moving from LA either fort lauderdale FL or austin tx

[fkostas]

Depending what your husband does in advertising, he may do fine here. Healthcare admin? that's a crapshoot these days. What do you do? Claims, customer service, sales? There are a few bigger insurance agencies in Pompano such as Seitlin you may look into-The salaries there were actually pretty fair for this economy. Sales is a no go, unless you can survive a year on little to no income while you build your book of business up. It's rare to find a sales job anymore with a salary or any benefits.

Ft. Lauderdale or Orlando? Unless you have a great job with Disney, it's a no brainer-Ft Lauderdale is superior in every way, IMO. Orlando has no beach, and feels too landlocked and overly commericalized for my taste. Neither city is much for biking, but we d have a few mountain bike courses here, and you can't beat camping in the Everglades after October.

[SierraDog]

I would strongly recommend having at least one of you employed before you move to either area. That said, I like Fort Lauderdale a lot, because I am a water person who enjoys boating, scuba, and fishing. If camping and mountain biking are your passions, I'd think Austin would be a better fit. That said, if you're interested in South Florida, don't restrict your job search to Fort Lauderdale, because Boca Raton and Palm Beach County seem to offer a lot of professional/corporate jobs (Boca in particular has a big corporate presence). There are also some great areas for younger people in Palm Beach County, such as Delray Beach, if one of you ends up with a job in that county.

I personally would not want to live in Orlando (I'm a mid-30s professional, by the way). The area is really sprawly and poorly planned, and traffic can be frustrating, and it has a very generic, suburban vibe. It's humid and hot in the summer, without the ocean breezes we get here. Think Atlanta with a worse economy. If someone ended up with a great job there, then it would be worth considering. Housing prices are still really low, as the area was hit hard in the bust and is taking even longer to recover than South Florida. It is closer to hills and nature, for mountain biking and camping.

[austin_newbie12]

I moved from Boston, which I loved!!! to So. FL 11 yrs. ago. I have never been so unhappy in my life. It is so hot always and humid. The people are the rudest in the world and stupid. They do NOT know how to drive. People say cause they are New Yorkers..melarchy...New Yorkers have class. Florida snow birds think they are 'entitled' but I am not sure why or where they got this idea from. It is so boring here day and night. There are no jobs and it is a 'right to work state..' I think that means the employer can do whatever they want at any time. They have the worst health care and it is a fortune. The doctors are as rude as the people..I can't figure out where they come from. It is definately a different 'beast' as I see it. I am not sure how I am going to afford it but by hook or by crook I going for a new experience, adventure and lifestyle change. I know no one..but have no friends here either. People here are always angry. That's if they speak English. Hopefully this will help you and you WON'T DO IT!!!

[fkostas]

Right to work simply means than employers don't have to carry dead weight. Why should a company lose money by having lazy, unmotivated, entitled workers? Very few companies get rid of good, productive employees uness they absolutely have to. I've worked in Florida all my life, and can count on one hand employers who were unfair. They offer a job, and you either do it well, or they find someone else who will. Skilled, motivated people who show up for work every day have nothing to fear.

The healthcare is not crap-We have the Memorial, Cleveland Clinic, and Florida Medical Center systems to name a few-All are very good.

It's hot, but that should be fairly intuitive.

Most people speak English.

[Vlcmbro]

Hi Jennifer, did you decide on a place? I live in LA and hate it here too! Those are two of the same cities I'm thinking bout moving to.

[StEt0417]

I grew up in LA then moved to Palmdale (just outside of LA) when I was older. I moved to FL 8yrs ago and loved it. I didnt find it hard to adjust at all. I love the water, boating, warm heat etc.. My husband took a job in TX a year ago and we dont like it here. It is a great place to raise a family, Texans are so proud of where they come from. I say 90% of the people are friendly. There are sooo many great things about TX, however it doesnt fit our lifestyles so we are moving back to Fort lauderdale area. WE love the water and all the things that come with it. In Texas you can get big houses for really cheap, you dont find that in FL. After living here we realized you pay for the lifestyle in SFL (beach) If the water isnt really your thing then I would move to Austin, its beautiful. Your not that far from the beach there just the beaches arent as nice.

[things and stuff]

I'm not sure why Orlando is on the OP's list but Pinellas county (in Tampa bay) isn't.

[HotandHumid]

Broward County, which is the county Fort Lauderdale is located in, had a record 22 days of above 90 degree temperatures last month in July. The normal days above 90 degrees in July is 14 so if you like sweating and getting overheated, since the humidity in Fort Lauderdale makes it feel like it's over 100 degrees when temperatures are above 90 here, this is the place to be.
If you're planning on moving to Fort Lauderdale to get out of your car more often than in LA, forget about it because Fort Lauderdale is just a big suburb looking for a city where everything is spread out and there's really no such thing as a neighborhood. Everyone drives everywhere in this city and they want their parking to be free so most people who live here don't ever go into the downtown area except to work and there are more run down, down and out areas here than there are so called "good" areas.