Any FL Photographers Here? (WAAAY OT)

[RBennett]

Ok, so we all tend to be EXTREMELY helpful when someone has a question so I'm hoping now is no exception. So DW and I are SERIOUSLY talking about relocating to Florida for many reasons, but our biggest two is Disney and family. We are actually looking at going to the Vero Beach area, but I am MAJORLY concerned about finding a job in the area which leads to my question. Is anyone halfway familiar with this area?? I know, I know. You're probably asking "If he knows nothing about this area, why is he moving there and not somewhere else???" Well the answer to that is one of my reasons. I have family that is looking into that area and I really want to stay close to them. But can anyone give me any sort of information as far as how big the area is or their opinion on the job market around there? I'm not looking for a certain field as I am willing to do ANYTHING to make this work. THANKS!!!

 

[zackiedawg]

Good and bad news: The good news is that the housing market is decent in the central coast area - if you're willing to look in the general vicinity of Vero...including south and north a bit, the houses are significantly less expensive than South Florida and Central Florida. Taxes aren't too high, but insurance stinks (hurricanes!). No state taxes either which is nice. Pretty area - lots of nature around, with the beaches, intercoastals, rivers, wetlands areas, etc.

The bad news is that the job market is a bit depressed. It's not as bad as in some parts of the country, but it's not great. If you've got a professional degree, you've got a chance of sliding into your specialty, but if you're just on the hunt, there's not a lot open. South Florida is slightly more open job-wise - still not great, but better than much of the nation. Central coast Florida was in a boom for the past decade (especially Port St. Lucie), and once the economy turned, the housing market crashed hard in the real estate bust, jobs slowed, less people moved in, less big companies relocated up there to offer new jobs, and the area is not a large industrial or corporate complex - the entire area is really more a series of towns than an actual city, so it doesn't tend to have the infrastructure that large metropolitan areas do.

If you keep your sights broad, and are willing to search within a 60 mile perimeter of Vero area, it will give you other town clusters to enlarge your job hunt area, and give you a better chance. There are a surprising number of people who commute in and out of as far south as Palm Beach and as far north as Daytona...with the population still not too out of control, highways rarely suffer heavy traffic unless there's an accident, so you can jump on the freeway for a 70-80mph commute and be there in under an hour. Palm Beach is relatively close too, so you might consider hunting around as far south as Boynton Beach/Delray Beach, which still puts you only an hour and change from your friends or family if they choose to live in the Treasure Coast area. It's all pretty connected - I'm all the way south in Boca Raton, yet my local news channels out of Palm Beach cover from my city all the way to Vero for local news.

That's about as much as I know about it - I'm fortunately not on a hunt for jobs, and have lived here for quite a while, before the boom hit farther north. But we get a feel for it on the local news, with more of the job problems, unemployment, housing woes (many foreclosures and tons of available houses which is killing the real estate market - good news for newcomers) up north in the Treasure Coast area.

Hope that helps!

 

[jann1033]

i don't live there but we love the area( husband has attended a school for his work there a few times plus we have vacationed there one other time) and if i ever moved to fl it would probably be slightly north of Vero. Vero Beach itself is pretty upscale but inland it seems more "normal". we were there in Nov of 2007 and there were a lot of beach front properties up for sale around Sebastian Beach and slightly north, think due to the hurricanes from a few yrs back( i think they got hit with 5 if i remember right.) the problem with that( as i found out from someone in SC looking to move from fort pierce the next yr) is the insurance rates went up so high people couldn't afford to stay in their houses. that couple and their mother had to move due to that. they still might be higher than other places
I think south of Vero, like some of the Fort Pierce area might be a little seeder( that is what some guy husband knows from Vero said, for what it's worth) some nicer high rises there but it looked a lot less tourist driven and more empty shops etc.

food and gas etc seemed about the same prices as we pay in Ohio, the housing seemed either ginormous or smallish ranch types, like lower to mid middle class here , upper class in vero beach itself pretty much. our economy stinks right now but before it was pretty much in line with the rest of the midwest as to housing etc.( now you can buy a 2000 sq ft century home in the area i live in for 80,000 , if you have a job that is, last yr it would have been closer to 200,000, ie people have lost their shirts )

One thing they told us at Vero Disney( landscape tour) was it's about 10 degrees cooler in Vero than say Orlando. not a bad thing to me....

and it seemed like practically every resident we met and talked to was from Ohio,not sure if that is good or bad

 

[ssanders79]

We relocated from Columbus, OH to Tampa in 2005. First, keep in mind that you will no longer be on vacation when you are here. However, the best part is that you get FL rate at Disney and can go anytime you want when the crowds are low. We have annual passes and do not use our passes during the summer tourist season. Why fight the crowds. Fifteen minutes is the limit to waiting in a ride line. Spoiled, a little

As for the jobs you will depend on the industry you are looking to work in. For example, my wife is an RN and had no problems finding work. I on the other hand have been having a tough time finding a job in healthcare administration/IT. Times are getting tough in the FL job market. If companys are not laying people off they are having hiring freezes.

The housing market is great right now for buyers, if you have time spend (1mo to a year) you can put an offer in on a short sale and save even more.

We do not regret our move and would do it again in a heartbeat. Just make sure everyone in your family is on board with the decision as it is not something to be taken lightly.

 

[ukcatfan]

We have been down here over six years now and are very happy. It is hard for me to directly compare though b/c the west and east coasts are different. As for insurance, we did also notice that health and auto insurance is more expensive here, so be sure to consider everything before making the move. Even groceries are more expensive compared to where we came from.