PENSACOLA -- Down-home Advice, Tips, Needed (Jacksonville, Tallahassee: RV parks, condos, crime)

[GunsAmmoChocolate]

Howdy howdy.

Used to summer in Destin 40 years ago. Loved the sugar sand, salt breeze, stunted pines, the fact it was truly "The World's Friendliest Fishing Village." Enjoyed trips to Pensacola. Now looking to relocate in Pensacola, as I want a bigger city so I can find work.

Certified teacher here in Texas, experienced digital graphic artist as well, former administrative assitant at a large university.

Pensacola has UNDOUBTEDLY changed, and Destin is unrecognizable and needs a big wind to blow down all those #%&^ condos that clog a once-open beach.

I am hoping for advice about the bilingual situation and the crime situation in Pensacola. Not stirring the pot here, just need a place where it is not necessary to speak Spanish in order to teach or work in the clerical or administrative fields. I've got 20 years to go before retirement (God willing and the creek don't rise) and I want to be able to just WORK and not be hassled to speak a new language.

Leaving Texas, left New Mexico, left Arizona, left Oregon (a "sanctuary state") because they became, FOR ME, a foreign culture. Not putting that culture down, but don't want to adopt that culture. Fair enough? It's not race-based. Wouldn't want to suddenly have to speak Flemish or see all Flemish foods at the grocery store, either. Wouldn't want to have to teach the kiddos about Flemish history or relate everything to Belgium and constantly defend myself against charges that I don't like the Flemish. Wouldn't appreciate a school district telling me I had 3 years to speak Flemish fluently, and adopt Flemish culture, or I'm out on my arse.

Just want to put in my last 20 and drink tea on my porch. I've been all over and Pensacola was mighty pretty.

Live and let live, stay out of my yard, keep your hands off my property, act right.

Thanks for any advice about PENSACOLA or any other GULF-SIDE portions of Florida.

[beachmouse]

Pensacola's still an old South town for all the good and bad it covers. Some of the Mexicans who were helping rebuild after Ivan have stayed in town, but you don't commonly hear Spanish spoken there.

Crime-wise, there are some bad areas, especially the area west of downtown. But those areas are easily avoidable in everyday life.

Job availablity and pay is generally poor, even by Florida standards. The state budget is so screwed up right now that many school districts are in hiring freezes and are concerned that they may have to resort to out and out layoffs. And graphic design jobs are few and far between.

[lokahi]

Have you thought about Tallahassee? There are more jobs over there and it's still a very southern town. P'cola's job market is pretty poor right now, but the crime, etc. isn't too bad compared to other areas of the state. Also, Jacksonville is a great place to live as well. Best of luck

[GunsAmmoChocolate]

Thank both of you for the replies. I have a lot of strong skills such as Excel, 10-key by touch, etc so I can try for a secretarial job as well. Not speaking Spanish is the problem here. Wasn't this way just 4 years ago, but it is now. I will also check out T'hassee and Jville but I have such happy memories of Pensacola.

[mellowmel]

im not too sure about the language situation although i dont really come across spanish often when im out somewhere . i would think there is a higher spanish speaking population in west pensacola and the crime is significantly higher in west pensacola, east hill , and downtown areas . you will want to try to live on the northeast side if possible avoid Ensley though.dont live anywhere off of 9th ave. before you reach sacred heart hospital , there are a bunch of houses there but not so great neighborhoods , once you pass sacred heart on 9th the neighborhoods are much better st. names such as la borde , northpointe thats the section of homing im refering to . are you looking to move soon? i know of some great deals on homes right now in the northeast because im currently house hunting myself , so let me know !

~Melissa

[lokahi]

Have you thought about applying to law firms with all of your secretarial skills? They are always looking for paralegals, and if you like it, you can get your paralegal certification.

It's tough to find a job when you don't live in the area. P'cola is esp. that way. Do you have a friend's address that you could use when applying for jobs in the FL area? You could keep your same phone #, but use their address. They will most likely see the out of town address and may not consider you against someone who currently lives in the area. If you can't change your address, you should let them know in your cover letter that you're moving to the area. Would you be able to move to FL and then find a job or do you need to find a job first?

[GunsAmmoChocolate]

Oh good grief, my entire reply disappeared. Thank you both for your replies. Much appreciated. I can move, then find a job. I just wanted to make SURE that the area had not gone 90+% bilingual, because that ruins my job-hunting chances. It might be hard to understand unless you've experienced it, but some parts of the country HAVE CHANGED OVER TO SPANISH-SPEAKING REQUIRED within just a few years. A lot of it has to do with whose back pocket your local politicians are in, a lot of it has to do with whether or not law enforcement bothers to try to stop illegal immigration. Our law enforcement was told not to investigate immigration status at all, and they got rid of our local police chief because he was trying to stop the flow of illegals into our community. I would say there are tens of thousands of illegals in "colonias" in our county just within the past couple of years. The county is now unliveable. I just want a peaceful area without all this racial strife and nonsense. Instead of just having a community, this whole area is now all about "honoring" Hispanic culture, and everything has to somehow relate to Mexico. It's not for me, and I leave it to those who want that culture. I am going to be taking my RV/travel trailer all over beginning in spring and plan to house-hunt and job-hunt using the RV parks as my bases. Pensacola will be one of my stops for sure now. Also checking out a few other places in the beautiful South I fondly recall. Thank you again.

[lokahi]

Areas of P'Cola to look at are Milton, Jay, Century and Pace. I think that you would find those a good fit for your needs. Best of luck

[southernnaturelover]

You certainly don't need to speak Spanish in Pensacola. Pensacola is mostly a black and white town, it also seems to me there are more Asians (mostly Korean) than Latinos.

[username20]

You are truly limiting yourself on to whom you can relate and where you can work by not learning the language. Our country is becoming bilingual.....just like the rest of the world. You can go so places in this world where minimally educated people speak at least two languages. Why should we be so different? Embrace it and just learn Spanish. It is quite an easy language to learn comparitively. Also it will allow you to integrate yourself with the Americans around you. I case you were wondering, I am moving to Pensacola. Great place. More and more Spanish speakers moving there.