[mumto5]

I am a mother to 5 children 2 are in achool. My husbnd is into computers and is an IT admin/supervisor right now. We want to move to Florida and are not sure what part is best for his line of profession as well as for our children. I am in the healthcare field so my job is fairly easy to relocate at any time but him he needs to be in an are that has his work. Any ideas what cities/towns are great for his work and children as well. Thank you

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by mumto5

I am a mother to 5 children 2 are in achool. My husbnd is into computers and is an IT admin/supervisor right now. We want to move to Florida and are not sure what part is best for his line of profession as well as for our children. I am in the healthcare field so my job is fairly easy to relocate at any time but him he needs to be in an are that has his work. Any ideas what cities/towns are great for his work and children as well. Thank you

It is very difficult to suggest an area without more details. Florida is a very large state with over 18 million people. The areas are very different too. How much do you plan to spend for a home? Do you need to be near the beach? How about the mountains? (Just kidding!) Are you bilingual?
Right now there are so many foreclosures that it's a good time to buy a home, but be careful. I don't think the market has hit bottom yet.

IT jobs are everywhere, but my suggestion is to look on HotJobs or CareerBuilder.

[deckardc]

I posted this on another thread but it applies here also so I will paste it.

Florida has an IT market but it's not as large as some of the other states. With that said, the most popular areas are what is known as the I-4 corridor, which is the area that stretches from Titusville, FL (NASA area) to Tampa. That is where the bulk of the IT jobs are: Welcome to the Florida High Tech Corridor

There are pockets in other areas such as Sarasota, Boca Raton, and the panhandle area (Pensacola, Ft. Walton Beach, Panama City, etc.). Several companies work in defense and typically require employees to be US citizens and/or eligible for a security clearance. Most of the jobs in the I-4 area are less defense and more commercial.
I agree that Monster.com or other such site is a good place to start but it will be easier once you have some cities picked out.

As far as your family's overall needs, what type of town are you looking for - small town, big city, conservative, diverse, busy nightlife, close to Disney, close to a beach, good public schools, private schools, lots of malls, public transportation, affordable housing, etc?

[mumto5]

I want to move to a place where my kids can attend a decent school, I do nto want a busy nightlife that is for sure. I am looking into renting an apartment or house at first and buy in 2 years down the road. I also want to be somewhere to make it easy for my husband like I said to get a job. I will have to support the family at first down there till he finds a job because he needs to be in the state before he can get a job. So hopefully this info helps thanks

[melissa911]

Just from my own experience i would say some where on the out skirts of Gainesville, You have the University of Florida and also you have shands UF, Shands agh and North Fl regional hospitals. As far as school go I think the schools in Gainesville are ok, But the smaller schools in the more Rural area's on the outskirts of Gainesville are my preferece your child gets more one on one with the teacher. We live 15 minutes fromUF and the Hospitals and my daughter attends a great little school. It is an A school. Its just small. We are currently selling a home in this area if interested just email me.

[justagirl5]

Seminole county is the northern county of the Orlando area. It consistently ranks as having some of the best schools in the state. The Longwood, lake Mary, and Oviedo areas are wonderful family-friendly areas, and all close to I-4, 417, etc.

[deckardc]

If you want a nice quiet family type of town with relatively easy access to IT jobs or medical facilities, I would suggest the following:

Brevard Co. - Titusville, Melbourne area. Small towns, one hour to Disney's Orlando, decent schools, IT jobs, near the Atlantic beaches, affordable housing. This area is predominantly white with little diversity. Avoid Palm Bay.

Outer suburbs of Orlando (as mentioned by justagirl5) - Large city, IT jobs and several medical facilities, no shortage of family activities, Disney and other parks, one hourish to the Atlantic beaches and 1.5 hoursish to the Gulf beaches, lower hurricane risk Some areas of Orlando proper are not that nice and the schools tend to be better in the surrounding 'burbs. Traffic in the city of Orlando can be lousy and it is always swarming with tourists. Housing is not terribly affordable outside of the sketchier neighborhoods. This area has a great deal of diversity. The suburbs are much better overall.

Tampa-Clearwater-St. Petersburg - Large city, IT jobs and lots of medical facilities, plenty of family activities, Busch Gardens, Gulf beaches. Unlike Orlando, there is no real lousy city area with nicer suburbs. Here the good and bad are all mixed together. The Clearwater area and the towns north of there and Tampa tend to be more middle class but there are some nice pockets in the central Pinellas and St. Pete areas, as well as the eastern side of Tampa. Schools are a mix of good and bad much like the neighborhoods where they are located. Houses are about as affordable as Orlando but are bit less expensive north of the area. This area has a lot of diversity.

The panhandle, particularly the Fort Walton Beach and Pensacola areas. There are some IT jobs in Panama City but not as many as the other two. The panhandle has loads of military bases, including Eglin AFB, the largest AFB in the world. There are several defense contractors on the panhandle who are always hiring IT personnel. There are a few medical facilities too who always seem to be hiring. School districts in this area are among the best in the state. Okaloosa Co. schools are ranked #1. There are excellent Gulf beaches and the housing is pretty affordable. These are small towns and are pretty conservative and slower paced. From Ft. Walton Beach, it is about 3 hours to New Orleans, 6 hours to Atlanta, 8 hours to Tampa or Orlando. This area is predominantly white with little diversity.

Someone mentioned Gainesville. This might be a good area for you to find a medical job, but it would be very difficult for your husband to find an IT job as there isn't much of that industry there.

[momix5]

I am looking for the same I am checking out PSL, my husband is in healthcare also.

[Belle540i]

My daughter and her husband lived in Coconut Creek, just south of Boca Raton and he had a wonderful IT job in most northen part of Ft. Lauderdale. The pay was excellent and if your willing to compute along the coast a bit, lots of different opportunites. Along the entire corridor north almost to West Palm Beach, many listings. Good Luck

[Hyperbole]

Many thanks to deckardc, your reply was very interesting to me too.

You got me to search into the panhandle area that I did not consider before because it seems so off center.

My husband owns an import/export car business and currently works a lot with Miami.

But, he may have to diversify if we relocate in the panhandle.
How can we find out what kinds of good seems to be needed there?

Hyp!