Has anyone moved to FL away from family and regretted it?

[Feralpeg]

We moved to the Orlando area, from the Midwest, ten years ago. I've never regretted it. I agree with a previous poster. It is what you make it. I did not move here expecting a perfect life. I knew that it would not be a daily vacation. We've have good times and bad times here just like we did in the Midwest.

That being said, I love living here. I love the weather. People worry to much about the heat in Florida. Please research the temps in Florida vs. other areas. You will find that they aren't that bad compared to many places. Yes, it can be very humid here, but it is also humid elsewhere and not every day has high humidity. Don't base you opinion of Florida weather based on you theme park experience. Walking around on heat soaked concrete is much worse than what you will experience if you live here and are not in the parks on a regular basis. The winters make up for any discomfort I might experience in the summer months (which isn't much).

I do have family in the Midwest, but we talk on a regular basis. Fortunately for me, my best friends love WDW and visit at least a couple of times a year. Best of all, I've met so many wonderful people since moving here. I have many great friends here. I am never lonely.

I would move here again in a heartbeat.

 

[minkydog]

Florida is a bit extreme for me, I'd never move there. Visiting once with record breaking temperatures was enough for me, and I'm use to heat from work. My wife and kids I thought were going to die!

.

I'm with you on this, only we HAVE lived in Florida. DH is from Pensacola and I'm from Mobile, AL, so we grew up with that oppressive heat and humidity. We bugged outta there about 5 months after we were married. We fled to Atlanta, GA, and made a life there. We have no family here and we like it just fine.

About 8 years later, we were transferred back to Pensacola and then to Miami.
Pensacola is not my favorite city anyway. But most of DHs family lived there and they were just overbearing. We made very few friends because of the demands of his family to always be there. If you've seen "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", you know what I mean (they're Greek, BTW.) Miami was worse. South Florida is oriented toward older adults and singles. We had to work really hard to find like-minded families to befriend. I don't love the weather there and I missed the 4 seasons of N. Georgia. When DH got the opportunity to move back, we jumped at it. I quit my job on the spot and we were outta there in 4 days, no exaggeration.

We go visit DHs mom and sister several times a year. they live on the Gulf Coast. I don't know how they stand it. Their electric bills are huge. The heat & humidity is terrible. The bugs are terrible. The beach is fantastic, but that's about it, for us. We always come home saying we could never live there again. We're just too fond of Georgia (been here 30 years and I don't think we're going anywhere!)

If you really want to give it a try, I'd recommend you rent out your house for 2 years. Find a house or condo in Florida and make a go of it. You'll figure out pretty quickly whether or not you can make it work.

 

[Art 1]

We currently live in western PA, and DH and I have talked about moving somewhere warmer for a while now. A job opportunity arose in DH's field in Jacksonville, and we are considering having him submit his resume for it, but he wants us to be pretty sure this is what we want before he goes for it. We have DS10 and DS8, our 8 year old is completely open and excited to the prospect of us moving, DS10 is willing but reluctant.

DH's family lives 3 hours from us, we see them a few times a year but there wouldn't be a drastic change in us seeing them if we moved to FL. My mom however lives 30 minutes from us and the boys are pretty close with her. We probably have a visit with her once every two weeks or so, and just she and I will meet once in awhile, but she is pretty busy with her own life. I mentioned the thought of us moving to FL and she doesn't like it, but would of course come visit us there.

So, my question is, has anyone been in a similar situation and gone through with the move? Are you happy you went through with it? We would look at the St Johns County area south of Jacksonville where it looks like the schools are very good. I also understand the climate would be drastically different from what we are used to, but I'd be very much looking forward to being able to do a lot of outdoor actvities. Here in PA, it feels like we haven't been able to enjoy being outside for a few months now. Thank you for any thoughts on this!

I live in SW Pa for years, never regretted leaving. The few times I've been back it seemed backwards to me. When I talk to my friends there they think it's the best place in the world to live. That's because they haven't lived any where else.

 

[tigerbelly]

My dad took a job in S Florida when I was a teen. I thought I wanted to move there (from Maine) but when I got there I was so miserable. I had a hard time fitting into the culture (West Palm Beach) and the schools were scary to me. I ended up moving back to Maine to finish high school and then after I finished I was sent back down to FL. Again I was miserable. But I met my (now) husband and we lived in Ft. Lauderdale for a few years before we moved to the midwest and back to Maine. Now coming full circle we kind of want to go back to FL. We have little kids now so probably not willing to move them away from family but we see ourselves maybe retiring there when the kids are college age. We don't see a huge future or opportunity for them here in rural Maine. So anyway--- My grandmother has been a snowbird for as long as I have been alive and she just sold her place in Tampa. I definitely see us following in her footsteps someday. My parent still own a home in Melbourne and I am often tempted to move right in there. Only one hour from Disney!!

 

[BlovesC]

Yes and no. Yes, I moved to FL from NJ, 1,000 miles away from my family and I regret it. But I regret it because of the Florida part, not the family-distance part! The move served its purpose though...I didn't move to FL because I couldn't resist its swampy allure, I followed DH (before we were married) who moved here for school, and we were both in awe of the supremely cheap real estate costs. It's definitely been an experience, we have a lovely home, made some nice friends, had a ton of fun at WDW... but it's been four years and I've been sick of it for at least the last three. I hate the weather...I miss seasons terribly and the past four years have honestly felt like one long year because there's no damn difference between March or December. We also picked the wrong area to settle down in, it's virtually the redneck capital of the world, all massive pick-ups, gun racks, Duck Dynasty shirts and thinly veiled bigotry. I swear, I moved down here with an open mind but everyone around me has beaten it closed.

It's definitely enlightening to experience new areas of the country...I think everyone could benefit from a change of scenery now and then. I am just very eagerly anticipating our future move to the exact opposite side of the country from FL.

 

[palmtreegirl]

Spent 8 years living in Florida, I grew up in NJ and all my family is now in PA/NJ.

I don't regret moving there, we had a blast!!! But this summer we decided it was time to go back near family. I have a 2 year old niece and I wanna watch her grow up and be in her life more then twice a year.

While I loved Florida, never thought we'd move back, I'm happy to be back here. It's nice having seasons again, I'm loving the snow and winter.

There are pros and cons to everywhere. I know you know the pros, so I'll list some cons.

-The heat. Sure it's nice having a mild winter(even though it does get cold) but 9 months of heat and humidity can be very annoying too.

-In the summer, it rains a lot. Crazy thunderstorms and very intense lightening.

-The bugs & other critters- giant bugs, so many kinds of spiders, ants that bite and they're everywhere. Snakes in the water, gators and amoebas in the lake water etc...

-Yes Publix is nice, but it's expensive! They pretty much have a monopoly down there and they know it.

-Tourists everywhere.

-High crime, not where we lived, but a lot of Orlando is a mess.

- Besides the beaches & themeparks there isn't a whole lot to do culture wise. Not a lot of quality museums etc..

The biggest con for me in the end was being so far from family. I'l admit I enjoyed it at first, but as the years went by I got homesick and finally this summer it was enough for us to move back. We're veery happy to be back up North.

Now that we're back i laugh at the impressions people have of Florida, they think it's a tropical paradise. But it's like everywhere else it has it's pros and cons.

My best advice I can give you is go down and scout out an area you think you may like, but don't go to Disney. Personally, I don't like Jacksonville at all but you may love it. If you decide to move rent first, that way it's only a year commitment and you can really get a feel for an area before you buy a house. We lived down there 4 years before we bought and lived in 3 different cities.

Good luck

 

[wgeo]

Well I don't know quite yet! We moved from WI to Fl about 4 weeks ago and so far we're not quite sure. I think in the end it's going to be good, but I tend to be a positive person by nature. We moved because of DH's job, he actually moved a few weeks before us and his job has been stressful and he's gone a lot which hasn't helped the transition. Our biggest mistake (although I don't blame ourselves, just wish it could have been different) is that we spent so much energy trying to get our house sold in WI that we didn't spend enough time learning about real estate down here. SO we moved to the Gulf Coast in Feb and needed to find a short term rental - yeah cuz that's easy and affordable! So we are crammed into a rental that is too small and are spending incredible amounts of time trying to purchase a house. I really think that once we get settled into a more comfortable living situation that things will definately improve.

As for the kids - they have mixed emotions. We didn't see family all that much when we lived in WI so they aren't missing family too much, and both grandparents have trips scheduled in April and May so they have something to look forward to which helps. It is their friends that they miss. Yes, they have been in school for 3 weeks now and they have made some new friends but they still miss their "best" friends, and last night my DS kept asking when he could fly home to visit them. Skype/facetime helps a lot and again I am really hoping that once we get into a decent house and they can invite their new friends over and settle into more routines that things will improve. But the past few weeks have sure had some up and down moments!

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

We did it - fully intending to stay. Built a house and everything. I tried to like Florida as a place to live - but just could not.

It may have been because we were in Tampa - which in my opinion is a vast cultural wasteland. Limited arts, culture, made up of chain restaurants etc. Missed plays, bands, opera, restaurants open 24 hours a day.

Even living an hour away from WDW was not enough - I found I totally lost the magic living that close. It was just not the same.

Tried for 2 years and said I am done - had a job within a week and moved back to Chicago. Husband stayed behind and sold the house and then he transferred back.

 

[North of Mouse]

We currently live in western PA, and DH and I have talked about moving somewhere warmer for a while now. A job opportunity arose in DH's field in Jacksonville, and we are considering having him submit his resume for it, but he wants us to be pretty sure this is what we want before he goes for it. We have DS10 and DS8, our 8 year old is completely open and excited to the prospect of us moving, DS10 is willing but reluctant.

DH's family lives 3 hours from us, we see them a few times a year but there wouldn't be a drastic change in us seeing them if we moved to FL. My mom however lives 30 minutes from us and the boys are pretty close with her. We probably have a visit with her once every two weeks or so, and just she and I will meet once in awhile, but she is pretty busy with her own life. I mentioned the thought of us moving to FL and she doesn't like it, but would of course come visit us there.

So, my question is, has anyone been in a similar situation and gone through with the move? Are you happy you went through with it? We would look at the St Johns County area south of Jacksonville where it looks like the schools are very good. I also understand the climate would be drastically different from what we are used to, but I'd be very much looking forward to being able to do a lot of outdoor actvities. Here in PA, it feels like we haven't been able to enjoy being outside for a few months now. Thank you for any thoughts on this!

I would say your 'motive' for moving would have a lot to do with your decision. I am a southern girl and would never live up north - could not deal with the never ending cold and snow - give me heat any day.

BUT, that is 'home' to you and that does make a lot of difference when you move from it. Also you mention all the 'fun' things that can be available (it's true) but that would be a small part of living in the deep south.

Posters are saying if you don't like it after a 'trial' just move back. I'd say I doubt it's that simple. For several reasons, but expense is a 'big' one, plus jobs are not exactly growing on trees these days, and you said he might not have a job to go back to.

Also, don't underestimate just how close you and your children are to your mother. The new 'will' wear off and then what you truly miss will set in.
Just be 'very' sure about the move - don't 'think' about 'I can always move back'. You can, but at a price!

 

[wgeo]

I would say your 'motive' for moving would have a lot to do with your decision. I am a southern girl and would never live up north - could not deal with the never ending cold and snow - give me heat any day.

BUT, that is 'home' to you and that does make a lot of difference when you move from it. Also you mention all the 'fun' things that can be available (it's true) but that would be a small part of living in the deep south.

Posters are saying if you don't like it after a 'trial' just move back. I'd say I doubt it's that simple. For several reasons, but expense is a 'big' one, plus jobs are not exactly growing on trees these days, and you said he might not have a job to go back to.

Also, don't underestimate just how close you and your children are to your mother. The new 'will' wear off and then what you truly miss will set in.
Just be 'very' sure about the move - don't 'think' about 'I can always move back'. You can, but at a price!

This is very true - we just registered our cars and got driver's licenses and the cost was around $1000 It won't ever be that expensive again, but that would be crazy to spend that while thinking that we could just move back to WI and pay all over to register them again next year.

I also think that if your attitude plays a big role. If you always have it in the back of your head that you might not like it and that you might move back home, in my opinion, the chances are greater that you might just do that.

 

[lauradis]

I would say your 'motive' for moving would have a lot to do with your decision. I am a southern girl and would never live up north - could not deal with the never ending cold and snow - give me heat any day.

BUT, that is 'home' to you and that does make a lot of difference when you move from it. Also you mention all the 'fun' things that can be available (it's true) but that would be a small part of living in the deep south.

Posters are saying if you don't like it after a 'trial' just move back. I'd say I doubt it's that simple. For several reasons, but expense is a 'big' one, plus jobs are not exactly growing on trees these days, and you said he might not have a job to go back to.

Also, don't underestimate just how close you and your children are to your mother. The new 'will' wear off and then what you truly miss will set in.
Just be 'very' sure about the move - don't 'think' about 'I can always move back'. You can, but at a price!

Amen sister, but I feel in love with a northerner darn him. lol 12 more years and Im free of snow belts.

Cant wait to feel the heat of the sun only 3 more months.

 

[DizneeCM]

I haven't made the move to Florida, but my sister and her family moved there from the northeast about three years ago. She and her DH are pretty happy, but her DS12 would have preferred to have stayed up here (even though he has a lot of friends and is active in sports, he really doesn't like the climate). Her DD14 has settled in well.

They live very close to the beach but rarely go (they don't use their pool much either).

They did spend some time vacationing in their community prior to the move and also made sure that the elementary/middle school in the area was well-ranked (took some time to look at the high school options as well).

I think one of my sister's few regrets is that she didn't take our elderly mother's poor health into consideration before deciding to move. Our mom has been going downhill and my sister feels guilty that she can't be here to help her - just something to keep in mind if you might be in that situation.

Finally, it was hard for them to be all alone in FL when they first moved - her DH had an almost-fatal health crisis, and they didn't know anyone well enough to ask for help with the kids, etc.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

 

[iluvallthingsdisney]

We are from New Jersey and took the leap and moved to the exact town you are looking at St. Johns. We lived in Julington Creek Plantation and absolutely loved it. We were there for 3 years while the kids were in elementary school. We were so sad to have to leave when my DH's job moved to TN.

I absolutely loved Julington Creek Elementary School. The principal, teachers, parents and kids really were a great bunch. School was rated a 10. St. Johns was a great suburb. Publix was down the street. Any store was within a 20 minute drive. St. Johns Town Center is about 25 minutes. Disney was a 2 1/2 hour drive. The beach was about a 30 minute drive.

We loved the weather. Summer's were hot, took some getting used to but the other seasons were great. There was a great community pool and we had one in the back yard. Tons of kids around, great place to raise a family. We have the best memories from our time there. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Ephany]

My BF and I were talking about this yesterday. We both came south on military moves and stayed. I'll admit I cried when I found out we were moving here, cried on the drive down, and cried for the first 6 months. Then I started school, made friends, found a job and things are much better. I'm in a career I would have never considered if we had moved back north and will graduate with my doctor of degree this term. It's hot and muggy and buggy a lot of the time, but then you have days like yesterday where it was 84 and the flowers were blooming and it was pretty darn perfect. I love the fact that I can wear flip flops or sandals the majority of the year and in a few weeks we'll be able to start going to the beach.

I don't plan on ever moving up north again. We lived in North Georgia for a few years and that's as far north as I ever want to go. I miss seasons occasionally, but then I see where it's -38F where my parents are living and I get over it. I do think a lot of it is finding a community that suits your needs and where you 'fit'. Renting for a year is a great suggestion; it'll allow you to see the good and bad of your chosen area. Thankfully DH and I are in complete agreement regarding where we want to live, so that helps. This area certainly isn't perfect, but the pros outweigh the cons.

 

[North of Mouse]

Amen sister, but I feel in love with a northerner darn him. lol 12 more years and Im free of snow belts.

Cant wait to feel the heat of the sun only 3 more months.

Awww, I'm so sorry!

My dh is from Ohio (looks like you live there) but he moved down south before we met and fortunately he loves the south, hates the harsh winters. You don't hear of too many born southerners saying "Oh, I would really love to live up north in all that cold and snow" LOL We lived in Maryland for 6 years when dh was transferred there - could not wait to move back down south.

Glad you have some southern summer sun to look forward to.

 

[ilovefh]

I'd so go for it!

We moved to FL 3.5 years ago. We LOVED it! Then we had DS..... (we weren't going to have any kids)

My mom came and stayed for 7 weeks when he was born and when she left I cried like a baby!

Honestly we loved our area, we had a great group of friends that were like family, I LOVED the school I taught at, our neighbors were awesome, we loved our doctors and especially LOVED our babysitter. We were 15 minutes outside of Disney and we went all the time. In fact myself and my two friends would go straight to Disney one night per week with our kids. I miss it a lot!

That being said, we wanted to raise DS near family. I grew up 5 houses from my grandparents and I wanted the same for him. Because of DH's job we would not have been able to come back to NH for holidays and they couldn't ever come for his birthday.

They did visit often but it just wasn't the same. You have to understand our family though. Before we moved we always went to my parents for dinner every Sunday. We celebrate all holidays with extended family. We go to the ocean each summer with my mom's family. We're a tight group. My cousin was the 5th person to hold DS when he was born (me, DH, my mom and dad first) because she flew into Florida with my Aunt the day after he was born.

The final thing that made DH ready to move was that his father passed away and we were 1500 miles away. He felt awful about that. Plus he had only seen his only grandson a handful of times. He didn't want something like that to happen with my family.

So here we are, freezing in NH again, but I wouldn't change the last 3 years for anything.

 

[skylizard]

I hate the weather...I miss seasons terribly and the past four years have honestly felt like one long year because there's no damn difference between March or December.

I felt the same way when I lived in FL. It just felt weird not having seasons. I ended up moving back up north and love the seasons again. Though I do miss being so close to Disney

As for family, we still live away from them and it is hard. Family doesn't visit as often as they say that they will and we end up having to travel to them most times.

 

[RadioNate]

I have lived in 8 states one of which was Florida. I returned "home" after about 15 years and honestly there are days I regret that more than I ever regretted living away.

I think previous posters gave out some great advice. You need 2 years. You just do. You aren't going to move in and have best friends. Everything is new. The first year you will just be getting settled. It takes a year, every time. The second year is when you get friends and really start enjoying a new city. No place (even moving 'home') became home for at least 2 years.

You have to try. Someone mentioned their friends with this. You have to just get out there and do it. If you meet people you have to get their numbers and call them. YOU have to make the plan. You can't wait for them to invite you or whatever, they have friends and family, you are new. Get your kids in activities asap. Join a gym. Take a class. You have to put in the effort to make your new city home.

Realize and accept that life will go on at 'home' without you. You don't live there. You will miss birthday parties and casual family dinners. You just will. Events will be planned without your input. All of this is OK however you need to be ok with it.

For me, now living at home is weird. Everyone is always, as I say, 'up in my business.' For years no one really cared where I went to dinner or with who because they didn't know those people. Now my family has a zillion questions about a new restaurant and can't understand why they don't know all of my friends. Yes, this stuff is VERY normal but when you aren't used to it, it can be overwhelming. But for you, you have to remember the flip side and that might be overwhelming. No one at home is going to care about the great restaurant you discovered. Their involvement in your day to day life will diminish. It isn't actually good or bad, it is just what you are comfortable with and can accept.

In your shoes, I would go. Moving has taught me more about life and the world and who I am than I could have ever imagined. I look at people who've lived their whole life w/in one sq mile and I just can't imagine it. I have friends all over. It's great. I loved it. But you have to do what is right for your family.

 

[avgeek81]

I moved to Florida 3 and a half years ago. I love it. I have a friend that I have known for 15 years who lives about 3 miles from me so I was ahead of the game with meeting people. My friend did have her own family, friends and work so there were still a lot of times where I wanted to do stuff but had no one to do it with.

If you are going to be near disney or visiting fairly often there are a lot of groups that meet there pretty regularly. I joined a group soon after i moved and people in the group have become good friends to me.

One good thing is that most people, at least around me, are not from florida so they don't have a lot of family here too. So you kind of become a family to each other. I have a good group of friends from work, we go to trivia Wednesday nights and some times go out one other night.

I do know some people miss the seasons. I don't. I do miss my friends from "home. But i know even if I moved back it wouldn't be the same as it was since people are in different places in their lives.

 

[pookie10]

I have a friend who moved from PA to FL for less than a year. The constant heat & huge bugs bothered her, but being away from family was the biggest issue. She still enjoys a vacation at WDW, but appreciates PA more since she moved back.

EEEK Yeah, this is one of my issues I worry about lol