[hanswolfgangmercer]

Hello Floridians!

I am in love with your state. It seems like such a wonderful place... too wonderful perhaps. I find myself questioning whether or not it is simply too good to be true. I know the usual list of problems people associate with Florida, but I don't really mind these things. Humidity has never really bothered me. I HATE cockroaches but I am very good by now at keeping them from getting into a house. I'm not necessarily good at it, but I can speak Spanish when the situation calls for it. Although I know unemployment is a bit of a problem, it really is a problem everywhere these days.

So I guess you could say that I've made peace with the only problems I can think of, but even so, the place still seems to good to be true. So I guess the question is, aside from the above things, what's the catch?

[vaughanwilliams]

No catch-it's the land of milk and honey.

[Momma_bear]

In the southeastern part of the state the employment problem is worse than the numbers would suggest. In addition to the regular unemployment rate there are vast numbers of under employed people. Plus the cost of living is much higher than you would think based on the low wages paid to working people. In addition the schools are substandard.

We have been happy here. My husband is a patent attorney and can make a living no matter where in the country we live. However, if we were dependent on someone else for employment southeastern FL would be a difficult place to make a living.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

In the southeastern part of the state the employment problem is worse than the numbers would suggest. In addition to the regular unemployment rate there are vast numbers of under employed people. Plus the cost of living is much higher than you would think based on the low wages paid to working people. In addition the schools are substandard.

We have been happy here. My husband is a patent attorney and can make a living no matter where in the country we live. However, if we were dependent on someone else for employment southeastern FL would be a difficult place to make a living.

It's not limited to to the SE section of the state and in my opinion "South Florida" is recovering from the recession quicker than most other areas of the state. Central Florida and the Tampa Bay area are still struggling, Central Florida particularly since it's primarily service-economy oriented. The only other major metro area in the state seeing a faster recovery is Jacksonville which has like South Florida, a more diversified economy. Smaller metro areas like Destin/Ft Walton Beach, Tallahassee and Gainesville now have unemployment rates well below the national average, though unlike the larger metros they weren't in the 11%-12% unemployment range to begin with.

[jambo101]

No catch, Florida is what it is, some like it some dont. Theres only one way you will find out if its for you is get in your car and drive around Florida for a couple of weeks on your next vacation..If you do find a catch let us know what it is.
Only catches i can think of are this kind
http://marktheshark.com/images/hotgi...%20FRIENDS.jpg

[Sweetbottoms]

No catch really what you see is what you get.. We have the hurricanes that freaks some out but u have warning and after the first season just do as locals do.. Board up the day before , refuse to evacuate and beat each other for water jugs :-p ..

[ngrome]

I've always thought Florida was a great place to come and visit, since I've lived here, that opinion hasn't changed, it's still a great place to come and visit, but living here is a different story, a long story. If you really want to find out what it's really like, stay here a while...one to two years, then you'll be able to formulate your OWN opinion.

[doggiebus]

^^^Nicely said, each person is different...We can never tell you if Florida is the right place for you or not. As you can only decide this.

I will say that the humidity in Florida isn't the issue, it is how many months it can be hot and humid. Right now its 80F with 70% humidity outside in February, its one thing to be hot and humid for 3-4 months in the summer but when parts of Florida can be hot and humid for 10 months out of the year it gets old for some of us. My windows are closed and the AC is on, without the invention of the A/C Florida wouldn't have had the development it has had. South Florida has 4 months of nice weather, this is typically the months the snowbirds come down. Now North Florida is different they get a much cooler winters then Southern Florida, which gives them a little break.

The best advice I can say to people right now is make sure you have a job lined up before you move here or have at least one year savings to live off when you come.

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

It's not limited to to the SE section of the state and in my opinion "South Florida" is recovering from the recession quicker than most other areas of the state. Central Florida and the Tampa Bay area are still struggling, Central Florida particularly since it's primarily service-economy oriented. The only other major metro area in the state seeing a faster recovery is Jacksonville which has like South Florida, a more diversified economy. Smaller metro areas like Destin/Ft Walton Beach, Tallahassee and Gainesville now have unemployment rates well below the national average, though unlike the larger metros they weren't in the 11%-12% unemployment range to begin with.

Actually

articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-04-03/news/os-hospitality-jobs-growing-20110327_1_job-growth-high-tech-jobs-jobs-last-month

As Florida crawls out of its recessionary funk, Metro Orlando is leading the state in job creation, adding almost 23,000 jobs in the past year, or more than two-thirds of the state's total job gains.

[marcopolo]

If this is the kind of place you like, you'll like this place!

In other words, personal preferences prevail. Sunny with a chance of dolphins beats the heck out of cold, snow, icy roads, brown vegetation for six months when it isn't snow covered. Compared to the midwest, daylight lasts an hour longer in winter!

Know where your money is coming from, choose your territory carefully based on your desired lifestyle, search and research, then go see for yourself. Our first target in FLA was a total bust, once we went to look at it in person. The second target was a home run.