# Moving to Florida



## jroyce (Jun 1, 2007)

Ok all my EB friends, I have just been given the opportunity to relocate from PA (York area) down to Tampa. I would be moving from a project engineer to more or less running the satelite office with probably 5-10 people under me. I would report to the VP of the company. It is definately a promotion of sorts... better pay, better position, management, better year round weather B) but then again you also have the more stress and longer hours. What does everyone think is a fair salary for that type of job description in the Tampa area (if anyone knows)?

besides the job, what does everyone think of living in the Tampa area? Whats the cost of living like? I checked different websites but they are all outdated by a few years. What other pointers does anyone have? I was thinking about moving to the Lakeland area or somewhere outside of Tampa and commuting in. How's the traffic? The new office is on the outskirts of Tampa if that helps any with the commute.

Anyhow any information or :bio: would be greatly appreciated.


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## Guest (Jun 1, 2007)

Tampa is a great place!!! I live in Tallahassee, but most of my active work is in the Tampa area now.



> What does everyone think is a fair salary for that type of job description in the Tampa area (if anyone knows)?


What industry do you plan to work within? I would try a few of the salary calculators that have been provided - they will at least get you into the ballpark.


> I was thinking about moving to the Lakeland area or somewhere outside of Tampa and commuting in. How's the traffic?


Traffic is monumentally HORRIBLE !!! If you are coming in from the Lakeland area you are stuck with I-4 (nickname the Parking Lot by locals) or State Road 60 which isn't much better. Lakeland is a nice place to settle down - it is growing by leaps and bounds. It isn't just another grown up agricultural city-center anymore. If the office is on the outskirts of Tampa, that is a GOOD thing - should help with commute.

Things to keep in mind:

-That area has been ravaged by hurricanes during the last major string of storms. Be prepared for those contingencies, they are VERY real.

-New home acquisitions (property tax, homeowners insurance, etc.) has been skyrocketing but the legislature is working to curb those gains. Realistically something is gonna come in tax relief and/or insurance rebates to property owners. Not sure what is going to happen to the tax base for this state though.

-Florida is growing by leaps and bounds. Current Orlando metro area population is something like 2M. Projected to be something on the order of 10M by 2015 - 2020 time frame.

-South Florida is experiencing a MAJOR drought. Water is getting harder to come by down there - major water restrictions. Another wait-n-see what happens situation for long term forecasting.

-Gets HOT AS HELL down here. So hot, you might as well paint the state RED. Wait a minute .. they already ARE a Red State! :bio: Seriously, it gets very hot - especially inland where there isn't any breeze. I have done field work in Bartow (near Lakeland) the past few summers. Most of the so-called yankee contractors don't last very long in the heat AND humidity. To me, just another day .. warm and yucky yes, but just another day.

Best of luck with your new job!! Keep us informed of how things turn out!

Regards,

JR


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## jfusilloPE (Jun 1, 2007)

jroyce said:


> Ok all my EB friends, I have just been given the opportunity to relocate from PA (York area) down to Tampa. I would be moving from a project engineer to more or less running the satelite office with probably 5-10 people under me. I would report to the VP of the company. It is definately a promotion of sorts... better pay, better position, management, better year round weather B) but then again you also have the more stress and longer hours. What does everyone think is a fair salary for that type of job description in the Tampa area (if anyone knows)?
> besides the job, what does everyone think of living in the Tampa area? Whats the cost of living like? I checked different websites but they are all outdated by a few years. What other pointers does anyone have? I was thinking about moving to the Lakeland area or somewhere outside of Tampa and commuting in. How's the traffic? The new office is on the outskirts of Tampa if that helps any with the commute.
> 
> Anyhow any information or :bio: would be greatly appreciated.


Well, I just relocated to Sarasota from Youngstown, Ohio the beginning of April. So, I'll try to give you my two cents of the entire situation.

The cost of living in Tampa is about 6% higher than that of Youngstow, while Sarasota is about 7 1/2% higher.

I interviewed with two firms in Tampa and two firms in Sarasota. The firms in Sarasota offered me about $25k more per year than the firms in Tampa (funny thing was Tampa firms had the same number and Sarasota firms had the same number).

While it is hard to base your salary expectation upon the information that you have given, I came close to doubling my Ohio salary with the move here, but then again the new position was also a promotion.

When my wife and I came to the Tampa Bay area to check it out before we made the decision to move, we found that the traffic in Tampa was horendous (especially around the airport on I-275 and SR 60). As for the commute from the location of the office in regards to Lakeland, you might want to wait around and see if someone else here has that info. There was a member that I spoke with around early February who worked in Lakeland (his moniker escapes me at the moment).

The biggest negative that I had moving here was the sticker shock of home prices. Sarasota has been the number 2 housing growth are in the Country for about the past 4 or five years, so when we first started looking at homes here, a comparable home to ours in Ohio was just entirely out the price range (we own a 3600 sf house on a cul-de-sac with almost an acre of land). I just purcahsed a 2400 sf home on less than .25 acres in a gated community for $450k...so be wary, but I think the home prices in Tampa were less expensive. Also, homeowners insurance here, in Ohio $600 per year on a replacement value of $400k, I am still waiting on quotes, but my co-workers tell me to expect about $3k per year. Property tax here in Sarasota is very comparable to that in Ohio, however a lot of areas have an additional tax called a CDD, which is essentially a 20-year bond payback that the developer received from the government to finance his/her venture.

All in all, I am glad that I chose Sarasota over Tampa, so I hope that I helped you out some. If you need or want any additonal advice or just want to shoot the shit, PM me and I will give you my number.

Good luck!

Joe


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## jroyce (Jun 1, 2007)

Thanks for the help. I know I was a little vague with the job description but I just didn't know how to describe the job. I more or less work for a privately owned testing/engineering company that specializes in building products. We do all kinds of testing on building products to ensure that they meet the requirements of the building code. We do in-house testing and also field testing for litigation issues. There is alos alot of engineering work for product installation in building projects and such in order for the contractor to get a final approval from the local building code official. Right now I do mainly calculations and when I move I will be running the lab down in Tampa and then also providing the calculations and site work for the Florida and Florida area projects. That is the best I can describe. Its kinda in both structural end and mechanical. The main facility is up here in York and that is where all the salary decisions are made but I wanted to make sure that they weren't low balling me with the figure they presented.

The lab is located west of the airport and is (nearest major roads) around the intersection of 301 and 60. It seems as though the houses outside the city are much cheaper then the houses inside. That is one of the reasons that I would like to live outside the city and commute in. But if the commute is horrible then it might even itself out. Are there any recommendations about which cities to stay away from or the ones to look into living in? Currently I live about 45 minutes - 1 hour from my job so the commute kind of an accepted thing already.

The heat doesn't bother me much. I did a 6 month stay in Miami on a job down there and I loved it and my wife is from West Palm area and she can't wait to get away from the cold weather up in PA. Natural disasters are a little concerning just because of what they do to insurance and land values. I noticed that the area seems to have a large amount of increase in the population in the last few years and that concerns me slightly because the land/house values may be inflated because of it. Oh well the price you pay for warm weather.


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## Dark Knight (Jun 1, 2007)

One advantage Florida has is that when you finally retire don't have to go anywhere. The so called experts are predicting that Florida will be the biggest retirement home in the world in two more decades. Right now is the biggest in the country.


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## jfusilloPE (Jun 1, 2007)

jroyce said:


> The lab is located west of the airport and is (nearest major roads) around the intersection of 301 and 60. It seems as though the houses outside the city are much cheaper then the houses inside. That is one of the reasons that I would like to live outside the city and commute in. But if the commute is horrible then it might even itself out. Are there any recommendations about which cities to stay away from or the ones to look into living in? Currently I live about 45 minutes - 1 hour from my job so the commute kind of an accepted thing already.


You may want to think about the Clearwater-St. Pete-Pinellas area for homes, but the I-275 can still be a crap shoot. When I interviewed in Tampa, I was staying at St. Pete Beach, mapquest gave me a 30 minute travel time, so I left an hour early and still arrived 10 minutes late. Granted there was an accident by the 375 exchange, but as soon as you got to the exit for 60 (which is right at the airport), traffic got pretty heavy and that was at 8 am.

I just received an insurance quote, property replacement at $461k, $1k peril deductible and $500 hurricane deductible - premium $2641 per year.

I am not trying to disuade you from moving to Florida (I think it was probably one of the best decisions I've made in my life), but just make sure you do good homework first (especially when it comes to salary negotiations).


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## Guest (Jun 1, 2007)

JR


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## jroyce (Jun 1, 2007)

Thanks for the insurance info. I know that insurance is more expensive and that was one of the things that I have on my list for things to consider at the salary negotations. Is there anything else that you can think of that is way more expensive in Florida then in the North? I came up with housing, insurance, auto insurance, and property taxes in some areas from what I am used to.

I did some research just now on the salary comparisons and just generic comparisons of a project engineer of what I do right now shows that you should make 17% more in Florida but that you actually receive 2% less. WTF.. I don't even know if that is true either cause in the breakdown they said gas was only around $2 up North instead of the current $3.20.


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## jfusilloPE (Jun 4, 2007)

jroyce said:


> Thanks for the insurance info. I know that insurance is more expensive and that was one of the things that I have on my list for things to consider at the salary negotations. Is there anything else that you can think of that is way more expensive in Florida then in the North? I came up with housing, insurance, auto insurance, and property taxes in some areas from what I am used to.
> I did some research just now on the salary comparisons and just generic comparisons of a project engineer of what I do right now shows that you should make 17% more in Florida but that you actually receive 2% less. WTF.. I don't even know if that is true either cause in the breakdown they said gas was only around $2 up North instead of the current $3.20.


Gas prices just came down to about $2.98 per gallon here in Sarasota, and my wife said they are the same in Youngstown. One big diiference I did notice price wise is milk is over $4.00 per gallon, but on the flip side everyone has 2-for1 drafts or $2.50 bottles during happy hour (and boy do I spend a lot of time at happy hour).

My property tax rate is about the same here as it is in Ohio, so that was pretty much a wash for me, and I haven't checked on auto insurance yet.


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## JohnNevets (Jun 4, 2007)

Small world thing JRoyce.

I work for a company that uses your company's services on a regular basis. Now granted I don't keep as up with where facilities are located as I should, but have you guys always had a facility in Tampa, or is that a new thing? I know when FL changed some of their code requirements last year it became very advantageous to have a facility right in FL as apposed to other states, but you might have always had something down there, and I just didn't notice.

Oh well just curious, interesting field to be in.

I may see you at a mock up test sometime,

John


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## recruiter (Jun 4, 2007)

jroyce said:


> Ok all my EB friends, I have just been given the opportunity to relocate from PA (York area) down to Tampa. I would be moving from a project engineer to more or less running the satelite office with probably 5-10 people under me. I would report to the VP of the company. It is definately a promotion of sorts... better pay, better position, management, better year round weather :true: but then again you also have the more stress and longer hours. What does everyone think is a fair salary for that type of job description in the Tampa area (if anyone knows)?
> besides the job, what does everyone think of living in the Tampa area? Whats the cost of living like? I checked different websites but they are all outdated by a few years. What other pointers does anyone have? I was thinking about moving to the Lakeland area or somewhere outside of Tampa and commuting in. How's the traffic? The new office is on the outskirts of Tampa if that helps any with the commute.
> 
> Anyhow any information or :asthanos: would be greatly appreciated.


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## recruiter (Jun 4, 2007)

jroyce said:


> Ok all my EB friends, I have just been given the opportunity to relocate from PA (York area) down to Tampa. I would be moving from a project engineer to more or less running the satelite office with probably 5-10 people under me. I would report to the VP of the company. It is definately a promotion of sorts... better pay, better position, management, better year round weather B) but then again you also have the more stress and longer hours. What does everyone think is a fair salary for that type of job description in the Tampa area (if anyone knows)?
> besides the job, what does everyone think of living in the Tampa area? Whats the cost of living like? I checked different websites but they are all outdated by a few years. What other pointers does anyone have? I was thinking about moving to the Lakeland area or somewhere outside of Tampa and commuting in. How's the traffic? The new office is on the outskirts of Tampa if that helps any with the commute.
> 
> Anyhow any information or :2cents: would be greatly appreciated.


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## recruiter (Jun 4, 2007)

I am a recruiter in Tampa who specializes in the civil engineering industry. I would be happy to discuss what the compensation ranges are in the Tampa area. It depends on years of experience, and what kinds of projects you have worked on.


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## umjeffr (Jun 4, 2007)

jroyce said:


> Thanks for the help. I know I was a little vague with the job description but I just didn't know how to describe the job. I more or less work for a privately owned testing/engineering company that specializes in building products. We do all kinds of testing on building products to ensure that they meet the requirements of the building code. We do in-house testing and also field testing for litigation issues. There is alos alot of engineering work for product installation in building projects and such in order for the contractor to get a final approval from the local building code official. Right now I do mainly calculations and when I move I will be running the lab down in Tampa and then also providing the calculations and site work for the Florida and Florida area projects. That is the best I can describe. Its kinda in both structural end and mechanical. The main facility is up here in York and that is where all the salary decisions are made but I wanted to make sure that they weren't low balling me with the figure they presented.
> The lab is located west of the airport and is (nearest major roads) around the intersection of 301 and 60. It seems as though the houses outside the city are much cheaper then the houses inside. That is one of the reasons that I would like to live outside the city and commute in. But if the commute is horrible then it might even itself out. Are there any recommendations about which cities to stay away from or the ones to look into living in? Currently I live about 45 minutes - 1 hour from my job so the commute kind of an accepted thing already.
> 
> The heat doesn't bother me much. I did a 6 month stay in Miami on a job down there and I loved it and my wife is from West Palm area and she can't wait to get away from the cold weather up in PA. Natural disasters are a little concerning just because of what they do to insurance and land values. I noticed that the area seems to have a large amount of increase in the population in the last few years and that concerns me slightly because the land/house values may be inflated because of it. Oh well the price you pay for warm weather.


I work in Tampa as an office manager for a small Civil Engineering firm. You should make sure you take into consideration (as others have told you) the cost of the housing. But on the bright side, right now it is a buyers market, you can get a good deal (for Florida). Just be warned that if you buy in a area that is low or near hte beach you could end up paying for high insurance cost in the future.

Traffic in tampa is bad, but i think that happens everywhere.


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## jroyce (Jun 5, 2007)

JohnNevets said:


> Small world thing JRoyce.
> I work for a company that uses your company's services on a regular basis. Now granted I don't keep as up with where facilities are located as I should, but have you guys always had a facility in Tampa, or is that a new thing? I know when FL changed some of their code requirements last year it became very advantageous to have a facility right in FL as apposed to other states, but you might have always had something down there, and I just didn't notice.
> 
> Oh well just curious, interesting field to be in.
> ...



The lab in Florida isn't a very new thing. It's been there for about 5 years or so. It's just come to a point that with no licensed engineers on site its turning into one from PA flying down every few days to witness a test or to handle customersthat want an engineer. I understand completely why the customers want this but its getting to much for all the PA engineers and travel costs are starting to exceed the desire to keep the engineering staff at one location. Hence I am moving. I work for Architectural Testing just in case cause there are a few in the Tampa area. What company do you work for?

That is kinda weird though that you run into a person that you might have already met or have the opportunity to meet just by doing business.


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## JohnNevets (Jun 5, 2007)

It wasn't the Tampa office that made me realize who you worked for, but the fact that you were coming from York, and I know that is where ATI is headquartered.

I'll PM you where I work. I know it sounds silly, but I do try and keep a small bit of anonymity on the Internet. You never know who will end up reading this stuff, and a bit of plausible deniability is sometimes a good thing.

shhh.... I think I just heard some helicopters, wounder if they are black ;-)

Have fun, good luck with the move, and who knows we may meet up at test.

John


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## JohnNevets (Jun 5, 2007)

It wasn't the Tampa office that made me realize who you worked for, but the fact that you were coming from York, and I know that is where ATI is headquartered.

I'll PM you where I work. I know it sounds silly, but I do try and keep a small bit of anonymity on the Internet. You never know who will end up reading this stuff, and a bit of plausible deniability is sometimes a good thing.

shhh.... I think I just heard some helicopters, wounder if they are black ;-)

Have fun, good luck with the move, and who knows we may meet up at test.

John


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## JoeBoone82 (Jun 12, 2007)

I went to Tampa and St. Pete Beach last December for work and both were really nice areas. The weather is awesome too.

As for the Cost of Living.... have you tried the calculator from CNN ? Here is the link...

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/costoflivin...stofliving.html


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