Can anyone help inform us about moving to Boca (Miami: transplants, car insurance)

[shouldwemove]

Hello- We are considering moving south to the Boca area from a suburban town leaning towards rural in NJ. Our population is 38k vs 300k in Boca for the same acreaged sized town.

How is the job market? My husband would be changing fields to something new. He gets paid very well now, but is utterly miserable in his field. If he leaves his field we cannot afford to stay where we live and we feel if we are going to start over, lets do it somewhere warm.

How are the schools? The Boca schools seem to be ranked very highly, but they are very large schools compared to what we are used to. We are currently in one of the top ranked districts in the state. I think they were #11 last year.

How is the traffic? Whenever we visit we see tons of accidents. Are most of the fender benders or are they more serious.

And lastly, from the transplants do you regret moving? We both really want to move to somewhere warmer, and more populated. Florida seems like a great fit, just really nervous to give up our house, schools and the only thing we have ever known.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by shouldwemove

How is the job market? My husband would be changing fields to something new. He gets paid very well now, but is utterly miserable in his field. If he leaves his field we cannot afford to stay where we live and we feel if we are going to start over, lets do it somewhere warm.

This is a classic youtube clip everyone looking to move to Flariduh should watch:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad5paRXNWVg

[Swimmom32]

Job Market not so great in S florida but it does depend on what one does...We were happy with the schools when our kids attended...S Florida is very expensive to live and one should NEVER move without a job...We left S Florida and went back to NJ temporarily as our daughter is graduating HS here.. We are now buying a home in the Tampa Area..We liked S Florida the 4 years we lived there best advice I can give you is make sure you have a Cushion in case something should happen with a Job because there are not a lot of high paying jobs in S. Florida...

Good Luck to you and your family

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by Swimmom32

Job Market not so great in S florida but it does depend on what one does...S Florida is very expensive to live and one should NEVER move without a job...best advice I can give you is make sure you have a Cushion in case something should happen with a Job because there are not a lot of high paying jobs in S. Florida...

Good Luck to you and your family

THIS

[Southern Star]

Sounds like a great plan if you have lots of money to finance your new life. If you do not have lots of money saved, you need some way of supporting your household. Do you have jobs lined up? Would you advise your children to do what you are contemplating if they wanted to make a move such as this and had no financial or other resources to help themselves?
Did you choose Boca Raton because you have family or friends here?
Will your husband be happier if he moves his family so far from their present security and finds himself in a sunny and warm place without a job? Is he prepared to be paid less or work in a service industry? Gardeners are always needed here and there are plenty of restaurants so finding work as a waiter shouldn't be too difficult. I hope he is prepared to take orders from someone who may be decades younger than himself.
Misery comes in many forms. Perhaps your hisband should try to figure out why he is miserable and what he can do about it without leaving NJ.
If I have misjudged the situation I am truly sorry but in the absence of essential facts, I have imagined a scenario doomed from the start.

[Swimmom32]

Originally Posted by Southern Star

Sounds like a great plan if you have lots of money to finance your new life. If you do not have lots of money saved, you need some way of supporting your household. Do you have jobs lined up? Would you advise your children to do what you are contemplating if they wanted to make a move such as this and had no financial or other resources to help themselves?
Did you choose Boca Raton because you have family or friends here?
Will your husband be happier if he moves his family so far from their present security and finds himself in a sunny and warm place without a job? Is he prepared to be paid less or work in a service industry? Gardeners are always needed here and there are plenty of restaurants so finding work as a waiter shouldn't be too difficult. I hope he is prepared to take orders from someone who may be decades younger than himself.
Misery comes in many forms. Perhaps your hisband should try to figure out why he is miserable and what he can do about it without leaving NJ.
If I have misjudged the situation I am truly sorry but in the absence of essential facts, I have imagined a scenario doomed from the start.

with all due respect if you lived in NJ you would want to leave too..We can't wait to get out of here and this time never to return..

Your right about needing money saved....As far as money goes yes they must make sure they have enough to live on and if something should happen to one of their jobs you need a cushion..and to move without without a Job is insane..they need to understand that S Florida is just as expensive as it is here in NJ...Biggest difference is property taxes are less there than here...

[Marble cake]

Maybe South Carolina?? I believe the job market and schools are better than florida. And it certainly is warmer than NJ

Just a thought.

[icelady]

Hi I have lived in Boca for 38 years. I lived in the city of Boca my teenage years 15-18 years old. Then moved to unincorperated Boca. That is out of the city limits. It is considered West Boca and in Palm Beach county not the city limits. I have lived in West Boca for over 21 years. My 2 sons grew up in West Boca. They are now 30 years old and 21 years old. Both boys struggled in the public schools due to the fact they had learning disiablities and my younger son also had A.D.D. In a nut shell with my boys the public schools failed them. Both boys dropped out. My older boy was home-schooled and my younger one got his GED.

I work in law enforcement and have knowledge with crime and drugs in West Boca. Crime is not very high. However we do have a lot of cars/homes which get broken into. It doesn't matter if the community is gated or not. It is pretty safe to walk around at night. West Boca DOES HAVE a major problems with DRUGS! Once again I work out on the road and have two grown sons I do know this is a true fact. As for crashes we have plenty! People are not paying attention and hit each other then they can get very angry! We do have road rage here if you do move here just smile and wave at people.

You are right FL is less expensive then NJ. Jobs could be hard to find. Not sure what your hubby is looking for. We do have some big companies. Just remember we still have people here and the companies receive a lot of resumes that is why it is hard to secure a job and why the pay could be low.

Homes are not cheap here in Boca. Insurance is very high. The weather is hot. People can be nice. They are stand offish in the being.

If your kids are great kids and they are very smart they should be ok in the schools because the schools in Boca cater to the gifted kids. I suggest you make sure you do your research before moving to Boca.
I hope this helped a little.
Icelady

[cfbs2691]

A poster on a thread for Sarasota commented that Boca had plenty of good paying jobs and a decent home could be bought for... I think they said like $250K...

It is incredible how we can all have such different opinions.

The traffic in Boca is out of control and growing.
When the time comes where an evacuation will be required.... I can only imagine.
IMO, the salaries in South Florida are far from being in line with the COL (generally speaking), and a decent home, nothing special, might be found for just shy of $400K.

Road rage is alive and well in Boca.
Then again, there's so much traffic... it's like trying to put the circle in the square
Hit and runs aren't uncommon in Florida as well as folks driving around without car insurance.

[newtovenice]

Originally Posted by cfbs2691

A poster on a thread for Sarasota commented that Boca had plenty of good paying jobs and a decent home could be bought for... I think they said like $250K...

It is incredible how we can all have such different opinions.

The traffic in Boca is out of control and growing.
When the time comes where an evacuation will be required.... I can only imagine.
IMO, the salaries in South Florida are far from being in line with the COL (generally speaking), and a decent home, nothing special, might be found for just shy of $400K.

Road rage is alive and well in Boca.
Then again, there's so much traffic... it's like trying to put the circle in the square
Hit and runs aren't uncommon in Florida as well as folks driving around without car insurance.

$275K in Boca and a decent paying job in Boca AS WELL AS the outlying areas of WBP, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami for job opportunities.

If you're going to make fun of me, at least quote me correctly. I never said decent house for $250K (um, no) and decent paying job in Boca ONLY.