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Just moved Coral Springs with my family from Philadelphia. The Mr. got his 1st teaching job and I'm currently looking for a day shift RN position. I'm trying to give South Florida a chance but I don't see myself EVER liking it here. I was happy to see the amount of diversity here but that soon faded once I realized no one really socializes outside of their own close knit circles. I've been home with our 2 year old and I have only managed to strike up a conversation with another mom in our neighborhood library. I would say 70% of the women I see with their children in the library are foreign and they're usually huddled up with their friends and are speaking in their native language. Whenever I do find work, I'm worried about putting my daughter in daycare because the kids that I see when I'm out and about, behave so poorly. I'm not talking about bad tantrums..I'm talking about running wild and bad manners. It doesn't get much better with the school aged kids either. I've had kids almost step on my feet, or knock me down without so much of an "excuse me". The drivers are terrible and there just seems to be a sense of entitlement that people have. People have no sense of personal space. I've had people reach over me or cross in front of me as if I'm invisible. We have yet to find any type of nightlife or entertainment. It would be nice to have someplace to enjoy ourselves without having to drive to Miami. The wages are extremely LOW. If it weren't for my husband killing himself by teaching a extra class (7 total, which means NO PREP), we would barely make rent every month. I recently had a interview that went well, but I was offered $25 a hour. I haven't made such little money since I first graduated nursing school 4 years ago!!! I've got my BSN and left a job making $38 an hour to move here. When you combine all of this with heat, humidity, and rain, which wreaks havoc on my hair (I am a black woman), lack of hospitality, no sense of community, I am ready to bail and go to California before our lease is even up. My husband won't admit it but south Florida is nothing like what he thought it would be. He is the most friendly, social and down to earth person and he hasn't even made one single friend or connection here yet. Please tell me there are some small pockets of south Florida where folks are sociable and where there is some sort of nightlife outside of Miami and south beach. We are starting to feel pretty hopeless.
Paragraphs would help, but I tried to read your post but got lost.
Much if what you experienced is typical of the northward migration out of Miami-Dade into Broward and beyond. My Wife and I lived in FL a combined 30+ years, majority of that time was in SoFla (Palm Beach County). I gave up on SoFla and moved west and currently live in the San Diego Area, which was a big change but a refreshing and welcoming one at that.
Since leaving my overall mental health improved, driving there was bad and I drove south around a 2 hour total daily commute, which was often brutal and filled with the people you described. Going out to stores and etc, also we saw the same people. When you mix a high senior population, with a NY/NJ and etc population along with tossing in the League of Nations, mainly Spanish Speaking along with other Caribbean Poor Countries and so on, its' a daily grind that many can get sick of, but it has it's pluses, diversity and cultural mix, but what you said about "assimilating" is the truth, many don't and are stuck watching Univision or Telemundo and sticking with their kind.
I'm also surprised being a Nurse you cannot find good career options, almost everyone we knew that worked in Medical, RN, NP, and PA, made a lot of money, some were single wage earners or mothers with kids and bought homes and could live the SoFla lifestyle beyond the average person and then some.
We both embraced the change and like it here in CA, but we miss things back in SoFla those positive things we liked and/or enjoyed.
Before you pick up and move here, I can tell you while people are laid back, I have not found ppl here to be overly warm and friendly, it just depends. People here seem to be more "Live and Let Live" and the laid back nature is often taken as being cold or unfriendly.
I doubt that anyone could tell you anything as you seem to have it all figured out. Everything that is except the part about going some place for an extended time BEFORE you move there. If you don't do that w/ California, good luck.
Besides, it's impossible that the entire area is like you describe. This is just your impressions of where your are. Back home you had plenty of time to figure things out. I am SURE Philly has equally bad problems and worse, but when you live somewhere for a while you figure out where you need to be. There is no way that everyone is as you say they are where you live, that every school has those sort of kids, etc. That would be like me moving to Harlem and saying I didn't like New York because of this or that. If I moved to Manhattan, things would be different. Or, I might prefer Harlem and not Manhattan. You need to figure out where you need to be, and again, do that before you move, not after.
Just moved Coral Springs with my family from Philadelphia. The Mr. got his 1st teaching job and I'm currently looking for a day shift RN position. I'm trying to give South Florida a chance but I don't see myself EVER liking it here. I was happy to see the amount of diversity here but that soon faded once I realized no one really socializes outside of their own close knit circles. I've been home with our 2 year old and I have only managed to strike up a conversation with another mom in our neighborhood library. I would say 70% of the women I see with their children in the library are foreign and they're usually huddled up with their friends and are speaking in their native language. Whenever I do find work, I'm worried about putting my daughter in daycare because the kids that I see when I'm out and about, behave so poorly. I'm not talking about bad tantrums..I'm talking about running wild and bad manners. It doesn't get much better with the school aged kids either. I've had kids almost step on my feet, or knock me down without so much of an "excuse me". The drivers are terrible and there just seems to be a sense of entitlement that people have. People have no sense of personal space. I've had people reach over me or cross in front of me as if I'm invisible. We have yet to find any type of nightlife or entertainment. It would be nice to have someplace to enjoy ourselves without having to drive to Miami.
The wages are extremely LOW. If it weren't for my husband killing himself by teaching a extra class (7 total, which means NO PREP), we would barely make rent every month. I recently had a interview that went well, but I was offered $25 a hour. I haven't made such little money since I first graduated nursing school 4 years ago!!! I've got my BSN and left a job making $38 an hour to move here. When you combine all of this with heat, humidity, and rain, which wreaks havoc on my hair (I am a black woman), lack of hospitality, no sense of community, I am ready to bail and go to California before our lease is even up. My husband won't admit it but south Florida is nothing like what he thought it would be. He is the most friendly, social and down to earth person and he hasn't even made one single friend or connection here yet. Please tell me there are some small pockets of south Florida where folks are sociable and where there is some sort of nightlife outside of Miami and south beach. We are starting to feel pretty hopeless.
#1: You are both professionals ! So why didn't you scope out South Florida before you made the move ?
#2: The Miami metro area has one of the largest foreign born population in the US and you should have been aware of that beforehand when there are over 100 languages spoken just in the school system. Your husband as a teacher should have known that. It's a International metro unlike Philly.
#3: You can't find entertainment in a metro of 6 Million people?
#4 : Again , how did you move to Florida and not know that you were being "offered $25 a hour. I haven't made such little money since I first graduated nursing school 4 years ago!!! I've got my BSN and left a job making $38 an hour to move here."
We moved from the Philly area four years ago, but to central FL. My wife has been a nurse for over 25 years and is on track to get her BSN. Without even looking, she has gotten job offers of $28/hr. Since she transferred her license to Florida, she regularly gets phone calls and job offers in the mail. I guess the headhunters have access to the licensing records. Perhaps demand is higher in this area. Since she's finishing school she isn't pursuing anything right now. I earn a good salary and we do fine on that for now.
Florida is a big state. Perhaps another area of Florida would suit you better. California has its own problems, so before picking up and going there you may want to evaluate other parts of Florida.
It takes time and you need to get involved in the activities for kids in time people will talk to you if they see you often enough and you participate- get acclimated! 2- if you think negative, so it shall be
I'm sorry you are experiencing all this but like someone said, "Florida is a big state." We lived on the Treasure Coast for 5 years and experienced the aloofness but not so much the rudeness. We've snowbirders for the last 4 years in the JAX area and found it to be like any large US city. Now we've switched to Pinellas County and find people very friendly and helpful. There's a place in FL for you. Best luck.
It is simply amazing that your very first post is a list of dissatisfaction which is virtually a boilerplate text of the first post of so many other first time posters. I often wonder where posters like yourself were when the relocation idea first struck.
Your post describes someone that packed up and relocated themselves with no idea as to what the current situation in the new area was.
You need to leave Florida immediately to avoid anymore grief.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MirandaHobbs
Just moved Coral Springs with my family from Philadelphia. The Mr. got his 1st teaching job and I'm currently looking for a day shift RN position. I'm trying to give South Florida a chance but I don't see myself EVER liking it here. I was happy to see the amount of diversity here but that soon faded once I realized no one really socializes outside of their own close knit circles. I've been home with our 2 year old and I have only managed to strike up a conversation with another mom in our neighborhood library. I would say 70% of the women I see with their children in the library are foreign and they're usually huddled up with their friends and are speaking in their native language. Whenever I do find work, I'm worried about putting my daughter in daycare because the kids that I see when I'm out and about, behave so poorly. I'm not talking about bad tantrums..I'm talking about running wild and bad manners. It doesn't get much better with the school aged kids either. I've had kids almost step on my feet, or knock me down without so much of an "excuse me". The drivers are terrible and there just seems to be a sense of entitlement that people have. People have no sense of personal space. I've had people reach over me or cross in front of me as if I'm invisible. We have yet to find any type of nightlife or entertainment. It would be nice to have someplace to enjoy ourselves without having to drive to Miami. The wages are extremely LOW. If it weren't for my husband killing himself by teaching a extra class (7 total, which means NO PREP), we would barely make rent every month. I recently had a interview that went well, but I was offered $25 a hour. I haven't made such little money since I first graduated nursing school 4 years ago!!! I've got my BSN and left a job making $38 an hour to move here. When you combine all of this with heat, humidity, and rain, which wreaks havoc on my hair (I am a black woman), lack of hospitality, no sense of community, I am ready to bail and go to California before our lease is even up. My husband won't admit it but south Florida is nothing like what he thought it would be. He is the most friendly, social and down to earth person and he hasn't even made one single friend or connection here yet. Please tell me there are some small pockets of south Florida where folks are sociable and where there is some sort of nightlife outside of Miami and south beach. We are starting to feel pretty hopeless.
Your post describes someone that packed up and relocated themselves with no idea as to what the current situation in the new area was.
.
I've been criticized on this forum and the Tampa Bay forum for giving potential transplants looking to move to FL a strong cautionary note concerning the state. Everything the OP posted is an accurate description of common complaints people have after moving here.
I can't blame her. Many of us have similar complaints.
I can't blame her. Many of us have similar complaints.
Spring Hillian's advice would apply to all of those situations
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