Who has made the move to FL?

[Seahorse17]

I wouldn’t move with middle school aged children. I would wait until they finished high school. Just my opinion.

Moved to Orlando in 1996 with family and twin granddaughters. They were 10 at the time. They had no problem adjusting. Lived near Seaworld. They both are now vets.We all still love Fl.

 

[wendow]

@wendow I have followed this thread. (Not every word mind you...you have created a monster!) If our circumstances allowed now we would seriously consider the move too. Maybe in a couple years. But thinking about it in your case being from Texas and used to the ocean/water I honestly think you would adjust to Florida with ease. Probably a lot easier than the transition to Colorado and the mountain west. I think we like the idea of living in Florida in theory but coming from the west would be a little out of our element...it doesn’t sound like that would be the case for you.

I do think the transition for us would not be as difficult since we both grew up with sweltering heat and humidity. When we go to FL in Sept, it doesn't really bother us much at all. We actually *gasp* kind of like it. Summers here in CO are gorgeous but we complain every year that we wish it would get hot earlier and stay hot longer. A lot of days aren't really even warm enough to swim, if you are like me and chill easily. You guys are in Utah, right? Considering your latest adventure with the ocean in Hawaii, moving to FL may be a bigger adjustment for y'all...of course, I love to look at the ocean. Not tremendously big on really going too far out in it.

 

[kmc8826]

I do think the transition for us would not be as difficult since we both grew up with sweltering heat and humidity. When we go to FL in Sept, it doesn't really bother us much at all. We actually *gasp* kind of like it. Summers here in CO are gorgeous but we complain every year that we wish it would get hot earlier and stay hot longer. A lot of days aren't really even warm enough to swim, if you are like me and chill easily. You guys are in Utah, right? Considering your latest adventure with the ocean in Hawaii, moving to FL may be a bigger adjustment for y'all...of course, I love to look at the ocean. Not tremendously big on really going too far out in it.

Yes exactly about summers being too short and not that warm! We are in the Salt Lake area and honestly lucky to get maybe three months of summer! Do you usually stay on site on your WDW trips? When we stay off site that is when I definitely can see living in Florida. Maybe something as simple as that would help you get an idea. Shopping at grocery stores, gas stations, etc not in the “bubble.” At any rate good luck on the job hunt. And don’t forget three words for FL over TX. “Florida Resident Discounts.”

 

[dznygrl70]

I do think the transition for us would not be as difficult since we both grew up with sweltering heat and humidity. When we go to FL in Sept, it doesn't really bother us much at all. We actually *gasp* kind of like it. Summers here in CO are gorgeous but we complain every year that we wish it would get hot earlier and stay hot longer. A lot of days aren't really even warm enough to swim, if you are like me and chill easily. You guys are in Utah, right? Considering your latest adventure with the ocean in Hawaii, moving to FL may be a bigger adjustment for y'all...of course, I love to look at the ocean. Not tremendously big on really going too far out in it.

We visit in September too. Will be there this Sept. My husband loves the heat. Really, he does. HATES cold and snow. I don't mind heat, but we were in DW right before the hurricane last year. 24 hours before. That was hot....

 

[wendow]

We visit in September too. Will be there this Sept. My husband loves the heat. Really, he does. HATES cold and snow. I don't mind heat, but we were in DW right before the hurricane last year. 24 hours before. That was hot....

We were there too! Flew out on one of the last flights before MCO closed. We had been there for 10 days and it was definitely one of the hotter late Aug/early Sept's I remembered but I could be not remembering right. The Sept before was when a hurricane was hitting FL but more over by Tampa and panhandle (can't remember it's name) but it was cool a lot when we were trying to swim. We were missing the heat!

 

[wendow]

Yes exactly about summers being too short and not that warm! We are in the Salt Lake area and honestly lucky to get maybe three months of summer! Do you usually stay on site on your WDW trips? When we stay off site that is when I definitely can see living in Florida. Maybe something as simple as that would help you get an idea. Shopping at grocery stores, gas stations, etc not in the “bubble.” At any rate good luck on the job hunt. And don’t forget three words for FL over TX. “Florida Resident Discounts.”

You definitely know our summers cause your weather is similar. So, we typically stay onsite. We have been offsite but not too often. We always stayed offsite when I went as a kid and we visited lots of places in FL but lots has changed since then! Dh & I are going for a non-Disney, just driving around and looking at various cities trip in about a month.

I love the three words you mentioned! If not for all my family in TX, I wouldn't even be considering TX.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

And willing to share how you like it and have adjusted to FL?

We are considering moving from CO (we are native Texans) where we have lived since graduating from college. It's something we have been talking about for about 10 years. We're both a bit weary of the cold and longing for more of a 'warm weather state'. Our oldest graduates this year so it seems like an ok time to move and she is chronically ill and the cold here in CO is very hard on her physically. She does really well when we are in FL or back home in TX.

Moving back to TX is high on our list since all our family is there but we aren't closed to other states. I grew up vacationing in FL, and we vacation there once a year (mostly WDW). He has job alerts set up for both TX and FL and lots more comes up for FL.

Just wondering if anyone else has moved to FL, if you were not from there and knew no one, and how you like it? My dh sees a lot of jobs in jacksonville but I've never been to Jacksonville so I have trouble getting on board. I'm not 'married' to having to live in Orlando and just curious what the other cities are like...for families...I've got 4 kids, 1 will enter college, other 3 homeschooled but we stay very active in community activities.

Anyone want to share with me? I'd so appreciate it!

A bit late to the party, but we moved to FL in 2007.

I'm originally from CO, my DH from GA; we have lived in NV (both north and south) and AZ. I'd rather be in AZ or southern NV for the heat/lack of humidity, than in FL; and I miss my mountains. But there are trees, which puts it above AZ/SoNV, so there you go. I DO NOT miss shoveling or driving in snow or sleet; rain is a whole new ballgame, though.

Jacksonville is fine; there are certain areas to avoid living in, of course, but overall, we are happy here. If you move here to our area, you'll want to look at places like Fleming Island/Oakleaf, St Johns County, or southside Jacksonville. Avoid north/west Jax and most of Orange Park, IMO, as there seems to be a high concentration of crimes/shootings over there. (The running joke here is the meme of Simba and Mufasa sitting on the cliff, and Mufasa points out the shadowy area as north/west Jax and that Simba must never go there.)

We're in Middleburg, right where Orange Park, Middleburg and Fleming Island meet, and I love my little neighborhood. Very low crime (we did have a rash of people breaking into unlocked cars once, and a neighbor had her decoration stolen off the side of her home...it was a star made of tree twigs, so not like super fancy or anything, so we have no idea why it was taken; several gentlemen in the neighborhood, including my DH, patrolled the cul-de-sac for the next week or so overnights, and caught 3 teens; no more break-ins, haha).

Traffic during rush hour can be...difficult. Getting around means bridges, and if an accident happens, it causes issues all over the city.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

No way!



I avoid anything with freshwater (other than my pool...and I still check it out before going in it!) because of both alligators AND snakes. As humans we're constantly expanding our footprint which means animals are losing their houses so we are co-existing more and more closely. Even here in Escambia County we've had a bear sighting or two, while the counties more east to us have a bigger problem with them.

And the amoebas...

https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/naegleria/state-map.html

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Dh & I are visiting different cities in April. Will have to stop by a Publix for a sub

nah, skip the sub. Get the fried chicken

 

[wendow]

nah, skip the sub. Get the fried chicken

Maybe we will just have to try both!

 

[Judique]

snip - wrong thread!

 

[DisHmsklMom]

We moved from MD to the Ft. Lauderdale area 6 years ago. We thought we were going to end up in north Florida but husband's job put us down here. We think we it's awesome. We usually have a breeze from the ocean, the back of our house faces the East, and we eat out on our lanai every night. Everything is 15 minutes or less from our house (we live close to the Sawgrass Mills mall). Traffic is not bad, loads of homeschoolers in the area. Check out the Bright Futures Scholarships for your kids. We have friends who live close by who have horses. Check out the Plantation and Davie areas, just be aware of the flight paths for FLL. It only takes a bit over 3 hrs to get to Disney, we leave around 9 and we usually have lunch in the bubble, so easy on the turnpike.

 

[wendow]

We moved from MD to the Ft. Lauderdale area 6 years ago. We thought we were going to end up in north Florida but husband's job put us down here. We think we it's awesome. We usually have a breeze from the ocean, the back of our house faces the East, and we eat out on our lanai every night. Everything is 15 minutes or less from our house (we live close to the Sawgrass Mills mall). Traffic is not bad, loads of homeschoolers in the area. Check out the Bright Futures Scholarships for your kids. We have friends who live close by who have horses. Check out the Plantation and Davie areas, just be aware of the flight paths for FLL. It only takes a bit over 3 hrs to get to Disney, we leave around 9 and we usually have lunch in the bubble, so easy on the turnpike.

Bolded above catch my eye! We eat outside in the summer here but it's all of 2-3 mos we can do that. Love to do that every night!

And I definitely love that there are loads of hs'ers where you are! We are in an area full of them too and it provides so many opportunities for co-ops, field trips, park days, etc! My kids are all very social and used to having a lot of friends. I want to be able to plug into activities right away wherever we end up.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I have never lived in FL but I always tell my hubs to find a job there ha! Really I want to get back home to Charleston, SC.
Florida would be a consolation prize. Have you looked at Charleston? It is beautiful and warm, though not as warm as Florida.
If I were moving to FL I'd do gulf side way down south or the panhandle. We vacation in Sandestin 1-2x a year and the beaches are amazing there. Probably less old people in that area too. I think south FL has loads of snowbirds.
We are in the Nashville area now. You may consider it. We have the seasons but not quite as extreme winters as you have in CO. For me there is too much rain. I need sunshine. Plus I don't like being land locked. DH and everyone else in the world love Nashville. Growing extremely fast and LOTS of jobs. Check it out!

 

[wendow]

I have never lived in FL but I always tell my hubs to find a job there ha! Really I want to get back home to Charleston, SC.
Florida would be a consolation prize. Have you looked at Charleston? It is beautiful and warm, though not as warm as Florida.
If I were moving to FL I'd do gulf side way down south or the panhandle. We vacation in Sandestin 1-2x a year and the beaches are amazing there. Probably less old people in that area too. I think south FL has loads of snowbirds.
We are in the Nashville area now. You may consider it. We have the seasons but not quite as extreme winters as you have in CO. For me there is too much rain. I need sunshine. Plus I don't like being land locked. DH and everyone else in the world love Nashville. Growing extremely fast and LOTS of jobs. Check it out!

Thanks, friend You have mentioned Charleston before and I definitely have it on my list...SC really appeals to me as does GA. Like you, I'm tired of being land-locked. I grew up close to the Gulf, and while we were not in it everyday, you just knew it was there. I am thinking it is the same for you, with being from Charleston.

If we move from here, I will miss the seasons. I never knew seasons until I moved here. Even in TX, there really aren't seasons. We do know a few people who have moved to Nashville from CO and love it! They are not in our age group so it's not necessarily friends for us but seems to be a popular place to move these days.

I definitely don't want to move to FL and be surrounded by all old people! I love old people and love to sit and talk to them but my kids need friends!

 

[wendow]

Traffic during rush hour can be...difficult. Getting around means bridges, and if an accident happens, it causes issues all over the city.

Would most of the tech jobs be downtown, or is there an area on the south side of town where one could find tech/business type jobs?

 

[NinaBella]

Would most of the tech jobs be downtown, or is there an area on the south side of town where one could find tech/business type jobs?

Traffic in any of the ‘cities’ is horrible. I once sat in the same spot on I-75 for 3 hours. My husband makes the 32 mile commute to his job. That is a 45 minute drive in the mornings (6:30 am) and about to 1.5 drive in he afternoon (same route but 4:30 pm). I make 12 mile drive down one road. MORNINGS: Non-school months it takes no more than 15 minutes. During school it’s 30 minutes. AFTERNOON: non-school months 25 minutes. School months 45 minutes. Friday an hour home Because if all the restaurants, movie theater, high school football stadium, etc).

There is a big homeschool network in the Tampa area as well. Many of my friends home school their kids and have a network to assist with various subjects and take field trips with. A young girl I know just bought a prom dress to the homeschool prom in April. Homeschool kids can still play sports at their local zones high schools as well. There were some issues with homeschooling and recruiting kids to play for specific high schools so they now say you have to be zoned to that school (based on residence). https://www.fhsaa.org/departments/eligibility-compliance

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Would most of the tech jobs be downtown, or is there an area on the south side of town where one could find tech/business type jobs?

I think scattered. My husband is in the engineering field, and has worked in the small town of Green Cove Springs, and in St Johns County (still in Jacksonville but on the far side towards World Golf Village). There are businesses all over the place.

For the traffic, DH goes from our home in Middleburg to his job in St Johns via Blanding to I-295. 21.9 miles, 30 minutes as of Google Maps on Sunday morning. He leaves by 6am, no later than 6:30 am, and makes it in about 45 minutes, and leaves work at 6:30pm for the same. If he leaves after 6:30 or between 3:30pm-6pm, he takes anywhere from 1h20m-3h to get home. It is crazy.


One piece of advice: don't look at homes at the new "lagoon" site named "crystal". Just...avoid that particular...build area...for now.

 

[NinaBella]

One piece of advice: don't look at homes at the new "lagoon" site named "crystal". Just...avoid that particular...build area...for now.

.

Haha... I am near this area. There are some who are going crazy for it. Some of my friends that have looked says the homes look like very low quality builds. A coworker drove through and said every lot they drove by said sold. I haven’t driven over there yet to see. I just read about it mostly on our community FB group. Another friend said their HOA and CDD are not expensive because of the size of the lagoon it is low maintenance. I am just wondering who is going to patrol this lagoon for gators? Then some have the sinkhole theory.

We have been here since 2003 before the malls and other shopping areas were built. We didn’t move here for the lagoon!

ETA: near the one near the Tampa area. Looks like there are a few with this name in Florida.

 

[Eastern]

I was thinking the same, what do people consider high. The places we looked at in Florida were several thousand dollars less in homeowner's than what we were paying in Kansas. Our Kansas house we sold recently was appraised at $270,000 and our insurance was $6800 a year. We thought for Kansas that was ridiculous. This included "specials" which is why I'm hesitant to get involved in any future properties that have a CDD.

$6800 a year for home insurance on a $270k appraised house?

edit: see it is your taxes and insurance