[DailyJournalist]

If you are leaving Florida, what city and state are you moving to? What is your biggest reason for leaving the state of Florida?

[TD*]

Im thinking of leaving florida for North Carolina, South Carolina Georgia or Tennessee.....

Main Reason: I dont like heat, and this will give me some reprise from it.

Second Reason: I love Mountains, and want to be closer to them!

[ucfjtm]

Suburbs of St. Louis, Mo.
Grew up and spent most of my life in Florida and I've been to many parts of the country and world, but I love seasons. My primary reason? My experience, and those of some family members who have moved up there, is that it's simply a better place to have a family than any major city Florida (or most of the country) has to offer. The suburbs of STL have excellent public schools, very low crime, and lower cost of living. The city itself offers 3 major sports with fans that actually support the teams, higher paying jobs in my field, a few fantastic walkable neighborhoods (Central West End, Delmar Loop, Soulard, Washington St), great public transportation with the light rail system, nature nearby in the Ozarks, plenty of family-oriented events and locations that are usually free for kids, and a very friendly & historical culture that comes with a city that has been a major metro area for well over 100 years.

Thankfully, there are many great places to live in this country, so everyone has a choice. Florida is a wonderful place for many people, and I feel it's almost time to try another part of the country that I know has all the features I'm looking for.

[Floridamom1970]

Oklahoma City Oklahoma! 12 more days. We are moving for many reasons some of which are: 1. Lower cost of living. 2. Lower cost of housing.
3. More job opportunities. 4, Much lower crime rates than any city in Florida of comparable size. 5. Better homeschooling laws.6. they do get some snow
7. From what I have learned it does seem that they get all four seasons.

[riceme]

Right now, it looks like to either Carpinteria, California (between Ventura and Santa Barbara) or Austin, Texas.

I will move as soon as I find the right job situation for myself... I want to move because I don't think Florida is a habitable state. Between the heat, humidity, hurricanes, tornadoes, housing market (driven solely off hurricanes and nothing else), insurance, the GD swamps, reptiles, and bugs... I don't really see why it's considered fit for human habitation.

I am from the mountains, and plan on returning to them (or near them) absolutely as soon as possible.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Floridamom1970

4, Much lower crime rates than any city in Florida of comparable size.

I hope the best for you in OKC, but just do not leave misinformed, or else you will just end up being disappointed.

Crime in Oklahoma City by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Murders 56 38 45 38 49 39 54 55 58
per 100,000 11.8 7.8 8.9 7.4 9.4 7.4 10.2 10.3 10.7
Rapes 398 388 405 445 365 374 358 327 326
per 100,000 84.0 79.4 79.8 86.8 70.0 71.2 67.3 61.0 60.1
Robberies 1,064 990 1,090 1,169 1,381 1,173 1,193 1,179 1,397
per 100,000 224.6 202.7 214.8 228.1 264.7 223.4 224.4 220.0 257.7
Assaults 2,553 2,535 2,643 2,562 2,847 2,735 2,933 2,740 2,831
per 100,000 538.9 519.0 520.8 500.0 545.7 520.9 551.6 511.2 522.1
Burglaries 8,038 7,280 8,405 8,314 8,300 8,315 8,925 9,304 8,110
per 100,000 1696.6 1490.5 1656.1 1622.4 1591.0 1583.5 1678.6 1735.8 1495.8
Thefts 28,414 33,012 29,771 33,686 35,367 33,444 28,635 20,169 19,228
per 100,000 5997.4 6758.8 5866.0 6573.5 6779.4 6369.1 5385.7 3762.8 3546.3
Auto thefts 3,630 3,602 3,516 3,715 3,928 3,835 4,585 4,819 4,611
per 100,000 766.2 737.5 692.8 725.0 753.0 730.3 862.3 899.0 850.4
Arson 235 216 222 228 208 193 180 201 173
per 100,000 49.6 44.2 43.7 44.5 39.9 36.8 33.9 37.5 31.9
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 320.9) 685.9 677.4 656.1 687.2 706.1 667.1 653.7 581.5 565.8

Crime in Tampa by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Murders 31 38 34 37 41 30 20 25 28
per 100,000 10.6 12.3 10.9 11.7 12.8 9.2 6.1 7.5 8.3
Rapes 233 235 212 204 222 181 210 133 80
per 100,000 79.5 76.4 68.1 64.3 69.2 55.7 63.8 40.1 23.7
Robberies 2,321 2,183 2,359 2,334 1,769 1,413 1,160 1,211 1,205
per 100,000 792.3 709.3 757.8 735.5 551.2 435.2 352.5 365.3 357.3
Assaults 4,018 3,925 4,011 3,714 3,701 3,554 3,317 2,470 2,262
per 100,000 1371.6 1275.4 1288.4 1170.4 1153.3 1094.5 1008.1 745.1 670.8
Burglaries 6,024 6,177 6,096 6,283 6,390 6,077 4,914 4,451 4,221
per 100,000 2056.4 2007.2 1958.2 1980.0 1991.2 1871.6 1493.5 1342.7 1251.7
Thefts 13,649 15,336 15,586 16,088 16,715 14,821 12,564 11,251 10,390
per 100,000 4659.3 4983.3 5006.6 5069.9 5208.7 4564.5 3818.4 3394.1 3081.1
Auto thefts 5,740 5,772 6,550 6,720 5,344 3,937 2,793 3,087 2,164
per 100,000 1959.4 1875.6 2104.0 2117.7 1665.3 1212.5 848.8 931.3 641.7
Arson 214 218 197 134 146 94 49 45 73
per 100,000 73.1 70.8 63.3 42.2 45.5 28.9 14.9 13.6 21.6
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 320.9) 1083.9 1043.5 1067.0 1040.3 957.9 823.1 695.8 610.1 539.1

[faithfulFrank]

Folks,
Please let's stay on topic.
The OP asked those who are thinking about leaving Florida where they would go and why. I think that is a good question that should get some interesting responses.

Weather the reasons are perceived or factual, please let's not debate them here, and let's just see where people are going. No place is perfect, and I would like this thread not to get sidetracked debating comparisons.

As you all already know, I'm going the other way in 2.5 years, from NY to Florida......any Floridians want a real nice house in western NY with acreage, etc?

[ChrisA70]

VERY nice house Frank!!!!

On the OP.

I am moving in 10 days to Pittsfield, MA from Cape Coral, FL.

I am mostly moving to MA because I miss the seasons, and cooler weather, but I am also moving for a better job opportunity and the pay is higher, cost of living is equally distributed where I am going. Cost of living is the same as here or less.

[markhunt]

Trying to move back to Connecticut for a better quality of life for my children. Schools and crime are big factors in that.

As a more personal level for me I want change of seasons, better cuisine, and to be close to NYC again (just to name a few).

The funny thing is I am having the problem of finding work in CT, which is the opposite of most trying to find work down here in FL leaving northern states.

Anyone reading this in CT that work in the IT field want to swap jobs???

[faithfulFrank]

Thank you Back to Ma,

Posting that was shameless of me...almost breaking my own rule....please forgive me.

This IS an interesting thread...where people are moving to and why.
It's great we live in such a free country with so many different choices!

Good luck to all of you....be proud that you are lighting a candle instead of cursing the darkness......again, life is too short to live where you do not want to.

Frank D.