[Sunflower732]

I recently moved from Sea Bright NJ to Key West in hopes of "fun in the sun". Well, it pays to live in paradise...rent is very very expensive compared to Spring Lake, Belmar and even Ocean Grove. I lived in Ocean Grove for a year in a 3 bedroom house for $1275 and here, live in a one bedroom tiny apartment built for smurfs for $1500. You will most certainly see homeless people-every where! Also, parking is near impossible and you definitely do not want to park street side (which is the only place to park), because hit and runs seem to happen hourly...my jeep was hit the other day. My front bumper ripped off and side view mirror shattered and hanging by a thread, literally! It is now June and not even the hottest it will be. Walking outside is like walking through a wet sheet...trust me, stay in Spring Lake! If you want a complete down grade, come to Key West, its hot, dirty, and theres nothing to do but drink. Choice is yours. Good Luck! Oh and I should mention that I am an optimist : )

[Sunny-Days-in-Florida]

Originally Posted by Sunflower732

I recently moved from Sea Bright NJ to Key West in hopes of "fun in the sun". Well, it pays to live in paradise...rent is very very expensive compared to Spring Lake, Belmar and even Ocean Grove. I lived in Ocean Grove for a year in a 3 bedroom house for $1275 and here, live in a one bedroom tiny apartment built for smurfs for $1500. You will most certainly see homeless people-every where! Also, parking is near impossible and you definitely do not want to park street side (which is the only place to park), because hit and runs seem to happen hourly...my jeep was hit the other day. My front bumper ripped off and side view mirror shattered and hanging by a thread, literally! It is now June and not even the hottest it will be. Walking outside is like walking through a wet sheet...trust me, stay in Spring Lake! If you want a complete down grade, come to Key West, its hot, dirty, and theres nothing to do but drink. Choice is yours. Good Luck! Oh and I should mention that I am an optimist : )

You moved to Key West and knew it was hot in Ket West.

If you cannot handle the heat why did you move to Florida and why Key West of all places?

Another person making a poor choice and blaming it on the heat, people or the state.

Did you research anything before you moved?

Everything you mentioned is easily known.

[ferret111]

Originally Posted by Sunflower732

If you want a complete down grade, come to Key West, its hot, dirty, and theres nothing to do but drink. Choice is yours. Good Luck! Oh and I should mention that I am an optimist : )

What did you expect? It's Key West, ferchriststsake! That has to be one of the most expensive places to live in the country. Did your research involve actual cost comparisons or did it consist of listening to Jimmy Buffet's discography?

[Spring Hillian]

The most southern point in the U.S. and it's hot? Surprise surprise.
Not only the most southern point in the U.S. but a huge tourist destination and not much else. There is a lot of Florida out there and you picked a place I could not imagine living in. Oh well.

Originally Posted by Sunflower732

I recently moved from Sea Bright NJ to Key West in hopes of "fun in the sun". Well, it pays to live in paradise...rent is very very expensive compared to Spring Lake, Belmar and even Ocean Grove. I lived in Ocean Grove for a year in a 3 bedroom house for $1275 and here, live in a one bedroom tiny apartment built for smurfs for $1500. You will most certainly see homeless people-every where! Also, parking is near impossible and you definitely do not want to park street side (which is the only place to park), because hit and runs seem to happen hourly...my jeep was hit the other day. My front bumper ripped off and side view mirror shattered and hanging by a thread, literally! It is now June and not even the hottest it will be. Walking outside is like walking through a wet sheet...trust me, stay in Spring Lake! If you want a complete down grade, come to Key West, its hot, dirty, and theres nothing to do but drink. Choice is yours. Good Luck! Oh and I should mention that I am an optimist : )

[njtoflwoman]

I moved from Northern New Jersey to Sarasota 5 years ago. There are positive and negative things to say about both areas. Sarasota is a wealthier community, so it was an easier transition than moving to poorer areas in the state. If you are from a smaller community (town) in NJ, I would stay away from Southeast Florida...the Miami metro Area has very little zoning structures setup so it is a sprawl of rich houses on one block and crime ridden poorer areas on the next street over. Southeast FL has a lot of crime unless you live in a very rich, if not gated, community. If you live in a highly populated suburb of NY or Philly, you find Southeast Fl to your liking. Prices on renting are far better in Florida than Northern NJ, although I don't know how much rent is in Southern NJ, so I can't help you with that. As far as power outages...Florida's power lines are mostly underground, so when the wind picks up you would never notice it. (And I live on a island of the coast of Sarasota). I have (knock on wood), never had any power issues. If you are just looking to rent, I would not worry about hurricanes. If you are looking to buy, make sure you get extra flood insurance, separate from your Homeowners. Taxes are better here, but it really depends on where you live. The bottom line is that you can find a rental or buy a house in Florida for half the price than northern NJ. Yet, you have to factor in your income...you will be making much less here unless you start your own business or are in the service industry. The weather is far better (especially in this past year with all The Northeasts tornadoes, Nor Easters and Hurricanes), yet some feel it is too hot in the summer. I find that the temperatures are the same here in the summer as in NJ, it's just more humid here during those months. Just remember, Florida is flat...Say good buy to hiking hills and mountains if that is important to you. Tampa, Naples, Sarasota and St.Pete have all different aspects of living and there are pluses and negatives to every part of each community, (just as I stated before with Southeast FL). Good luck in your journeys and dreams.

[lala506]

I moved to the space coast in June of 2013 because my husband wanted to leave his desk job and attend MMI. We had a primary residence in PA and a place in Rio Grande, NJ (which I loved, BTW). I told him that one of us needed to find a job in Florida before I would commit. He did, and we moved. Within 9 days he was told that he "wasn't a good fit". During that time, he found that going to MMI wasn't a lucrative idea. Sooo...I found a job in Orlando. I was there for 5 weeks when I was told that I "wasn't a good fit". What? We are both educated. I have a MS degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology and he has an Engineering degree. If you ask me, it's the mentality of Florida...very different. You may have a job lined up before you move, but nothing is set in stone. I believed that I'd made the worst mistake of my life moving here, but I have learned so much about myself and have come to appreciate everything that I took for granted. I spent months perusing these forums before I moved and the only advice I can give anyone making any type of big move is to ask yourself why you're doing it. You can't run from yourself or your own problems. If the weather is your only reason, realize that the summer is HOT here...It's like having a heat wave that sticks around for 4 months. As far as taxes, cost of living...everything balances out wherever you go. Oh, and I am so tired of people knocking on my door asking for money...you can't trust anyone here.

[Swimmom32]

Originally Posted by lala506

I moved to the space coast in June of 2013 because my husband wanted to leave his desk job and attend MMI. We had a primary residence in PA and a place in Rio Grande, NJ (which I loved, BTW). I told him that one of us needed to find a job in Florida before I would commit. He did, and we moved. Within 9 days he was told that he "wasn't a good fit". During that time, he found that going to MMI wasn't a lucrative idea. Sooo...I found a job in Orlando. I was there for 5 weeks when I was told that I "wasn't a good fit". What? We are both educated. I have a MS degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology and he has an Engineering degree. If you ask me, it's the mentality of Florida...very different. You may have a job lined up before you move, but nothing is set in stone. I believed that I'd made the worst mistake of my life moving here, but I have learned so much about myself and have come to appreciate everything that I took for granted. I spent months perusing these forums before I moved and the only advice I can give anyone making any type of big move is to ask yourself why you're doing it. You can't run from yourself or your own problems. If the weather is your only reason, realize that the summer is HOT here...It's like having a heat wave that sticks around for 4 months. As far as taxes, cost of living...everything balances out wherever you go. Oh, and I am so tired of people knocking on my door asking for money...you can't trust anyone here.

Sorry to hear your situation..my hubby has networking buddies who are upper management in IT business side not technical, anyhow they have had experiences like yours 6 months later they lost their jobs...they are mostly northerners, some of his contacts are recruiters its sad, but this happens more than people know.....let me add, we had friends in charlotte NC and this happens everywhere in this state of the economy, its just sad when people relocate for a job and then that happens..

good luck to you...PS we moved back to NJ

[steven r.]

I was looking to escape winters and thought of Florida myself. I was born and raised in New York but now reside in Virginia. I'm a technician and make a good living and was curious if Florida had any jobs available at my current rate of 25 dollars an hour. After reading this however maybe Florida is not a good idea and perhaps I should just dress warmer in the winter.

Virginia on average really doesn't have extreme winters but sometimes we can see snow and like 14 degrees.

[Dichoto-me]

We too are looking to relocate south not only for the weather, but to be closer to family and friends. Everyone is very happy there, and yes, it's hot, but let's face it, 95 or 99 hot is hot! My question is about the taxes. We were originally looking to move to SC since my sister is in Aiken but couldn't find a lot of job opportunities in myrtle beach. We were considering New Smyrna since my husband is a huge fisherman and we also enjoys state parks, and that seemed a possibility since it's still a reasonable commute to Orlando for work. My family who has moved from different parts of NJ have said they are living a better quality of life since taxes are lower, there is no state tax, no burden of heat for 6 months, or car registrations. Also if anyone has a recommendation for an area I'd love to hear from you. Ideally we'd love about 1 ac., good area, and schools aren't a deal breaker since we don't have school aged kids.

[bigh110]

Ya all need to get on down to Big Pine Key, Fl its the place to be if you want peace quiet and a boat parked out back in the canal! Key West is fun and all but its too touristy for me to want to live there full-time. I have had some great fun in the sun in Key west! as for dealing with the heat remember Florida is a peninsula (just like NJ) and surrounded by water on three sides. I consider the ocean a free pool to use year round to beat the heat! A beer in hand, get your toes in the sand (preferably at Bahia Honda S.P.) and you too will be having fun in the sun! I like NJ too so I am going to most likely doing the snowbird style living someday. I will say job opportunities and wages are much better up north or my ass would already be in BPK, Florida. I will get there but its gonna take a few more years of northern living till the NJ house is paid off and rented out.