[sdhale]

I am thinking about moving to Florida from Memphis, TN to go to Grad school. I have applied at several different schools (University of South Forida in Tampa with campuses in Lakeland, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL, and the Florida International University in Miami, FL.) Im indecisive, and cant figure out which one to choose. I have only been to Miami, Fl and Orlando, Fl on vacation. I know the TRAFFIC is horrible. My question is which one of these cities would be best for a single parent (daughter is 3). I'm planning on moving in the family housing on campus, but if I decide not to, what are some nice areas that are inexpensive around these schools in these cities. I love the beach, and this is one reason why I have chosen to relocate to Florida. I've read some previous forums, and they state that the people in Florida are not very nice, but that is a huge turn off because I love meeting new people, and networking! Finally, I currently work for Youth Villages dealing with trouble youth. How is the Job Market in these cities with people like me concerned about the Youth. (Not Teaching). I know this forum is pretty long, but I have so many question, and I don't know where to start.

P.S If anyone knows anything about the Social Work Programs (MSW) at these schools please MSG me with an UPS or DOWN.

Thank you very much for our time

AGAPE

[DailyJournalist]

I think you should consider Jacksonville and the University of North Florida. Low cost of living, non tourist based economy, close to the beach, and better job market than most of Florida.

Jacksonville Hotels - Restaurants - Beaches - Florida Vacation Information - Visit Jacksonville
University of North Florida

[SoFLGal]

OK, who's giving us Floridians a bad rap? I would like to think I'm pretty nice and I'm a native

My vote would be for Sarasota. There's so much to do here for kids-Mote Marine, GWiZ, Ringling Museum (may be a little to young right now), beaches, parks and the Children's Garden (http://www.sarasotachildrensgarden.com/English/frames.html - broken link) is a must for for little ones. I have three kids 16, 11 and 4 and all of them were raised in Sarasota county. I also grew up here. I think it's a great town and a wonderful place to raise kids

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

OK, who's giving us Floridians a bad rap? I would like to think I'm pretty nice and I'm a native

My vote would be for Sarasota. There's so much to do here for kids-Mote Marine, GWiZ, Ringling Museum (may be a little to young right now), beaches, parks and the Children's Garden (http://www.sarasotachildrensgarden.com/English/frames.html - broken link) is a must for for little ones. I have three kids 16, 11 and 4 and all of them were raised in Sarasota county. I also grew up here. I think it's a great town and a wonderful place to raise kids

I second this post! And we are natives and consider ourselves nice, friendly people, and I have got to tell you we have met some of the happiest friendliest people here that we have ever met anywhere! You have to take posts on these forums with a grain of salt, as there are many malcontents who are not happy and are very vocal about it. The Sarasota area is truly paradise, IMO, and I say this as a native who has lived in Florida for 59 years (my whole life!).

[DailyJournalist]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

OK, who's giving us Floridians a bad rap? I would like to think I'm pretty nice and I'm a native

My vote would be for Sarasota. There's so much to do here for kids-Mote Marine, GWiZ, Ringling Museum (may be a little to young right now), beaches, parks and the Children's Garden (http://www.sarasotachildrensgarden.com/English/frames.html - broken link) is a must for for little ones. I have three kids 16, 11 and 4 and all of them were raised in Sarasota county. I also grew up here. I think it's a great town and a wonderful place to raise kids

Why would you recommend a retirement area (Sarasota) to a person trying to get their career started?

[Tungsten_Udder]

Originally Posted by sdhale

P.S If anyone knows anything about the Social Work Programs (MSW) at these schools please MSG me with an UPS or DOWN.

Unfortunately, I do not know much about social work programs, but that should be your number one concern. You should pick grad schools with the best reputations for your major, do NOT limit that to Florida just because you like Florida, and you should balance out the grad school you pick with what you can afford--you need to consider how expensive the school is, what kind of income you could manage while going to school, and what your cost of living is going to be. In my opinion, those should be your ONLY concerns at this point, as the objective is to go to the school that will give you the best chances of establishing a well-paying career doing what you love to do, not to go to the beach. Worry about that kind of stuff after you finish school. Your daughter would be fine anywhere in the country.

If grad school rankings for social work programs are not on the Internet, contact the best paying, most pretigious social work employers and ask them what grad schools they hold in the highest regard.

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by DailyJournalist

Why would you recommend a retirement area (Sarasota) to a person trying to get their career started?

If you want to get technical, all of Florida is a retirement area. I'm just giving my opinion as a native Floridan and a mom who has lived here as a kid and is raising her kids here. Oh, I forgot to add that Sarasota county has one of the best school systems in the state.

I am very happy here as are my kids.

[FLBob]

Originally Posted by DailyJournalist

Why would you recommend a retirement area (Sarasota) to a person trying to get their career started?

I have never understood why a place that would be attractive to someone as a retirement destination would be a place to avoid if you are starting a career. I'm not aware of any obvious conflicts between the two.
Sarasota is a fairly diverse small city. We're experiencing economic hard times just like many other areas, but for the life of me I can't see the logic in the argument that if retirees like an area it's a bad location for a career choice.

[Big House]

Originally Posted by FLBob

I have never understood why a place that would be attractive to someone as a retirement destination would be a place to avoid if you are starting a career. I'm not aware of any obvious conflicts between the two.
Sarasota is a fairly diverse small city. We're experiencing economic hard times just like many other areas, but for the life of me I can't see the logic in the argument that if retirees like an area it's a bad location for a career choice.

Excellent logical question Bob! It doesn't make sense to me really. Unless you are in a gated / age restricted area, then what difference does it make anyway. I would think that if you have younger kids that it may be preferential to have some elderly people around that are going to keep an eye on their community / area. Just because the area may be a "retirement" area, it doesn't mean that the job opportunities are less prevalent either.

I think the SWFL area is full of nice friendly people as well. A lot of them are on this board. I was fortunate enough to meet SoFLGal's children, and can tell you that they are all super nice, and doing great in school, and participating in some nice art programs and sports as well. As well as they are turning out, I wouldn't hesitate to send my kids where her kids go. They are very well rounded. - Sorry SoFLGal, but I had to share that.

[intelfan11315]

I don't know about your budget, how long you plan to stay and whatnot. In my opinion I think you would be the most happy in Miami or Tampa. Both cities are different, but fun nonethelss. The reason Miami could be tough is due to cost of housing. I wouldn't recommend moving to Miami without much money and then having to live in a high crime area. If you move to Miami, you should have your daughter learn Spanish, it would greatly benefit her!