[Sarasota Fun]

Check out Sarasota... Sarasota, Florida Golf Courses

Golf was born in America when John Gillespie built the first course here in the 1880's.

Happy Day!

[**NoodLes**]

Here's 2 more good links to Southwest Orlando communities. This area is the best of Orlando.


Best of SW Orlando | Hojin's Southwest Orlando Real Estate Scoop


Southwest Orlando Bulletin

[Retiredcoach]

Originally Posted by may2304

ok, so our goal is to move to florida in winter 2009. my husband is a golf pro and i am a jewelry designer. we are in our 20's and wont have kids for a long time. we want to be no more than 2.5 hours away from walt disney world (yes we are disney freaks) and no more than an hour away from the beach. we are looking for a lower crime area (who isn't) near golf courses, of course. now were we move will have alot to do with where he can get a job, but i need to do some research, so this will get me started! we wont be buying a home right away, just renting for awhile. so, tell me where we should move! lol. we need all the help we can get! we are tired of kentucky and can't wait to start our new adventure in florida! thanks in advance for your help!

Your opportunities in Florida will probably not match your high aspirations. Realistically speaking, your career path as a jewelry designer is probably limited to a minimum wage level job, if you are able to secure any position in this field at all. Positions for golf pros are wholly dependent upon your DH's experience and skill level. Golf pros are like chefs, only the very best command the salaries that will compensate for the lifestyle that you are seeking. He may find a job on a golf course, and he may be hired as a golf pro, but more than likely, he will start on the very bottom rung (low pay, long hours, no job security, cumbersome job description, etc.)

If you are moving to Florida today without the needed skills of the job market and/or a significant wad of cash, you may find yourself wishing that you had remained in Kentucky. Many native Floridians would like to experience the many "adventures" of the state, but most are too busy trying to survive in their trying state economy. Fortunately, you have your youth and can rebound quickly if your move is a mistake, but the odds of your immediate and prolonged success is minimal at best.

[Sunnydee]

Some communities near Disney you might want to check out are Lake Mary and
Deland. If you prefer closer proximity to the beach, check out Jacksonville.

[Lilybeans]

You should get in the car and drive down and spend a week checking out all the areas. When we moved to Florida we drove up one coast and down another.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by Retiredcoach

Your opportunities in Florida will probably not match your high aspirations. Realistically speaking, your career path as a jewelry designer is probably limited to a minimum wage level job, if you are able to secure any position in this field at all.

I'm sure if the OP is doing fine as a jewelry designer in KENTUCKY, they can do just as well or better in Florida with its tourist and older population.

Originally Posted by Retiredcoach

Positions for golf pros are wholly dependent upon your DH's experience and skill level. Golf pros are like chefs, only the very best command the salaries that will compensate for the lifestyle that you are seeking. He may find a job on a golf course, and he may be hired as a golf pro, but more than likely, he will start on the very bottom rung (low pay, long hours, no job security, cumbersome job description, etc.)

Same thing. If he's making it as a golf pro in Kentucky, he'll have MORE opportunities, not LESS, in Florida, golf capital of the US.

Originally Posted by Retiredcoach

If you are moving to Florida today without the needed skills of the job market and/or a significant wad of cash, you may find yourself wishing that you had remained in Kentucky. Many native Floridians would like to experience the many "adventures" of the state, but most are too busy trying to survive in their trying state economy. Fortunately, you have your youth and can rebound quickly if your move is a mistake, but the odds of your immediate and prolonged success is minimal at best.

....or you'll stay in Kentucky, spending your life thinking, "what if..."




I would say, check out areas from the Treasure Coast North on up to about the Palm Coast area. The living is cheaper in these areas, the beaches are less crowded, and you're about 1.5 hours from Disney. Golf is pretty much everywhere, though admittedly, Palm Beach County, a bit further South, is renown for golf courses, and that is at about at the 2.5 hour mark from Disney (if you live in North Palm Beach County, like Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens it'd be closer).

There is a PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, and PGA National is in Palm Beach Gardens. Maybe you could rent for a year or two, see how things pan out, and if not, you can head back to KY.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

I'm sure if the OP is doing fine as a jewelry designer in KENTUCKY, they can do just as well or better in Florida with its tourist and older population.




Same thing. If he's making it as a golf pro in Kentucky, he'll have MORE opportunities, not LESS, in Florida, golf capital of the US.



....or you'll stay in Kentucky, spending your life thinking, "what if..."




I would say, check out areas from the Treasure Coast North on up to about the Palm Coast area. The living is cheaper in these areas, the beaches are less crowded, and you're about 1.5 hours from Disney. Golf is pretty much everywhere, though admittedly, Palm Beach County, a bit further South, is renown for golf courses, and that is at about at the 2.5 hour mark from Disney (if you live in North Palm Beach County, like Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens it'd be closer).

There is a PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, and PGA National is in Palm Beach Gardens. Maybe you could rent for a year or two, see how things pan out, and if not, you can head back to KY.

Great advice. And to add to it, here is a comprehensive list of golf courses in the Lakeland area and nearby:

Lakeland, Florida Golf Courses

And jewelry designer - I would design the jewelry and cosign it in galleries and antique malls all over. You will do great here, there are many artists and shows and people love unique jewelry.

The Lakeland area is a great place for you because it is centrally located in the state, and has a lower cost of living in general. Easy drive to either Tampa or Orlando, or either coast.

Best of luck to you!

[may2304]

i appreciate your concern Retiredcoach, but i assure you we have researched my husband's job opportunities extensively. the opportunities and pay for his experience and qualifications are way more than here in kentucky. add to that the fact that as a jewelry designer i use shells in my pieces and most of my work is inspired by the sea, it just seems to make sense to us. their are way more art fairs down there and more venues for me to display and sell my jewelry.
and thanks for the encouragement TriMT7 and gypsychic! we have said it over and over again, we do not want to be on our death bed wishing we would have at least tried florida. life is too short not to try to do the things you want to. thanks for all the good info. my journal is going to good use! again, i can't thank you all enough for all the help and encouragement. we plan on taking a trip maybe in january or feb, so any ideas of where to look are appreciated!

[Retiredcoach]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

I'm sure if the OP is doing fine as a jewelry designer in KENTUCKY, they can do just as well or better in Florida with its tourist and older population.




Same thing. If he's making it as a golf pro in Kentucky, he'll have MORE opportunities, not LESS, in Florida, golf capital of the US.



....or you'll stay in Kentucky, spending your life thinking, "what if..."




I would say, check out areas from the Treasure Coast North on up to about the Palm Coast area. The living is cheaper in these areas, the beaches are less crowded, and you're about 1.5 hours from Disney. Golf is pretty much everywhere, though admittedly, Palm Beach County, a bit further South, is renown for golf courses, and that is at about at the 2.5 hour mark from Disney (if you live in North Palm Beach County, like Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens it'd be closer).

There is a PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, and PGA National is in Palm Beach Gardens. Maybe you could rent for a year or two, see how things pan out, and if not, you can head back to KY.

I hope that you are right, and the OP has youth and w/o children on her/their side that will allow them the flexibility to find success and happiness in Florida. There are variables that you did not mention, however, that will certainly affect their limited opportunities. One has to do with the substantially higher costs of living between Florida and Kentucky... they had better make more because they will be paying more to live an even modest Florida lifestyle. This in a state where nearly 50% of their school children are receiving free and reduced lunches.... a true indicator of the current job situation in a depressed Florida economy.

The second has to do with your contention that because of the type of population and number of golf courses, there will more opportunities to find jobs in their chosen occupations. There will also be more jobs for shrimp boat captains and for beach volleyball referees in Florida than Kentucky, but what does that have do with anything? There are a ton of golf pros and jewelry makers already residing (and working) in Florida, attempting to scrape by.

If the OP has decent paying jobs in Kentucky and has even a modest amount of job security in our current national economy, they could be better served by staying in Kentucky. Florida should be their vacation destination, not their location for collecting their unemployment checks.

[Retiredcoach]

Originally Posted by may2304

i appreciate your concern Retiredcoach, but i assure you we have researched my husband's job opportunities extensively. the opportunities and pay for his experience and qualifications are way more than here in kentucky. add to that the fact that as a jewelry designer i use shells in my pieces and most of my work is inspired by the sea, it just seems to make sense to us. their are way more art fairs down there and more venues for me to display and sell my jewelry.
and thanks for the encouragement TriMT7 and gypsychic! we have said it over and over again, we do not want to be on our death bed wishing we would have at least tried florida. life is too short not to try to do the things you want to. thanks for all the good info. my journal is going to good use! again, i can't thank you all enough for all the help and encouragement. we plan on taking a trip maybe in january or feb, so any ideas of where to look are appreciated!

May,

Your best bet would be to follow the advice of some of the previous posters... Travel the coastlines looking for work. Has your husband been offered a position as a golf pro at any of the Florida courses? If so, is there enough money being offered to support you in the lifestyle and in an area that you expect? Have you calculated for drastic differences in the costs of living between Florida and Kentucky? Once you have progressed to these steps, all of the research and advice being given to you are moot points. Good luck!