[backtofla]

hi all, i have not discussed this with any of my family members b/c some family will be happy and some will be sad, that is if anything becomes of this situation...

as many of you know, i live in orlando and used to live in nc. due to orlando's crime, traffic, rude ppl, lack of good paying jobs, expensive hosuing and so forth, i would like to move.

here is my situation though. i would like to move to northern fla, and my wife really likes n fla more than orlando, but she could be happy in orlando too, b/c we have family here. however, my wife would like to either remain in orlando, or if we move, she would like to return to the greenville, sc area b/c her family is close. i also have family close to this area, but i'd rather live in northern fla. i have family in orlando as well as south fla, so moving out of the state is hard for me to do. but the fact remains that orlando is not a place i want to remain and raise our kids. (if anyone out there lives in orlando and loves it, i am glad. please don't take this as an insult). i lived in fla before and orlando has changes a lot, and unfortunately, it just isnt the same place, and many places in fla are just no longer what they used to be. it's disappointing b/c i like fla a lot, and would like to remain in fla.

so, my dilemma is

1. moving to northern fla which we both like a lot, but have no family there, and my wife is really big on having family close by. i like to have family close by just as much as she does, but a half-a-day's drive doesnt really bother me b/c i have lived much further away at times.

2. do we stay in orlando where we have family, but i am unhappy about living here due to things i've mentioned above?

3. move to greenville, sc, a city we both like, but now i am away from my family here in fla, and i will w/o a doubt miss fla?

greenville certainly has it's advantages over orlando. less crime, nicer ppl, less traffic, cost of living much lower, jobs pay about the same, etc...

but the fact remains that i am florida-born, like living in fla (although not crazy about orlando), love the beach, not a big fan of the winters in sc, school system isnt any better in sc either. overall, when comparing orlando to greenville, i think greenville wins relatively easily, but i will miss fla if i moved there. when you live in fla and move out of state, you miss it. it happened to me already. i couldnt wait to move back to fla, i just didnt know orlando was going to be so disappointing for me.

any suggestions out there? once again, i have not spoken to family about this, b/c i dont want to get hopes up for some, and some family will be sad if i move away, and i will miss them very much. overall, we have more family in fla than we do in the carolina's. our next move, wherever that my be, will be a move in which my wife and i will want to stay put for quite some time. we want our kids to grow up and not be moved around. i just know if i move to greenville which is a big compromise, i will miss my family and i will miss living in fla. i never thought i'd contemplate moving out of fla once i got here. but all the guys out there know, you got to keep the wife happy. you have to compromise and find a happy solution for both.

[compelled to reply]

Crime in Greenville by Year
Type 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2005
Murders 3 7 9 2 6 5
per 100,000 5.2 11.9 15.7 3.5 10.6 8.8
Rapes 32 53 45 33 34 32
per 100,000 56.0 90.3 78.5 58.2 60.1 56.1
Robberies 173 230 172 106 128 161
per 100,000 302.6 391.7 300.0 186.9 226.1 282.2
Assaults 547 555 446 430 470 458
per 100,000 956.8 945.1 777.9 758.0 830.2 802.7
Burglaries 720 808 622 781 739 776
per 100,000 1259.4 1376.0 1084.9 1376.7 1305.4 1360.1
Thefts 3,459 3,563 3,075 3,192 3,136 2,710
per 100,000 6050.6 6067.7 5363.6 5626.9 5539.4 4749.7
Auto thefts 332 303 283 291 316 308
per 100,000 580.7 516.0 493.6 513.0 558.2 539.8
Arson 12 10 7 13 16 11
per 100,000 21.0 17.0 12.2 22.9 28.3 19.3
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 325.2) 714.1 782.9 669.8 623.7 660.7 636.0

Not that low crime. Lower than Orlando though. This country is falling.

[firemed]

Originally Posted by backtofla

hi all, i have not discussed this with any of my family members b/c some family will be happy and some will be sad, that is if anything becomes of this situation...

as many of you know, i live in orlando and used to live in nc. due to orlando's crime, traffic, rude ppl, lack of good paying jobs, expensive hosuing and so forth, i would like to move.

here is my situation though. i would like to move to northern fla, and my wife really likes n fla more than orlando, but she could be happy in orlando too, b/c we have family here. however, my wife would like to either remain in orlando, or if we move, she would like to return to the greenville, sc area b/c her family is close. i also have family close to this area, but i'd rather live in northern fla. i have family in orlando as well as south fla, so moving out of the state is hard for me to do. but the fact remains that orlando is not a place i want to remain and raise our kids. (if anyone out there lives in orlando and loves it, i am glad. please don't take this as an insult). i lived in fla before and orlando has changes a lot, and unfortunately, it just isnt the same place, and many places in fla are just no longer what they used to be. it's disappointing b/c i like fla a lot, and would like to remain in fla.

so, my dilemma is

1. moving to northern fla which we both like a lot, but have no family there, and my wife is really big on having family close by. i like to have family close by just as much as she does, but a half-a-day's drive doesnt really bother me b/c i have lived much further away at times.

2. do we stay in orlando where we have family, but i am unhappy about living here due to things i've mentioned above?

3. move to greenville, sc, a city we both like, but now i am away from my family here in fla, and i will w/o a doubt miss fla?

greenville certainly has it's advantages over orlando. less crime, nicer ppl, less traffic, cost of living much lower, jobs pay about the same, etc...

but the fact remains that i am florida-born, like living in fla (although not crazy about orlando), love the beach, not a big fan of the winters in sc, school system isnt any better in sc either. overall, when comparing orlando to greenville, i think greenville wins relatively easily, but i will miss fla if i moved there. when you live in fla and move out of state, you miss it. it happened to me already. i couldnt wait to move back to fla, i just didnt know orlando was going to be so disappointing for me.

any suggestions out there? once again, i have not spoken to family about this, b/c i dont want to get hopes up for some, and some family will be sad if i move away, and i will miss them very much. overall, we have more family in fla than we do in the carolina's. our next move, wherever that my be, will be a move in which my wife and i will want to stay put for quite some time. we want our kids to grow up and not be moved around. i just know if i move to greenville which is a big compromise, i will miss my family and i will miss living in fla. i never thought i'd contemplate moving out of fla once i got here. but all the guys out there know, you got to keep the wife happy. you have to compromise and find a happy solution for both.

I have been here in Florida all my life, I would say the upstate of SC would be the best move. Jobs are there and its not a bad ride to Florida (about 9 hrs) so its a day trip. Florida is in a mess right now and I feel the same way you do. If you are near I-85 you can get a job easy and the pay is about the same. The cost is lower but you will have a state tax. winters in sc are not bad it might get an ice storm but it will be gone by noon. I hunt there and I have seen snow 1 time and it was gone by noon also. The good thing is if we get a storm your family has somewere to go .

[backtofla]

wow, greenville crime is kind of high... or atleast higher than i thought...

i know what you mean firemed, i just love living in fla though. this is tough for me, without a doubt. nothing will probably happen for quite some time though... but the fact remains, i want out of orlando. whether it be n fla or greenville, i just would rather live in fla.

[MsV]

backtofla, how about NE Florida ~ Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island? Beautiful tropical resort area! Only downside is you have to go all the way into JAX to enjoy cultural events (I think). You'll be lots closer to Greenville, and not far from Orlando...not sure of the crime stats as fort lauderdale is, but I'm going to check it out.

[backtofla]

oh, i would love it up there, it's just that we have no family up there. if we had some family up there, it would be a no-brainer. this discussion wouldnt even happen. we would be there.

[firemed]

Originally Posted by MsV

backtofla, how about NE Florida ~ Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island? Beautiful tropical resort area! Only downside is you have to go all the way into JAX to enjoy cultural events (I think). You'll be lots closer to Greenville, and not far from Orlando...not sure of the crime stats as fort lauderdale is, but I'm going to check it out.

Fernandina Beach/Amelia Island is a nice area,but not alot of jobs outside of service.

[firemed]

Originally Posted by backtofla

wow, greenville crime is kind of high... or atleast higher than i thought...

i know what you mean firemed, i just love living in fla though. this is tough for me, without a doubt. nothing will probably happen for quite some time though... but the fact remains, i want out of orlando. whether it be n fla or greenville, i just would rather live in fla.

If your in the city crime is high but just outside its not . You have to check by the zip code to get a good picture.

[outsider1]

Backtofla, I've been researching different areas of Florida for quite a while. And have been reading many of your posts in the process. It seems that we have some similarities in the desired type of environment as well as in perceptions of certain social trends.

I've considered just about every part of this state. Eventually I concluded that, unless I win a major lottery jackpot, I'll either live around Jacksoville(preferably St. John county) or I won't live in Florida at all.

By staying around Orlando you'll probably start reaching your emotional limits sooner than later. And if you uproot for SC, you'll probably entertain the "what if" ideas any chance you get - every little thing that goes wrong there will become a spark plug for those what ifs. So if you can afford this move, definitely try NE FL first, at least for the peace of mind sake. Maybe you can talk your wife into treating this as an adventure, a search for the promised land of sorts. Good luck!

[backtofla]

outsider1, very good post. n fla is truly my 1st choice. if i go to greenville, sc, i'll miss fla right away. i already do just thinking about moving out of the state. my wife will move to n fla for me, she just would much rather live where we have family. i keep telling her n fla isnt that far away, especially if we live along the coast. easy access to i-95 can make a short trip to basically anywhere along the eastern fla coast, and yet not that far away from the carolina's.