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My husband will be graduating from chiropractic school in Dallas,TX soon and we will be associating in New Zealand for two years after that. Once We are done in NZ it will be time to set up in the states. We have narrowed our options down to Texas, Colorado, Utah, or Florida. We can move anywhere but prefer to live somewhere that has good population growth, cost of living, a decent amount of sunshine, and has outdoor activities. My husband is Hawaiian/Filipino born and raised on Oahu and I am Guatemalan/Welsh raised on the coast of MD. We don't want to live anywhere where we or our future kids will be treated differently because of our diverse background. We will be trying to start a family by then and would prefer living in a great location for families. We know Texas and Colorado would be great business wise and are on the top of the list. So please give me all your advice and knowledge concerning your preferable location. Would you rather live/start a business in Colorado, Texas, Utah, or Florida and if so, where? Thank you! ( Please no negative comments about chiropractic if you have any, I'm looking for research supported tips and not ill informed opinions)
Last edited by Chapinadancer; 04-05-2016 at 03:26 PM..
Florida: I personally love Florida. If your husband can get a job in his field there, Orlando and the Tampa/St. Petersburg areas would be my choices. For a smaller metro, the Melbourne/Palm Bay area is good.
Colorado: Denver's a great area, but expensive (if that's an issue). Colorado Springs and the Ft. Collins/Loveland areas are nice options, but are smaller metros than Denver.
Texas: The large metros all have good economies. You're already familiar with the one that would be my choice, Dallas/Ft. Worth. Houston is good too.
Utah: Salt Lake City. Pretty area, good economy, and reasonable cost of living.
Generally speaking, in terms of the racially mixed family concern, I really don't think you'll have any issues with any of these areas. Most people in the U.S. have no problems with that at all. Good luck in your search!
I would highly advise against Central Florida as specialized, often elective care (not covered by insurance) is not something people living in a place with little disposable income would choose over other daily needs. I live in Central Florida (the Orlando area) and can tell you as a small business owner that the economy has not recovered here and may not ever as the wage loss has been especially evident here with lots of 30K-50K jobs replaced by $10-$12 an hour versions over the past several years. Orlando for instance was mentioned recently as the most rent-strapped city versus salary, with six out of ten renters here (one of the highest ratios in the country). The Tampa Bay area is a good bit better as well as other areas such as SE Florida (Miami-Ft Lauderdale-West Palm Beach), SW Florida (Naples in particular) and even Jacksonville which has emerged as the second most diverse metro in the state economically (after SE Florida) and is showing a lot of great promise in terms of growth and attracting new industry. In fact as a new chiropractor I would find Jacksonville most appealing with growing bedroom communities to the south in St John's County and to the north in Nassau County, which coincidentally are the #1 and #2 top-rated school districts in the entire state.
I would highly advise against Central Florida as specialized, often elective care (not covered by insurance) is not something people living in a place with little disposable income would choose over other daily needs. I live in Central Florida (the Orlando area) and can tell you as a small business owner that the economy has not recovered here and may not ever as the wage loss has been especially evident here with lots of 30K-50K jobs replaced by $10-$12 an hour versions over the past several years. Orlando for instance was mentioned recently as the most rent-strapped city versus salary, with six out of ten renters here (one of the highest ratios in the country). The Tampa Bay area is a good bit better as well as other areas such as SE Florida (Miami-Ft Lauderdale-West Palm Beach), SW Florida (Naples in particular) and even Jacksonville which has emerged as the second most diverse metro in the state economically (after SE Florida) and is showing a lot of great promise in terms of growth and attracting new industry. In fact as a new chiropractor I would find Jacksonville most appealing with growing bedroom communities to the south in St John's County and to the north in Nassau County, which coincidentally are the #1 and #2 top-rated school districts in the entire state.
I wasn't aware of Orlando's situation. Good points and observations given that you live there. My wife and I are in our early 50's. She will be retiring in a few years and I already am. We're not rich, but we our home outright and we're not in debt. Though we love living here in the Charlotte area, if we chose to move (we love Central FL), Orlando's situation wouldn't affect us like it would a young family or young couple. It's definitely a perspective worth considering. Again, good post.
Floridians seem to have a high tolerance for quackery.
It's more about being infested with transplants from other states who are allergic to paying taxes which help protect consumers via licensing/credentialing and oversight....until something goes wrong, then of course it's someone else's fault and extremely litigation worthy.
Personally I wouldn't look that far down the road. You're not even in NZ yet - maybe that goes swimmingly and you both want to stay.
That is, at least to me it seems a bit like you're trying to put the cart (a "lifetime home with a flourishing practice") before the horse which is today and tomorrow and perhaps 2 full years abroad.
As for chiropractic specifically, he should really be familiar with "scope of practice" laws in each state. In Oregon, for example, a chiropractor is licensed as a primary care provider and can even do minor surgery and a range of other things. I'd have to look it up, but there are states where a chiropractor is quite limited.
As he goes through his associateship he'll likely get a sense of what he actually wants to "do" in his practice, which he will then need to compare to what each state would allow him to do with a DC degree and their particular state licensure/scope of practice.
He should be able to find that through the ACA, or through resources at his institution.
Though we love living here in the Charlotte area, if we chose to move (we love Central FL), Orlando's situation wouldn't affect us like it would a young family or young couple. It's definitely a perspective worth considering. Again, good post.
I'm somewhat fascinated by those that find Central Florida so appealing. What is it exactly that it offers that you like so much?
Florida to me Sucks. Ive been living here for 10+years. I have lived in miami, palm beach and now live in broward. These places have become extremely populated. Traffic is horrible. Cost of living is high. I am a nurse practitioner. Florida is pqcked with all kinds of medical offices here. I dont think there is any shortage. In fact too much competition. In terms of outdoor activities theres beach, fishing, kayak, canooing etc. More limited than utah and colorado. I have been to those states as well for vacation and loved utah soo much im planning on moving there ! My mom lives in melbourne coco beach area. Its great if your old!. Otherwise boring. I love the outdoors. Came to realize i will be more happy in Utah than here. So much more things to do. Here is just hot all the time. High obesity rate too. Good luck
Florida to me Sucks. Ive been living here for 10+years. I have lived in miami, palm beach and now live in broward. These places have become extremely populated. Traffic is horrible. Cost of living is high. I am a nurse practitioner. Florida is pqcked with all kinds of medical offices here. I dont think there is any shortage. In fact too much competition. In terms of outdoor activities theres beach, fishing, kayak, canooing etc. More limited than utah and colorado. I have been to those states as well for vacation and loved utah soo much im planning on moving there ! My mom lives in melbourne coco beach area. Its great if your old!. Otherwise boring. I love the outdoors. Came to realize i will be more happy in Utah than here. So much more things to do. Here is just hot all the time. High obesity rate too. Good luck
Florida is not bad overall but the climate is why I want to leave more than anything I miss the 4 seasons of living in Nashville.
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