[HockeyMom72]

Go for New York. If nothing else, your kids will receive a better education in NY than Florida. If you can afford $2,200 a month, you can easily rent a very nice house just about anywhere on LI.

[markhunt]

I would go for New York also. I grew up in lower Westchester County and the as previous posters have said, most "average schools" in new york are better than some of the "best" schools in Florida. Most social services are better in New York (most importantly for children and health care). Yes the cost of living is more in New York, but I would not want to put saving a few bucks before my children, (i'm not saying you do. I know you don't), unless you have NO choice in the matter and from what you said you can afford $2200 a month rent in LI..? Wouldn't even be a question for me.

[backtofla]

Originally Posted by firemed

Why not halfway to N.C ?

alright now, let's not tell too many ppl to move there. i might move back someday, and i dont want another orlando or ft lauderdale in nc...

[HockeyMom72]

Originally Posted by markhunt

I would go for New York also. I grew up in lower Westchester County and the as previous posters have said, most "average schools" in new york are better than some of the "best" schools in Florida. Most social services are better in New York (most importantly for children and health care). Yes the cost of living is more in New York, but I would not want to put saving a few bucks before my children, (i'm not saying you do. I know you don't), unless you have NO choice in the matter and from what you said you can afford $2200 a month rent in LI..? Wouldn't even be a question for me.

I raised to kids on LI, one of whom was a Special Ed student. She is now a brand new certified teacher in NY making just under $50,000 a year. I also worked as a Special Ed TA both on LI and now at a top rated "A" school in Naples. There is NO COMPARISON.

Hands down, the kids will receive a far better education on LI. I also rented on LI while my husband was working in Florida after we sold our house. For $2,300 I had a 3 bedroom house, den with fireplace, full deck with built in BBQ, and a very large backyard. So, you can get something very nice on LI for that amount of money. Besides, the rentals and sales have gone down a lot and you sould be able to get something that size now for under $2,000.

[backtofla]

hockeymom, glad your daughter has overcome obsticles and doing well

[HockeyMom72]

Originally Posted by backtofla

hockeymom, glad your daughter has overcome obsticles and doing well

Thank you.

[Yuliya Bushlova]

Originally Posted by 2goldens

If I knew then what I know now, sigh I would have raised my son in NYC rather than Florida. Florida school system is not top notch. NYC has much more to offer. Trust me, I was raised in NYC and moved to FL as an adult.

Hi, please let me know if you would have to raise your child in Florida where you would go - based on all your experiance. I am looking to move to Florida, need some adwice -thanks a lot!

[donnaluv]

If you want your kids to get a crappy education, go to school in the dark, & put up the lack of ethnicity, FL is the place for you. The schools are ranked 27th in the country & for example, PA is 10th. We're currently in Central Fl. & my 12 yr old daughter has to get up @ 5:30AM to be on the bus stop by 6:30AM. My husband drops her off @ a friends house @ 6:00am so she doesn't have to walk to the bus stop alone in the pitch dark.(Not to mention, it doesn't get light here until about 7:15am). Mind you, the school is only 5 minutes away & they start @ 7:30am. It's chaos over there in the morning because people drive their children, & between all the buses & cars, it's a nightmare. We're putting our up for for sale within the next couple of weeks & going to PA. Good Luck!

[DailyJournalist]

NY all the way!

[Sweating in Florida]

Denpends on your personality, career or jobs you need or want, and the type of people you want around you.

Florida is a very hot and very, very humid swamp for 7-8 months in the year for a lot of us here . Of course some years vary like this unusual winter. Forget about makeup and expect to be sweaty, sticky and sweaty. Even when it is 75 degrees it can be uncomfortable with the humidity.

Check out the job market before you come here. In a lot of s.w. Florida there are not any jobs that exist except for medical jobs, unstable service jobs(HVAC, housekeeping, lawn care, home companion ect.), restaurant and server jobs that pay below minimum wage and part time retail.. Try to avoid this s.w. area that is non-industrial. A lot of the retired and elderly take up these jobs as they are more dependable with no kids to raise and except lower wages as they have no family to support. If you plan to be a nurse or cert. nursing assistant and work at a nursing facility you can get a decent pay rate with some benefits. If you have at least an associates degree you could be in supervision/management of some business and make about $12/hour in some places.

Your kids will probably end up hateing the heat, the highly irritable retired and elderly and mosquitos or red ants like mine do. They have no interest in the beach and skin damage and sun block anymore. The only other thing to do is around here by us is golfing. My son needs to be under care of a gastroenterologist and there is only one of these 25 miles away in a 200 mile radius or so and his staff is mean, rude and uncooperative and get away with this as there is no competition for them.
Stay away from all the small towns!
In addition there are hurricanes, tornados, flooding every single year.

I know nothing of New York or Virginia.

California is a very large state and it can be so very expensive for homes or rent in many places. I think food is cheaper at Winco Foods in Cali. than it is in Florida at Walmart.
Music and entertainment and restaurants are better and more genuine than in Florida in my opinion.
Some places such as the city of Stockton California is more affordable with rent and is suburban. California is expensive but minimum wage is about $8.00 and some parts of Florida are very expensive just the same with minimum wage at $5-$6?
California is dry and can be hot in the summer except for San Fran and it depends where you live as it is a huge state. Be ware of the fire prone zones.