You can find 14 dollars an hour in Florida, i live in Brooksville which is about an hour north of Tampa, it's definately slow paced and kind of behind the times but i have been able to work myself up to 14 dollars. If you look around Tampa, or Sarasota, or any of the other large cities on the gulf coast i doubt you'll have a hard time finding 14 dollar an hour jobs. If you have any questions about the tampa area, let me know and i'll do my best to answer them.

 

I live in Florida and I would suggest staying where you are there is no money here and cost of living is crazy, Ive lived here all my life and I,m considering Texas also , cost of living cheaper and alot of work in Texas and not alot of fright out of here either!

 

Yeah, but you could say the same thing about Hell! *chuckle*

 

Thanks for all the responses, they have been helpful. I am wanting to live on the gulf side and north of the Tampa area. I heard that housing is very expensive south of Tampa. I've been working for a lumber company for the last 3 years pulling a 28 ft trailer curtainside or a 26 ft straight curtainside. I will be down there in a week and will look around. I went online to the Orlando newspaper and found quite a few trucking jobs. It was very encouraging.

 

Hey MILEHIGHDRIVER, where abouts just norht of Tampa are you looking, I am in Brooksville, which is an hour up the coast of Tampa, if you travel up the road a little from me you'll be in the Ocala, Gainesville area, which is nice, and there are a lot of jobs up that way. If you're looking in the brooksville area let me know, we have a truck open, it's a sod hauling position, but if you're skilled in Moffits, or any thing like that, it might be a decent opportunity.

 

Millersod...I want to live near the coast. I dont have any experience in sod hauling, but im sure i can learn. I dont want to live in a big city, but close enough to take advantage of a job commute and all that a city gives you. I appreciate all your help and info. I am looking to work 5 days a week. Is that possible? How much does that job start at?

 

Well i live 10 minutes from the Gulf, i'm paid 14 dollars an hour, i've been around the company for a while now, you can choose on the load pay, or talk to them about hourly pay. It's just a small company, we have 6 trucks, i go in at 5:30 am, and am off no later than 4:30, it's very rare that i work more than 55 hours a week. I average 600 weekly, but if i get up in the 55 hour work weeks, i'll take home 650 or more, but like all the rest of the posters on here have stated, the cost of living down here right now is out of control, my wife and i are still renters because we just haven't allowed ourselves to break down and pay the ridiculous cost of housing, tossed in with the outrageous insurance fees. There's a lot of good little residential areas outside of tampa, but within commuting distance, that will offer you the decent paying jobs, and work schedule that you're looking for.

 

I live in colorado and its pretty pricey here. Can you give me a ballpark figure on rent and car insurance?

 

Well rent for a standard 3/2 home is going to range anywhere from 850-1250 per month depending on what kind of quality, and size house you're looking for. There's been a lot of building of duplexes lately, and you can usually get in to one of those for around 750, that's what the average for my area is anyway. And if you're looking in to the apartment side of things, look to spend anywhere from 500 to upwards of a thousand, just depending on where you live, and what size you're looking for. The insurance everyone is refering to is not car insurance, it's the homeowners insurance, and since our hurricane season of '03, and the recent tornados, the prices are definately not going down, like i said earlier i'm a renter so i don't know the particulars of the insurance situations, but just in conversation with people i know who own their own homes, they said it's ridiculously priced, and can be hard to come by now, a lot of insurance companies have pulled out of Florida completely due to the high possibility of natural disaster.

 

Milehighdriver, I live in Hudson Fl which is on the Gulf Coast about 35 miles north of Clearwater. I pay $655 a month rent on a nice 2/2 apt., the building is 2 years old. I would recomend any town north of where I live especially Crystal River, and Inverness area, Brooksville is nice also. My dad lives in Inverness and it's reaaly nice there. Housing becomes a lot more affordable the further you get away from the Tampabay area. You can still find a modest starter home for around 120,000-150,000 in the counties north off the bay area, and get a decent lot also. You shouldn't have any problem finding a driving job either.