Too humid? Is Florida the place for me? (Jacksonville, Tampa: hotel, work)

[Ltljen101]

Hey everyone,
My husband and I are both 26 and live in the Boston area. He is from Aruba, and is not adjusting well to this climate. We want to move somewhere an hour drive from the beach or less. The problem is that for health reasons, I don't do well w/ extreme heat and especially high humidity. We are also planning on having a child, and would like someplace with good schools. He is in hotel management, so would need to be an hour's commute away from a major hotel area. I am a librarian, and work in a hospital writing or editing.
We would like a middle class area, where we could get a nice house and at least an acre, for 300-400k.

Is there anywhere in Florida that meets our needs? We are also considering SC, VA, or GA.

I am also a true Boston liberal and couldn't live anywhere too conservative.

Thanks!

[buythegulf]

Hey Ltljen101,
Saw your post and wanted to give my input. And as a side note, my roommate is from Boston and I have to give a little "Go Sox" for her. She is a die hard Red Sox fan. Anyhow, in regards to Florida. I have to honestly say that in my opinion, no matter where you go in Florida you will experience both heat and humidity. I lived in Tampa/St Pete Beach many years ago and it was very hot and humid much of the year. I have now moved back to Northwest Florida and we too have heat and humidity. However, we do have four seasons here and it definitely gets cold in the winter. Once in a while, we have been known to even get a few snow flurries. In regards to hotel management, we have many upscale resorts in the area such as a town called Watercolor, then there is Seaside, and SanDestin. I am sure he would have no problem finding work in the hospitality area. Houses are typically in the $300,000 and up range. I suggest using google to research the area, town names are: Inlet Beach, Rosemary Beach, Seagrove, Seaside, Watercolor, Grayton Beach, Dune Allen, Santa Rosa Beach, SanDestin, Destin, Pt Washington, Defuniak Springs, Freeport. Many of these towns are located along what is called the Scenic Hwy 30A and you can find a link on my website for that. Please feel free to email with any questions and it will be my pleasure to try and help you.
[mod cut]

My husband and I are both 26 and live in the Boston area. He is from Aruba, and is not adjusting well to this climate. We want to move somewhere an hour drive from the beach or less. The problem is that for health reasons, I don't do well w/ extreme heat and especially high humidity. We are also planning on having a child, and would like someplace with good schools. He is in hotel management, so would need to be an hour's commute away from a major hotel area. I am a librarian, and work in a hospital writing or editing.
We would like a middle class area, where we could get a nice house and at least an acre, for 300-400k.

Is there anywhere in Florida that meets our needs? We are also considering SC, VA, or GA.

I am also a true Boston liberal and couldn't live anywhere too conservative.

Thanks!

[daedalo]

Ltljen:

Palm Beach (West Palm) and Alachua (Gainesville) counties are the most liberal. The northern and central tier of the state is the most conservative. We are not just talking political conservatism, but a conservatism claiming the authority of god. In other words if you are a liberal democrat you are a sinner by definition since you support rights that are against scripture or the dictates of the church. Gainesville is a progressive island in the north central area. It is rapidly growing but is not a resort area. So to make a long story short, I would recommend the West Palm area in FL. In the south the cities or town housing major universities, ie Atlanta GA, Nashville TN, Raleigh-Durham NC, Athens GA, Blacksburg VA, and Austin TX are significantly more liberal and progressive. Of these, probably Atlanta is the best choice considering your husband. It does get cold occasionally in Atlanta, but much milder than Boston. You may also want to look west to LA, Austin TX or Boulder CO.

[sleeper]

Ltljen-

Something to consider in Florida for locations.

The East Coast is ALWAYS less humid & a bit cooler.

As far as nice locations, Port Saint Lucie is a beautiful area.
Was ranked #1 safest city for 7 yrs in a row.

Palm Beach County was a nice area. But is very overcrowded & overpriced.
I know, I used to live there ..

Anyway, Hope you find the "perfect place"

'sleeper'

[raymurry]

Since your husband is in the hospitality business, Central Florida would be ideal for you both. [moderator CUT]

[BlueWillowPlate]

If you want to be pioneers, maybe you could do what we did: we two fifty-somethings decided to leave Denver, Colorado and move to northwest Florida. We are in Gulf County, which is not as fancy as Walton Co, but is changing by the day, with new people coming in, and definitely some new opportunities in the hospitality business. There is a conservative tone here, but I just saw my first John Kerry sticker not long ago; the influx of newcomers is making itself known.
Daedalo's suggestions of liberal Austin (TX) and Boulder (CO) are good ones, although the politics of the state of Texas might not agree with you, and the cold and snowstorms that semi-arid Colorado does sometimes receive might bother your husband.
It does get hot and humid here in the summer; you just have to use AC.
I guess the central coast of California would be the perfect place to live, if only it were affordable!

[chipdouglas]

2 maybe 4 more years of Happiness, Your Red vote counts in Florida,

[daedalo]

Yes, there is no question FL is a red state for now, and it still remains to be seen whether blue votes will indeed be counted in the next election. But let me say something about humidity. All of FL is hot and humid. Lets not split hairs to say the east coast is less humid than the west coast etc. OK, where it may be 90% RH at 90 deg F on the east coast its 93%RH at 90 deg F on the west coast. If you think you are going to work in a garden or go for a jog mid morning from May to September be prepared to be drenched in sweat virtually anywhere in FL. Summers in FL are subject to intense thunderstorms that can dump 3+ inches or more in the span of an hour. Then the sun can come out for the remainder of the day and turn the entire area into a steam bath. The roads in the Boston area are set up for snow accumulation and aren't set up for big rain showers, and when these occur, rather infrequently there is a lot of flooding. However, the state of Florida, I must say probably has the best roads regarding the drainage. There was one exception I recall. In Jacksonville one summer years ago it rained sonething like 8 inches in the span of 2 hours or something. On I-95 running through Jacksonville on the RAISED section of this highway there was 12 inches of water for a short time!

[KevinLeslie]

St Augustine in NE Florida is worth considering... ecclectic College town (Flagler College), 5-star hotel downtown (Casa Monica), and an average "High" temp in July of only 88... ocean breezes keep it cool... fairly Republican, but not in an overt way.

[backtofla]

if you think that fla may be too conservative for you, than surely sc, va, and ga are then too. trust me as i have lived in nc for some time now.