[Need_affordable_home]

Id take my chances with quakes over canes. We get them canes much more than you get quakes. You like CA, SF to be specific. Jobs there pay alot more and its a better location too

[FLPL75]

kdm
I am in Jacksonville so I can answer questions, FCCJ is a great community college and most of the student go from there to either u of North fl or fla state or the gator school
We haven't had a problem with the huurricanes,
another thing is there are quite a few companies that offer tuition reimbursement,as well as benefits from day 1.
I would reccomend the Southside of Jacksonville(12 miles to the beach) or the beaches area, both are great places for young single people.
let me know if there is anything specific you want to know
karla

[Dennis P]

Originally Posted by kdm31091

The reason I'm considering Florida over Cali is earthquakes. Don't know exactly why but earthquakes scare me so much more then hurricanes.

Have you been watching movies like "10.5" and "Escape From L.A."?

I'm a California native and current resident who lived in Florida as a youngster. Most of the earthquakes I've lived through are small tremors that last no more than 15 seconds. No, there's no way to predict earthquakes reliably yet the way hurricanes and tornadoes can be tracked, but most of the time, they're not that big a deal, and we don't live fretfully every day wondering when the next one is going to hit.

Personally, I'd rather go through a 15-30-second quake than see a hurricane bearing down on me!

By the way, no one who lives in California calls it "Cali." It's either SoCal or NorCal.

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by kdm31091

Most people here COMPLAIN about Florida. My question is, is it truly that terrible? For every problem everyone moans about, I wonder if I could offer the following comments/questions:

Urban sprawl - definetly not exclusive to Florida; happening all over the nation

Traffic - Pretty much everywhere too

Illegal immigrants - I agree this is not good, but it's not exclusive to Florida either

Homeowner's insurance - Couldn't this be avoided by renting an apartment (I'm seriously asking)?

Any other bad things I'm missing? How about some GOOD things? Are the job wages TRULY all HORRIBLE? Because online, averages for Florida cities don't seem hugely lower then anywhere else.

kdm31091

So what is your plan now?

[florigidge]

jacksonville (duval county) covers a large geographic area. you could live in jacksonville near middleburg and only experience some rain and wind during a hurricane. or you could live on jacksonville beach or in the downtown area and get slammed senseless by a full-on hurricane. it's all a roll of the hurricane dice. anything along the coastal areas of florida are vulnerable.

we moved to florida in 1951 - miami; i moved to gainesville in mid80s (also went to UF in mid70s).

i currently reside on the west coast in the pacific northwest and i can tell you that i still suffer sticker shock when i go to buy gas or go to the grocery store. the prices as you go west get higher - that is what i have found. restaurants are high too - even the darn international house of pancakes is higher here than in gainesville!

rent, i do believe, can be about the same as can the rate of pay for certain jobs. but jobs are a problem in the city i live.

one thing to keep in mind if you are considering the areas of study you mentioned is to check with the specific school websites to see if those programs are offered. i do know that in south florida at FIU there is a terrific hospitality program if you are interested in becoming a part of that industry.

florida state run universities divvy up their programs throughout the state - therefore, for instance, you might not find the top notch journalism program at FSU or UNF because all the money and programs are at UF. you must shop around all the state universities to find the program that matches your interests. you can do this online - you can also online "shop" with all the community colleges too.

one thing i can also suggest is go to http://www.craigslist.com and search the jacksonville area (or the area of florida you're interested in) for roommate situations. might give you an idea as to what is out there; also roommates.com is another good site.

i think i would suggest you investigate tallahassee or gainesville or ft. myers area. south florida might overwhelm you and jacksonville might not be exactly what you're looking for.

my two cents.

[hiknapster]

Fort Myers is extrememly expensive, housing costs very high, no jobs but low-paying service jobs, and the few young people that are there are looking to move.

DON'T go there!