Any midwestern transplants to Florida out there? (Tampa: appointed, best city)
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I currently live in southeast Michigan and am very interested in moving to Florida in the coming years. I am still trying to figure out the best city to move to however.
Where have you midwesterners moved to and where did you move from and why?
I moved to Florida from Colorado.
It's apples and oranges, but I was ready for a change--was especially ready to say goodbye to snow and hello to the beach--and Florida delivered.
If you don't need a job, the weather is very nice in the winter. I do the snowbird thing. Best advice I can give you is to rent and decide if Florida is the place for you. Then find the right location.
It's a huge state, with different regions and even microclimates. Think about what you really need, and maybe you can narrow it down a bit.
We spent almost two years in a rural area of northwest Florida on the Gulf, which to me has the most beautiful beaches. Now we're on the northeast side, a bit closer to civilization, not quite as lovely as the northwest side, but quite wonderful. In both of those locations we've run into midwestern as well as Canadian snowbirds, also several who have made a permanent move.
But Lynxville is correct about employment--and renting. We're not retired yet, and moved to Florida right before the housing bubble popped. We're okay now, but it's been a roller coaster.
Wages are generally lower here, but I'm self employed so that wasn't an issue.
After a few months here you get adjusted to the weather.
You almost have to visit and spend a few days in areas where you think you would be interested to get a feel for the area.
and no, I wouldn't go back.
Your question is pretty broad. I grew up in southeast Michigan (Ann Arbor) but have lived in many wonderful parts of the country - Boston, San Francisco, just outside Philadelphia, Houston and now Florida. I've lived in Florida nearly 9 years now, 5 years on the East Coast and 4 years here in Tampa.
Whether or not you like Florida doesn't depend so much on where you are from as why you are moving here and how flexible you are. This is NOT the Midwest. People who move from the Midwest (or anywhere else for that matter) expecting Florida will be what they are used to, but warmer, will be disappointed. I am not saying this to disparage Florida. I am happy here and love the things that are unique down here. Is it perfect? No. But I have met so many people here who simply come down here to avoid snow and don't appreciate the fact that you have to take the bad with the good. You take the bad with the good anywhere, including all the various cities I have lived, but somehow people seem to have a blind spot about it when they move here.
Jobs down here are still recovering. If you have a job where you are I would not move here without a job lined up. Being from Michigan I understand that the job situation there is worse, overall, than here but that doesn't mean you can just walk into a job within a week of moving here. It's still tough unless you are one of the lucky few in a high-demand profession.
In some ways being from Michigan I think Florida is a comfortable and easy fit. It has a big sky like back home, gravelly, with inland lakes, and predominantly conservative with little liberal pockets. But I had lived many places between Michigan and Florida which were quite different from Michigan so my feeling that Florida is comfortable and familiar may be based partly on the fact that it is more like Michigan than San Francisco and Boston; in other words just about anything would be.
Sorry for the ramble, These are thoughts off the top of my head, but I really have been surprised by the number f people who move down here thinking that if they come here they will be sipping rum runners on the beach every single day. This is a GREAT state, but you have to work here and adapt like anywhere else. If you are willing to do that and appreciate what the place has to offer without focusing on what you miss from back home, I think you would be happy here.
I am happy here and love the things that are unique down here. Is it perfect? No. But I have met so many people here who simply come down here to avoid snow and don't appreciate the fact that you have to take the bad with the good. You take the bad with the good anywhere, including all the various cities I have lived, but somehow people seem to have a blind spot about it when they move here.
Sorry for the ramble, These are thoughts off the top of my head, but I really have been surprised by the number f people who move down here thinking that if they come here they will be sipping rum runners on the beach every single day. This is a GREAT state, but you have to work here and adapt like anywhere else. If you are willing to do that and appreciate what the place has to offer without focusing on what you miss from back home, I think you would be happy here.
Very well said.
I do think Florida can be a wacky state, though I spend more time reading about Florida wackiness than actually experiencing it.
Certainly anyone considering a move should visit first, look at the job market, and if they do decide to make a move, they should rent first.
Your question is pretty broad. I grew up in southeast Michigan (Ann Arbor) but have lived in many wonderful parts of the country - Boston, San Francisco, just outside Philadelphia, Houston and now Florida. I've lived in Florida nearly 9 years now, 5 years on the East Coast and 4 years here in Tampa.
Whether or not you like Florida doesn't depend so much on where you are from as why you are moving here and how flexible you are. This is NOT the Midwest. People who move from the Midwest (or anywhere else for that matter) expecting Florida will be what they are used to, but warmer, will be disappointed. I am not saying this to disparage Florida. I am happy here and love the things that are unique down here. Is it perfect? No. But I have met so many people here who simply come down here to avoid snow and don't appreciate the fact that you have to take the bad with the good. You take the bad with the good anywhere, including all the various cities I have lived, but somehow people seem to have a blind spot about it when they move here.
Jobs down here are still recovering. If you have a job where you are I would not move here without a job lined up. Being from Michigan I understand that the job situation there is worse, overall, than here but that doesn't mean you can just walk into a job within a week of moving here. It's still tough unless you are one of the lucky few in a high-demand profession.
In some ways being from Michigan I think Florida is a comfortable and easy fit. It has a big sky like back home, gravelly, with inland lakes, and predominantly conservative with little liberal pockets. But I had lived many places between Michigan and Florida which were quite different from Michigan so my feeling that Florida is comfortable and familiar may be based partly on the fact that it is more like Michigan than San Francisco and Boston; in other words just about anything would be.
Sorry for the ramble, These are thoughts off the top of my head, but I really have been surprised by the number f people who move down here thinking that if they come here they will be sipping rum runners on the beach every single day. This is a GREAT state, but you have to work here and adapt like anywhere else. If you are willing to do that and appreciate what the place has to offer without focusing on what you miss from back home, I think you would be happy here.
Really great post - reps to you!
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