Florida residents I need you help really bad

[bambii]

My husband and I want to move to Florida cause of the weather cant stand the cold any more.. and my son has cold weather asthma..

My inlaw are moving from sarasota to erie penn. cause of the crime in florida so my husband is now down there visting, and i gave him a list of apartments, and my mom in law didnt like any of the places. because she is worried about the sex offenders down there..

my list included brandon, tampa, sarasota, bradenton, she didnt like any of those so i emailed a new list...and i want your opinion.. of these places Tarpon spring, port charlotte, and lakeland

I would love your help

 

[TDC Nala]

There are sex offenders in Pennsylvania too.

 

[ophie]

I'm sorry, I don't live near any of the three locations you're asking about. You should know though that Port Charlotte is where Hurricane Charley came ashore last year and there's still a lot of re-building to be done there.

Are you set on SW Florida? I mean... it's a big state, you know?

 

[nile455]

My husband and I want to move to Florida cause of the weather cant stand the cold any more.. and my son has cold weather asthma..

My inlaw are moving from sarasota to erie penn. cause of the crime in florida so my husband is now down there visting, and i gave him a list of apartments, and my mom in law didnt like any of the places. because she is worried about the sex offenders down there..

my list included brandon, tampa, sarasota, bradenton, she didnt like any of those so i emailed a new list...and i want your opinion.. of these places Tarpon spring, port charlotte, and lakeland

I would love your help

Why west coast? Why don't you move closer to Mickey? There are countless suburban areas within 30 miles of WDW. I live in Seminole Country (Altamonte Springs, Sanford, Longood, Oviedo, etc). It keeps growing, and has some great schools too. I love it here.

 

[bsnyder]

There are sex offenders in Pennsylvania too.

Yep.


To the OP:

You have a far greater statistical chance of dying in a car accident in your drive down to Florida as you do crossing paths with a sex offender.

Better stay put.

 

[bambii]

we are sports freaks and that is one thing we miss in south dakota is pro teams.

 

[nile455]

we are sports freaks and that is one thing we miss in south dakota is pro teams.

Sports freaks? You must move to Orlando then. Check out this article!

http://hometown.aol.com/orlsportsmecca/Orlandosports.html

 

[ducklite]

There are sex offenders in Pennsylvania too.

That was exactly my thought. First of all, you're a big girl now, move where you want rather than where you MIL wants you to.

There are more sporting events in FLorida within a three hour drive than probably jsut about anywhere except the NY/NJ metro area.

My first question is where are you going to work, and have you researched emplyment opportunities? That will be your number one factor in chhosing and area to live in.

Anne

 

[Galahad]

We left Florida too and there were a lot of things we didn't like about it. But the cities you listed don't have any more sex offenders than anywhere else as far as I know. We lived in Brandon and it was a nice place. 45 minutes from Mickey but right next to Tampa for a good jobs situation. I'd prefer Brandon, Bradenton or Sarasota to Tampa proper. I'd also prefer the west coast to the east coast, FWIW.

 

[chyam]

Number 1 on your list should be employment and if jobs are available in your field in those areas.......
Number 2 on your list should be the school system since you have small children.
Number 3 should be do you want a large, medium or smaller community.
Then stare chosing from there.
I live in the Tampa/St. Pete area.....it is huge! The Sarasota area is beautiful but also getting quite expensive.
I have been looking towards the Lakeland area since it is close to Mickey, close to Tampa and all the cultural events, sporting venues, concerts and still close to 2 major airports........Tampa and Orlando.
Also the further south you do move the warmer it will be in the summer.
There are many areas where you can still get a "somewhat" change of seasons..........Like the Tallahassee area or the more northern cities.
There are also many small towns that are very nice, but it really depends on your career.
I wouldn't worry so much about crime unless you do move to a BIG city, where there is more, but in reality it is everywhere!
Good luck and do your research, it will be a big change from South Dakota!

 

[floridafam]

We lived in Holiday at one time, which is just North of Tarpon Springs. Tarpon Springs is nice. My Doctor's office was there and they have a nice hospital-Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital.

It's pretty and has a nice little main street by the water with a lot of greek restaurants.

We always drove down to Clearwater and Sand Key to go to the beach and park. There are some nice parks in Tarpon, too. Honeymoon Island and Caladesi State park are nearby.

 

[Hootiss]

I live in Port Charlotte, what questions do you have? The local paper is sun-herald.com You can goolge Charlotte county schools for the local website. What kind of work are you looking for. We are still recovering from Charley, so there is a high demand for construction, electrical, pool cage etc. work. I have 2 children who attend Meadow Park Elem. it is a great school. There are not alot of apartment complexes here, but a new one just opened I think it is called The Lakes of Tuscany. Rent is not cheap here, neither is housing. After the storm prices skyrocketed. Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[scanne]

Many good points were brought up by other posters.

Here's my .02.

My aunt and uncle live in Clearwater which is about 30 minutes outside of Tampa. A very nice area. DH looked into moving to the Tampa area (we didn't b/c I got pregnant and wanted to be close to my parents) and we were looking at Sarasota, Bradenton, Brandon and Tampa proper. There were others, as well.

But I 100% agree that sex offenders are everywhere. Is the reason your MIL giving you more due to the fact that she wants to be close to her grandson? Just a thought.

Do what YOU want to do and do them for the RIGHT reasons. JMHO.

 

[phillybeth]

There are sex offenders in Pennsylvania too.

There are sex offenders EVERYWHERE.

 

[GeorgeG]

We've only been in Florida a little over one month so I can't speak with any real authority on any specific areas. However, we moved primarily to get away from the cold and also for retirement.

There are a lot of really nice areas in Florida and choosing one would depend on your personal needs and preferences. Do a lot of research and weigh all issues as objectively as you can.

We were told about all the heat, bugs, huricanes, "snowbird gridlock," and other negative aspects of moving here, and all by the same people who come down year after year themselves. Remember there are trade-offs in just about any place you go as well as where you may be coming from.

We, too, faced family opposition to our move. You must do what is best for your immediate family. The others will get over it. If not, too bad.

Keep researching and good luck.

 

[DVCJEN]

Do either you or your DH have employment lined up? If not, in the current job market, I would definately warn against a blind move. It could have catostophic results on your finances. Perhaps getting emploment first would be the major deciding factor in where to move.

 

[mickeysgal]

Do either you or your DH have employment lined up? If not, in the current job market, I would definately warn against a blind move. It could have catostophic results on your finances. Perhaps getting emploment first would be the major deciding factor in where to move.

I couldn't agree more!!!! Employment is KEY. Its the MAJOR KEY. If you need to move due to your DS's health condition or just need to get out of those harsh winters, remember there are other warm places to move that do not have the winter conditions that you currently experience. Georgia and South Carolina also offer beautiful weather with very light winter weather.

Getting back to Florida...friends of ours live in Palm Harbor (north of Tampa around Tarpon Springs). I like it there and they love their schools. Tarpon Springs didn't do much for me...research those schools carefully. This past weekend we were down in Naples/Bonita Beach visiting family. It was a beautiful area thats just booming with construction. Tons of construction, restaurants, etc. but I couldn't tell you about the school systems there. Lovely area, but very expensive, in my opinion.

Your #1 focus should be employment, employment, employment! #2 is GREAT schooling. Be very careful here. You want to make sure know your options in schooling. In other words, if the public schools aren't that great, you should have a strong option available in the area for private schooling or home schooling.

In regards to crime, I think if you avoid major, inner city living and you stick to the surrounding suburbs of a major city, you should be ok.

Good luck!

 

[floridafam]

Dh transferred within his company when we made our moves.

What kind of work are you looking for?

 

[ducklite]

Do either you or your DH have employment lined up? If not, in the current job market, I would definately warn against a blind move. It could have catostophic results on your finances. Perhaps getting emploment first would be the major deciding factor in where to move.

I very much agree! Although I spent months trying to find a job here--part of my problem was some compnaies didn't even want to interview me until I became a permanent resident.

I did do months of research and knew the area, what various potions were paying, how far I might have to travel, etc. before I made my move. I was also willing to temp and DH carries our health insurance, so that was another thing you need to think about.

Anne

 

[ophie]

Sports freaks? You must move to Orlando then. Check out this article!

http://hometown.aol.com/orlsportsmecca/Orlandosports.html

There's no pro football (NFL anyway) in Orlando.

I have to agree with the previous posters. You really ought to be looking at employment and schools... not sports teams.