Thinking of Moving to Florida

[LCPZA]

For 10 years I always said that one day I will move to Florida.(thought I would get there when I was older)However, My dad died a few years ago and the itch to move has been worse.
I have no family here except my mom (which is going to make the move with me) and my sister who will be living with me until a miracle happens.(long story)
My DH is not that happy about me wanting to move because his dad and family will be here. He is somewhat close to his family (aunts and cousins) His mom died 11 years ago. However I really don't think that this should be a reason to stay here. I don't know if it is just me being one sided since I will have my family with me , but it's not like we cant come back to MD to see them or they wont be able to come see us.
We put our house up for sale and hopefully it will sell soon. Houses are still selling for the most part in our area in about 120 days. My mom will need to sell her house as well. We can transfer jobs so that wont be a problem. As for my DS he said he dont care as long as we still have a pool. (kids are easy) So I am just looking for advice from someone out there who has moved far away to Florida thinking it was a good move. Did you like it? What do you miss? Do you want to move back? Just the pros and cons. Thanks for any advice.

[murphy1]

Hi, I am one such person! I grew up there, although I'm lucky enough to live about 4 hrs over the border in GA. I really love GA, but I miss FL a lot (I'm from Tampa Bay) . I left when I was 29, it was a really good thing for me, b/c I really wanted to live somewhere else and experience something else. I still go back quite frequently. One thing you have to figure is how your dh will be living down there. My dh has a great job here and I do freelance work, so it's really dependent on his income, I am planning on working more when my baby who is almost 4 goes to school. My parents are still in FL, as is most of my extended family and a ton of my friends. FL is getting really expensive and insurance is not great, so you have to think about that, too. If you want any specific info, feel free to PM me, I used to travel most of the state.

[DrWorm2008]

I currently live in Florida, but I grew up here, too. I moved away to Chicago when I got married to my now ex-wife, and I missed Florida every single day I was up there....Florida is a GREAT place to live, with usually beautiful weather (although a bit hot and humid at times), and nice beaches- especially on the east coast. I grew up near Palm Beach in southeast Florida, and I now live near Ocala. I will take the eastern shore over the gulf shores ANY DAY. They are far prettier, and the beaches there are A LOT nicer. However, excluding the Florida keys, the west coast has more nature, and the cost of living is a bit lower. That's a double-edged sword though, because getting work in western Florida is VERY hard to do, unless you are in health care. Even so, Florida as a whole is notorious for paying a LOT less salary-wise than other states, and Disney has among some of the worst paying jobs in the entire state. That all being said, I do love living here, and I think anyone that is financially stable would enjoy what Florida has to offer. And the Florida keys are BEAUTIFUL! :thumbsup:

[Darbylew]

We moved to Florida in 1971 from South
Carolina. We love it here. Up here in the Pan
handle we do get a little change of seasons
which is nice. I would like to move further
south in Florida. Just to be nearer WDW. That
would be great and the weather is warmer than
here but it can be very humid at times. :mickey::mickey:

[chrispooh1963]

We moved to Tampa from Boston 3 1/2 yrs ago and love it. We will never go back. It's January and it was 75 degrees today. You can't beat that. Slowly family members are making their way down here and everyone loves to come to FLA for vacation.

[murphy1]

Chris, I see you are in Riverview, there was nothing out there 10 or 12 years ago! It amazes me how much that area is building where you are.

Another thing about houses in FL. They are very different than the rest of the country, other than parts of California. Most are cinder block. They are building more two story ones now, though, than when I was there.

[chrispooh1963]

You are right Murphy1, even in the few years we have been here the growth has been incredible. We enjoy the house being one level - better than the 3 story colonial we had in Boston. And we also enjoy having a small piece of property to take care of.

Although I don't know how families make it down here with a few kids and small yards. I guess they are used to it and take advantage of all the parks.

But it has been a nice change for us. MY DH still works for a company in MASS so we get to visit when ever we want. I just love this weather and to be 60 minutes from WDW.

[MushuMulan]

Although I live in Texas now, I grew up on Florida. I lived in the Melbourne area, an hour south of Orlando. I hated it when I had to move.

The pros and cons for Florida really depend on your prefrences.

For me, I loved living close to WDW, it gave a lot of reason to get seasonal tickets since we didn't have to stay at a resort! Also, the beaches in Florida are pretty nice, no matter what coast. The temperature is about the same all year round, it's almost never cold.

On a more neutral note, Florida has really grown over the years, so a lot of commercial industry has moved in, so you should have a lot of shopping opportuinites. Personally I didn't care much for it.

The only con I can actually think of right now is the humidity (although I'm sure there's more). It can make you feel sticky and make the temperature seem warmer than it actually is.

Oh, and I almost forgot, you will always run the risk of a Hurricane in Florida, I never experienced one too bad, just make sure you don't mind buying plywood :).

Anyways these are just my opinions on it, I'm sure there are loads more I've forgotten.

I, hope to move back there soon though(maybe even go to FSU), I miss Florida a lot. Once a Floridian, always a Floridian.

Anyways, good luck with everything, I hope it all turns out right :thumbsup:!

[DisneyDog]

Well, I'll give you a different perspective. We moved to Florida, stayed there for 3 years, and then moved back to PA 3 years ago. I was not ready to go. DH decided that he wanted to go. I guess I really didn't have much of a choice in the matter because I didn't want to crush his dreams. We moved to Naples in SW Florida. I wanted to wait until he found a job in Orlando, but he wasn't willing to wait. I never wanted to move to Naples. It was crowded and ugly (everyone thinks it's beautiful there, but I never thought so) and expensive.

The first year was nice, however. I enjoyed the weather a lot and felt like I was on a constant vacation. We had a baby after being down there for less than a year, and that changed everything. I realized that the area we were living in was not very family-friendly and I began to get very homesick. The schools down there are awful (some of the worst in the country) and I knew, in my heart, that I did not want to send my DS to school there. DH was having trouble with his career, as there are very few high-tech companies down there. Then the hurricanes started. We were socked with Charlie first. Four hurricanes in one year were more than we could handle. We decided to move back home. The only thing I miss about living in Florida was going to Disney World. We went there a lot (every 3 months) and spent a lot of money there. Disney is the only thing I miss about living in Florida.

Living back in PA now, I couldn't be happier about our decision to move back. It wasn't family that I missed so much, because we did see family...but it was the feeling of belonging, and not appreciating what I had until I didn't have it anymore. I never felt at home down there. It is very different than where I'm from.

We might be going to Disney on vacation in the spring -- for the first time since we moved. DS is now 5 years old. And I realize that we will be able to surprise him with this trip, and it will really mean something to him. I guess if we were still living down there, and he got to go to Disney all the time, it would become commonplace and no big deal to him. No different than going to the mall. But, now it will be a HUGE deal to him, and really something special.

Anyway, my advice to you is follow you heart, but realize that if your DH doesn't want to go, then maybe it's not the right time. If you love your DH and respect what he wants, then you have to agree on it your decision.

[bleukarma]

I was born and raised in Tampa and then when I was 22 I moved to Cincinnati, OH where the rest of my family lives. After two years in OH I moved back. I missed Florida terribly, but it was more of a personal thing for me. I really missed my friends (who are more family to me then my real family) and I hated the cold weather…but I never had to live in it before I moved to OH so I wasn’t used to it.

After living down here for two years I seriously considered (and I still am) moving back up north. The cost of living down here is ridiculous compared to the salaries. Unless you or your husband is in a high paying specialized field it will be hard to find a job that will cover your basic income. I have a decent paying real estate job and I have very little debt and I still work two jobs because of the cost of mortgage, home insurance, and the crazy real estate taxes (which is a big problem in FL right now). We have our house up for sale but once it sales we are looking at paying at least $700 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment in a decent area of town. One day I got tired of struggling and thought that it might be a good idea to move back north where I could find a job that would pay about the same and the apartment is half as expensive. Even though I love it here in FL, I find it hard to find time to enjoy things like the beach and Disney because I’m always at work.

But with that being said, the days I do make it to the beach and WDW are some of the best! You just have to weigh the pro’s and con’s on whether its worth it or not. Maybe you and your husband can come to FL and look around at the housing market. Also check the job boards for different cities that you are thinking of living in to see what the pay is for the field you are in. Good luck, and if you have any questions feel free to ask!!!

[MNNHFLTX]

Living in Florida definitely has good points as well as bad. I just wanted to emphasize (since it sounds like you have at least one school-age child) that there are plenty good schools and good school districts in Florida, just as there are some that are bad. I'm sure this is true of any state in the country. You just have to do your research. We were fortunate to be in a wonderful school district the 12 years we lived in Florida, and my son went to a fantastic elementary school. :)

[murphy1]

I was born and raised in Tampa and then when I was 22 I moved to Cincinnati, OH where the rest of my family lives. After two years in OH I moved back. I missed Florida terribly, but it was more of a personal thing for me. I really missed my friends (who are more family to me then my real family) and I hated the cold weather…but I never had to live in it before I moved to OH so I wasn’t used to it.

After living down here for two years I seriously considered (and I still am) moving back up north. The cost of living down here is ridiculous compared to the salaries. Unless you or your husband is in a high paying specialized field it will be hard to find a job that will cover your basic income. I have a decent paying real estate job and I have very little debt and I still work two jobs because of the cost of mortgage, home insurance, and the crazy real estate taxes (which is a big problem in FL right now). We have our house up for sale but once it sales we are looking at paying at least $700 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment in a decent area of town. One day I got tired of struggling and thought that it might be a good idea to move back north where I could find a job that would pay about the same and the apartment is half as expensive. Even though I love it here in FL, I find it hard to find time to enjoy things like the beach and Disney because I’m always at work.

But with that being said, the days I do make it to the beach and WDW are some of the best! You just have to weigh the pro’s and con’s on whether its worth it or not. Maybe you and your husband can come to FL and look around at the housing market. Also check the job boards for different cities that you are thinking of living in to see what the pay is for the field you are in. Good luck, and if you have any questions feel free to ask!!!

I could not have said it better and a lot of what she said is why I left. But let's face it, everywhere now is getting so expensive. I agree about the schools being good. I'm a product of the FL public and university system and was happy overall with my education. You have good teachers and bad anywhere. I absolutely love USF!!!! There are even a few of the schools that made top 100 in the US on Standard and Poors this year and they have a great magnet system and Intl' Bac. Programs at the high schools. I also have quite a few friends how are teachers and they work very hard and most people who teach at a good school there do it b/c they love it.

[Tinkerfreak]

Just make sure your DH really is ok with it. Think of how you would feel if it were his family moving with you and you were leaving yours behind. If he really hates it he could blame you and it could cause problems for your marriage. I would definately really think about it before moving, it is a big step to take.

[harlowandthemermaid]

Well....seeing you are a fellow Marylander I can say that the cost of living will be less in Orlando than here, but it has gone up there in the past few years.
I lived in Orlando briefly(Viv's dad lived there for 9 years) and only came back because the timing was bad and I needed to be closer to family and friends. That being said, we are planning to go back within the next 2 years.
We are renting now and want to buy a house and Annapolis is just SO expensive. The only con for us is that my parents live here and so does his mother. my mom said that if we moved to florida she would eventually follow, so that is a good thing. I can't stand cold weather and love Disney and know that it won't be too hard to get people to visit. Plus Vivien will be a little older so that might make it easier.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately too!

[murphy1]

Well....seeing you are a fellow Marylander I can say that the cost of living will be less in Orlando than here, but it has gone up there in the past few years.
I lived in Orlando briefly(Viv's dad lived there for 9 years) and only came back because the timing was bad and I needed to be closer to family and friends. That being said, we are planning to go back within the next 2 years.
We are renting now and want to buy a house and Annapolis is just SO expensive. The only con for us is that my parents live here and so does his mother. my mom said that if we moved to florida she would eventually follow, so that is a good thing. I can't stand cold weather and love Disney and know that it won't be too hard to get people to visit. Plus Vivien will be a little older so that might make it easier.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately too!


Mel, I will defintely be one of those people visiting you!! And Emily, too, if she ends up going. Heck I'm hoping dh gets on board soon!!

Chris, I'm glad you posted about Riverview, I looked at it a little more and like the homes there, they aren't as expensive as in Tampa and you can get a 5 or 6 BR house pretty cheap. Love the Alafaya River too. I got homesick at Christmas this year, it's the first time we stayed in GA the whole break, I missed it more than I thought!

Shari