Best place to live and work in Florida? (Tallahassee, Quincy: gated, travel)

[luckycharms]

sunrico90: thanks for the follow-up! I've added all the names to my list (though you've just made my job harder )

riveree: your advocacy for Jax makes me want to shout, "Sold!" It's still high on my list, and I will remember you while researching it.

Right now I'm trying to tackle Delray, which I've discovered is part of Palm Beach in Southern FL, which also contains Boca and Boynton. (Don't laugh, I'm clueless about Florida Wait, you still have good oranges, right?)

The research is slow going... After work I find myself wading through hundreds of posts, descriptions, reviews, etc., trying to get a "feel" for it, but it's not the same without physically being there (and I'm going away on vacation this summer.)

By the way, I haven't really "job" searched yet, but the few postings I've seen have been nothing like sunrico's dream listing; unfortunately, more like $45k (yikes!) and I was wondering if that kind of salary would allow me to live in the nice areas like Boca/Delray? Please say yes and don't burst my bubble! Alright...just burst it, and let me know so I don't send my resume needlessly.

Thanks everyone!

[jsims10315]

Check out the Melbourne/Palm Bay area. High Tech jobs, Affordable living, Beaches, 1hour from Disney, Cruise lines, Gambling boats, Great schools, And on and on.
I have been here 50 years and loved every minute of it.

[Delacruz8]

Lucky,

I'm in your exact shoes. (Didn't quite check out the dates you posted your inquiries so I'm not quite sure what's the status of your BIG move) But I'm curious as to what your ulitmate findings where in FLorida. I'm starting to ask folks the same questions because I'm 27 year old, works as a Benefit Analyst, wraping up my MBA next year and I am done with NYC!!! I REALLY want a lifestyle change and like you I don't really care for the whole "Miami Beach" scene. I'm anxious about job security but I like the idea of having peace of mind, freindly neighbors, and sunny days make me feel very optimistic.

Best of luck to you!

[Strel]

Originally Posted by Delacruz8

Lucky,

I'm in your exact shoes. (Didn't quite check out the dates you posted your inquiries so I'm not quite sure what's the status of your BIG move) But I'm curious as to what your ulitmate findings where in FLorida. I'm starting to ask folks the same questions because I'm 27 year old, works as a Benefit Analyst, wraping up my MBA next year and I am done with NYC!!! I REALLY want a lifestyle change and like you I don't really care for the whole "Miami Beach" scene. I'm anxious about job security but I like the idea of having peace of mind, freindly neighbors, and sunny days make me feel very optimistic.

Best of luck to you!

Peace of mind, friendly neighbors.....I think you should look in north Florida/Panhandle if that is what you are looking for.

[pavchek]

In my opinion Sarasota i s a great charmy town. Beautiful, safe and not as pretentious as the rest of South Florida.
I was very nicely surprised when I visited it.
Pensacola, Destin areas were a nice surprise as well. Much cheaper and not as snobbish . Extremely beautiful beaches....

[HengyMama]

The entire Panhandle has very low wages and the housing is through the roof. The beaches are horrible during spring break and don't even think about getting anything on the water.....100,000 just for a tiny lot. We are out of here next summer. Tired of the heat, the people, the low wages, the traffic and the bugs.

[SouthBayTodd]

Originally Posted by Damemeow

Hi there!

I lived in Boca for 12 years. Both Boca and Delray are great towns... you may also want to consider Boynton Beach and Wellington. All of these are pretty quiet, but lots of atmosphere and cool stuff to do. If you end up near Delray Beach, there is a place right on the beach called Boston's... they show all the Red Sox games and Pats games at the bar. My DH is from Maine, so that was a huge plus for him.

do you have any tips on what cities in South Florida have reasonably priced waterfront homes (for rent or for sale)? how does Boca etc.. compare to the Gulf side of Florida (Cape Coral etc...) thanks!

[luckycharms]

Hi everybody,

Well, Panhandle and Sarasota are new to me; they'll have to be added to the ever-growing research list.

I'm sure that north and south Florida must differ immensely (as it does here in New England), so that makes Jacksonville and Co. my next priority. I assume the areas north are less crowded and relaxed than those of the south (Miami, Daytona, etc.)?

Hey, Delacruz, if you research the Jacksonville area...and find a good spot...I'll be your neighbor!

Actually, I was reading a similar post on this forum the other day (wish I had bookmarked it), and it nearly turned me off to Florida completely. The post was basically 4 pages of Floridians saying they couldn't wait to get the f$&&! out of Florida: it was hot, it was destitute, it was crime-ridden. Jeesh. Not the "Welcome to Florida!" billboard I was hoping to see.

Most of the commentary praised Boca (which is currently the focus of my search), though even there in "paradise" there were many warnings of shady areas/people. It's funny, but I can't seem to find one posting that doesn't forewarn of crime. It's funny because we never talk like that here in Boston. In 20 years I have never uttered the words "robbery, knife-point, battery, or gang" (and I've partied all over Boston...well, except for Roxbury, Mattapan, and Dorchester! where people get shot daily!).

I really hate to belabor the point, and I think that once I research Jacksonville I'll have a better grip on north and south (generically). Also, I'm pretty sure I want something suburban, maybe even a gated community with tropical flowers and a brochure-like facade, which all relies upon a J-O-B. So, I am now actively searching the job postings, because if the salary isn't there...neither is the dream.

Thanks everyone!

[SouthBayTodd]

Originally Posted by luckycharms

Actually, I was reading a similar post on this forum the other day (wish I had bookmarked it), and it nearly turned me off to Florida completely. The post was basically 4 pages of Floridians saying they couldn't wait to get the f$&&! out of Florida: it was hot, it was destitute, it was crime-ridden. Jeesh. Not the "Welcome to Florida!" billboard I was hoping to see.

i think in general lots of people might seem negative about where they are leaving - because for whatever reason they want to move somewhere else. that doesnt mean where they are leaving is bad necessarily. i mean, every place has some bad aspects

[riveree]

Originally Posted by luckycharms

It's funny, but I can't seem to find one posting that doesn't forewarn of crime. It's funny because we never talk like that here in Boston. In 20 years I have never uttered the words "robbery, knife-point, battery, or gang"

I wonder about this too, Luckycharms. There is a lot of talk on the forums about crime. Crime happens, and it's a terrible thing, but is it that prevalent in the everyday lives of these posters?

I'm far from oblivious about the possibility of crime in my day to day activities, but I just keep my guard up as best I can and go on with life.