[Raivere]

I want to go for school, then go back to N.C. I think i might appreciate my homeland if I do that. I have to get away from this weather!

[psouth]

If you are like a lot of dreamers and looking for a new start in the sunshine then try your luck in Florida. I wouldn't waste my time or move here without a top paying job. There is nothing worth sacrificing here for. I would take a high paying job in a lower crime area with cold weather any day.

[Honeycrisp]

Originally Posted by Gloucester City

I am originally from NJ. Lived in Kissimee for three years in the 1990's befor moving to Miami. Bought a home there and husband and I decided to move back to NJ in 2003 due to the property taxes just eating us up. Not to mention the traffic, tourists. Well I HATE NJ, so we moved to Tennessee two years ago. The recent tornadoes that tore into Murfreeboro scared the pants off me and I am desperatly trying to convince hubby to return to Fl.( hey you can outrun a hurricane with a few days notice)
Were renters now, so the property taxes are not an issue. But I need a good argument to convince him to move back there. He hates the heat, but I hate the fear of tornadoes even more. hey you can stay in with the air conditioner right?
I need to find a place with cheap rents as in Tn and security jobs. My husband has been in security for 13 years..so
anyone with any ideas, suggestions..please feel free to message me

Why limit yourselves to FL or TN - ? Would open your options - what about the Carolinas, GA etc - ? As for jobs, that w/b another issue but weatherwise, you might do just as well (or better) in another state. Just a thought -

[luvthatmouse]

We had a tornado hit the west coast here today. Even Central Florida was on a watch all day.

[selzm7]

I currently live in KCMO and I really don't like it here. I feel so boxed in and tired of seeing the same people and seeing the same thing. My fiance and I have a few friends in Orlando, we really want to move to FL but not really Orlando. I have been wanting to post a thread but can't figure it out so maybe I can get some responses from here. Anyway... We have not made a definite move because we want to make sure we move to the right place for us. A few facts about us. We are black, though I like to say caramel LOL, ok we are very working class, we have children from 13 to 4, we have a housing voucher in our city that is tranferable anywhere in the US, we do pay a very large portion of our rent at this time because we are and always have been employed. We would like to relocate to a diverse and ethnic community. I want decent schools for my children and I don't want to be dodging bullets everytime I come out my house. I want to be near a college so I continue getting my BA, I don't want or have to be close to a beach an hour drive would be fine with me. I don't want to have to live in a racist area. At this time we live in a very mixed neighborhood some crime (petty, live down the street from a high school mostly fights after school) but the kids can ride there bikes and such and play in the yard with minamal supervision. THE KIDS CAN BE KIDS! We are good natured people that had kids before we could really afford them. Our main priorty is taking care of them, working and growing old together and happy and getting out of KC. Anyway can anyone PLEASE tell me is there such a place in FL, we have been putting back money every pay week just to be able to move, BUT WHERE? I do not have a problem cleaning houses though I have always done paralegal or clerical work, currently receptionist in a nursing agency. My fiance has only done light industrial, janitorial, warehouse. Can someone tell us where our best chances of a decent life will be in FL with these qualities?

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by selzm7

I currently live in KCMO and I really don't like it here. I feel so boxed in and tired of seeing the same people and seeing the same thing. My fiance and I have a few friends in Orlando, we really want to move to FL but not really Orlando. I have been wanting to post a thread but can't figure it out so maybe I can get some responses from here. Anyway... We have not made a definite move because we want to make sure we move to the right place for us. A few facts about us. We are black, though I like to say caramel LOL, ok we are very working class, we have children from 13 to 4, we have a housing voucher in our city that is tranferable anywhere in the US, we do pay a very large portion of our rent at this time because we are and always have been employed. We would like to relocate to a diverse and ethnic community. I want decent schools for my children and I don't want to be dodging bullets everytime I come out my house. I want to be near a college so I continue getting my BA, I don't want or have to be close to a beach an hour drive would be fine with me. I don't want to have to live in a racist area. At this time we live in a very mixed neighborhood some crime (petty, live down the street from a high school mostly fights after school) but the kids can ride there bikes and such and play in the yard with minamal supervision. THE KIDS CAN BE KIDS! We are good natured people that had kids before we could really afford them. Our main priorty is taking care of them, working and growing old together and happy and getting out of KC. Anyway can anyone PLEASE tell me is there such a place in FL, we have been putting back money every pay week just to be able to move, BUT WHERE? I do not have a problem cleaning houses though I have always done paralegal or clerical work, currently receptionist in a nursing agency. My fiance has only done light industrial, janitorial, warehouse. Can someone tell us where our best chances of a decent life will be in FL with these qualities?

Well, I personally think the Tampa area would suit you, provided you can find employment. Tampa is a melting pot of races, pretty diverse actually, and we have the University of South Florida here as well as community colleges. All kinds of different neighborhoods, but of course depends on where (and if) you can find suitable employment.

Good luck to you!

[tuba777]

try Venice Island. Good luck !

Originally Posted by Sunnydee

What are you from? Hi! I'm from the northern suburbs of Cincinnati. I have a great career, terrific friends, nice neighbors, good schools for my kids, a lovely home, and a lifetime of history here, but due to a chronic health condition the winters are getting to be pretty unbearable for me. My doctors say moving south may improve the quality of my life and stave off being wheel chair bound. I know getting rid of cold, gray, dreary days seven months out of the year has to be a good thing and even if I don't live any longer as a result of the move at least I'll be able to enjoy each and every day I have left.

Where in Florida are you moving? I wish I knew. I want to live in a community where I could walk to the grocery, library, and a community pool from my single story, single family home without paying CDD fees. I've visited 23 Florida towns so far, but haven't found my new hometown. If any of you know where this place is please contact me. I really could use some input on where to look next.

What attracts you to Florida? The weather, the warmth, the sunshine, my parents, and the hope that I'll go into remission or at least have a better quality of life than I currently have.

What research did you do or have already done to pick your city or location?
I've been researching via the internet and library books and visiting communities for two years now. Florida is a beautiful state, but it's hard to find a walkable town.

Did you spend time in that town in person?Yes, I've spent time in each community I've visited so far and walked every one of them to see if I could manage it should I be in a wheel chair at some point.

Did you communicate with people who live their personally? Yes, I've talked to people in each town and picked the brains of everyone on CD who sounds like they may have knowledge that would help me narrow down my choices of a new hometown. Thanks everyone! You've been great to me.

[Reptoid Humidian]

What are you from?
Originally from Boulder Colo. but have been in San Diego for the last 20 years.
Where in Florida are you moving?
Miami/ possibly Hialeah, Dadeland or Kendall
What attracts you to Florida?
The extreme humidity and high temperatures during the winter. I would like to be as far away from any evidence of "seasons" as I possibly can. I love the feel and smell of the air there and I do not want to smell the crisp winter smell that even So Cal is subject to during the winter. I love the fact that your state is teeming with life. When I go to a park, there are Racoons, Iguanas, Lizards, African Millipedes, Dragonflys, Cicadas and all the other wildlife that is conspicuously missing from our relatively sterile landscape here in SoCal. I want to see REAL GREEN, not DORMANT GREEN, which is what we seem to have in my state. I love the food and culture of Miami. I love Latin music --Cumbia, Salsa, Reggaeton, Merengue, and I also love the unique blend of Miamian Techno and Dance.
What research did you do or have already done to pick your city or location?
I have spent an enormous amount of time with high resolution satellite maps (courtesy of FIU -Thanks!) and Google Earth street level maps to get a definite intel on the lay of the land. I have tried to glean as many opinions and advice off the internet forums as I can. As a person having a considerable interest in tropical climatology, I chose Miami because it is a true tropical monsoon climate according to the Koppen Classification System, with some of the highest average yearly rainfall in all the US. The Humidity was also a factor since Miami maintains the highest average humidity in the US(with the exception of the South Florida Keys) exceeding even Hawaii.
Did you spend time in that town in person?
Yes. My research served me well and most of my assumptions were correct. I made a point of going in August to see it at the peak of the hot season. I arrived Aug 5 2008 and stayed until Aug 19. That put me there at the time Tropical Storm Fay made its Landfall. It could not have been a better time to take a sampling of the climate. I spent considerably little time in the "tourist spots" opting instead to visit landmarks and parks around the Miami area. This took me to Hialeah, SW 8th and its environs, Coral Gables, Liberty city, Little Haiti, Overtown, Miami Springs, Miami Lakes, Homestead and Ft Lauderdale.

Did you communicate with people who live their personally
Yes. I had every response from "you'll definitely get robbed if you live here" from a 'tough guy' clerk at a CVS pharmacy (in Coral Gables no less) to a "I love it here and so will you if you can stand the weather in August" which seemed to be the most common response. I must admit that I was astounded by the number of native floridians who "never got used to the humidity". Well I shouldn't be surprised. As a native Coloradoan I never got used to the cold. I suppose if I grew up in SoFLa I might crave the seasons and might want to migrate north. I like to think that my attraction to tropical humid climates is due to more mystical factors such as my being born when the sun was at its zenith on the Tropic of Cancer. Or it could just be that the happiest moments of my childhood were spent at the 23rd parallel.

[KathyA11]

Originally Posted by vincero

You really have to be prepared to deal with bugs and pulverizing humidity, along with the downer, every fall, of no fall foliage, and every Christmas of no snow. Many holiday seasons, your AC will still be running, 24/7. If you are from an area where the seasons change, you will miss that when the fall comes. I don't care if you live down here for 20 years - when the autumn comes, the football games and homecomings begin, and you are sweating through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas...you miss the crisp, fall days and the changing leaves of the North.

Oh, no we won't! To us, the changing colors of the fall signal the start of depression season. We both hate winter and we're looking forward to not having snow at Christmas (a white Christmas is vastly overrated).


What are you from? Northern NJ
Where in Florida are you moving? the Marion County area
What attracts you to Florida? the weather, the lower cost of living, lower real estate taxes, no income tax, the ability to buy a larger piece of property for much less than it would cost us here in NJ
What research did you do or have already done to pick your city or location? I've used this site extensively, read other websites, talked to people who live in the area, read the Ocala Star-Banner
Did you spend time in that town in person? not yet, but I will be soon
Did you communicate with people who live their personally? yes

[mango23]

Originally Posted by KathyA11

Oh, no we won't! To us, the changing colors of the fall signal the start of depression season. We both hate winter and we're looking forward to not having snow at Christmas (a white Christmas is vastly overrated).

I have a feeling they have never heard of a vacation. I live in south Florida but we often vacation in winter spots. Kind of like what people say about Florida nice place to visit but would not like to live there. That is how I feel about the north. I have been the the Grand Canyon in winter, hiked the Alps in 20 below weather. You are not stuck in Florida if you feel like you want to get away. Thats is what family up north is for, to free load off of as they will off you in Florida. You always need a little change but I like coming back to the warm weather and know in this is my home.