[bluekatt]

Hi all,

We may be relocating to S. Florida from Ffld County Ct and I was wondering if anyone else has made a similar move with teens.

I have a 15 year old son and a 12 year old daughter.

Husband has a relocation offer from his current employer where he has been for 16 years.

I am just respectfully looking for some real life tips or experiences from anyone else who has had to make a similar move.

TRUST me, I am not one of the North'easterners who think that no place is as wonderful as here.
I see clearly its positives and negatives.

I just want to be careful since our kids are at such an important age.

I have to be honest also. I have been looking on these forums for many months and I often leave nervous because of all the Florida bashing. No place is perfect. I know that. I'd move in a heart beat. Its up rooting the kids that has me worried about such a big move.

Any advice or real world experience from anyone who has relocated to South Florida from NYC or Connecticut with teens would be appreciated.


Thank you all in advance!

[Spring Hillian]

If u can separate the bashing from the rest you will be OK.

Originally Posted by bluekatt

Hi all,

We may be relocating to S. Florida from Ffld County Ct and I was wondering if anyone else has made a similar move with teens.

I have a 15 year old son and a 12 year old daughter.

Husband has a relocation offer from his current employer where he has been for 16 years.

I am just respectfully looking for some real life tips or experiences from anyone else who has had to make a similar move.

TRUST me, I am not one of the North'easterners who think that no place is as wonderful as here.
I see clearly its positives and negatives.

I just want to be careful since our kids are at such an important age.

I have to be honest also. I have been looking on these forums for many months and I often leave nervous because of all the Florida bashing. No place is perfect. I know that. I'd move in a heart beat. Its up rooting the kids that has me worried about such a big move.

Any advice or real world experience from anyone who has relocated to South Florida from NYC or Connecticut with teens would be appreciated.


Thank you all in advance!

[Soup Not See]

Originally Posted by bluekatt

Hi all,

We may be relocating to S. Florida from Ffld County Ct and I was wondering if anyone else has made a similar move with teens.

I have a 15 year old son and a 12 year old daughter.

Husband has a relocation offer from his current employer where he has been for 16 years.

I am just respectfully looking for some real life tips or experiences from anyone else who has had to make a similar move.

TRUST me, I am not one of the North'easterners who think that no place is as wonderful as here.
I see clearly its positives and negatives.

I just want to be careful since our kids are at such an important age.

I have to be honest also. I have been looking on these forums for many months and I often leave nervous because of all the Florida bashing. No place is perfect. I know that. I'd move in a heart beat. Its up rooting the kids that has me worried about such a big move.

Any advice or real world experience from anyone who has relocated to South Florida from NYC or Connecticut with teens would be appreciated.


Thank you all in advance!

I would seriously consider the effect this kind of move would have on two teenagers. It's tough enough at that age without having to make all new friends.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by leftee

I would seriously consider the effect this kind of move would have on two teenagers. It's tough enough at that age without having to make all new friends.

Yes, as I had tp mobe several times during that age period and it had a major impact on me and my ability to have or even want friends, as I never knew when I would lose them. Then at 18, a few years away, kids have more incentive to leave home and that is not always best for them.

[bluekatt]

Thank you very much for replying. I appreciate everyone taking the time. I wish the timing was different for this possible move of ours.
Happy New Year to everyone.

[Fl1150]

Take the negativity with a grain of salt as you really never really understand a place until you take time yourself to visit and stay to look at areas. I think it might be hard for your kids to adjust however I don't believe you will have too much trouble transitioning.

[Soup Not See]

Originally Posted by Fl1150

Take the negativity with a grain of salt as you really never really understand a place until you take time yourself to visit and stay to look at areas. I think it might be hard for your kids to adjust however I don't believe you will have too much trouble transitioning.

You seem to have an issue differentiating reality from negativity. Have you ever uprooted a couple of teenagers and moved a great distance ?

[Ericthebean]

Originally Posted by bluekatt

Hi all,

We may be relocating to S. Florida from Ffld County Ct and I was wondering if anyone else has made a similar move with teens.

I have a 15 year old son and a 12 year old daughter.

Husband has a relocation offer from his current employer where he has been for 16 years.

I am just respectfully looking for some real life tips or experiences from anyone else who has had to make a similar move.

TRUST me, I am not one of the North'easterners who think that no place is as wonderful as here.
I see clearly its positives and negatives.

I just want to be careful since our kids are at such an important age.

I have to be honest also. I have been looking on these forums for many months and I often leave nervous because of all the Florida bashing. No place is perfect. I know that. I'd move in a heart beat. Its up rooting the kids that has me worried about such a big move.

Any advice or real world experience from anyone who has relocated to South Florida from NYC or Connecticut with teens would be appreciated. There is a lot to do but if you are looking to save on cost, the bargain real estate will put you in countryclub developments where the kids will be forced to live in a bubble where they will need rides to see their friends.



Thank you all in advance!

I will be upfront and honest with you. You will enjoy the move the South Florida, but your teenage kids, or at least one of your teens, will dearly miss Fairfield/NYC area and with good reason. It is a different personality and character in Florida. Slower paced, less intellectual on the whole, loss of a community/neighborhood feel, much more driving from place to place. More privacy and residential space, but this is not a teenage amenity it is a head of household amenity. Teens want the vibrant street life and will miss it.

It is harder on the kids than on the adults. The appeal in South Florida is more towards couples in their mid-life to retirement years, or if the kids are still not teens yet.

But there's some good options for keeping the teens happy. One is the Dreyfoos School of the Arts high school in West Palm Beach. It is in a fantastic urban spot. It is like a more unique version of Stamford...city place is a hangout spot for the kids, with great fun stuff happening. The school has a great diverse and highly competitive academic student body and you audition to get in in an art area "music (instrumental or vocal", dance, theater, communications, visual arts

Your kids if they got into that school for high school would be very happy and fit right in. Downtown west palm they will like a lot.

For teens the key is make it so they can get rides to meet their friends without the feeling of being stuck in a golf course community stranded no car miles out in the sprawl. That's what I'm getting at. Where you live within the area can make a dramatic difference.

FYI: my parents moved from New York to Florida when I was 4. I grew up in Florida. My parents love it, but my brothers and I went back up north after school and come down every thanksgiving/December. Florida is a winter paradise. Living in Florida is like living anywhere else though, it's an adjustment. You need a car to really get around and this is the part that makes life for kids under 16 a bit more challenging. My brother and I having lived together, rode our bikes around the golf course community or did family things together. What we didn't have so much were those after school get-togethers because of carpooling and the guts to ask mommy or daddy to drive me and pick me up.

But it's important for you to know there are solutions!!! There are communities closer to happening stuff your kids will like more! It might mean paying more for housing and getting less land than if you settle deeper into the sprawl, or there may be an opening or a home for sale you can't turn down in the perfect spot, walking distance from downtown or the mall or the beach . It DEFINITELY can be done and with a happy ending for the entire family!

[kellygirl925]

Here is our story: We moved to Florida from Stamford in August of 2013. I have two daughters, now 11 & 13, who were born & raised in Stamford. They did not want to move! We moved for several reasons: being close to family (I'm a native but lived in CT for 24 years, so this is home to me), lower cost of living, no more winter, etc.....
The kids love the house we moved into, larger, newer, with a pool and in a beautiful neighborhood but still miss CT. It's definitely a culture shock to them. We are much more rural (Citrus County) so we don't have a Starbucks or awesome mall within 10 minutes, like they had in Stamford. So they have complained about being so far from certain things. They do love Tampa & Orlando and they love the beaches and amusement parks. They like spending time with family. And they've made friends. They're doing great in school and their school is actually rated higher than where they went in Stamford.
And I always say to them that if we stayed in CT, they wouldn't be allowed to be mall rats anyways, so what's the difference? They are involved with sports and I hope they stay that way. That has helped with making friends & keeping busy.
I'm not sure what they'll do when they graduate from high school. My older daughter talks about college in Florida but my younger daughter talks about going to school up north. Only time will tell.
I'm grateful we made the move. It's important for me to be near family but I also think a slower pace is good for them. They have commented on kids having better manners down here and people being friendlier. I'm hoping they'll grow to appreciate it.
I do have to drive them around everywhere but I had to do that in CT as well.
My kids do get their CT fix twice a year as we have to fly back to visit their dad, so that may help in our situation.
Good luck to you, it's so not easy uprooting your kids, you just have to make a list of pros/cons. And depending on where you settle in Florida, your kids may love it!

[AES328]

Half the people I know down here are from CT. They're usually the most vocal in favor of living here vs back home. I don't blame them. I've visited CT before with the wife who was born up there. I didn't care for the place. We were in Fairfield, Bridgeport, Hartford, and some other little craphole town. FL isn't perfect by any stretch but I'll take it over CT.