Move to Florida full time???

[castanea1985]

Hi
Has anyone thought of moving out to Florida full time? Or is anyone in the process of it? Or is anyone thinking of being snowbirds??

I always think of US being my second home - I think once you've been, you don't want to go anywhere else (some odd people don't like it though!)
We fully intend to spend a lot more time out there when we near retirement age, and are hopefully going to buy a property in the next few years.

We have also looked into moving out there on an E2 visa, but had some friends who did and had to come home because things didn't work out.

Just wondering if anyone on this dis board feels as strongly about the US as we do?? I could live anywhere south of Virginia, quite easily!

Tracy

 

[Minniespal]

I would love to move to San Francisco. We have thought seriously about it and hopefully one day we will get a chance to move there.

 

[Chilly]

I don't think I could live full time abroad but a holiday home out there would be nice.

I've heard a lot of people have problems when they try to live in Florida full time.

 

[angel659]

Hi

We fully intend to move to FL once I am a qualified Nurse. Fingers crossed I can use this as an entrance. Would love to move out there tomorrow if we could afford it.

 

[Boo Boo Too]

Would love to move to the US (probably California - LA area), but things are not practical - husband has his own software business and is heavily tied to the UK (most of his clients and his very good employees are here).

The weather in Southern California is generally more settled than florida (less rain, less severe weather, less humidity etc) and Southern California is well located for both beaches and skiing (Colorado, Utah, California) - we love skiing too.

Could be tempted to have a second home over there though - and spend more time in the US. Husband could work remotely for some of the time (but would have to fly back for meetings etc). If we went for a 2nd home, then Florida could be a good place - we have relatives in the LA area, so having a holiday home there doesn't make too much sense... (since we tend to stay with them anyway).

Boo

 

[Cyrano]

My worry would be that as it is no longer a holiday it would loose its appeal.

 

[angel659]

For me many reasons.

1) I do not like winters
2) Love to move to the USA, has similar lifestyle as us
3) Good standard of living compared to Europe etc.
4) Better opportunities than NZ
5) I love the climiate and the type of weather
6) List goes on and on

 

[Goofyish]

I think people only see the nice things about living in the US - high medical costs, short holidays, having to build a credit history from scratch are all things that need to be taken into consideration

 

[stitch&ariel]

On one hand I would love to move to Florida as I adore it there, the weather, scenery, shopping etc
But at the same time I love having my holiday there to look forward to and wonder whether it would take away that spark!

 

[Boo Boo Too]

On one hand I would love to move to Florida as I adore it there, the weather, scenery, shopping etc

Is the weather in Florida truly great though? All year round? You have the hurricanes, quite a lot of rain, very high humidity and heat during the Summer...

Maybe great if you can avoid the hurricanes and spend your days by the pool or in shorts and top, but imagine being in a suit in the middle of Summer or having a job that meant you spend quite a bit of time outside (in the humidity and heat)?

Probably why California would be better for living...

It is funny what Goofyish said... when we were in LA last week a guy serving at McDonald's asked where I was from. When I said "England", he siad that it would be "really nice living in England - a lot better than here"... amazing how grass is always greener... As Goofyish said - there are often lots of aspects of living in the US that we don't think about.

Boo

 

[castanea1985]

Hi,

After years of deliberations, we will probably go for a holiday home there! My cousin is a vet in Chicago, so might see if she wants to go halves!!
After hearing some nightmere stories of E2'ers I wouldn't really want to go through all the hastles of getting credit, etc...
Anyway, we've still got one child at school and another just started her second year of a law degree, so we've got plenty of time to decide, but I know the US features heavily in it!!
As I said before, anywhere south of Virginia (milder winters) would do me!
I could quite easily be 'plonked' on a beach in the outer banks!
Still, I'll have to put up with 2 weeks a year for a little while longer!

Tracy

 

[Netty]

we want to live in canada, but dh has to find a job there first...

 

[catherine]

I think people only see the nice things about living in the US - high medical costs, short holidays, having to build a credit history from scratch are all things that need to be taken into consideration

ITA

The rest of my family DH and DD's are American citizens and I lived in CA for 10 years, so I speak from some experience. We could move back to the states at any time that we chose to and we have considered it several times. In fact the last time we were considering it when we were staying with DMIL she advised us against it. She said that as much as she would love to have here DGDs living close by she thought that because of the state of health care and education in the US at the moment we would be better off staying in the UK. As much as I love CA and I love it dearly, and am always homesick when I hear of others going there, I think about my DDs education and the impact it would have on them. I'm not too worried about the healthcare side of things as I'm a nurse and so I would get good benefits. However I've seen what happens to people who cannot afford good healthcare coverage and it aint pretty! Perhaps some day when our girls are older we may move back. DH always tells people it's a lovely place to go for a vacation!

 

[catherine]

Hi

We fully intend to move to FL once I am a qualified Nurse. Fingers crossed I can use this as an entrance. Would love to move out there tomorrow if we could afford it.

I don't think that hospitals in the US take newly qualified nurses. It used to be that you had to have two years experience, but things may have changed.

 

[florida sun]

Not sure about actually living there, but I would love a holiday home there, dream on though Sue

 

[mandymouse]

As soon as I win the lottery, we'll be buying a villa out there

 

[natalielongstaff]

i would not consider moving abroad full time...i love england and would miss my family and friends too much, that said i would happily have a holiday home somewhere

 

[angel659]

I don't think that hospitals in the US take newly qualified nurses. It used to be that you had to have two years experience, but things may have changed.

Thats true, but I didnt quite meant it as I put it. Sorry I came in from a night shift and replied to this thread. Perhaps I should of elaberated my reply.

I have to pass all exams i.e NCLEX etc before I can even think about moving to FL or CA. Even pass the local state exams. This can take some time. I can not take them until I have been qualified for a year. By the time I have taken my exams and have arranged my VISA then I would of probably had 3 years experience.

I am not too fussed regarding time of. Working on shifts you can pretty much work more hours to be entitled to time off or work more hours one week and less the next. This is what I can do on my ward if I need a week off.

Also the healthcare. As mentioned working as a nurse this is normally in your entitlements or at least is a foreign nurse package. I have a few friends at work who are taking thier NCLEX exams.

We are also interested in moving to New Zealand or Australia, but the opportunities are not as good as some parts of the US. I hate winter and its depressing being forced to stay in your house and being unable to have friends over for a bbq and enjoying the sun. Winters are dull, dull, dull. Cant you tell I am suffering with SAD already

We are still thinking of where and what we want to do. The main reason that I have doubts about the US is gun crime and crime in general. Hence why we are also looking at New Zeland and Australia. Fingers crossed time will only tell for us. We still have 5 years to decide.

 

[catherine]

Thats true, but I didnt quite meant it as I put it. Sorry I came in from a night shift and replied to this thread. Perhaps I should of elaberated my reply.

I have to pass all exams i.e NCLEX etc before I can even think about moving to FL or CA. Even pass the local state exams. This can take some time. I can not take them until I have been qualified for a year. By the time I have taken my exams and have arranged my VISA then I would of probably had 3 years experience.

I am not too fussed regarding time of. Working on shifts you can pretty much work more hours to be entitled to time off or work more hours one week and less the next. This is what I can do on my ward if I need a week off.

Also the healthcare. As mentioned working as a nurse this is normally in your entitlements or at least is a foreign nurse package. I have a few friends at work who are taking thier NCLEX exams.

We are also interested in moving to New Zealand or Australia, but the opportunities are not as good as some parts of the US. I hate winter and its depressing being forced to stay in your house and being unable to have friends over for a bbq and enjoying the sun. Winters are dull, dull, dull. Cant you tell I am suffering with SAD already

We are still thinking of where and what we want to do. The main reason that I have doubts about the US is gun crime and crime in general. Hence why we are also looking at New Zeland and Australia. Fingers crossed time will only tell for us. We still have 5 years to decide.

When I used to work night shifts it always reminded me of having jet lag!

DH and I found that we did not need as many days holiday when we worked in the US there were always plenty of things to do on the weekend and that felt like a mini vacation! The whole time I lived in CA I felt like I was on vacation!

Wherever you decide to emigrate to I hope that everything works out well for you!

 

[Laurafoster]

I would love to emigrate as we do not have many family here to be honest. However i really doubt i would ever move to Florida. The main reason for me not wanting to move to Florida is that i love going to WDW and love the excitement of booking a holiday there and the build up etc. If i lived so close i could go several times a year or more i think it would lose its appeal.