OT Does any one on actually live

[rvchat]

in Florida?

I'm jealous!

And I'd be @ WDW once a month if we were!!!




How is life there?

 

[vicki_c]

Some people love it - we hated it. Just like anywhere else - it has good points and bad. If you like it hot, it could be a good fit for you.

Wages are low, though, compared to many other places. Even when we moved there, housing prices were sky high (they are not currently), but wages were still low - I had trouble negotiating my salary for more than I was currently making.

No state income tax - that's a plus or a minus, depending on how you look at it relative to services received, schools, etc.

I think it's just important to remember - that it's "real life", not vacation 24/7. Most people that are still working will not have time to run over to WDW all the time - life gets in the way.

 

[lucigo]

in Florida?

I'm jealous!

And I'd be @ WDW once a month if we were!!!




How is life there?

We live in Florida but still 450 miles from the mouse....

 

[rvchat]

there? Our friends and family who have moved to Fl

(although they are not a disney fanatic as I am)

LOVE Florida, especially south Fl.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

We do We live in Brevard County on a barrier island. How is life here? It's paradise! I should know, since I lived in h@ll for 30 years before we moved here Life here is wonderful, and we are at WDW at least once a month

Aside from the obvious part about living on the beach, the best part of life here is how CHEAP it is!! We make the same as we did in MA as our profession tends to pay about the same here as there, but everything is cheaper. We sold our other house in town and bought ourselves a McMansion a couple of months ago. Our new house was a foreclosure. It was well under 300K, and we did have quite a bit of competition for it. The location is outstanding, the pool area is to die for and the house itself is something that I never even fantasized about being able to own in my lifetime. My kids are soooo lucky to grow up here, that's all I can say!

 

[MinnieForMe]

Our best friends moved to Lutz, Florida three year's ago and say everyday is perfect! They absolutely love it. Their schools were ahead of ours (NH), her husband's job was an equal move and their new house is even bigger than her New England home (but much, much less land). If only there were software engineer jobs open, I'd convince my husband to move too! I hate the snow!

 

[vicki_c]

If only there were software engineer jobs open, I'd convince my husband to move too! I hate the snow!

http://www.employment.harris.com/index.html

Only 3 current jobs titled Software Engineer, 16 other engineering jobs (in Florida) some of which will also really be s/w engineers.

63 open jobs in Florida - not so many compared to a few years ago, but still. We have almost 600 openings world-wide.

There's also Northrop Grumman, DRS, and others.

 

[Virgderon]

We live in Tampa. Other than missing my parents, I absolutely love it here. We are out all the time- just came in from playing tennis. I would never be playing tennis on Dec. 5 in Chicago.

Cost of living is less, and entertainment is definitely less. No state income tax helps as well.

We have season passes to Universal, Busch Gardens and Sea World. We don't for the mouse because DD is seasonal there and can get us in for free. We go to the parks once every 6 weeks or so.

We took a pay cut to come here, but Dh was going to lose his job anyway. If I lose my job, I would work 2 jobs before I would go back to the snow and cold in Chicago. I really hate the endless grey days in February and March. Here in Florida, February and March are the best months.

 

[rvchat]

We do We live in Brevard County on a barrier island. How is life here? It's paradise! I should know, since I lived in h@ll for 30 years before we moved here Life here is wonderful, and we are at WDW at least once a month

Aside from the obvious part about living on the beach, the best part of life here is how CHEAP it is!! We make the same as we did in MA as our profession tends to pay about the same here as there, but everything is cheaper. We sold our other house in town and bought ourselves a McMansion a couple of months ago. Our new house was a foreclosure. It was well under 300K, and we did have quite a bit of competition for it. The location is outstanding, the pool area is to die for and the house itself is something that I never even fantasized about being able to own in my lifetime. My kids are soooo lucky to grow up here, that's all I can say!

HOW ARE SCHOOLS THERE? public are good or private?

 

[disneymom2one]

We live in Florida but still 450 miles from the mouse....

We live almost that far (Destin/Ft Walton Beach area). I absolutely love where we live - one of the best school systems in the state, little to no crime, great weather. We both work for one of the major employers here (not the military but another one) and love where we live.

That being said, we strongly considered a move to the Orlando area a few years back. It was a very, very easy decision to stay where we are.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Our best friends moved to Lutz, Florida three year's ago and say everyday is perfect! They absolutely love it. Their schools were ahead of ours (NH), her husband's job was an equal move and their new house is even bigger than her New England home (but much, much less land). If only there were software engineer jobs open, I'd convince my husband to move too! I hate the snow!

DH's company (in Florida obviously) is having the worst time finding the right software engineer for an opening right now. They aren't looking outside of the area, but perhaps they should if you all think that there aren't software openings in FL

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

HOW ARE SCHOOLS THERE? public are good or private?

They're great! My DD goes to private preschool but we're undecided for elementary. There are soooo many choices here. If she gets into the science lottery school then we will have to seriously consider it. I don't know what her odds really are, though, since like 90% of this county (us included) are engineers I'm exaggerating a bit, but not much! Seriously, everyone wants their kids at this school...it's the engineering parent's dream school

If the lottery fails us, then she'll either go to the other Montessori or to regular public school (but not our neighborhood school...I like a different one better). Like I said, we have so many school choices here! Parental involvement makes for some GREAT schools in this county. Private school here is dirt cheap, too. We pay ~6K/year, and that's considered expensive! Most schools here run around $5-$6K/year and then any siblings get discounted tuition...it's crazy!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

http://www.employment.harris.com/index.html

Only 3 current jobs titled Software Engineer, 16 other engineering jobs (in Florida) some of which will also really be s/w engineers.

63 open jobs in Florida - not so many compared to a few years ago, but still. We have almost 600 openings world-wide.

There's also Northrop Grumman, DRS, and others.

Are you in Brevard also? When I see Harris, Grumman and DRS in the same post it makes me wonder

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

If I lose my job, I would work 2 jobs before I would go back to the snow and cold in Chicago. I really hate the endless grey days in February and March. Here in Florida, February and March are the best months.

I wanted to second that sentiment...DH and I would also work multiple jobs before we moved back to where we came from originally.

The second part I must disagree with, though. We like it HOT! We can't use our pool (screened) until April at the earliest, and that's WITH propane heat. I have no use for Nov.-April

 

[vicki_c]

Are you in Brevard also? When I see Harris, Grumman and DRS in the same post it makes me wonder

Was - no longer. As I stated - we didn't like FL and transferred back north after only 2 years.

I do disagree with you on the schools though - we thought the schools in FL were terrible compared to where we were from. We sent our son to Catholic school while we lived in FL. That had nothing to do with why we moved away though.

 

[lucigo]

We live almost that far (Destin/Ft Walton Beach area). I absolutely love where we live - one of the best school systems in the state, little to no crime, great weather. We both work for one of the major employers here (not the military but another one) and love where we live.

That being said, we strongly considered a move to the Orlando area a few years back. It was a very, very easy decision to stay where we are.

Hi neighbor - we are in Pace. We also considered a move to Orlando, my DH actually taught for Orange County Schools from Jan-May of last year. The schools couldn't compare to here so when he was offered Navarre we jumped on it and took the house off the market!

 

[momxx5]

Both being born up north, DH & I started talking about moving out of FL shortly after we met.

We were not happy with the crime, jobs, area.

Our plan was to move before first baby started kindergarten.
We made that goal.

Now in NC and looking to go more north....economy real bad here.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Was - no longer. As I stated - we didn't like FL and transferred back north after only 2 years.

I do disagree with you on the schools though - we thought the schools in FL were terrible compared to where we were from. We sent our son to Catholic school while we lived in FL. That had nothing to do with why we moved away though.

Ah, I missed that part. Schools depend on your county so much here. We're very pleased w/what we've seen in Brevard County so far, though. I love all of the choices here too. Where we're from, we had one lousy town school and one lousy overcrowded Catholic school to choose from.

 

[Mrs.Reese]

I'm 2 1/2 hours from the mouse!! I'm a third-generation Floridian and have told my husband that we will NEVER live in a place with snow. We get to the parks about 2-3 times a year and are also passholders to Universal and Busch Gardens. We live in the more conservative area and it's honestly just ok. It's not unusual to hear people talk about being blessed. Not being church-goers is a bit of a negative here since that's how many people network.

 

[cbg1027]

Like any place, FL has it's ups and downs.

Living in a coastal town is nice because even when it's hotter than Hades, you get a nice sea breeze. On the other hand, you're in a hurricane danger zone.

The inland cities like Orlando, and where I live Tallahassee, are super hot and humid and it's just MISERABLE for 6 months of the year.

There are good schools in FL, but overall, FL ranks in the bottom half of the 50 states in terms of public education quality. I am very happy with the education I received here in Tallahassee though (mostly in public schools, couple of years in private too).

I am a bit over 4 hours from Disney, so I go 2-3 times a year because I still have to spend the money on a hotel and lose half a day with driving. I do like the FL resident discounts and not having to spend money on airfare quite a lot though.

Like some pps mentioned, there is no state income tax, but I agree that we lack some of the quality of public services and infrastructure other states do.

Real estate is not in a good place right now in FL. It's great if you're a buyer and planning to move here to stay long term though - lots of choices and low prices!

So is it paradide? No...but hey, the grass is always greener.