Questions for Tampa/St. Pete area DISers

[pozey]

A question for any and all Tampa/St. Pete area DISers.

Are any of you familiar with the Raymond James Company? Or does anyone work for, or know someone who works for Raymond James Company?

I have a possible job offer from them and if everything goes through, it would involve moving me and my family from Oklahoma to Florida.

Now, I was born in Florida (Okeechobee) and spent a lot of my childhood in Ft. Myers, but have lived in Oklahoma most of my adult life. So, I would love to move back. DW and the rest of the family are a little more hesitant.

Next question……..Is nice, affordable housing to be found in the Tampa/St. Pete area? We currently live in a 4 bedroom, 2 ½ bath two story home (3000 square feet) that we had built in 1997. It is outside of city limits, but in a nice subdivision. We had it built for about $200,000, but could probably sell it for close to $300,000 now. Is there ANY WAY POSSIBLE to find something similar for under $450,000? I have perused realtor.com, but wanted some “local” input.

Thanks for any help anyone can bring.

 

[Brianne]

I've never heard of the company so I'm no help with that.

As for the housing---I suppose it's possible, depending on what you're looking for. Prices have jumped over the past couple years though. We bought our 2200 sq ft house right before the boom for under 200k & it's now worth well over 300k, which I personally think is insane. I wouldn't buy it for that much!

I don't know much about the northern areas of Tampa other than I've heard Lutz is a really nice area. You might have good luck up in that region or you might consider going south into the Riverview/Valrico area (which is where we are), which has seen a huge change in the past couple years for the better, I think.

Good luck!!

 

[Southern4sure]

A question for any and all Tampa/St. Pete area DISers.

Are any of you familiar with the Raymond James Company? Or does anyone work for, or know someone who works for Raymond James Company?

I have a possible job offer from them and if everything goes through, it would involve moving me and my family from Oklahoma to Florida.

Now, I was born in Florida (Okeechobee) and spent a lot of my childhood in Ft. Myers, but have lived in Oklahoma most of my adult life. So, I would love to move back. DW and the rest of the family are a little more hesitant.

Next question……..Is nice, affordable housing to be found in the Tampa/St. Pete area? We currently live in a 4 bedroom, 2 ½ bath two story home (3000 square feet) that we had built in 1997. It is outside of city limits, but in a nice subdivision. We had it built for about $200,000, but could probably sell it for close to $300,000 now. Is there ANY WAY POSSIBLE to find something similar for under $450,000? I have perused realtor.com, but wanted some “local” input.

Thanks for any help anyone can bring.

Im just north of Tampa (20 minutes). Im rather new to the area so I dont know much about the company...sorry.

You should be able to find some nice houses for that price. There is a new community Dupree Lakes being built near me. Beazer is the builder of the homes and there is one house for about $350,000, it is the Newbury. 3200 sq ft, 5 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths plus a loft/playroom/family room on the second level.

ETA: Im just minutes north of Lutz in Land O Lakes. It really is nice here.

 

[tkd lisa]

My mom's financial planner is with Raymond James. She's very happy with him. I personally haven't switched to a local one yet. I know she's had the same guy for about 10 years. In fact, she lives 2 1/2 hours south, but he comes down about every 3 months to see her.

Raymond James does have some very nice perks for their customers, and I think the employees get them too. They sponsor a concert in the summer at RJ stadium (where the Bucs play) and everyone gets in free. It's classical type music, but it was nice. They also do a holiday party that's supposedly very nice. My mom was going to go this year, but I had a church performance that day and she didn't want to go alone.

I think the main office is in Clearwater, but I would imagine that you could work largely out of your home so you could live anywhere in the area. Pinnelas County seems to have higher prices for housing. My realtor was from that area, and he commented several times that I was getting much more for my money in Eastern Hillsborough than he saw in Pinnelas.

As far as housing, I'm not sure how it will compare. If you were coming from the east or west coast, I'd say it would be easy peasey to find housing you thought was worth it. For me, I was very pleased with the housing market. But the midwest tends to be cheaper in the housing area.

I also live in Valrico. I bought my house in October (it was a hot sellers market then). It's about 1800 square feet, 4 bed, 3 bath 2 car garage. Community pool, park, ball fields and security (non-gated though). House was $255k.

The housing market has cooled off a lot since then. I know several people who are selling their houses and they've been on the market 3-5 months. So this would probably be a good time to move into the area.

pm me if you want more particulars. I'd be happy to give you the contact info for my mom's planner. He does seem to be a very nice guy (from what I get from his emails anyway).

 

[Poohnatic]

Yes, heard of the company and pass by their building (just off 275) when I go to visit my stepdad in St. Pete.

The housing market here has just entered a slowdown-so the prices are about 5% lower than last year for some areas.

I'm can't tell you about about Pinellas Co schools, since all my research for moving here was on Lake/Polk and Hillsborough county, but you can research the schools. If you'd like, I'll PM you the link-it's on DH's pc.

Based on where it is, I'd probably center my search for a place to live in Pinellas county-then you don't deal with the Frankland bridge traffic each day. However, if you decide you have to live in Hillsborough County, you can find newer houses well below that 450 cap in Valrico and Riverview and take the Crosstown(toll) and Gandy to work (about 45 minutes). The office building is easily accessible from Clearwater and St. Pete

Good luck!

Suzanne

 

[pozey]

Thanks all. I need to do some research.

 

[Mickey's sunshine]

I know there are a couple ladies here that work for RJ. (I will try to PM them to see if they will help you out).

I think you should be able to find some homes in the Pinellas area in your price range....probably in northern Pinellas County. I have never been in the market to buy a home so I cant help you there. I can say I have heard all good things about RJ and they do give some good employee perks!

 

[Crankyshank]

Dh's family is almost all in FL (Pinellas and Pasco County). I lived in Tampa and Clearwater in the 90's and still have friends in the area as well

I know people who work for RJ and like it. They are pretty good to their employees.
As far as housing goes, you should be fine in your price range in most of Pasco and Pinellas County. Where to look depends on how far of a commute. MIL and FIL live in New Port Richey which is nice. A bit built up recently and has a brand new school. the school system is pretty good (DH was a product of it and MIL teaches there). FIL works in Tampa and it's about a 45min drive for him. SIL lives in Holiday and likes it a lot. DH's aunt just moved to a community in Odessa and it is gorgeous! A bit pricey though
A lot of my friends that work in Tampa live in Oldsmar but I'm not sure how the school system is since none of them have kids

 

[Chrissi Pooh]

I work for RJ, this August it will be 10 years and I can't complain. Don't be mistaken like most though, just because the stadium is named after us we don't get free tickets!!

As for housing I rent so I can't help you there. Good Luck!!

 

[pozey]

I work for RJ, this August it will be 10 years and I can't complain. Don't be mistaken like most though, just because the stadium is named after us we don't get free tickets!!

As for housing I rent so I can't help you there. Good Luck!!

Thanks again for the replies.

So, Chrissi Pooh.......I assume since you have worked there for 10 years, that it is a pretty decent place to work. May I ask a few questions?

Like......What department or organization do you work in?
What is the dress code?
Is it a pretty relaxed atmosphere?

Thanks again!

 

[Chrissi Pooh]

I actually work for Eagle which is within RJ.
Dress code is what I would call business casual, the guys wear khakis and polos basically no jeans until friday, no shorts your supposed to wear hose but most of us don't.
The atmosphere depends on the department, mine is pretty laid back but go a couple floors down and it's a different story.
I love my job and the people I work with so it works for me.

Can I ask do you know what area the job is for???

 

[pozey]

I actually work for Eagle which is within RJ.
Dress code is what I would call business casual, the guys wear khakis and polos basically no jeans until friday, no shorts your supposed to wear hose but most of us don't.
The atmosphere depends on the department, mine is pretty laid back but go a couple floors down and it's a different story.
I love my job and the people I work with so it works for me.

Can I ask do you know what area the job is for???

It would be in IT - I think the specific title is Systems Analyst.

 

[Chrissi Pooh]

Well I have a few friends here in IT and they are wonderful and seem happy in their job but of course there are IT peopl all over so that doesn't guarantee which building you would be in or floor but maybe it will make you feel a little better!!! If you do get the job you will have to send me a PM and let me know, I can meet you in the cafe or something sometime!!!! Good Luck!!

 

[TEENEE]

I've been with RJ for 19 years. Every company has it's good points and bad points. The company does try to do give us little perks, like family fun days -which is usually a free ticket to an amusement park for the employee and discounted rate for family members. Once a year they offer a free concert at Raymond James stadium with the Florida Orchestra. The usual discounted rates on theme parks etc that most big companies offer. Our dress code is business casual Mon-Thurs and casual on Fridays. We get all the NYSE holidays. Your experience working here will depend on the department you work for and the supervisor you have. Some are more relaxed then others. Chrissi Pooh and I both work for a money management department.

 

[UrsulasMyHero]

My brother's gf works for Raymond James. I live in Tampa, and have a 3 bedroom apt for around $1500 a month. I go to school in Clearwater, not far fro the RJ building and it takes me about 30 minutes to get to the place from my home in the am, depending on traffic. There are a LOT of homes for sale.

PM me and I'll be happy to talk to you at any time. Good luck.

 

[LadyyRedd]

I have a good friend who works for Raymond James in Tampa. He's been in that area a bit over a year (moved from MD). He loves it there.

Kimya