and Orlando.
BTW many of us would love to leave the state. Its not what it was. | |
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| Florida...
Posted: 7/2/2009 4:44:16 PM | Hmm, thanks for the heads up.
I guess I'll just have to figure something out.
Good thing is a visit and not the move.
What's made the state so unappealing now? Just the unemployment? | |
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| Florida...
Posted: 7/2/2009 9:11:26 PM | i'm born and raised in florida, just bought a house here, and have no desire to live anyplace else. everyone's opinion will vary on florida. the only opinion that will matter is your own or someone's whom you trust.
my opinion is that if you're initially coming here to tour the state as a prospect for residence, then it really boils down to what you want in an area to live in, jobs, wages, traffic, fun stuff, living conditions, flood areas, weather, etc. the list is endless. if you're gonna be here for a month, i'd recommend choosing a metro area then book a weekly hotel. stay in one metro area for a week. that'll give you no hotel commitments and plenty of time to get familiar with an area and question people to find out what's really going on.
unemployment is everywhere. there's plenty of jobs here. you just have to realize that the job market is oversaturated with jobseekers so you know you have more competition than ever in the market. i can't imagine living anyplace else. most people will say the school systems suck but don't they all? it ain't much different. there's good schools and bad just like anyplace else. this is a service industry state but if you got a certain skill set, you can get paid double digits. don't let people that have been scarred by their own bad decisions in life deter you from living yours fully. negative people are negative for a reason!
you have miami, fort myers, tampa, orlando, tallahassee, jacksonville, ocala/gainsville, and the panhandle as metro areas. if you get a weekly hotel for each area, you should get a good amount of research done to make an informed decision. more importantly, talk to real people along the way to get good honest opinions on the area. take the good with the bad and you'll be fine. if key west is your primary resting point, you won't get much info cuz of its distance from practically everything. | |
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| Florida...
Posted: 7/2/2009 10:36:55 PM | Thanks for the input, haha, maybe I should've added to the post, "a job not necessary."
It would seem I'm a bit more well off than others.
Treasure salvaging company and all.
Not to mention the other family businesses I've got going on down there for myself, so employment isn't an issue.
But ya, just looking for a place that a 21 year old guy can have the best time. Maybe an area that has the most people my age.
Anywho thanks for the information and tips. Heading down is oh.. 10 hours or so. | |
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| Florida...
Posted: 7/5/2009 6:41:45 PM | | Buy a GoMiami card and take many of the tours for overviews, then go back and do whatever looked interesting. Stay on South Beach at least a night or two. I don't know that you're going to find a lot of 21 year olds in Key West, but maybe more in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. Use the Meetup groups to find more locals while you are there. If you're not taking a bicycle, you might want to try and find a good used one while there--lots of cycling to be done in the area. | |
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| Florida...
Posted: 7/6/2009 6:15:26 PM | | if your into treasure salvage try fernandina/amelia island, panhandle and miami key west areas. lots of fun things to do in each | |
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| Florida...
Posted: 7/28/2009 2:39:26 PM | | How exciting for you! My daughter got to dive on Mel Fisher's "Atocha" off of Key West a few years ago--one of my customers is an employee of the Fishers and even gave me coin from the ship. They are still discovering treasure from that ship. | |
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| Florida...
Posted: 7/30/2009 10:01:42 PM | Cheap place to stay in FL? 
cockroach-infested dumps go for big bucks around here. People think their crackhouse for rent is still "paradise" :) | |
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| Florida...
Posted: 8/3/2009 5:03:08 PM | I live in Key West and can answer any questions you have about it.
You can get great paying work working in the tourism industry down here, but the catch is you will spend a LOT on housing.
Even trailers go into the high thousands for rent, and renting an actual 2 or 3 bed house can gho from 2 to 3 grand. | |
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| Florida...
Posted: 8/4/2009 11:09:00 AM | well......are you sure you want to leave washington and go to florida............lol........i presently live in Croatia, but spent 12 years in washington before coming here. so i can compare both.
my entire family live in the hollywood area.........when they moved there some 35 years ago, south florida was having a down time, it was peaceful, quiet and had an off season.
now there is no off season, only crowded and more crowded. the traffic is a nightmare, yes even compared to seattle. people are generally stressed and nasty and the cultural diversity all be it a good thing, if you dont speak spanish or proper cuban, dont even bother to try and live in parts of miami as nobody will talk to you. the crime is unbelievable and i hope you like cops because there is one every 4 blocks just waiting to pull you over.
if you like any wide open spaces, there are none left as kids we had a tree swing into a gorgeous fresh water pool, it has since been filled in and is now one of the millions of tract home subdidivisons, if you have a dog it will literally get eaten alive by year round fleas and ticks and i am serious, theres no place to let them run anymore. and god forbid you let one off a leash, i almost had a fight with one of my parents new young yuppie neighbors who gave me a leash law speech, my lab in a totally friendly manner walked up to his dog right in front of my folks house.
i spent 2 months there with my folks before coming here to Hvar in Croatia........and seriously it was the worst 2 months of my life and most of my family grew up there.
maybe at 21 years old it will be a blast for you......i remember those days, big daddys, art stocks playpen in ft. lauderdale......haulover beach.......girls girls girls.......we had so much fun in summers from college. my grand father owned a house right on the beach in golden beach......those were the days, but thats not the florida of today. at least not in south florida. florida has prostituted itself to developers and corporations.
i will say if you can afford it to me the keys are the only decent place left to live in south florida, if you have a boat there is still personal freedom to be found.........but if you buy a tract of land theres no guarantee you will ever get to build with the new protections in place............my business visa is up here in Croatia this fall and i am on my way back to the northwest.............washington may get old at times dude, but it has a diversity of things to do you wont get in florida...........but at your age i might be doing the same thing..............good luck | |
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| Florida...
Posted: 8/4/2009 1:31:16 PM | | Clearwater is beaut, just from my own hol experience :) | |
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| Florida...
Posted: 8/5/2009 8:07:28 PM | ive never been to florida and am contemplating visiting. ideally, i had my sights set to fly to fort lauderdale and was rather shocked to learn at their dismal local public transportation system (or lack thereof).
My initial impression was south florida was a tourist mecca and that such facilities were already in place. Many locals ive spoke with online have informed me that a rental car is almost a necessity when visiting. Im not too keen on rental cars when I travel, i prefer the convienence of public transit.
I havent reseached the palm beach area, but am already assuming it to be the same situation.
Id like to be able to say I visited florida and the atlantic ocean in the same trip..but If I were to visit tampa it wouldnt be quite the same.
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