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 I checked different websites but they are all outdated by a few years.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
