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Old 05-30-2007, 03:12 PM
 
11 posts, read 37,789 times
Reputation: 11

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Hello everyone.

i am from brooklyn. I have lived in NY (the 5 boroughs) my entire life. i am pretty liberal (e.g. only listen to NPR), a vegetarian (e.g. my fav grocery stores are Whole Foods/Trader Joes), love to work out (in gym or hike/bike/swin etc.), care for the environment deeply (recycle, reduce and reuse!) and I have a 10 month old daughter (who i would ideally like to send to a Montessori day care center). we will be relocating to either San Antonio or Ft Myers because of husband's job (he is a FP doctor).

Based on the brief description above, does anyone think one city would be a better fit than the other? I have taken a look at the TX and FL forums and neither seem like a perfect fit. We are also considering Jacksonville, FL but we aren't sure whether he will receive the offer of employment.

Any suggestions or feed back would be great!
Thanks so much for your help.
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Old 05-30-2007, 03:23 PM
 
458 posts, read 593,637 times
Reputation: 136
Sounds to me like Palm Beach County would be a better fit...Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens area. Palm Beach Gardens is a younger, growing area. Liberal, very active exercising population.

I can't imagine a vegetarian, liberal would be a great fit in beef and Bush country Texas!
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Old 05-30-2007, 03:37 PM
 
3,842 posts, read 10,478,555 times
Reputation: 3206
I lived in central TX for 5 yrs. San Antonio was about 2 hours away & went there quite frequently for River Walk & friends who lived there.

Truthfully, no way to compare the two. Completely different worlds. I think you'd be in for a heck of a cultural shock in San Antonio & overrun by retirees in Fort Myers.

San Antonio is very heavily influenced by its 1 1/2 hr drive to the border of Mexico. Hence, you will see a lot of day workers living in San Antonio. It has a very heavy Mexican influeunce just due to its proximity. Gotta take the good and the bad with that one. Homes are definitely affordable & cost of living ok. It is a family-based community in its areas & has some rich culture. There is an area that is completely based on tourism due to River Walk, the Alamo & some other tourist friendly things. It also has an Army & Air Force base there. It is not known for the thriving area of TX nor the most educated. It has its share of crimes & gangs but nothing compared to Houston. There is a huge outlet mall in San Marcos about 45 mins away & every sort of store somewhere in San Antonio. Not trying to sound racist, but your husband would need to know Spanish pretty well if he will be working with the San Antonio population.

If you guys are looking at Texas, I am surprised you are not looking at Austin. It is a very liberal community, very eco-friendly, has a Trader Joes, Whole Foods, bike trails, hiking, boating, & a rich music scene. Very family friendly but cost of homes & prop taxes are starting to really get high there & traffic sprawl is starting to get to the best of them there [I noticed on the Austin thread that traffic problems & prop taxes are main reasons people don't care for the area...other than that, people love it there].

My husband works in Fort Myers but we do not live due to a lot of issues in the area. We decided to live about 30 miles north. Fort Myers, IMHO, is not the place to raise a family. Traffic, rising crime, cranky retirees, and cost of living in that particular city, things to do with a family...just not there. I mean, there are things to do such as Sanibel Island & Imaginarium, but it's like a city that is stuck. It needs a good, positive kick to get it going. Personally, I don't feel anywhere b/w Punta Gorda through Naples is a place to raise a family. I think For Myers is great if you are an older couple without children who love to boat & fish.

We are here due to a long story but we are leaving as soon as we can to go back up north where we are from. We've been waiting years to go back home, but we were military & then this particular job came along in Fort Myers, so have to suck it up for awhile longer. We did not fit in Texas nor really care for it. Would never want to go back. Don't really fit in here either but I think that is b/c we are in our 30s with a young child. But these are the choices we have made & we are just trying our best down here for the time being.

And honestly, between the two you are asking about....I'd stay where you are unless economically you cannot...neither city can truly offer the diversity of things that you currently have...but if I HAD to chose...it would be San Antonio b/c it is more family-friendly, not even remotely as transient, & not based on retiree dollars. Ask me the two states I never want to live in ever again...FL & TX I even told my husband anywhere but Flordia...oh well

Last edited by 121804; 05-30-2007 at 04:36 PM..
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Old 05-30-2007, 03:54 PM
 
17,455 posts, read 38,850,828 times
Reputation: 24080
Quote:
Originally Posted by undecided mama View Post
Hello everyone.

i am from brooklyn. I have lived in NY (the 5 boroughs) my entire life. i am pretty liberal (e.g. only listen to NPR), a vegetarian (e.g. my fav grocery stores are Whole Foods/Trader Joes), love to work out (in gym or hike/bike/swin etc.), care for the environment deeply (recycle, reduce and reuse!) and I have a 10 month old daughter (who i would ideally like to send to a Montessori day care center). we will be relocating to either San Antonio or Ft Myers because of husband's job (he is a FP doctor).

Based on the brief description above, does anyone think one city would be a better fit than the other? I have taken a look at the TX and FL forums and neither seem like a perfect fit. We are also considering Jacksonville, FL but we aren't sure whether he will receive the offer of employment.

Any suggestions or feed back would be great!
Thanks so much for your help.
Undecided - if you don't have to move, I wouldn't it I were you. I am basing this on the description of who you are and what is important to you. I can't speak for Texas, only know what I have read, but only in a few (very few) places in Florida will you even begin to have what you seek. No where has a Trader Joe's, and only a few places have Whole Foods. There is a lot of negative info on this forum regarding Ft. Myers - please type in a search above and see what I am talking about - crime is VERY high here for such a small city.

If your choice really are only San Antone or Ft. Myers, I would go with San Antone - I have read some nice things about the city, and it is much larger than Ft. Myers. But I am guessing the vegetarian scene there (and elsewhere in Texas) is almost nonexistant) so you might feel out of your element. It would be best if you could visit both areas for a bit and see how you feel about them. Can't make a decision sight unseen just off a few message board postings.

I do think you would fare better in one of the larger Florida metros - Tampa Bay Area or SE coast of Fla, or perhaps Sarasota which is a bit north of Ft. Myers - they have great beaches and a new Whole Foods.

Good luck!
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Old 05-30-2007, 04:29 PM
 
Location: Ocala area in Central FL
627 posts, read 2,841,747 times
Reputation: 338
There is a Whole Foods in North San Antonio (inside the 410) near Alamo Heights.

I too agree that compared to Fort Myers, San Anton would be a lesser shock coming from a big city. I lived there for a couple years and we liked it... So it is one of the two places we will be making a choice on moving back to in the next 30 months.


Good Luck on what ever you and your family decide to do.


PS: There are several organic food stores in San Antonio and housing is less expensive.
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Old 05-30-2007, 05:21 PM
 
Location: FL/TX Coasts
1,465 posts, read 4,049,961 times
Reputation: 434
Housing is much less in San Antnio than Ft Myers. for about 145K you can get a new home in San Antonio..no chance in Ft Myers. Also, San Antonio does not have the insurance issue like in Florida.
Some one making about 50K a year can have a pretty good life...50K in Ft Myers will go towards your bills.
No sure why you picked San Antonio, but Austin sounds much better.
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Old 05-30-2007, 08:53 PM
 
Location: US
3,090 posts, read 3,951,324 times
Reputation: 1648
My brother and his family live in San Antonio and love it more than anywhere else they have lived including California, Fairbanks, Alaska, Knoxville, Tennessee and Florida. Believe me, if my brother's wife can be happy, then you know it's got to be a nice place

He said the housing there is about a $100 a square foot. Ditto on the other message/comments about the workers from Mexico. Apparently it's hard for a business owner in the trades to compete.

With regard to churches, one of the largest churches is in North San Antonio (I think he said North). It's so big they have their own Parking Ministry--the guys wear shirts with tire track on them.


[There is a Whole Foods in North San Antonio (inside the 410) near Alamo Heights.

I too agree that compared to Fort Myers, San Anton would be a lesser shock coming from a big city. I lived there for a couple years and we liked it... So it is one of the two places we will be making a choice on moving back to in the next 30 months.


Good Luck on what ever you and your family decide to do.


PS: There are several organic food stores in San Antonio and housing is less expensive. [/quote]
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Old 05-31-2007, 01:51 PM
 
59 posts, read 284,655 times
Reputation: 24
Ft. Myers is getting younger! The median age of Ft. Myers is 32. Also, Lee County led the state in student enrollment growth. Lee County is getting very popular with families. Ft. Myers was rated the fittest city in the South a couple years ago so if you like to excercise and hit the gym, you will fit right in. We have many natural food stores so you should have no trouble there. The only problem I see you running into is the fact that SW Fla. is traditionally very Conservative. However, it is getting more liberal with the influx of younger residents. Also, on a side note, I see a couple posts that mention Ft. Myers being over-run by retirees. Well, as somebody who worked in a restaurant that saw its fair share of old people, I can say that Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona are turning into the new hot spot for retirees. Its much cheaper and they don't have to worry about hurricanes. I would say Ft. Myers would be better, but thats just my opinion.
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Old 05-31-2007, 02:08 PM
 
Location: Ocala area in Central FL
627 posts, read 2,841,747 times
Reputation: 338
Quote:
Originally Posted by carolac View Post
My brother and his family live in San Antonio and love it more than anywhere else they have lived including California, Fairbanks, Alaska, Knoxville, Tennessee and Florida. Believe me, if my brother's wife can be happy, then you know it's got to be a nice place

He said the housing there is about a $100 a square foot. Ditto on the other message/comments about the workers from Mexico. Apparently it's hard for a business owner in the trades to compete.

With regard to churches, one of the largest churches is in North San Antonio (I think he said North). It's so big they have their own Parking Ministry--the guys wear shirts with tire track on them.
My sister just closed this morning on her new home in SA, it is a 2200 sq ft brand new home for $145900. So, yeah, you can find some much better deals on housing there.
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Old 06-04-2007, 10:09 AM
 
Location: Cape Coral
172 posts, read 854,435 times
Reputation: 44
im from brooklyn myself and i ended up here and let me tell you

based on what im reading, you seem like youd be into more cultural things, and an urban vibe where youd be able to walk places and do things with your kid.

DONT COME TO FORT MYERS.

cant speak for san antonio but fort myers has NOTHING,
youre gona be stuck at home and youre gona drive everywhere, take one long last good walk around the city if you come here cus thats gona be the last one youll take for a long while.

your kid wont be able to play outside without fear of being hit by a truck doing 50mph down a residential street which more than likely wont have sidewalks or even streetlights in alot of cases.

plan on the city shutting down at 9pm everynight, having waaaaay less to do, and old senile people tripling your commutes everywhere.

plan on making less money than you do in brooklyn and spending more also

plan on seeing big ass mutated flying roaches and giant man eating spiders

oh and plan on struggling to find a decent slice of pizza or chinese food anywhere lol
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