Nebraskans to Florida? (Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa: real estate, foreclosure, property taxes)

[Neb2South]

We are thinking of leaving our native state of Nebraska to move to southern Florida or Mid-Atlantic Florida. Have any of you made this move with young children? Any regrets? I am a career sales professional in the financial sector/banking/management. What opportunities are there? I am used to making 100k plus a year, what are the best opportunities in the future?
Crime? I have heard alot about poor schools and don't know if that is disgruntled people or the truth or both. Any input would be great!

[compelled to reply]

I have heard alot about poor schools and don't know if that is disgruntled people or the truth or both.

It's both. People are disgruntled for a reason. There are some good schools where parental involvement is high but largely it's a sad state of affairs like many public school systems. If it means anything, the school system has gone from being one of the bottom 5 to 29th place over the past 10 years.

Crime?

Depends on the city. Miami-Dade County is usually one of the 25 most dangerous places US, and on the contrary Coral Springs is usually one of the 25 safest places in the US. On the west coast you have places like incorporated Fort Myers with high crime and places like North Port and Collier County with low crime. In central Florida you have places like Safety Harbor and Winter Springs and then you have Orlando. What coast are you looking at and what cities do you have in mind?

In general, metro Orlando and Miami-Dade County are what put the state into the 10 most dangerous cities index. With exceptions, other parts of the state have became signifigantly safer over the past 5-10 years and the rest of the state is basically like anywhere else, where most areas are fine but you have some bad neighborhoods/cities to stay out of. Violent gun crimes have been increasing in Broward and Palm Beach County over the past two years while property crime keeps going down, following a nationwide trend in urban areas. Most of these crimes are occurring in established "bad" neighborhoods like Pompano Beach and Riviera Beach. However other parts of the state are not seeing the same spike in violence even in the inner cities.

I am a career sales professional in the financial sector/banking/management. What opportunities are there? I am used to making 100k plus a year, what are the best opportunities in the future?

Like other fields, pay in this field might be lower than you are used to. Plenty of jobs, but Florida is notorious for "Sunshine Dollars" and funky workplace politics. I haven't really had any workplace stories but there are people on this forum that will write about them for hours, and this is something that I have ACTUALLY heard from my own friends and family. The number one suggestion I could give is to start calling employers, see what kind of jobs they are offering in your field, and if you can pull in something in the six figure range, you can live in a desirable area in almost any part of the state.

Despite some of the negativity, you can actually live a decent life in almost any part of the state, but Florida is having some serious problems right now with foreclosure, property taxes, windstorm insurance, real estate, and unsustainable economic development.

[Neb2South]

We have looked at the Jupiter area and also at the other side of the penisula in the Cape Coral/Ft. Meyers area and maybe Naples.

We do spend significant time with our children on schooling and realize the need for parental involvement.

We are looking at factors such as income, education,crime, things to do (sporting events, concerts, camping, hunting, fishing), housing costs, weather, etc.

Maybe I am asking for a paradise that doesn't exist, however, the closer the better.
Are there any areas that you would recommend over others?

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Neb2South

We have looked at the Jupiter area and also at the other side of the penisula in the Cape Coral/Ft. Meyers area and maybe Naples.

We do spend significant time with our children on schooling and realize the need for parental involvement.

We are looking at factors such as income, education,crime, things to do (sporting events, concerts, camping, hunting, fishing), housing costs, weather, etc.

Maybe I am asking for a paradise that doesn't exist, however, the closer the better.
Are there any areas that you would recommend over others?

Jupiter is beautiful, and would be a good school area. It's safer than average, and close to events/activities like the ones you are looking for. But, it comes at a cost, as this is one of the most expensive parts of the state.

Cape Coral is clean, but the real estate fallout is killing their economy, and schools leave something to be desired. More of a place to retire.

One of the best compromises between family friendly, cost of living, activities, etc would be the Tarpon Springs/Palm Harbor/Safety Harbor/Dunedin area of Pinellas County, near St. Petersburg. The area has friendly people, is relatively safe, in some areas has a quaint village and community-type atmosphere that is so rare in Florida, fairly affordable homes compared to other desirable areas in FL (like Jupiter), close to Tampa or St. Petersburg for work, and many areas are under excellent school districts.

But, if you can pull in that 100k salary, you could definitely afford Jupiter and many desirable sections of the state. But I would NOT move here without a job rounded up.

[outsider1]

Originally Posted by Neb2South

We are thinking of leaving our native state of Nebraska to move to southern Florida or Mid-Atlantic Florida. Have any of you made this move with young children? Any regrets? I am a career sales professional in the financial sector/banking/management. What opportunities are there? I am used to making 100k plus a year, what are the best opportunities in the future?
Crime? I have heard alot about poor schools and don't know if that is disgruntled people or the truth or both. Any input would be great!

Have you at least considered the west coast(Tampa bay area, Pinellas county, Sarasota county for instance, maybe Lakeland) or certain areas on the panhandle such as around Destin? If you're lifelong Nebraskans and midwesterners at heart, anywhere south of Vero Beach may not be that much of a good fit for you.

And the opportunities in your sector would probably be better out west than in Mid-Atlantic(by that, do you mean anywhere from Daytona to say Port St. Lucie?) unless you're in Orlando area.

Jacksonville will probably fit the bill employment-wise, but other than that it's not a big draw for an average Midwesterner.

[Neb2South]

Compelled to Reply

I noticed that your location is listed as "worst place in America"
Do you live in Florida? That's scary.

By mid-Atantic I meant Daytona to Port St. Lucie.
What is the traffic like during commute times? I mean in minutes from point A to point B.
Is the job market saturated? I didn't think unemployment was that high in Florida.
I am more or less inclined to get a good paying job being from the Midwest in your humble opinion?

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Neb2South

Compelled to Reply

I noticed that your location is listed as "worst place in America"
Do you live in Florida? That's scary.

I do live in Florida, but don't worry, it's a joke. Oh, and the issue in Florida is not the lack of work, it's the quality of work.

[SoFLGal]

I would recommend the North Port or Sarasota areas. The cost of living is low and it's a great town to raise children. My children attend Pine View School in Osprey it was rated the number 6 school in the US by US News. We absolutely love it. Pine View is a public school that has grades 2-12. All of the children that graduate go to college and most on scholarship.

The average age in North Port is 38. There is not any night life in North Port but you can go to Sarasota or Ft Myers for more things to do. The beaches are 25 minutes away.

[outsider1]

Well, everything is possible and I may be wrong, but I think you'll need to get quite lucky to continue pulling in 100K in Florida. True, the unemployment is rather low, but the salaries don't always correspond with the cost of living too well.

Being a Midwesterner can actually be a good thing because many view them as "very business-like and dilligent" but without that "in your face" mentality attributed to the folks from Northeast

[compelled to reply]

I personally love midwesterners. And I'm a damned northeasterner . Actually I like good people wherever they came from. So do most Floridians.

Oh and to the OP, I actually do like it here, a lot as a matter of fact. But the state is having some issues right now for sure.