[jeannievb]

I am considering moving to Florida with my husband and two young kids. We currently live in downtown Chicago and it appears that the cost of living is similar to Jupiter/West Palm area so we feel confident we will be able to handle the cost of living there. Is there anyone familar with these areas? Does it seem like a good place for younger families? We are in our 30's and my kids are 3 and 4 years old. We love Chicago's urban lifestyle but are over the brutal winters. I'm just trying to find out if there are people who have relaocated to Florida and are happy with their decision. Thanks in advance for the input.

[Nausikaa]

It's switching seasons. In Chicago you stay in all winter, and enjoy summer. In FL you stay in all summer, and go out in winter. switch brutal winters, for brutal summers. all depends on which you can stand best.

[BlueWillowPlate]

I don't know anything about the West Palm/Jupiter area, but we relocated here from Colorado and have no regrets, though we have definitely had our ups and downs.
Carefully do your research, and by all means take a trip out here to see for yourself.

[jeannievb]

Good point - what months do you consider to be the most brutal of summer? Is the heat to intense to go outside - even to the pool or beach? Thanks for you opinions.

[LeavingFlorida05]

Don't move for the weather. You'll find just as much to hate about Florida weather as you did in Chicago (I grew up in St. Louis). I would worry more about the type of social enviroment in which you would be raising your children. I can't speak for the Jupiter area, specifically, but my experience in southwest Florida (Naples/Fort Myers) has lead me to the decision to not raise a family here. There's too much crime. The overall demographic is skewed (too many retirees, too few young people). It's pretty, but this place just lacks substance. I guess the old saying applies. "It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there".

As for the weather, it doesn't get any hotter here than in the Midwest. The difference is, the Midwest may get hot for a few days or a week, then you'll have a cooler period. Florida is hot for 9 months straight. The heat is unrelenting. You have no nice spring or autumn. Even the winter is warm. You'll have a few chilly days, but nothing anyone outside Florida would consider to be "cold".

[MB2]

Well, my husband and children moved mainly because of the weather. We should have done more homework and research on FL, and that's solely our fault. Well, we did enjoy the weather....on the beach....not when you have to actually be in it, work in the heat. Further more, did I find the schoolsystem a lot to be desired for, and was shocked to find out what gang, crime and drug influence there is in schools here ! Sure, it's everywhere, but, I was never really confronted with an issue like that, where we used to live.
Now FL has a lot of un-answered questions, and dilemmas, and everyone is just holding their breath. Taxes, Homeowners Insurance, raising car insurance, raising food costs, and the other scare and question is: Are we getting hit again with a hurricane???
ALOT of people move away, not only transplants which can't affort living here any longer (I am one of them), but also "real Floridians", because they are not happy with the way things have become, and what this state has become. It is sad, sad, sad....and nobody wins in this situation.
We gladly come back here on vacations, but, living here is definately not for us......

[pslOldTimer]

Jupiter is one of the nicest communities in any area of the country, let alone Florida. It is considered expenisve in this area, so if you can afford it, you are in excellent shape. It is a small town but very pretty with a lot to offer. For example, my wife and I are considering taking up Kayaking (at our advanced age, strictly as slow recreational paddling), and I just discovered the Jupiter Outdoor Center where I can rent kayaks and get expert advice. The Loxahatchee area is just West of Jupiter, more rural and home to a wild and scenic river.

Of course, West Palm Beach is just a hope, skip and jump down I-95 from Jupiter, and basically you can find anything you want in that area. It is certainly more developed than Port St. Lucie, where I live, but I've found enough to do that I rarely head down to Palm Beach County. I think the last time as several years agbo to see the Phantom of the Opera at the Kravitz Center in WPB.

I confess that I have no clue what the other posters are talking about when they say crime and gangs. My kids went to public schools inthe area (we played Jupiter HS in football and soccer), and there was no gang activity. I have heard some reports of gangs in the high schools recently, but every school has School Resource Officers on campus, and there are few reports of any problems. The vast majority of the thousands of students go through their entire schol career without encountering any problems -- unless they are products of families who don't pay much attention to their kids in the first place, and that type of kid has problems in any school in the nation.

The same thing is true of crime in neighborhoods; I hear about it, but neither I nor anyone I know has ever encountered it.

You'll do fine in an upscale and quality community like Jupiter.

By the way, in specific answer to your question in the subject of this thread, I moved to Florida almost 35 years ago, have lived here more than half of my life (we're 66, now), and have been deliriously happy the entire time. Moving to Florida was the single best thing we ever did in our lives. We've been successful in business, raised two excellent kids and are now enjoying our grandkids, and can't imagine living anywhere else. For 18 of those years we owned a cabin in the Northwestern mountains of North Carolina (West Jefferson) and visited there often; we sold it last year and never considered moving there full time. We are retired now, and are moving to rural Okeechobee, FL, where we purchased 5 acres next to our daughter about 4 years ago. We plan to build a new house this year. I doubt we will slow down much; there is too much to do.

[faithfulFrank]

psl,
Thank you for the encouraging post.......there are more negitives posted here than positives.......I think we will like it also.

Frank D.

[Margel]

Dear PSL,
I too want to say thanks for such a beautiful post. I will be relocating to Odessa sometime the end of 2007 into 2008 and after reading many of the posts here I became scared to death. I felt like I was literally throwing my children into the fire known as Florida. Reading your post has given me hope and encouragement. God bless you and your family and good luck with your new home too.

[sunshine girl]

Due to life changes and a homesick husband, we left Florida after 4 years in Sarasota. I did NOT want to go, but was overuled by every family member until I gave in. I miss it terribly. I miss my house, I miss the friends I made there, I miss my year round gardening, and I miss our good neighbors. The heat of summer, the old people, the seasonal traffic problems, I miss it all!!! Someday I hope to be able to retire there. I miss the laid back and accepting atmosphere of Sarasota. I miss the water and strolling along by marina Jack's and looking at the spectacular boats and the tiny boats, and the awesome sunsets over the bay. Too many negative folks on this forum. They were looking to replicate their lives in Florida from NY, NJ, etc. It is apples and oranges. (no pun intended). This is Florida, it is not NY, or CO, or IL. It is what it is. Yes there are problems unique to FL that some cannot deal with, so they leave. And, no, I am not ignorant of the high insurance rates, housing prices, growing crime rates in some cities, etc. Yes, I left also, but not for the same reasons usually posted here. I WILL be back, just don't know when or how, but I absolutely loved it there and I MISS it!!! Good luck to all you newcomers. Keep the faith.