Anyone from FL ever move out west to CA, AZ, TX, etc. and then either move back or wants to move back to FL? (Tampa: home, find a job)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I moved from FL to AZ last year, and I would like to move back to FL next year after graduating from college for employment and/or graduate school.
Is there anyone else who moved out west from FL and has either moved back or is itching to move back? I would really like to hear about your experience: where you moved to, why you moved away, why you moved back or want to move back, how long you've been away, etc.
We moved out of florida not necessarily voluntary...We love South Florida however we are on the fence whether we will buy something in the next few years and then return once our daughter is out of HS and then she can attend FAU, but again we aren't sure if that is the route we would like to go just yet as our son is a freshman in College and really isn't sure he wants to move back to South Florida to plant roots as we feel the same way so time will tell and see where life takes us But I do miss it~
I moved from FL to AZ last year, and I would like to move back to FL next year after graduating from college for employment and/or graduate school.
Is there anyone else who moved out west from FL and has either moved back or is itching to move back? I would really like to hear about your experience: where you moved to, why you moved away, why you moved back or want to move back, how long you've been away, etc.
I'm dying to know too-I cannot wait to move back west
Sure, but I've elaborated on this subject so many times before that It'll be like beating a dead horse, but since you asked and I'm not providing my opinions voluntarily, sure, I'll bite.
I was born in Orlando in 1983, and at the tender young age of 2, my family relocated to Tampa, where I would live and be raised for 16 more years, going through the Hillsborough County School System and eventually graduating from high school! I'll admit that as a kid growing up in Florida, I thought life was great, even though my parents didn't make a lot of money, life was good. My parents got divorced when I was 17 and it left our family in an interesting situation. We struggled for a year, then my mother and sister moved to Tennessee, my father to Orlando, and I remained in Tampa to attempt to go to college and get a job to pay the bills. I applied to school in Tallahassee, Gainesville, and Temple Terrace, but was denied admission to all three. By that time, the only job that I had been able to find was working for Albertsons for close to minimum wage. Not being interested in attending HCC, and not being able to afford my bills on my Albertsons salary, I started applying to schools in Tennessee, where my mother and sister had moved.
I was accepted to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Middle Tennessee State University, the University of Memphis, and Tennessee State University. I chose to enroll at Tennessee State University because it was located in Nashville and close to my family.
Right off the bat, I applied to and was hired by Kroger, which is a grocery store chain similar to Albertsons, only Kroger started me off paying over $11/hr. Which was like a dream compared to what I made in Tampa. It was also a unionized job, which probably helped with the pay in the first place!
From there, I ended up taking a job with a construction company in Nashville and started studying construction management. Before completion of that program, My family and I attempted to relocate to Florida, starting in Ft. Myers. The only jobs that we could find at the time was telemarketing, retail, and food service, all of which paid extremely low wages and we suffered. Finally, we saved up enough money to return to Tennessee. I then finished my construction management program, and that paired with my experience landed me a position that paid $50k/year. After a couple years, we again tried to relocate back to Florida, this time to Tampa. When I arrived back and started applying for construction management jobs, the only ones I could find and interview for paid like $10/hr. I couldn't live on that and ended up relocating back to Nashville AGAIN, this time accepting a position that paid $70k/year.
A few years passed and the economy completely fell apart. I lost my job and construction was at a complete standstill. From there, my ex-wife and I relocated to Louisiana (her hometown) and accepted a job with an oil refinery company. A couple months after I started working for them, the Deepwater Horizon rig blew up and I was laid off.
From there, I relocated to Texas and spent a year living off of my savings while I went back to school.
Since that time, I was offered a position within the administration of a very well known medical supply company and I'm back to making what I made when I left Tennessee.
Houston has been the home that I've been looking for since I graduated from High School!
For starters, our public school system is very good, it's on par with some of the best in the country. Our numbers, as a state, have come in quite a bit lower (still rated similar with Florida's!) because of our border crossing students and our government not doing anything about it!
The weather in Houston is similar to that of weather in Southwest Florida. It gets hot, humid, and sticky, but during the winter we have extremely mild weather, sometimes it can get cold and even snow, but we get to see seasons, which is something I had NEVER seen growing up in Tampa.
Houston is one of the hottest cities in the country to find a job right now, our economy is just, in a word, booming. When considering "real" income figures, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Houston are two of the highest paying cities in the country, on average.
Our housing market is stable and our cost of living rates as one of the lowest in the country.
Our arts, entertainment, and culture rank as one of the best in the country.
We have palm trees, fruit trees, beaches, outdoors activities, sportsmans activities, ect, ect, just the same that Florida has, the only difference is that our sand is brown, not white.
We have more AAU Universities than Florida, We have better political leadership than Florida, We have a higher average household income than Florida, We have a cheaper cost of living than Florida, We have a MUCH stronger economy than Florida, We have MUCH more opportunity for advancement than Florida. We have a much stronger arts, entertainment, museum, and cultural history than Florida.
I'll take back what I said though, Florida has two things that we don't have, white sand, and the Mouse. LoL. We have Schlitterbahn, Sea World, and several Six-Flags, not to mention Kemah.
We're not all flat like Florida, we have the hill country near Austin, we have rolling hills throughout central Texas and we have mountains and desert to the west!
I'd also make mention that NONE of Texas's cities have made the top 50 in "most dangerous cities", as a matter of fact, the closest one was near 100 and it was Texarkana. LoL.
I love my life in Texas because our politicians don't over-regulate us and attempt to infringe on our freedoms, we have a low tax-burden, and we have a LOT of jobs. It's really not rocket science.
I've rambled long enough, I'll just leave you with this video..
Sure, but I've elaborated on this subject so many times before that It'll be like beating a dead horse, but since you asked and I'm not providing my opinions voluntarily, sure, I'll bite.
I was born in Orlando in 1983, and at the tender young age of 2, my family relocated to Tampa, where I would live and be raised for 16 more years, going through the Hillsborough County School System and eventually graduating from high school! I'll admit that as a kid growing up in Florida, I thought life was great, even though my parents didn't make a lot of money, life was good. My parents got divorced when I was 17 and it left our family in an interesting situation. We struggled for a year, then my mother and sister moved to Tennessee, my father to Orlando, and I remained in Tampa to attempt to go to college and get a job to pay the bills. I applied to school in Tallahassee, Gainesville, and Temple Terrace, but was denied admission to all three. By that time, the only job that I had been able to find was working for Albertsons for close to minimum wage. Not being interested in attending HCC, and not being able to afford my bills on my Albertsons salary, I started applying to schools in Tennessee, where my mother and sister had moved.
I was accepted to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, Middle Tennessee State University, the University of Memphis, and Tennessee State University. I chose to enroll at Tennessee State University because it was located in Nashville and close to my family.
Right off the bat, I applied to and was hired by Kroger, which is a grocery store chain similar to Albertsons, only Kroger started me off paying over $11/hr. Which was like a dream compared to what I made in Tampa. It was also a unionized job, which probably helped with the pay in the first place!
From there, I ended up taking a job with a construction company in Nashville and started studying construction management. Before completion of that program, My family and I attempted to relocate to Florida, starting in Ft. Myers. The only jobs that we could find at the time was telemarketing, retail, and food service, all of which paid extremely low wages and we suffered. Finally, we saved up enough money to return to Tennessee. I then finished my construction management program, and that paired with my experience landed me a position that paid $50k/year. After a couple years, we again tried to relocate back to Florida, this time to Tampa. When I arrived back and started applying for construction management jobs, the only ones I could find and interview for paid like $10/hr. I couldn't live on that and ended up relocating back to Nashville AGAIN, this time accepting a position that paid $70k/year.
A few years passed and the economy completely fell apart. I lost my job and construction was at a complete standstill. From there, my ex-wife and I relocated to Louisiana (her hometown) and accepted a job with an oil refinery company. A couple months after I started working for them, the Deepwater Horizon rig blew up and I was laid off.
From there, I relocated to Texas and spent a year living off of my savings while I went back to school.
Since that time, I was offered a position within the administration of a very well known medical supply company and I'm back to making what I made when I left Tennessee.
Houston has been the home that I've been looking for since I graduated from High School!
For starters, our public school system is very good, it's on par with some of the best in the country. Our numbers, as a state, have come in quite a bit lower (still rated similar with Florida's!) because of our border crossing students and our government not doing anything about it!
The weather in Houston is similar to that of weather in Southwest Florida. It gets hot, humid, and sticky, but during the winter we have extremely mild weather, sometimes it can get cold and even snow, but we get to see seasons, which is something I had NEVER seen growing up in Tampa.
Houston is one of the hottest cities in the country to find a job right now, our economy is just, in a word, booming. When considering "real" income figures, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Houston are two of the highest paying cities in the country, on average.
Our housing market is stable and our cost of living rates as one of the lowest in the country.
Our arts, entertainment, and culture rank as one of the best in the country.
We have palm trees, fruit trees, beaches, outdoors activities, sportsmans activities, ect, ect, just the same that Florida has, the only difference is that our sand is brown, not white.
We have more AAU Universities than Florida, We have better political leadership than Florida, We have a higher average household income than Florida, We have a cheaper cost of living than Florida, We have a MUCH stronger economy than Florida, We have MUCH more opportunity for advancement than Florida. We have a much stronger arts, entertainment, museum, and cultural history than Florida.
I'll take back what I said though, Florida has two things that we don't have, white sand, and the Mouse. LoL. We have Schlitterbahn, Sea World, and several Six-Flags, not to mention Kemah.
We're not all flat like Florida, we have the hill country near Austin, we have rolling hills throughout central Texas and we have mountains and desert to the west!
I'd also make mention that NONE of Texas's cities have made the top 50 in "most dangerous cities", as a matter of fact, the closest one was near 100 and it was Texarkana. LoL.
I love my life in Texas because our politicians don't over-regulate us and attempt to infringe on our freedoms, we have a low tax-burden, and we have a LOT of jobs. It's really not rocket science.
I've rambled long enough, I'll just leave you with this video..
Excellent post, the only thing I can add is that TX has much better designed and maintained highways than FL does.
Correct if I'm wrong, but it's come to my understanding that most surface streets in Dallas and Houston are in deplorable condition due to the high summertime temperatures, occasional wintertime freezes, and the poor clay soil that is constantly expanding and contracting.
Generally speaking, Florida has the smoothest pavement in the entire country with Phoenix, AZ receiving an honorable mention.
By the way, all of the major cities in FL have impressive freeway systems compared to Tucson, AZ, which is where I currently live.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
