Being out of work for 10 months tends to make one reevaluate their position in the job market New England is just too damn expensive to survive in very long without a decent income (and it's not exactly cheap even WITH a good income), so I have decided it's time to move someplace a bit cheaper.

As some of you are aware, I'm in the process of starting my own electronics design firm geared towards the automotive industry. As such, it is in the best interest of my company to be near a good car shop that wishes to have a mutually beneficial exchange of information and material. I will provide the shop with first dibs on my products (at cost, below cost, and possibly free, depending upon the product) in exchange for any and all information they can give me in terms of what customers want, what the shop needs/wants, help in debugging/trying out new software/hardware, etc.

So, my question to you all is this...can you suggest any shops that come highly recommended, are on the ball, provide good customer service, etc. and might be interested in such a deal? I would prefer not to see things like "I heard so-and-so shop was pretty good..." I would like to see recommendations like "Shop XYZ has been working for 10 years, customers are always satisfied with their work, they have famous guy so-and-so working there who's been in the business for 25 years..." Those types of recommendations make me happy.

I am also looking into areas in Texas and around Atlanta. Regardless, I'm also heavily interested in the cost of living surrounding the areas mentioned. I can get my business up and running from home, so any amount I can save here and there on rent/mortgage, food, parts, etc. is highly appreciated.

All I can promise at this point is that if a recommendation pans out and the business gets off the ground, the person(s) who suggested the "winning" ideas/locales will be rewarded.

Thanks,
Dan "MacGyver" Hintz

 

For me personally, my view of FL is split in two... you have Miami/South FL and the rest of FL. IMO Miami/South FL is where all the action is. Modding cars has become an integral part of the culture here, as much as Southern Cali. Living in Miami itself is a bit more expensive then the rest of FL, but less than New England and to me, at least, its not too much. As the general rule in real estate, its all about location. For example, an ocean-front 2/2 condo in the heart of South Beach will cost you $300K. But $300K could buy a nice 4/3.5 house in South Miami, say in Sunset or Pinecrest. The further north you go, the cheaper it will get. Broward/Fort Lauderdale is a nice place to live, its quiet, people are nice, but still close enough to Miami (about 20 miles). And if you're single... OH THE WOMEN IN MIAMI.



The rest of FL, north of Boca Raton doesn't appeal to me at all. I had many bad experiences driving through central, north Florida and the panhandle during college. I found the people to be ignorant and even racist. I guess being an Asian in a nice BMW from Miami didn't help. I used to get pulled over because I fit the "drug dealer" type and get strange stares at a hotel or gas station. I remember once I was denied service at a gas station because "money from my kind wasn't good enough" for the racist attendant. As for shops, what are you looking for? Stereo? Import Tuners? In South FL, Cartronics really stand out in my mind. They've been in business for as long as I can remember, 10 years plus and currently operating 4 stores. All of their car audio work is high quality. As for Import Tuners... Dynamic Turbo has made a name for itself here. They've been around since 95 and are operating 3 stores currently. I've had a lot of work done by both Cartronics and Dynamic Turbo in my current and past cars and they come highly recommended. You also may want to try our local sponsors... Pacific Performance and Cartek Tuning. Good luck Mac!

 

I live in Orlando, and I can see what mav is saying to an extent... There is a shop here in town that has some amazing credentials as far as building some seriously high HP engines... How about a 1000rwhp Supra with a stock bottom end? an 800 hp 4 cyl on a stock bottom end? How about being famous around the world among supra tuners and owners? the shop is called Garage Advance, and the man most infamous for turbo applications and tuning is named Angel... Al and the whole crew there are masterful. Custom manifolds and turbo kits are their specialty, but they also build some serious NA engines... They can tune the APEXi Power FC and HKS Fcon Pro as well, which is fairly rare, but not by any means exclusive.. Check them out @ www.garageadvance.com ... They also have a retail/wholesale side run by one of my teammates that specializes in JDM components and importing vehicles... They have the talent... They are also the only ones I would let touch my car... On another note, I hope all works out for you Mac... The cost of living down here is substantially lower than up north, but so is the avg. pay....

 

Yeah, I'd aim for anywhere south of (and including) Orlando. The panhandle is quite cheap, but I'd be surprised if you found a shop to your liking there. Central Florida doesn't seem to have much to offer either. Perhaps Jacksonville would be the exception? Anyway, something to note: Florida has no state income tax. So even though south Florida is relatively expensive compared to the rest of the state, it's still probably a bit cheaper than New England .

 

Good luck, wherever you decide to relocate...

As mentioned, Florida really only has a handful of automotive hotspots, SoFla, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville, so from an economic point of view, focusing your attention in those areas will be more rewarding.

As far as the non-SoFla residents being ignorant and racist, that is a stretch. True, there are pockets of very conservative and less-tolerant residents (Ocala area, Panhandle area), but I think you'll find that most of the metropolitan areas I've mentioned are as open and liberal in this respect as any other similarly sized city.

Having said that, I do concede the "Most Cosmopolitan" title to Mav's part of the state, SoFla.

 

I lived in Gainesville for 17 years...I'm aware of what kind of people exist in Florida...