Any one leaving FLA? (Tampa: real estate, house, find a job)

jambo101 · 01-08-2011, 03:08 PM

Seems like we get a dozen topics a day from people moving to Florida looking for nice safe neighborhoods preferably near a beach etc..
I got to wondering if any one is leaving Florida and why.
Personally i left due to a better job opportunity but i was getting tired of the unrelenting heat and humidity for most of the year and the massive buildup of housing and the traffic that went along with it,also got a little bored with the beaches.
Still enjoy coming back for vacations but there seems a lot more people every time i return.

StilltheSame · 01-08-2011, 03:17 PM

We left 18 months ago for pretty much the same reason from SE Florida. Better job (more corporate hq's), better schools. I too was so tired of the traffic and heat. We return once or twice a year - but the FLL MIA seems to have less residents than when we were there.

IAm_FloridaBorn · 01-08-2011, 05:01 PM

NOPE I Love This Beautiful STATE!

Pragmaticus · 01-08-2011, 05:03 PM

I am not sure that people who left Florida and Tampa Bay because they didn't like it here will come back here and give their comments. But you have one, so let's count the others..

In deed, it will help others to make informed decision when moving here, especially like you guys doing an effort to just do that

casanova baby! · 01-08-2011, 05:52 PM

Haven't left yet, but I am looking forward to. My fiancee wanted to be closer to her parents for awhile and finish up her education on the cheap. At the time I was looking forward to trying out a new area, but it wasn't at all like I expected it. There's enough I like around here to keep me content most of the time, but I'm a born and raised city dweller. I've tried to acclimate myself to life here, but I just can't get into it. I don't get the sense that I'm in a real city anywhere around here except for a few blocks of downtown St Pete. The biggest thing for me is the sprawl and the car dependency it creates. I'd gladly come back to visit after we move back home, but the rest of the year give me my subways, bicycle/pedestrian friendly neighborhoods, 4 distinct seasons and population density.

EclecticTastes · 01-08-2011, 06:13 PM

We'd like to leave for the reasons mentioned: heat, humidity, lack of seasons, sprawl. Unfortunately we are stuck for the time being due to shared child custody.

Additionally, I can only fathom how many years it will be until I can sell my house for what I owe. I have no expectations of profit. Simply breaking even seems, at this point, unlikely.

Ken E · 01-08-2011, 06:55 PM

We moved down from N.H. almost ten years ago and will be returning to N.H in 74 days. It was a great experience and we had a lot of fun but it's time to go home. We were lucky enough to buy before everything went crazy so we won't get hurt on that end. It's a lot of fun when everything's new and exciting. I really miss having 4 different seasons, each one giving me a reason to move forward. I find myself getting stagnent in this climate. The color of the water at the beaches is kinda pretty, but growing up on the New England coast with awsome seafood spoiled me. I have family up in N.H. that really has no desire to come to FL so it really makes sense for us to return. We hope to come down for a week in Nov. and a week in March. That should do it.

MAniacTHW · 01-08-2011, 07:35 PM

Was born here. Looking to leave to get a city feel.

annaegel · 01-09-2011, 08:43 AM

We can't leave, even though we want to. Husbands company moved us and 300 other families down here from NY/NJ area. It was either stay up north and risk the massive lay offs going on or move to Tampa in hopes that "why would they lay off people when they are moving them down". As it turned out, 3 years after moving down, they started laying people off, including my husband. We did buy our house during the crazy real estate times. Our house is worth $100k less than what we paid for it. So, we are stuck here. Husband has been able to find consulting jobs here and there. We are desperately trying to find a job with benefits. I have been looking for 6 months now. I am competing with hundreds of people per job applications. sigh.

I have 2 kids in public schools, which suck in comparision to NJ. Teachers just don't care. Both my kids are in honors classes. They noticed the huge difference from the regular classes and their honors classes. The kids misbehave in the regular classes. It must be very frustrating for the teachers. Even in the honors classes, teacher don't care if you are failing or one of the top students.

casanova baby! · 01-09-2011, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by annaegel

I have 2 kids in public schools, which suck in comparision to NJ. Teachers just don't care. Both my kids are in honors classes. They noticed the huge difference from the regular classes and their honors classes. The kids misbehave in the regular classes. It must be very frustrating for the teachers. Even in the honors classes, teacher don't care if you are failing or one of the top students.

So true. High schools here seem to be more concerned with funding for their football programs than they are with educating the students. Hey, at least the state's education system has that awesome 54% high school graduation rate to be proud of.