[fl fan]

My husband and I are considering relocating to Pensacola. We are researching jobs and it sounds negative. My husband is a truck driver looking to get out of the OTR biz and just do local runs. We love Pensacola but we do not want to make a mistake. Is it hard to make a decent living there? Decent to us is having a nice apartment and being able to pay the bills.

[grapico]

My mom lives there and has been out of a job for 6 months now... (she was in real estate)
Unless you want to be a waitress or work on one of the bases... I'd say look elsewhere for now.

[On-da-Beach]

Have you considered UPS, FedEx or DSL? They seem to be always on the lookout for experienced drivers with a CDL certification. But do it soon...if our new prez. brings home the troops...all those vets will be looking for jobs and, as vets, they will get first consideration (rightfully so). With Pensacola being a military town, that is worth some thought.
BTW...it seems about 90% of the realtors in the country are out of work.

[fl fan]

Thank you so much for your advice. It seems that good jobs are scarce throughout nw florida. We will keep searching for something though. We hate to give up our florida dream just yet.

[grapico]

Originally Posted by On-da-Beach

Have you considered UPS, FedEx or DSL? They seem to be always on the lookout for experienced drivers with a CDL certification. But do it soon...if our new prez. brings home the troops...all those vets will be looking for jobs and, as vets, they will get first consideration (rightfully so). With Pensacola being a military town, that is worth some thought.
BTW...it seems about 90% of the realtors in the country are out of work.

DHL which I assume you are referring to recently announced it was closing its US Domestic operations and cutting about 10K jobs.

FL fan I left FL panhandle 4 years ago b/c the job situation there was very paltry unless you are military/service industry or a govt job in TLH after about 5-6 months of looking after finishing school. To contrast I moved to Chicago after that and had 4 job offers within 2 weeks of being there going on interviews. I work in IT.

[TheJagMan]

Originally Posted by On-da-Beach

But do it soon...if our new prez. brings home the troops...all those vets will be looking for jobs and, as vets, they will get first consideration (rightfully so). With Pensacola being a military town, that is worth some thought.

IMO, I respectfully disagree with this paragraph entirely...I am military...

I believe the time table for bringing home the troops is 1.5 years from now...

Obama has been publicly announcing his plan is to relocate the troops to Afghanistan for months...

For the majority of military people I know, war is very stressful...Not only does it stink knowing that you could be going to the desert and be away from your family for the holidays...Now the shop/office on the base is down one person and everyone else has to pick up their work load...Point being, life is easier during peacetime, more people chose to stay in the service during peacetime.

Enlistments are for a fixed period of time, if the war ends, your enlistment doesn't...

Lastly upon separation, you get a one time separation move of equal mileage to your home. Meaning if you home is 1200 miles away, you can get a free move anywhere you want that's 1200 miles or less. I'd guess only 40% max, had a say of being stationed there. Sometimes you take the lesser of two evils, eg: if someone had a choice between the panhandle or Maine...While I have been to Pensacola and it's a nice place, what are the odds that somewhat would forfeit their paid move when they could move to more "popular" parts of FL or go back home? I'd think most people would have the mindset "been there, done Pensacola, what's next?"

Again, I mean no disrespect, just wanted to pass on my insights.

[lokahi]

P'cola is a great place to live as far as cost of living. Plus, if your husband has to park his rig at your house, you can still find lots of land out there. Job searching is tough, but it depends on what your area is...find a job before you move if possible. Or, save up enough $$ to have 6 mos. worth of savings while you job search. P'cola can be a tough place to find a job, but that's true of every small - medium sized town right now. Don't give up on your dreams, just be realistic and find a way to make them come true!

[fl fan]

We come from a very small town in southern Illinois. Jobs are tough to get there unless you are lucky enough to get a state prison job. We just thought Pcola might be big enough to get jobs easier and still not have to live in an overcrowded city like Chicago. But it seems jobs are hard to find everywhere for people who are just average working class. Pcola is still a dream, and we will keep working toward that goal.

[HowDeDo]

Im moving to the area but ill be semi-retiring and will be doing air conditioning sidejobs for spending money basically. A/C is my trade. I hope your husband can find a job there because it is FAR cheaper to live there than northern Illinois where ill be moving from. I really like the southern culture, the people are quite friendly and helpful, and there seems to be a deep respect for godly morals and values . Plus the beaches are a short drive away and there is a huge State Forest if youre into camping, canoeing, nature walks, etc. Good luck.

[digs5446]

how is the health care industry faring down there? I'm an x-ray tech looking to relocate from Boston in the summer or fall. I'll have free lodging from relatives during my job search but I might go crazy if I can't land a job after 2 or 3 months of full-time job searching.