Relocating to FL

[PatriciaH]

My advice:

-Have a good job before you come
-Have plenty of money and no debt
-Rent for a while-home prices will keep dropping until they fix the tax and insurance mess here
-Private school
-Don't come just because of the weather. Bitter cold stinks but skin cancer, Red Tide and hurricanes are no fun either
-Florida is not cheap anymore-it is more expensive for us here than MA and we are making over $20,000/yr less. Our friends from CA, CT, NJ and NY say the same-it is more expensive here/they make less $

 

[umaangel00]

Let us know how it goes! I want to move so badly. I hate Michigan. Not only because of the Government here (and how run down She is making our state) but because of the winters. I am only 25 and DH is 27 but he will not listen. Now only if I could force my company to do a relocation for me.....hehe.

 

[syncsk8mom]

Thank you so much for all the advise!!!!!

Update:

My husband has 2 good job offers, one in West Palm Beach and one in Savannah. Both are Fortune 500 companies and both are for considerably more $$$$$.

Choices, choices.

The teenager will be at boarding school, so that will not be an issue and the baby is a LONG way from it being an issue.

The women from MI whose husband wants to stay, I say get out! Ohio and MI suffer from the same poor governor leadership problem! My husband was in the mortgage industry for years (family owned business) until the bottom just dropped out!!

I am still not sure were we are going. We will be visiting both areas in the next 2 weeks. When we have made our decision I will let everyone know.

Thanks again for all the advise!!!

 

[rparmfamily]

Savannah is wonderful, I have a friend who lives in the Richmond Hill area and loves it.

I moved from Cincy to FL as a sophomore too. I had some terrific teachers in both places.

LOVE Florida, it's my home now!! But I would live further "north" and not get stuck down south, evacuations for hurricanes are horrible!! The whole state gets tied up! At least from where I lived (near St Augustine) I was only over an hour from the state line and could get out if I needed to, but I never did need to evacuate. We lived 30-40 miles inland, which made a HUGE difference on our homeowners too.

 

[Ileana]

My advice:

-Have a good job before you come
-Have plenty of money and no debt
-Rent for a while-home prices will keep dropping until they fix the tax and insurance mess here
-Private school
-Don't come just because of the weather. Bitter cold stinks but skin cancer, Red Tide and hurricanes are no fun either
-Florida is not cheap anymore-it is more expensive for us here than MA and we are making over $20,000/yr less. Our friends from CA, CT, NJ and NY say the same-it is more expensive here/they make less $

What she said!

Bring money - lots of it.

You think snow is bad? Try traffic and blue hairs

 

[twinklebug]

You think snow is bad? Try traffic and blue hairs

LOL - Been there, done that. The traffic in the Orlando area is no worse than Boston and entire vicinity Instead of blue hairs we have road rage: ranked #2 this year on yahoo. Only beat out by New York (dang yankees, they'll do it every time LOL), now add ice. Hmmm, Bostonian Road Rage on Ice. Sounds like a new drink.

All joking aside, FL is expensive to live in. I have yet to understand why produce is so expensive down there. For anyone interested in moving, a quick, semi-acurate look at the cost of living/income by area side by side check out this calculator:

http://biospace.salary.com/CostOfLivingWizard/layoutscripts/coll_start.asp

There are obvious flaws in the calculations (too many assumed variables), but it does give a good glance at how you may fair before private school costs of course. If I were properly employeed (working on that) I'd be looking at near $5K drop in disposable income by relocating to the Orlando area.

 

[ampc3]

to the OP it sounds like maybe Naples is off the table? Just wanted to add my 2cents... We moved fromthe chicago area to naples when I was a sophmore in HS (84)... I of course loved moving to Florida where I could hang out as a teenager at the beach every weekend!
But you definitly need a whole lot of $$$$ it is not cheap anywhere! Even the "poor" sections that I remember we couldn't afford to live in.
And everything people have said about insurance etc. is very high. My mom still lives in Bonita Springs and she can't even get personal homeowners insurance!
Definitly take a look around the area you want to consider~ good luck!

 

[Ileana]

LOL - Been there, done that. The traffic in the Orlando area is no worse than Boston and entire vicinity Instead of blue hairs we have road rage: ranked #2 this year on yahoo. Only beat out by New York (dang yankees, they'll do it every time LOL), now add ice. Hmmm, Bostonian Road Rage on Ice. Sounds like a new drink.

All joking aside, FL is expensive to live in. I have yet to understand why produce is so expensive down there. For anyone interested in moving, a quick, semi-acurate look at the cost of living/income by area side by side check out this calculator:

http://biospace.salary.com/CostOfLivingWizard/layoutscripts/coll_start.asp

There are obvious flaws in the calculations (too many assumed variables), but it does give a good glance at how you may fair before private school costs of course. If I were properly employeed (working on that) I'd be looking at near $5K drop in disposable income by relocating to the Orlando area.

Orlando is Cake!! It's Miami that's horrendous

 

[simplify3]

I've lived in Naples, FL for 5 years now. In Golden Gate Estates area (which is the "sticks" part of Naples that few know about - the "Swampland in Florida to sell you" claim to fame I originally came down from NJ.

It's not cheap living, but it's very clean. It's probably cleaner than Disneyworld!

Ken
owner of free.naplesplus.us - 5000+ Collier County news articles per day. Jokes, Recipes, fun redneck medical tips and more.

 

[Cindi0511]

Hey, OP, I'm originally from Leroy Township, not too far from you! My DH was in the Navy for 9 years, and when we got out, we were in our early 30s and moved to Naples from DC area. Way more expensive in Naples, although I loved it there. I could walk to the beach from Naples Park, but my guess is that's gotten way expensive. We were renting at about $1,200 for a 2/1.

We're now in Punta Gorda, and while I do like it, the road rage thing does get crazy. People can't find the gas pedal in a 55/65 mph area and all kinds of people from other states think it's perfectly fine to stop in the middle of a 4-laner and cross all lanes of traffic instead of just turning around at the light 50 feet in front of them. And most of the old people, and there are TONS (80 is the new 60-year-old!), don't really mean to be rude drivers, they simply can't see you.

Personally, I'd stay away from West Palm, but it will of course be up to you and your hubby as to what you like. There are also annual love bugs that come every year and just trash your cars and get all over in your house, etc. It can actually sound like it's raining on your car when the bugs are splattering nonstop.

I do love the winter weather, although we also have a lot of fires with the dry season. Just consider all the pros and cons from what your fellow DISsers let you in on, and good luck with your decision!

 

[ah1126]

I moved to Destin, FL about 6 1/2 years ago now from WV. I would move back north in a heartbeat. Weather wise, I miss seasons. It is hard dealing with the weather being hot or hotter. Our pay here is much better than WV. Around here you can make almost $10 an hour just working at Burger King. But the housing costs are insane. Another thing to consider is how far you will be from your family. I guess there are pros and cons, just like anywhere. Good luck with your decision!

 

[mamalle]

do your research- esp with the schools. there are some in palm beach county that are rated A others not as good in west palm beach. Plus the homeowners insurance and taxes are a hot issue down here right now. Know what you are getting yourself into before you decide this is right for you. The county is threatening layoffs and cutbacks on services- we do have beautiful parks, etc but that might be something that will not be in the future. Gang violence is on the rise esp in west palm, rivera beach and the city of lake worth. Mayor Louis Frankel is trimming her budget also in the city of west palm to lay off police and fire rescue. I think the housing market is on a slight decline but still overinflated IMO. It is a beautiful place to live but not without a price Im afraid to say. read the Palm Beach Post online it will give you more information on this county