For those who moved to Florida and like it (Jacksonville: sales, rent)
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This thread is for those who moved to Florida and like it there.
When did you move to Florida?
Where are you located?
What do you like about living in Florida?
What advice do you give for those of us who want to move to Florida, because if you moved their and like it, you must have made some great decisions along the way.
Sunny I just want to say THANK YOU for a thread like this and PLEASE No florida bashers or people that DONT like it....We are looking to relocate to Boca and would like to finally here what people like about living in Florida
I second that! I would really like to hear about the every day things that people do that make their life more enjoyable than the place they moved from. Please use specific examples. thank you!
moved from NW Ohio in '82 to Clearwater. Lived in Pinellas Co. until '03. Work had me travelling all around the state so I became very familiar with the differences in localities. Some places I loved, some I only liked and some I just didn't care for at all.
I liked the idea of being close to the beach but didn't find a beach to suit me.
We moved to Citrus Co. for some acreage to raise our dogs. Found that country life was too boring for us.
Had an opportunity to start a business in Walton Co. and found the beach was just the perfect image of what I wanted...so...now we're in paradise.
Advice? Secure employment before you move. Check out areas before you settle. Rent first...then buy when you know where you want to be. Always focus on what makes you happy, not what makes you unhappy. Don't let the bad stuff sap your energy. Life's too short for that crap.
Florida has been great for me and mine...hater posts just suck.
moved from NW Ohio in '82 to Clearwater. Lived in Pinellas Co. until '03. Work had me travelling all around the state so I became very familiar with the differences in localities. Some places I loved, some I only liked and some I just didn't care for at all.
I liked the idea of being close to the beach but didn't find a beach to suit me.
We moved to Citrus Co. for some acreage to raise our dogs. Found that country life was too boring for us.
Had an opportunity to start a business in Walton Co. and found the beach was just the perfect image of what I wanted...so...now we're in paradise.
Advice? Secure employment before you move. Check out areas before you settle. Rent first...then buy when you know where you want to be. Always focus on what makes you happy, not what makes you unhappy. Don't let the bad stuff sap your energy. Life's too short for that crap.
Florida has been great for me and mine...hater posts just suck.
Thank you!!!
You are the perfect 1st post. Why? Because you moved around Florida and found the place you desired. For us, I post that all the time, if I do not find the place to our liking, I will move around just like you until I do find that place. Just like you, I will find that place in Florida.
I second that! I would really like to hear about the every day things that people do that make their life more enjoyable than the place they moved from. Please use specific examples. thank you!
Some people will "never" be happy no matter where they land. I think we both know that!
Like you I look forward to some specific post from those who have done what we both want to do, find that place in Florida that we can feel comfy with and enjoy life without freezing our butts off.
This thread is for those who moved to Florida and like it there.
When did you move to Florida?
Where are you located?
What do you like about living in Florida?
What advice do you give for those of us who want to move to Florida, because if you moved their and like it, you must have made some great decisions along the way.
Ok...I have to chuckle at this because my first response is "Which Time?" I moved to Florida in 1981 for 5 months. Went back to Illinois. As a newlywed-I missed family.
In 1983 I tried the same thing again. Again stayed for 4-5 months--but my husband wasn't making near the money as up north--so we went back to Illinois.
I have to admit, we were young-early 20's--and didn't have children-so it was easy to up and do this. Especially because I did have an aunt down here that we stayed with while trying to figure everything out--which also means we didn't move all of our belongings with us--at least the first time.
The third time we moved to Florida was in 1990. By this time we had two children ages 1 & 3. My husband took a transfer with his employer so basically we didn't have to worry about money or other critical issues. We came to Orlando and stayed for 1 year before moving to Pennsylvania. This time we moved back NORTH for the change of seasons and other things that I can't even remember anymore. That's so strange, cause at the time I couldn't wait to leave Florida--I wasn't enjoying it anymore.
We stayed in PA for 11 years and came back to Orlando again--this time with 4 kids in tow--and all in school by now. Uping and moving on a whim was no longer an option--even though I admit--I have spent a lot of time wishing I were someplace else. This 4th move was because we were tired of winters and grey skies--again.
With all of my comings and goings from Florida/to Florida, I HAVE LEARNED A VERY VALUABLE LIFE LESSON HERE-- EVERY TIME I NOW GO OFF ON A JOURNEY--OUT OF STATE--IN SEARCH OF MY UTOPIA--I ALWAYS FIND MYSELF CROSSING THE FLORIDA STATE LINE--HEADING BACK SOUTH TOWARDS ORLANDO--VERY HAPPY TO BE BACK HERE.
I also see Florida with a fresh set of eyes again--because on my trips, I am looking for places to live--I am not looking at places through the eyes of a tourist. I have become very good at this and this is what you must do too. Don't come down here and do all of the theme parks, beaches, etc. Spend your days on the highways, in the shopping centers, drivng subdivisions, going to the park to watch the locals. Talk to everybody you can when you are down here--your front desk clerk at the hotel, your server in the restaurant, the clerk in 7-11, the sales clerks in stores, etc. The only exception to doing the beach stuff--go there if you are moving to the beach--but OTHERWISE, DON'T DO ONE SINGLE THING THAT HAS TO DO WITH A TOURIST ATTRACTION You cannot have that mindset--it will throw everything off.
I always take my "looking for utopia" trips up north in the winter.....You see, I ABSOLUTELY HATE WINTER!!! I HATE SIX MONTHS OF GREY SKIES, MUSH, AND SLUSH. I can deal with the cold for a few days--then I am sick of it and I want my warm, balmy, sunny skies back.
I want to see green trees and flowers. I want to see the palm trees swaying in the breeze. I want to hear everything that is so alive down here throughout the year as opposed to the still and quiet of winter north.
I had to laugh--this past December I traveled thru GA, NC, VA. I saw palm trees in ATHENS, GA--they looked like they were freezing. Somehow, the palm trees up there looked to me like they were wishing they weren't there either
When you move down here, the first year or two will be the most difficult because you will be doing the whole comparison thing. Everything that is different here than where you came from will be either accepted or condemned by you--so a lot of the early time is kinda like comparing a new boyfriend to an old one. Obviously, the more you see that you are ok with, the quicker and easier the whole process of making this your home will be.
The biggest problem, in my opinion, that people have when they relocate--especially if they are locating to somewhere in their mind that is paradise to them--is that most people ALWAYS FORGET THAT NO PLACE IS PERFECT--YOU LEAVE BEHIND ONE SET OF PROBLEMS AND HAVE TO LEARN TO DEAL WITH A NEW SET OF PROBLEMS.....everyone forgets that is the whole idea with life. That is what causes us to grow. That is what enables us to be happy. That is what enables us to differentiate between good & bad, etc. etc. If life always went the way we wanted it to--we would have no appreciation for anything.
Anyway, if you are coming from the northeast or midwest, as I did, many things are going to be different--and many things will not be different--BUT because you are still trying to adjust, you will think they are different. You will think they are different to the point of those issues being worse here in Florida than the place you left--because your living reality is right here, right now--not yesterday, last month or last year. You hated Washington DC traffic when you lived there, but now you ARE SITTING in traffic in Florida and you now think Florida traffic and drivers are a nightmare because that is now your reality as you are sitting on I-95, I-4, I-75--or wherever.
Everything about the place you left isn't real anymore because its all in your head. Once we leave someplace, our memories often soften and we think oh it was so nice there or it wasn't so bad there. And you are living
here thinking this is a nightmare--what was I thinking when I left wherever??? You start saying, "I hate Florida, I can't wait to get out of here." Guess what? If and when you do leave--9 out of 10 people will end up saying--this is not how I remember it--Florida wasn't so bad--I wish I had never left!
When we first came down here I thought schools down here were way worse than where we came from. With time and the academic accomplishments of my kids--my perspective on that has also changed. A lot of what your child achieves is up to YOU and THEM. When we came down here my kids were one full year ahead of all of their classmates. I beat myself up over that for a long time. However, all 4 of my kids are now in high school and college. The two in college graduated in the top 3% of their class and never lacked for classes they wanted to take. My daughter is a sophmore and is 11th out of 850+ students. She will already be a sophmore when she starts college because she is taking so many college level classes and will do dual enrollment. Youngest son, now a freshman, will follow in the steps of all his siblings. The educational opportunities are there--and so are the accelerated classes. If your child wants to pursue that, he will be able to do so.
We do not miss weather up north at all--and weather was a main reason we came to Florida. Summers in Florida can be brutal with the extreme humidity. That is usually the time I find myself not wanting to be here. But I hate winter more than summer, so as I said, I take my trips up north in the winter and come back to Florida saying, "I love it here". As I am getting older (but still very young) I also appreciate the humidity a little more because it will keep my skin younger--longer than a dry climate will. You get to a certain age where you are thankful for help however it comes--and this is FREE!!!
We originally chose Orlando to be close to all of the theme parks--which I still enjoy immensely and because we are used to living in larger metro areas so we still wanted a city/urban area. Truthfully, I enjoy the theme parks so much that when I think of relocating to other states, I am simply not willing to give up being able to go to all of the wonderful theme parks that are right here.
After all of my out-of-state trips, I am now convinced that Florida is my utopia--I just need to find out exactly where in Florida that my be. I get the itch to check out places along the beach, because we did the theme park thing--now I just need to figure out if I'm wanting to do the beach thing.
I am a very friendly and outgoing person. Quite frankly, I don't see people down here as being any more rude than people in a lot of other cities throughout the country. People as a whole may not seem as friendly as small-town mid-westerners or southerners---but they are a whole lot more open and friendly than people in many places in the northeast.
I love wearing shorts and flip/flops for most of the year. It's a much more casual lifestyle--which I really like. NO MORE PANTYHOSE
We have lived here since 2001--and have had no trouble with crime--absolutely zero. The way some people in Florida talk about the crime rate here you would think we were in the middle of Mexico or something. That's phooey! I live on the SW side of Orlando in a nice community--but not super affluent. My neighborhood is not gated. I go for walks in the evening without even thinking about it. Yes, there are scattered incidents, but not enough that I'm concerned and going to worry about it.
One thing that has been hard for me to adjust to are the holidays. I am so used to all of them being in cold months. Having Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, etc. in warm weather has been hard to and makes "getting into the spirit" sometimes challenging--because they seem more like July 4th or something.
You will find what you seek...if you are coming down here with the idea that people are rude, or crime is a major issue to be dealt with--guess what? Those are exactly the things you will find because that is what your expectation is. Those are the things you are going to focus on--so for you, they will be everywhere.
Not having a state income tax is a nice perk too. as is the No smoking laws down here.
Anyway, I don't need to make any more out-of-state trips looking for utopia, I know I am going to find it right here in my own backyard--somewhere
ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!!!!
Last edited by itsajourney; 03-15-2009 at 12:43 AM..
Man I'm so confused. I want to move here maybe around Tampa but I just read and see all the negative things. I've been to Disney and although it's not living here I did get a feel for the heat for 7 days. I am from VA and I did find it really hot in Orlando. Maybe I could get used to it after a while.
Although we only spent one night off site it was more diversity in one night than I've seen here in years. The constant negative posts, the prison riot videos on MSNBC.. really? It looked beautiful off site with palm trees every where and the shopping centers were like nothing here. I LOVED the different accents every where you go!! French, Spanish, Chinese.. Never heard them all on the same bus ride until I got here. I'm 20 so it was paradise to me. I'm also interested in NASA. I never see posts here about NASA, if I lived here I'd be there every launch if not everyday. I can only imagine the views you guys get!
So it just seems to me that there are just as many good things as bad. And like I said even though it was one night off site I really enjoyed it more than the other 7 at Disney. The Courtyard Marriott by Seaworld is where we were but we did leave the area to see other places. I hope to get to comeback for a longer trip to just stay in Florida (not for disney) I know it sounds insane to base it on one night but I really really liked it.
This is the best thread i've read here in a long time.......where have you people been??
I've avoided this thread I guess because I do not really live here yet....although I'm here a few months a year and bought a home here, so I am "invested" here.
When did you move to Florida? We left Denver, Colorado and moved to Port St Joe in northwest Florida in late fall, 2005, as Hurricane Wilma was making her way through.
Where are you located?
We are now located on Amelia Island, north of Jacksonville, in northeast Florida.
What do you like about living in Florida?
I *love* our little town of Fernandina. I love that we do have seasonal changes, but that I will probably not ever shovel snow again. I love the beach.
What advice do you give for those of us who want to move to Florida, because if you moved their and like it, you must have made some great decisions along the way.
Make sure of employment, weigh your choices, do your research.
Relocating is a HUGE decision. We knew we were taking a chance with our move. The economy began unraveling pretty much right after we moved to PSJ. We've had two layoffs. However, the husband had connections and always landed on his feet.
We are now fairly stable and have few if any regrets.
Certainly we will stay: We love living here.
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Ok...I have to chuckle at this because my first response is "Which Time?" I moved to Florida in 1981 for 5 months. Went back to Illinois. As a newlywed-I missed family. 
You get to a certain age where you are thankful for help however it comes--and this is FREE!!!
