[Woot21210]

Hello,
me and my wife are looking to "start over" in fl. We currently live in the north east and are tired of the cold, snow, bleakness up here for 4-5 months+ a yr and want to be in a place where we see the sun everyday and never have to deal with cold or SNOW ever again (I almost lost my life in a snow storm last yr).we have visited both the jax and Orlando area (also a bit of Tampa) and all I'm sure have there pros and cons but we are willing to do almost anything to get out. I am in call center/help desk (5 yrs) and she is in grocery (6 yrs) where in Florida offers the most jobs of these types? Any other recommendations are helpful.
I know everyone on here says "don't move here without plan/job" and believe me,
We are not taking this lightly. We are setting aside at least 4 months income to move and adjust and plan is to have jobs lined up when we arrive or soon after.
(Is it true you will not get hired of you don't have local address?) We both have exemplary work records and this is the first huge move for us so we want to be very picky and will only start our journey when we know. Just want to get the process started. Thanks!

[JayGatsby]

You can find those jobs in any major city so take your pick.

[Arcenal813]

What type of call center?
Years ago I worked for a company called Alorica doing outbound B2B telemarketing. Alorica does more than just that, but that's what I got hired for. It was a major P.I.A. for me, but lots of folks there liked it and had been there for years. The money wasn't bad for what it was, with some of the good workers actually pulling decent yearly salaries. Alorica has offices practically everywhere.
As for groceries, Publix is a good option, and can lead to decent careers.

For what you're looking for, I'd highly suggest either the Orlando area or Tampa area.

[markjames68]

Many call centers are located in Tampa. You might want to research a few companies and then look at Glassdoor to get an idea of salaries and how they compare.

While I applaud your desire to get out of the snow, make sure it makes financial sense before loading up the car and heading south. Neither you nor your wife are in high-paying careers so make sure you look at the cost of living difference. "Northeast" could mean Long Island (expensive) or Rochester (pretty inexpensive) and there is a big COL variance in Florida as well.

[smarino]

I couldn't say if it's true about the local address thing, but I personally wouldn't hire someone that wasn't even living in the state I was interviewing in for the job.

For the type of work you are looking for, getting hired shouldn't be TOO much trouble. I am assuming that neither of you are 55+. That would make it a lot harder to get hired anywhere these days. Publix is a grocery store I would highly recommend, and I know several people that have worked in them. Everyone said that they liked their jobs, but their days and shifts were always changing, and getting breaks was not exactly a priority w/ the stores. Something tells me that's just the nature of working in a grocery store though.

You're probably going to be all right w/ call center work in any of the major metro areas, but you can do some googling and find that out specifically w/ little trouble. That's tough work, and my hats off to you for doing it. I worked phones for years and years, but it was always w/ arts organizations like ballets, symphonies, and theaters. That was fun work, and you could make a lot of money during subscription runs. I also did market research, which wasn't exactly fun, nor did it pay a lot, but the work was steady, unlike the art stuff. I got so burnt out on phone work that I won't even answer one now. I let it ring, and after someone leaves a message I decide whether or not to call them back. My wife calls it telephoneaphobia. I like that. Sounds like something the doc might fix me up w/ something cool to take....as long as I don't have to phone in the prescription.

[Woot21210]

Thanks for all the replies! Your right we both are 27 actually. She has worked grocery for yrs and what you said about schedules and break are a par for the course with any company anymore. Do you think if we have a local address but all of our past experience out of state we would still have a chance at finding work? We have it narrowed down go Orlando or Jacksonville areas. Does anyone have experience with living in/around Orlando besides Disney? We have visited both areas and preferred jax but I see there are more companies in Orlando. Any help is appreciated!

[unquiltom]

Just be aware that Jacksonville will not get you out of the cold in the winter. Temps often drop into the 30's and freezes are not out of the question. On the plus side, it's only for 2 or 3 months out of the year instead of 6.

[Joey Falcon]

I would say Orlando...people are even moving to Orlando from other nations because there are so many jobs here. The numbers don't lie.

[duttygal86]

Orlando hands down, when comparing the two. I've lived in both and Orlando is more diverse. I worked at a call center for Comcast in Orlando and I remember getting tons of OT.

[jambo101]

Be aware both your jobs sound like minimum wage fare in Florida. Can you live on that?