[Average Joe66]

Originally Posted by Roscoe Conkling

Apart from not liking Florida you don't appear to like people either.
I wonder if the two are connected ?

Is this person some kind of nut job or something? What is their problem? I feel like I am being stalked.

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

It's ironic that you joined C-D about the same time we had a poster from Spring Hill leave the forum. Your post are so similar that if I didn't know any better I'd think you are the same person.

Spring Hillian left? I'd have thought CD was his life.

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by Travelassie

Spring Hillian left? I'd have thought CD was his life.

It sure did seem that way. Who knows though he could still be among us here on C-D.

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

It sure did seem that way. Who knows though he could still be among us here on C-D.

LOL, reborn....

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL

It sure did seem that way. Who knows though he could still be among us here on C-D.

Yes, might be among you here on C-D.

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

Yes, might be among you here on C-D.

It never felt like you left.

[YouCan'tGoHomeAgain]

Florida is a difficult state to survive, much less thrive. It's not like living at Disneyland! You want to be near the beach? Check out your evacuation zone before you make the plunge. (If you don't know what "evacuation zone" means, then you need to do more research.) Note: evacuation zone does not equal flood zone. You can be in one and not the other or you can be in both of them. Insurance rates are skyrocketing. Do you know what Citizen's Insurance is for? If not, google it. It may be your only choice. Also, Florida isn't exactly known for high salaries. Be prepared to be paid less in Florida than in Ohio. And you say that you want a safe neighborhood. Be prepared to pony up plenty of money for it because the crime rates in Florida are very high. Homeless people and panhandlers abound. Get used to them because they're not going away (many of them hopped a bus from the North last winter to get away from the cold and ended up in Florida). There are good things about Florida. But even if it is the Sunshine State (it has two seasons: extremely hot and hot), there is more to life than sunshine. What about the nice small communities around you? Do you really want to spend thousands moving to Florida and then more thousands to move back to Ohio? That's a lot of money, it seems to me. Have your "Florida adventure" if you like. But just go into it with your eyes wide open or you're likely to run into some nasty surprises.

Originally Posted by oh2pa

My fiance(soon to be wife in August) and I are from Ohio but currently live in Pittsburgh, PA. We absolutely love it here, but after the winter we've had we are seriously considering a relocation. We are in our mid 20's and do not plan on having kids for another 5 years or so, making relocating and travel an easier thing to do.

I am an intern architect and she is an x-ray tech and our combined income is around 70K currently, both of us with basically entry level positions. So far we've narrowed our Florida search down to the Gulf Coast side from probably Tampa to Naples. So where is the best place to live for a young couple? Where we live now, Carnegie, is about 10 miles or so South of the city and its perfect. There are several nice small communities around us with a home type of feel to them. We aren't interested in dance clubs and that type of stuff but nice restaurants, sports bars and grills for a few beers are definitely in our wheel house. We would certainly like to be relatively close to the beach(10-15 minutes drive) and in a safe neighborhood. K-12 schools are of no concern, neither are colleges because we both have completed that part of our lives.

Even though we don't have kids, a family type of atmosphere for the location would probably work fine. Nothing too exotic with nightlife but still fun things to do.

Any info/advice on locations to help us narrow down the search would be excellent. Pros/Cons of certain cities and suburbs would also be beneficial. Final note: This move, unless we absolutely fell in love, would not be permanent. We would want to move back near Pittsburgh to start a family so this could be like a 5 year retreat if you will, if that makes any difference in your responses.

Thanks for your help!

[Florida Vince]

Originally Posted by YouCan'tGoHomeAgain

Florida is a difficult state to survive, much less thrive. It's not like living at Disneyland! You want to be near the beach? Check out your evacuation zone before you make the plunge. (If you don't know what "evacuation zone" means, then you need to do more research.) Note: evacuation zone does not equal flood zone. You can be in one and not the other or you can be in both of them. Insurance rates are skyrocketing. Do you know what Citizen's Insurance is for? If not, google it. It may be your only choice. Also, Florida isn't exactly known for high salaries. Be prepared to be paid less in Florida than in Ohio. And you say that you want a safe neighborhood. Be prepared to pony up plenty of money for it because the crime rates in Florida are very high. Homeless people and panhandlers abound. Get used to them because they're not going away (many of them hopped a bus from the North last winter to get away from the cold and ended up in Florida). There are good things about Florida. But even if it is the Sunshine State (it has two seasons: extremely hot and hot), there is more to life than sunshine. What about the nice small communities around you? Do you really want to spend thousands moving to Florida and then more thousands to move back to Ohio? That's a lot of money, it seems to me. Have your "Florida adventure" if you like. But just go into it with your eyes wide open or you're likely to run into some nasty surprises.

We couldn't disagree more. Like anything, be prepared before you jump.

* Our yearly home insurance on our new $200K townhome is $655 and (not required but a smart choice) FEMA flood insurance is $125. Hardly a budget buster.

* We make a combined $115K+ per year in our careers (with another $30K or so in "non-monetary" benefits), all done AFTER moving here. Yearly raises of 5 to 8 percent and no state income tax either.

* 16 years here and not one issue with crime.

* Have always lived within 5 miles of the beach in east central Florida (Viera / Melbourne area) and have evacuated once in almost two decades (due to over reacting) during a non - mandatory evacuation.

* It can get hot - but you'll never see snow.

Show up with some reserves, a game plan and a good skillset that allows you to work hard. Make good decisions while avoiding all of the negative, complainypants people here trying to bring you down. Surround yourself with sucessful, like minded people and you'll be just fine and prosper here in FL (all advise that could be used no matter where you end up at - get my drift).

Good luck!

[Mod cut]

[The b8nk]

Originally Posted by Florida Vince

We couldn't disagree more. Like anything, be prepared before you jump.

* Our yearly home insurance on our new $200K townhome is $655 and (not required but a smart choice) FEMA flood insurance is $125. Hardly a budget buster.

* We make a combined $115K+ per year in our careers (with another $30K or so in "non-monetary" benefits), all done AFTER moving here. Yearly raises of 5 to 8 percent and no state income tax either.

* 16 years here and not one issue with crime.

* Have always lived within 5 miles of the beach in east central Florida (Viera / Melbourne area) and have evacuated once in almost two decades (due to over reacting) during a non - mandatory evacuation.

* It can get hot - but you'll never see snow.

Show up with some reserves, a game plan and a good skillset that allows you to work hard. Make good decisions while avoiding all of the negative, complainypants people here trying to bring you down. Surround yourself with sucessful, like minded people and you'll be just fine and prosper here in FL (all advise that could be used no matter where you end up at - get my drift).

Good luck!

[/url]

Was gonna comment on this post, then saw he was plugging some crappy website/blog....explains everything. Ususally posts like the above are from realtors or someone with some agenda...

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by YouCan'tGoHomeAgain

Florida is a difficult state to survive, much less thrive. It's not like living at Disneyland! You want to be near the beach? Check out your evacuation zone before you make the plunge. (If you don't know what "evacuation zone" means, then you need to do more research.) Note: evacuation zone does not equal flood zone. You can be in one and not the other or you can be in both of them. Insurance rates are skyrocketing. Do you know what Citizen's Insurance is for? If not, google it. It may be your only choice. Also, Florida isn't exactly known for high salaries. Be prepared to be paid less in Florida than in Ohio. And you say that you want a safe neighborhood. Be prepared to pony up plenty of money for it because the crime rates in Florida are very high. Homeless people and panhandlers abound. Get used to them because they're not going away (many of them hopped a bus from the North last winter to get away from the cold and ended up in Florida). There are good things about Florida. But even if it is the Sunshine State (it has two seasons: extremely hot and hot), there is more to life than sunshine. What about the nice small communities around you? Do you really want to spend thousands moving to Florida and then more thousands to move back to Ohio? That's a lot of money, it seems to me. Have your "Florida adventure" if you like. But just go into it with your eyes wide open or you're likely to run into some nasty surprises.

What do you find that is an obstacle to "surviving" in FL. How do you find it compared to other states where people do the same thing they do here, to wit: Get up in the morning, go to work, come home, take care of chores and life's necessities and repeat? Insurance rates are not skyrocketing. In fact they are going lower. The insurance crisis is over. While reinsurance for insurance companies is high, the coffers are pretty full for most Carriers. Citizens is shrinking, not growing.

Depending on your experience and capabilities for any particular job, yes, your salary may be lower.
In a lot of cases it is not.

The crime rate is higher in FL than most states. A lot of crime is committed against tourists who are easy targets.

A majority of the crime takes place in the ghettos of the state and in the major cities.
Also "violent crime" in FL has dropped significantly since 1993.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement

The state population continues to grow.

Open your eyes and see what is really going on around you.