[Sunshine Chick]

There are tons of very highly successful people who were educated and grew up in Florida. Florida schools are no worse then many other states.

Any parent would know to look into the school, the admin, the money in the school system, the teachers, the history and reputation, the grades and allot more things that are public info.

If Florida schools are so bad there sure wouldnt be so many well educated people coming out of that state!

Heck look at schools in Baltimore, Memphis, Detriot, Philly, St Louis, there isnt a school system anywhere in Florida that is worse then these towns have. Low grad rates, high drop out rates, schools with bars on the windows, school that look like a jail instead of a school.

My nephew played HS basketball and played a team from Cleveland Ohio last year and they got off the bus and they were locked in the locker room until game time and again at half time. Now how bad is that?

Stop complaining and do your research.

[Granny Sue]

Originally Posted by Sunshine Chick

There are tons of very highly successful people who were educated and grew up in Florida. Florida schools are no worse then many other states.

Any parent would know to look into the school, the admin, the money in the school system, the teachers, the history and reputation, the grades and allot more things that are public info.

If Florida schools are so bad there sure wouldnt be so many well educated people coming out of that state!

Heck look at schools in Baltimore, Memphis, Detriot, Philly, St Louis, there isnt a school system anywhere in Florida that is worse then these towns have. Low grad rates, high drop out rates, schools with bars on the windows, school that look like a jail instead of a school.

My nephew played HS basketball and played a team from Cleveland Ohio last year and they got off the bus and they were locked in the locker room until game time and again at half time. Now how bad is that?

Stop complaining and do your research.

I agree....I have three nephews and a son that graduated with honor's from Evan's High School in Orlando....three went to Harvard the other to West Point.
My niece graduated from Boone HS here in Orlando and is finishing up her Jr year at Va Tech...with honors.

It's all about the parents!!!

[songgirl]

Originally Posted by jsta_grl22

I grew up California and moved to a COLD state. Big mistake. I am miserable here. So I am trying to find a nice place to live that is warm year-round. Florida sounds nice: oceans, beaches, close to attractions. But I hear so many negatives about Florida that I don't know what to do!

For the past year I have been saying "yes i'm moving there" then "oh wait no I'm not". I am going absolutely insane in my head going back and forth on the issue. I need to make a decision, maybe you guys can help?

I am open to moving anywhere in Florida besides big cities like Miami. Are there any places (maybe small/medium towns) that are truly a nice place to live? Places where there are no gangs, drugs, and little crime? The biggest issue is the schools- I keep hearing how bad they are and yet I can't imgaine that there aren't any good schools in the smaller towns. I just wish there was a nice place to raise a family. Thanks for any suggestions.

There are many areas in Florida that, as a mom, I would not move to....Too much crime, too much traffic, too many snowbirds, too materialistic, too expensive, poor schools, etc.

But I live in St. Augustine and feel very comfortable raising my daughter here. Schools are good, people are friendly, crime is low and I am close to the beach, which is a must for me. There are other areas of Florida that fit this description as well. On my short list would be Ponte Vedra, Vero Beach, Melbourne, St. Petersburg, Jupiter, Sarasota and parts of the panhandle.

Florida is too big to make sweeping generalizations about, just as California is. The main thing is to do your research and definately find a secure job before you come. The economy in Florida is very out of wack right now and the salaries are way too low. I've met a lot of people who love it here, but are completely stressed because they just can't find a way to make ends meet. Coming from Cali, you know what I mean! Good luck

[Sunshine Chick]

Originally Posted by captnemo62

I agree....I have three nephews and a son that graduated with honor's from Evan's High School in Orlando....three went to Harvard the other to West Point.
My niece graduated from Boone HS here in Orlando and is finishing up her Jr year at Va Tech...with honors.

It's all about the parents!!!

Thank you.

Parents need to be MORE involved with their kids, it is you job as a parent to help teach your kids and stop blaming the schools if you kids are not doing well.
The kids at the bottom of each of my kids classes are from parents who dont even know what grade their kids are in let alone help them with homework.
Its sad to see the kids who struggle and you can almost always find a deadbeat parent at home.
There are allot of good schools in Florida just as their are in other staes, its the parents job to search and find the right one one and not move into an area just for what they want. You have to put the kids first and you second.

[marynaples]

hi my name is mary i live in north naples fl area there are a lot of gangs in my neighborhood and outside the neighborhood they usually have disgusting tatto's on their body the ones out in public are bad one gang member approached me at naples walk at publix grocery store in naples fl and invited me to elicit sex at his barefoot beach residence i snapped at him and said get lost you sob.

i am a tough country girl maybe bonita springs fl would be a better place to live in than naples fl since naples fl has too many bad gangs in it so living in north naples fl is highly not reccomended here sorry for the bad news.

good luck

Originally Posted by orlando32819

Really, Gangs are a big problem in central FL. They are in Dr. Phillips HS, Olympia HS, Winter Park HS where houses are in $400,000 - $10,000,000. The school systems have been changing boundary to dilute gangs and drug problems, but it helps to expand to all kids.

[Aconite]

Originally Posted by babyblue32

hi i am wondering if davenport a nice safe town

Davenport is the putrefying boil on the tailbone of the state of Florida. And Polk County Schools are worse.

[Anders15]

7 pages of mixed reviews. Great.

[dmccauley]

Originally Posted by Aconite

Davenport is the putrefying boil on the tailbone of the state of Florida. And Polk County Schools are worse.

I don't live in Davenport, we had just stayed at a resort there. I was shocked at the crime. In just 14 days a guy was killed down the street at the local gas station and a pregnant woman was run down while walking the highway.

[Janemom]

Hi - you didn't note which area of Florida you are in. My husband is a family doc in Pennsylvania, and we have 3 kids. Want to move to Fl for weather, plus it is SOOOO expensive to live in SE PA. Our two older kids are gifted. Our district is not so great here, so I struggled and did lots of research, and had 2nd kid skip grade. First kid is unfortunately, although the more highly gifted kid, is not interested in excelling any more. (Third kid is only toddler) So, we are looking for area where we can get a home around 400K, 3000 sq feet, a pool, a little yard for our myriad of pets, and close to activities, etc. BUT - really need a good school, and no Dade county, due to high malpractice premiums. SO - where do you have your kids in school, if I may ask?
thanks so very much, as I'm pretty clueless.

[Sunny-Days-in-Florida]

Nope, Florida schools are terrible, kids are stupid, never learn anything and all the high ranking colleges that Florida has are kids from other states.

Florida has 4 of the top 25 colleges in the entire country and if you look around to see most of those kids are from all those real bad Florida schools.

There are plenty of places to raise kids in Florida, just read some of these post, you really need to sort and separate what your expectations are.

All states have good and bad schools, look at Chicago, Detroit, St Louis, Cleveland, Philadelphia etc they have drop out rates higher then grad rates in some schools.

So yes, we have friends with kids in Florida and they are all doing well in schools and have raised them just fine in Florida. Of course they did their homework before they purchase homes and were involved with their kids.

What you will find in most towns and schools is if the kids are doing poorly all you have to do is look at the parents.