Please help me! where to raise a family in Florida? (Orlando: affordable apartments, rent)

[amanda.87]

I have been doing research the past 2 days trying to find a place for my family and I to move to. And its been difficult. So I figured I would try to get some help from people that live in florida. We have 2 children that are under the age of 5 so schools are a big deal. Affordable apartments that are pet friendly, something close to the beach but not right on top of it, friendly people, low crime rates. Now to the jobs, I will be staying at home with the kids so my fiance will need a job he doesn't have a degree in anything but is a good welder and will do just about anything except fast food retail and that sorta thing. We are looking to move sometime early this summer or late spring from Tennessee. I'm open to any and all suggestions! Thank you so much!

[luvingme23]

dear amanda,
more information about your preferences would be helpful. however, may i first suggest that you base it on where your husband can get a job. he's probably looking now but if not i would suggest that he start because it may not be the easiest thing to do once you guys actually move. as far as places to live it will heavily depend on what size city you want to stay at/near. and probably how much commuting you are willing to do. every major city in florida will have it's suburbs so you can choose to live in or out of the mix. florida rates it's schools i suggest looking up the ratings. don't go by district. go by schools because you will find that ever district will have it's A schools and it's D schools. of course you want to live along to coast line for the beach but that's most cities in florida both east and west so i couldn't make a suggestion based on that. if you are looking for something similar to tennessee mentality then i do suggest north florida coastal cities and towns over south florida. the further south you go the less of a southern mentality you get. that can be both good and bad depending on your interests. good luck.

[yamahastar]

Please, Please, Please, DON"T move here unless you have jobs. I doubt your family can afford to live here unless you both have jobs. The kind of jobs you mention for your fiance won't feed a family of 4 and pay the rent. An experienced welder might be able to get a job, especially near one of the port cities, but don't move here without an income. We have enough unemployed people struggling here already. You don't want to put your kids through that. I didn't catch that you have a good reason for coming to Florida. You might be better off staying put.

[muzikluver20]

I actually just moved to TN from FL. If your looking for a big city area then Jax will do. However if your looking for something a bit less busy you may want to try Melbourne or Satellite Beach in Brevard County FL. It's 40 min from all the Orlando activities such as Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea Word, ect...Port Canaveral is just a few minutes away also. I have heard the schools in Melbourne and Satellite Beach area are very good and if you want to live close to the beach you can rent a home across from the beach starting about $600 and up now. Hopefully that helps some. I grew up in Fl and just recently moved. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

[ssclulow]

You don't mention why you want to move. If you are moving due to your fiance losing his employment, I would strongly suggest that you not move to Florida (which currently has 12% unemployment) unless he has been offered a job & accepted it here.