Attention Former & Current Fla Residents

[WED1901]

My wife and I are considering moving to Fla. Her father passed away early this year and with my parents living in South Fla we would like to move closer to family. We have no ties here except my job now. We have an 8 and 4 year old so we would want to make sure that we moved into an area with good schools, and close to the beach.

Are there any former or current Fla residents out there that can add any pros and cons of any areas in Fla besides the obvious, hot, hurricanes, high property tax and ins rates etc…

Thanks in advance!:mickey:

[murphy1]

Hey there! I'm a Florida native, but live in GA now and still go back with tons of family across the state. The insurance is getting crazy there, if you can get it, but so is housing and everything is getting more crowded. I have looked for land more in North FL and as you get towards Lk. Wales, Haines City areas, b/c I was looking at Clermont and it's risen so much higher than just a few years ago. My parents are paying a lot in St. Pete for insurance. I used to work in insurance, so it dropped my jaw. I am more fond of the West Coast of FL, but that is where I grew up. A lot of people I talk to want to move to TN and NC. I still love to go back to Florida, you can't take it out of the girl I guess! I keep talking to people who are not happy with some of the school stuff, like overcrowding, but that happens everywhere now. Just list what will make you happy and go with it. I could not make a great living in FL, so when dh wanted to move to GA, I came up here.

Shari

[DisneyDog]

I was waiting to see if others posted to you, perhaps with a more positive experience than what I had. We lived in Southwest Florida for 3 1/2 years. Prior to that, and now once again, we are from Pennsylvania. Our son was born in Florida. After he was born I started to realize that there was no way I was going to let him grow up down there. The schools, no matter where you are in the state, rank among the worst in the country. Even the private schools are not as good as most of the public schools up north. I am a librarian, and I had high school kids coming up to me to ask how to spell the most elementary words.

So, with that in mind, and the fact that my DH, with a masters degree, couldn't find a job that would pay more than $35,000/year, and we practically couldn't afford to breathe down there, let alone pay our home owner's insurance which went up so high after Hurricane Charlie passed through...and then 3 other hurricanes that same year...it was time to go home. We haven't regretted it once. Well, except for not getting our "Disney fix" for our addiction (which is another reason why we didn't have enough money!! We were always spending it at Disney World!). It just wasn't home, and it just wasn't worth our sacrifices to be miserable.

[DessertDivaFL]

I live here now but I won't retire here! My opinion is, spend your hard earned money elsewhere. Look for something in GA if you want to be close to family in FL. You don't want to move here. The cost of living is outrageous and I only rent! If I owed a home I wouldn't be able to exist. I am fortunate enough to work for the county government so I am vesting in the FL retirement system.

[Jasper]

We have explored the idea of moving to Florida as well but have always been stopped by the low pay of so many jobs and the poor quality of the schools. Maybe in a few years ofter my now 11 year old is out of high school we might look at it again.

I also know that because of the large number of retirees that their health care systems are struggling to keep up. Plus, because of some of their laws that allow easy lawsuits the malpractice insurance for doctors is high which has caused many of them to leave the state.

My primary doctor is originally from Canada and came here because of what he perceived as too restrictive rules because of their semi-socialized medicine. Then, my cardiologist is from Florida and came here because of high malpractice rates. And before you ask, he was never sued but still had rates that he says is about 8 times what he pays for the same insurance here in Indiana!

[magicofdisney]

I was born and raised in the city we're living in now. My husband is from VA. He wants to go back but I'm happy to stay. I can't say much about the school system because we homeschool. Housing is expensive as are property taxes. But all of my family is here and I'm only 2 hrs from Disney. Maybe it's crazy, but Disney is one of the reasons I don't want to leave. I loathe the heat, but it comes with the territory. Since you're asking, you're obviously doing your research. It's not a move to take lightly, particularly with the current housing market. Once you buy, you better plan on living in that home for a while, or risk taking a loss. GL with you decision. I hope things work out for you. :)

[WDWfanatic742]

Hey walt :wave:. Like everyone else has said, it costs so much to live down here anymore and I know alot of people who are moving away just for that reason. Hurricanes also mess with the insurance alot, and the schools aren't the best in the country at all. Most of the land down here is all built up too.

[MNNHFLTX]

My family and I now live in Texas, but lived in Florida for 12 years prior to moving. Our experiences there were predominantly good. Our son spent K-7 in wonderful schools in a very forward-thinking school district (yes, good school districts do exist in Florida). We had terrific neighbors; in fact we always found our fellow Floridians to be some of the friendliest people we have ever met across the country. Wages were not high as many northern states, but neither was the cost of living during the time we lived there. I know the housing market has skyrocketed there, but as we were selling our house during the boom we were actually fortunate enough to benefit from it. The access to beautiful beaches and lots of outdoor activities, and WDW (of course!) were also advantages to us.

Now the cons. Traffic, especially if you to South Florida and the other metropolitan cities around the state, was horrendous at times. Although I guess the same can be said about any major city in the country (Houston--where I live now--most definitely included). I also have to state the obvious--the summertime heat can be overwhelming for those moving down from cooler climates. But eventually you get used to the idea that people who live in Florida do not typically spend any significant amount of time outside on hot summer's day (unless they're at the beach or in the pool). One thing I always missed there was the changing seasons. Well, not the snow in Winter so much, but definitely the colors in Fall. We always had to take a Fall trip up to North Georgia or Western North Carolina to get some of the foliage color!

[WED1901]

Thanks for all the input everyone it really helps. There are so many pros and cons for us. We really have no family here now and we want our kids to be close to Grandparents. We have looked at several sites trying to locate scores and ratings for schools down there. We have narrowed it down to the central coasts. My parents have agreed to move a little north as well from Ft Lauderdale. You can get so much more home for the money in Central Fla than in South Fla. And found some pretty good schools compared to the rest of the state. Although I love South Fla, I think living a little north would be better right now. We are looking at Merritt Island down to Vero Beach on the east coast and the Tampa area on the west coast. Now it’s just a matter of the right employment opportunity. If it’s meant to be it will be, if not I will have to continue to drive 12 hours to WDW. :mickey:

Please add more if you can think of anything.
Thanks Again Guys!! :thumbsup:

[murphy1]

One thing I praise in Florida is the universities. They are top notch. While I wasn't thrilled with my HS (I did well, just not the best teachers, but again that's relative I guess), I went to USF and LOVED it!! I think FSU, UF, USF and UCF are excellent schools and I turned out pretty well (I think) for the schools there.
My grandparents are right off the beach near Melbourne, again, super expensive. My mom said my sister and her husband are interviewing for jobs in NC so they all might be moving up here near me now!

[TINKERBELL_82]

I have to disagree with most of the negative comments about Florida! I have lived here since '03 and I absolutely love it!! Granted, I don't have any children so I can't say much about the school system, but as for everything else it's a wonderful place to live. I live right in between Tampa and Sarasota, and have lived in both of those cities as well. We have the most beautiful beaches and awesome weather too! Coming from Georgia, the salaries (at least in my field) are considerably higher. The home prices do reflect that, though. We have a wonderful economy here, and what's better than being an hour away from WDW?? :mickey:

DH is from Detriot, and we both agree that after living in this beautiful place we wouldn't want to live anywhere else. We're proud to be Floridians. :thumbsup: