Jax v. Orlando v. Tampa Bay v. New Orleans v. Charleston (Jacksonville: lawyer, new home)

[scootieb]

My family (husband, 2 & 6 yr olds, me) are leaving NY! My spouse had a great job waiting in Orlando (yes, had). Instead, we now have the chance to choose where to build a life. A great opportunity but also terrifying. New hometown criteria: no harsh Winters, vibrant food & culture, schools (public/private/both) that prepare kids for good colleges, and newcomers are welcome. I'm a lawyer and my husband will probably start a business. I would love to be in an area where I can walk to a few stores or restaurants, but am more than OK with needing a car. I narrowed it down to: Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa Bay (Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater), New Orleans, and Charleston. I based this on proximity to the beach (no Atlanta), city size, and lower- than- NY cost of living (no Miami). I'm not sure which, if any, of these places are good business start- up locations.

Any advice, particularly from those of you who lived in 2+ cities on the list? Thank you so much for your input. Have a great day.

[Robyn55]

Perhaps I have you confused with someone else I've written to previously (doesn't really matter) - but the job situation for lawyers isn't great anywhere in Florida these days. And - unless you're willing to work for absolute peanuts - it's important to be a Florida Bar member to get a job. Are you a member of the Florida Bar? Note that we don't have reciprocity - and the application/bar review course (which I highly recommend)/exam/admission process will probably take you about 6-12 months start to finish.

Louisiana and South Carolina don't have reciprocity either. I've only lived in Miami and Ponte Vedra Beach when it comes to Florida - have never lived in Louisiana or South Carolina. So I can't compare this area with the ones you're considering. FWIW - I suspect that New Orleans and Charleston are both pretty insular and native oriented when it comes to hiring lawyers. That was the case when I graduated law school a long time ago (and the general impression I got when visiting New Orleans to argue cases there). Best to check out what the story is today. Robyn

[projectmaximus]

I'd imagine that while it's not great, as Robyn asserts, the state of Florida as a whole would offer more opportunities to a lawyer than Louisiana and South Carolina do.

As for cities..I don't really know what you're seeking beyond the simple criteria you mentioned which has led you to your current list of options. As a massive generalization, for a family I would eliminate New Orleans. Proximity to beach would strike Orlando. COL would then favor Tampa/Jax over Charleston. Which my gut would have suggested as your two best options anyway. fwiw, parts of the South FL metro can be nice and not too expensive also.

Also, jax was recently near the top of a couple lists regarding small businesses. Those are obviously to be read/analyzed with a spoonful of salt but perhaps there's a little bit of truth behind it all. You should be able to google those articles.

[Robyn55]

Well - Florida has a lot more people than either Louisiana or South Carolina. But it also has a lot more lawyers. We're at about 100,000 Florida Bar members now. Just to compare - there were only about 15,000 lawyers statewide when we moved here in 1973. Our population has increased a lot since then - but the number of lawyers has increased a lot more %wise than the population as a whole.

I agree in terms of exploring SE Florida when it comes to lawyer jobs. More jobs there than here (although there's probably lots of competition for those jobs). Robyn