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In 2011, my husband and I moved to Baltimore from Florida so that he could attend grad school. We are both 29 and looking to start a family in the next 3-5 years. We'd like to move back closer to our parents in central Florida, but we want to make sure we can find jobs in the editing/writing field. We have been thinking about Atlanta because we really enjoy larger cities that have distinct neighborhoods like Baltimore. However, my family is dropping hints that we should move back to Florida so that we can see each other more often. Any recommendations for cities in Florida that have a stable job market and offer a variety of things to do? We are a bit hesitant to move back to Florida because of the lack of cultural diversity in some areas, but we are open to suggestions!
If you're moving back to Florida, there's 4 big cities that you'll have to choose from with many notable mid-size cities in between that you may also be interested in. I live in Baltimore now but am originally from Florida, so I may be of some help.
I would also like to say congrats! If I could move out of Baltimore today I would do it in a heartbeat.
Most Florida cities aren’t structured like Northern cities and are much more spread out.
Tampa is a notable exception. It has a decent job market, and distinct set of neighborhoods that are pretty well defined.
I personally always loved Northeast Florida (lived in St. Augustine / Jacksonville for 5+ years), I Always found that the vibe there was much more relaxed than many of the other parts of Florida, and the COL was really cheap. Jacksonville also has a growing downtown scene that I think is really cool.
I always liked Northeast Florida because I felt like it succeed in avoiding a lot of the negative qualities of larger Florida cities (i.e. traffic, materialist attitude, overpopulation, etc.). The only downside is that the job market could be better.
I’m headed in the opposite direction, hopefully to the Pacific Northwest, but good luck on your relocation.
In 2011, my husband and I moved to Baltimore from Florida so that he could attend grad school. We are both 29 and looking to start a family in the next 3-5 years. We'd like to move back closer to our parents in central Florida, but we want to make sure we can find jobs in the editing/writing field. We have been thinking about Atlanta because we really enjoy larger cities that have distinct neighborhoods like Baltimore. However, my family is dropping hints that we should move back to Florida so that we can see each other more often. Any recommendations for cities in Florida that have a stable job market and offer a variety of things to do? We are a bit hesitant to move back to Florida because of the lack of cultural diversity in some areas, but we are open to suggestions!
As someone who lives in Central Florida and lived in major Northeast US cities I would recommend looking elsewhere. There's nothing similar really between the two and quite frankly finding suitable employment in your field will be rather daunting given the lack of options. Atlanta actually has distinct neighborhoods if you do some research and think it could be your best choice in terms of proximity to the parents.
ATL is your best bet. Only 6 hours drive to Orlando or 1 hour flight.
I agree that Tampa and Jax would offer the most similarity in older neighborhoods as they both developed far earlier than the other FL cities. But they won't really meet your other desires (Tampa would come close). FWIW, Jax's economy is very healthy and strong in a number of industries, but probably not for writing/editing.
If you want to consider some other options, you could look at Nashville, Raleigh or Charlotte. All are a little closer to FL but I don't think they'd match what you can find in ATL.
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