[allenk893]

We're in a bit of a dilemma. I don't have time to explain the situation but I wanted to get the opinions of the people from my home state. Which is the better deal and what would you choose? If you were trying to teach in education? My mom and I want to move to Palm Bay but my mom thinks Rochester is better for the possibility of a job? Rochester was listed #1 on yahoo for places NOT to start over because of wage-cuts. So I don't know. Maybe with your opinions she'll think about it more carefully before jumping in? We are not new to Florida. We've lived all over Florida. But we've been in Texas for about 2 years now with no possibility for a teaching job coming up so we have to go.

I know that Palm Bay is better for me education-wise. Because it has A-list schools. My mom already contacted Brevard County and they say they will help her get her teaching certificate. But the problem is that she's still stuck on New York. What is the better option? She doesn't like cold weather and gets depressed sometimes from living in cold areas such as in the past we've lived in Canada and Chicago and she used to live in Boston too. She got depressed in all those places. She says Florida is the best weather wise but the possibility of a teaching job is not that high compared to Rochester.

[faithfulFrank]

I could not tell you much about Florida, but Rochester NY city school district just laid off over 200 teachers......the Rochester suburbs have also laid off teachers.......I know, I have laid off family who have been teaching in the Rochester area for years.

Generally NY state teachers make mote then other places, but NY is hurting also. It depends on what field you teach in, weather you have your Masters degree, etc...........

Populations are dropping in NY, so we need less teachers, not more. I hear NC/SC areas need teachers.......but I'm not an expert on the subject.

Frank (I live 30 miles from Rochester........)

[Rabflmom]

Assuming you haven't made a decision. School population is down in Palm Bay/Brevard county as a whole. The county has a freeze on hiring I think . Just shifting teachers around to areas needed. Not sure if they had to lay off teachers this year. Palm Bay has several charter schools and there are a few religion affiliated schools in the area. Unemployment is 10.something here, but there are still retail jobs hiring for Christmas. Some new stores have actually leased space in the new outdoor mall that opened this spring, but retail jobs pay in the $7-7.50 range with no benefits because most are part time jobs-even though they work you 30-39 hours sometimes.
We have had a lot of foreclosures so housing is cheap right now( to buy). Not sure on rentuing-might be more than a mortgage payment to rent a house right now.

In a heart beat though, I would move to Palm Bay over staying in snowy Rochester. LOL I love it here. My kids got great educations in the local schools and did very well in college. Neither have attained the job level they plan to be because of the way the economy is right now. Businesses they work for have frozen promotions for this year anyway.

I taught and worked in Brevard County schools for over 15 years and it is a good place to work if your mom can land a job.