[mandaboo34]

My fiancé and I are sick of Chicago's horribly cold weather and high crime rates.
I will be going to graduate school next year and will be applying to several in Florida. Although the quality of the schools are important, I would like some feedback on what it is like to live in the following areas:

St. Augustine
Orlando
Fort Myers
Fort Lauderdale
Miami

[jghorton]

Check the specific area/s you are interested in under the Florida forums. Then make some decisions about your criteria for a place to live -- and decide specifically what you want to know about each area. Folks on CD are more than willing to help, but, you first need to help yourself and then help them help you.

For example: Do the areas you selected have colleges in which you are interested ... or do you simply want to live near the beach? Are there things that you are interested in .... or are you simply thinking 'warm weather'? .... In other words, why did you select these towns? --

Florida is a widely diverse place with a number of large, metropolitan areas.

[mandaboo34]

Thank you for your response,
I have been looking at the forums and doing my own research for the past year... but since my choices are so broad and I really have never been to any other than Orlando I feel a bit lost.

I will be visiting colleges this summer, but I was hoping to avoid having to visit all five locations. So to answer your question, yes all of these locations have at least one college that I am interested in going to. All of the schools have great academics, so the question isn't so much about which school is better but more about the area.

My fiancé will need to find a job, so employment opportunities is a factor in the decision. We also would like to have a lot of things to do in the area, but nothing specific that I can think of. Rent is also something to consider, but since we are used to Chicago anything will be an improvement. We are also very sick of heavy traffic... it's not a deal breaker, but it would be nice to avoid long commutes. And we don't need to live right by the beach, we just don't want snow covering our mailbox any more!

If there's any other information that may be helpful, just ask.

[JimRom]

What kind of lifestyle are you looking for when you get to Florida? Each of the places you listed has a different "feel" to it, so that's going to play a key part.

St. Augustine/Jacksonville area is, imo, more like the midwest as far as the general attitude goes. Although, I have to say that people are for the most part less racist than St. Louis or Chicago.

Orlando is a tourist town, with all that this entails. A commute could take 20 minutes one day and 2 hours the next, depending on the season and number of people in town.

Can't say much about Ft. Myers, as I've never been there. Hopefully someone else can fill in this blank.

Ft. Lauderdale is a decent city, from what I recall. Granted it's been 20 years since I lived there, but most people were fairly pleasant. I do seem to remember that it was less middle class and more rich/poor as far as economics, but that was in the early 90's. Things may have changed since then.

Miami is good in small doses
There tends to be a more diverse cultural experience there, but there are definitely areas that you don't want to venture into (just like anywhere else). Depending on the part of Miami you end up in, it can feel Midwestern, Asian, Cuban, Jamaican, or Bahamian. At 22 it was fun to hang out there, but I never lived there (was living in Ft. Lauderdale). Again, that was in the early 90's when people referred to Miami as "Snow City" due to the insane amounts of drugs that were floating around. From what I understand it's cleaner now.

[kyle19125]

In your situation given your age, wanting many age appropriate things to do and the need for decent employment options I think the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area would be your best bet. You'll need to hinge where you live upon where you wind up going to school to avoid a long commute, however there will be a number of options to consider once that's figured out. St Augustine is nice, but small and rather touristy. Fort Myers is an okay option as it has a bit more of a younger population thanks to FGCU though is still on the small side and would worry about job options. Orlando obviously is very touristy, no beach nearby (at least an hour away), a young population though it tends heavily toward undergraduate age and probably not your idea of a good time in terms nightlife options...plus the job market isn't the best with lots of $8 an hour P/T jobs.

[TD*]

Probably should try to get into Florida State University, or University of Florida.

Tallahassee, and Gainesville, are some of the greatest Florida Cities.

And the Flagship Universities in the state.

[Not_liking_FL]

Originally Posted by mandaboo34

Thank you for your response,
I have been looking at the forums and doing my own research for the past year... but since my choices are so broad and I really have never been to any other than Orlando I feel a bit lost.

I will be visiting colleges this summer, but I was hoping to avoid having to visit all five locations. So to answer your question, yes all of these locations have at least one college that I am interested in going to. All of the schools have great academics, so the question isn't so much about which school is better but more about the area.

My fiancé will need to find a job, so employment opportunities is a factor in the decision. We also would like to have a lot of things to do in the area, but nothing specific that I can think of. Rent is also something to consider, but since we are used to Chicago anything will be an improvement. We are also very sick of heavy traffic... it's not a deal breaker, but it would be nice to avoid long commutes. And we don't need to live right by the beach, we just don't want snow covering our mailbox any more!

If there's any other information that may be helpful, just ask.

Take Miami and Ft Lauderdale off your list. You will probably pay the same if not more for rent than Chicago if you want to live in a safe area. Also, you will miss Chicago drivers and traffic once you spend a little time driving around most metro areas of Florida. People drive like maniacs down there.

[LordHomunculus]

Why haven't you considered the Tampa area? You have USF, it's cheap and you might not be as culture shocked compared to Jacksonville and Miami (especially Miami).

[mandaboo34]

Originally Posted by LordHomunculus

Why haven't you considered the Tampa area? You have USF, it's cheap and you might not be as culture shocked compared to Jacksonville and Miami (especially Miami).

Tampa does seem nice, but I am going to grad school for occupational therapy and there are no schools near Tampa that offer the program

[mandaboo34]

Thank you everyone for all of the advice so far. I think I'm just going to have to visit all of the schools and explore each area to help make my decision.