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We have a large family, 6 kids, and currently live in NJ. This area is way too expensive for our large brood. We are looking to relocate to a family friendly environment, good schools, cheaper living costs, mild climate, low crime rate etc. etc. All the usuals people look for. For my husband's job we need to be near a large city. There is alot of work in Vegas for my husband, but I have also heard that the school system is horrible. With 6 kids, that is very important to us. Can anyone tell me if the school system is really that bad? I have also read that life in central FL is like either living in a retirement community or a tourist attraction, any thoughts? And we know very little about TX at all, so any input there would be especially helpful?
We have a large family, 6 kids, and currently live in NJ. This area is way too expensive for our large brood. We are looking to relocate to a family friendly environment, good schools, cheaper living costs, mild climate, low crime rate etc. etc. All the usuals people look for. For my husband's job we need to be near a large city. There is alot of work in Vegas for my husband, but I have also heard that the school system is horrible. With 6 kids, that is very important to us. Can anyone tell me if the school system is really that bad? I have also read that life in central FL is like either living in a retirement community or a tourist attraction, any thoughts? And we know very little about TX at all, so any input there would be especially helpful?
I don't know much about any of those areas besides the Orlando area since i live here. I can tell you with out any hesitations that it is not like your either living in a tourist area or a retirement area. The majority of the retirement communities are far outside the city and suburbs, surrounded by rural areas (retiree's don't need to be close to the city since they don't commute to jobs). You see just as much retiree's in the suburbs as you would in any other cities suburbs.
As far as the tourist areas, there is one distinct area of Orlando where you find all the tourists and tourists attractions. That is south of downtown along Interstate 4. Which is convenient when you wanna have a little fun every once in awhile.
There are plenty great family friendly suburbs throughout metro Orlando with great schools, a significant amount of Orlando area high schools made the news week list of top high schools in the country. Areas i would recommend are Winter Park, Lake Mary, Oviedo, Winter Springs, Dr. Phillips, and Lake Nona.
Houston would also be a good choice based on what I've heard/ read about it, i just don't know much about it so i can't really give you any info on it.
I've had students move from Orlando to the south Bronx. Now that says something about Orlando...one family moved because their teenage son got shot.
Do you live in Orlando? Yes there is crime in certain areas, what city doesnt have crime? The areas with bad crime in Orlando are the communities just west of downtown, west of I-4 (far from the places i recommended). Those crime areas can be easily avoided because theres nothing important over there, so you won't ever need to be in those areas. The only time you might get a view of that area is when your driving passed it on the interstate on your way to the attractions. The places i recommended are very safe. Lake Mary and Oviedo were actually both listed on CNN's list of top 100 places to live in the USA.
Yea, Orlando has more tourists than anywhere in the country, yup, crime must really be spinning out of control there. There is crime, the majority is centered around certain small areas.
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The other areas they mentioned are safer, though Houston isn't all THAT much safer. Why do I have to live in a place to know about the crime? Us in NYC talk about crime in different areas. We like to discuss different cities based on statistics. It's a given Orlando is one of the worst cities for crime.
Crime index on this site lists it as a pathetic 1, which is based on a rating of 100.
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Here's another site. Type in "Sperlings crime rate Orlando," then click crime rate. National average for personal and property crime is 3. Orlando is rated 7 and 8 on this site.
idc about statistics, I live here and i know which areas have the crime and which dont, i can care less about the part of orlando with high crime because i dont live anywhere near there so it doesnt affect me. You get minor crime in my area, nothing major, and i havent been a victim of a crime once in my life of living here. But the places i recommended to the OP are VERY safe. Crime isnt a concern in those areas. So you can stop trying to get your point across, we get it, Orlando has alot of crime for a city its size (even tho it does have a metro of over a million) But the crime is mainly in one section of the huge MSA.
We have a large family, 6 kids, and currently live in NJ. This area is way too expensive for our large brood. We are looking to relocate to a family friendly environment, good schools, cheaper living costs, mild climate, low crime rate etc. etc. All the usuals people look for. For my husband's job we need to be near a large city. There is alot of work in Vegas for my husband, but I have also heard that the school system is horrible. With 6 kids, that is very important to us. Can anyone tell me if the school system is really that bad? I have also read that life in central FL is like either living in a retirement community or a tourist attraction, any thoughts? And we know very little about TX at all, so any input there would be especially helpful?
Im sure the Tampa Bay area could be a good fit for you. There are a lot of Family friendly communities here. We definitely have a lower cost of living and a mild climate. The Hillsborough County School district ,where I went to school, is one of the Nation's largest, and has some really nice schools aswell. The crime rate in the Tampa area has been falling for quite some time. You wont find the whole retirement feel in Tampa except for a few neigborhoods. There are some tourist areas, enough for your family to enjoy, but nothing like Orlando or Vegas.
We have a large family, 6 kids, and currently live in NJ. This area is way too expensive for our large brood. We are looking to relocate to a family friendly environment, good schools, cheaper living costs, mild climate, low crime rate etc. etc. All the usuals people look for. For my husband's job we need to be near a large city. There is alot of work in Vegas for my husband, but I have also heard that the school system is horrible. With 6 kids, that is very important to us. Can anyone tell me if the school system is really that bad? I have also read that life in central FL is like either living in a retirement community or a tourist attraction, any thoughts? And we know very little about TX at all, so any input there would be especially helpful?
You unfortunately have picked some really bad areas for raising children and personal safety. Florida, Texas and Nevada are among the worst in those categories in the nation. Cost of living is an important factor but unfortunately that sometimes correlates into a tradeoff of quality of life.
Have you considered other places? I'm taking a wild guess that your husband is somehow involved in the hospitality industry (hotels/restaurants?) though I'm probably completely off
I would highly recommend North Carolina. In particular places like Chapel Hill.
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro public schools are among the best in the nation. You still have seasons but a mild mix of all four. Rarely any snow and not super cold. It has a very low crime rate and is quite safe. Chapel Hill is part of the Triangle metro area of Raleigh/Durham which has been one of the better areas of the country in terms of economic health. The cost of living is pretty low in comparison to New Jersey and equal to other areas you've been looking at. It's also a beautiful place, with lots of trees and it's quite clean in terms of environment.
I can comment on two of your areas! I was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada (18 years in the Clark County School system) andstill have a lot of friends whose kids go there! The main problem with the Vegas school system is it is sooo massive (Vegas is all one county, which was fine 20 years ago but now way to much for one school system to take). So you have som REALLY good schools (ones in nicer neighborhoods, ones near casinos because they 'donate' to the school districts so schools nearby get a bigger slice) and you have some REALLY bad schools (stayout of north town! and east vegas isn't much better nowaday unless you get into Henderson/Green Valley). The biggest issue in Vegas schools, is student-teacher ratio (I heard about it over and over growing up!) and we did have really large classes, but that being said, I had great teachers growing up and got a solid education (and I didn't go to one of the best schools). There are also lots of public magnet schools available for jr high and high school (Las Vegas Academy for Theatre and International Relations, Votec for stuff like auto mechanics and cosmetology, and theres a math & science school now). There's lots of drug issues at all the school (more so at higher income neighborhoods suprisingly), but I live in rural Texas now and we have the same problem, so I think that is everywhere. Also coming from New Jersey be prepared for massive weather difference, cause Vegas gets HOT.
I live in southeast texas (an hour east of houston, but have lots of friends and family in Houston)and the schools here are okay, but not bunches of extra curricular stuff except sports (real big on sports in Texas). There are good schools around Houston, but Texas schools have weird rules and laws regarding things like g/t education and special education so I would look into that incase any of your kids may apply to those rules. I have a friend who went to school in Vegas and in Houston and she prefers Vegas schools, said she got a better education there. Again weather in Houston is HOT but you get the addition of humidity here which can make it unbearable (plus mosquitos can carry you away hehe).
Having lived in both places I would have to say crime is pretty much the same in both, both have good and bad areas. Air quality is WAY better in Vegas! Once you pick which place you can narrow down your search for a good area. In Vegas good areas with good schools would be summerlin, the lakes, green valley, parts of henderson. Naturally the farther away you get from the actual 'strip' the better the neighborhoods get. There are still some good neighborhoods within the city too, but those change often so someone who currently lives in Vegas would be better off telling you that one. Around Houston decent areas with good schools would include Katy, Conroe, Woodlands, Humble, Liberty, La Porte, League City, Sugarland. I know there is probably more in both cities, but those give you a jumping off point to look into.
I dunno anything about Florida, but it seems like a lot of Florida people have commented! Sorry for my lengthy post, but hope it helps.
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