Moving out of the cold..Considering Jax/St.Augustine Area (Miami: sales, rent)

[NHDavid]

Our family is considering moving to Fla. We are both teachers in the public schools and have several years experience plus Master's Degrees ( Special Ed , Elementary Ed, Reading Specialist, ESL etc.)We have young girls that love the beach and (as do we) and are sick of the weather here in NH. The beaches look amazing and the climate is right. How are the Unions for teachers in the area? The pay would be about the same as I make up here in NH. We would rent first before thinking of buying anything. (yes I have read about the property tax going up and the insurance as well) For us the priorities would be good medical coverage through the school district, decent schools and a good neighborhood for families.

I have read a lot of the posts which seem to have good and humorous info...i.e Redneck Riviera, Georgia South ,etc.. We have a Latina friend who loves the area...I know Jax is sprawling so we would like our house/condo and work to be close to each other. I surf as well and the surf looks small ( I learned to surf in San Diego) but workable. I have lived in San Diego, L.A. Portland, OR, MN and NH. so I know about big cities, sprawl, traffic blah blah blah. Any info that people could give me would be appreciated .

[tamcim72]

This area as with the rest of Florida is experiencing a terrible budget crisis for education. I am returning to teaching after 10 years as a SAHM with NO luck this year. I searched a 30 mile radius with nothing. Unions in Florida (if you can really call them that) are much different then up north. St Johns County increased class size and let go teachers last year, expecting more the same. I long term sub now and all I hear is depressing news from the teachers about no pay increase, job insecurity, increasing tenure, skyrocketing insurance $$. As with any job, especially in these times, I would secure employment before making a move.

[NHDavid]

Yes, that does sound dire...I would definitely secure a job before relocating, it sounds a little depressing about increasing the class sizes and letting teachers go. What a way to recruit teachers! You have an even LARGER class to teach with less resources.....yikes!

[lokahi]

I would give the local county school HR divisions a call before completely giving up. There are four surrounding counties: Duval, Nassau, St. John's, and Clay. They all have separate HR divisions and Duval is the largest, with St. John's being second, Clay third and Nassau fourth.

From there, I would talk to the State of FL Board of Education about reciprocity with a NH certificate. Duval County has several Title I elementary schools that need teachers, along with ESE and ESOL. When you talk with the county school districts, let them know about your specialty certs (ESOL, ESE, etc.).

I have friends in Portsmouth and was up there in Dec - it was really cold! Best of luck, and I would give Duval County a call first and work your way down from there...

[SheetRock101]

I wouldnt move to an area because you want to be in warmer weather. We do have some warm weather, in the winter. Have you felt the oppressive humidity though in the summer? You may want to check that out first.

[Keith-n-Jax]

Unless you work outside I wouldnt let the humidity be a factor. Sure its hot and can be miserable, but that's what a Florida summer is suppose to be like right. I will not trade humidity any day for snow and ice,, sorry no Thanks. Anyway I hope(NHDavid) you find what you are looking for and find a good paying job. We can always use more good teachers!!!!

[NHDavid]

Thanks Lokahi! I will check out the surrounding districts about job openings. We are basing our decision on where the in-laws want to retire. They are currently in Tarpon Springs but they want to be where we end up. I am also checking out the Tampa Area as well.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by tamcim72

This area as with the rest of Florida is experiencing a terrible budget crisis for education. I am returning to teaching after 10 years as a SAHM with NO luck this year. I searched a 30 mile radius with nothing. Unions in Florida (if you can really call them that) are much different then up north. St Johns County increased class size and let go teachers last year, expecting more the same. I long term sub now and all I hear is depressing news from the teachers about no pay increase, job insecurity, increasing tenure, skyrocketing insurance $$. As with any job, especially in these times, I would secure employment before making a move.

As a native Floridian that left the state, you may want to reconsider life there as a teacher, and yes as a resident also. Florida is the 4th most populated state, but is ranked 40th in per pupil spending. Why? Because Florida does not have an income tax. Pretty much anytime a proposition/legislation to increase sales tax or property tax for progressive purposes like education or public transportation appears on a ballot, it's defeated. Residents want more but they don't want to pay for it. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. And more unfortunately the result is more cut-corners and teachers laid off.

Many native Floridians as a result have high-tailed it out for a better quality of life. Almost everyone I want to high school with left the state. I'd recommend South Carolina or Georgia along the coast if you want the beach lifestyle. Cities like Savannah in Georgia...or Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head in South Carolina. Good luck!

State Per-Pupil Expenditures | Federal Education Budget Project (http://www.newamerica.net/education_budget_project/state_per_pupil_expenditures - broken link)

[SheetRock101]

I completely agree, and I also suggest other SE states, such as NC, SC, and GA. I am a native too Kyle, and I know what you mean about everyone leaving. It's for several reasons obviously.

[cricketfan]

Here is my advice to the OP.

Ignore those few anti-Floridians who will tell you that the sky is falling here in Florida. Those are the chronic complainers ... "too humid in the summer, too cold in the winter, people hightailing out". You would almost think that there is a mad rush of Floridians heading to the Carolinas, Georgia and wherever else to get away from terrible Florida when the opposite is true.

The other thing I will tell you is that public education is grossly underfunded throughout this country, not just Florida. We can only hope that under this new administration the system and the pay scale for teachers will be given higher priority. We can only hope.

As for your own job search I would follow the advice of lokahi. In any case, don't quit your job until you have another one in hand. And finally, don't make a rash decision to move south only because you are having a bad winter this year. It's not exactly burning up here either. Couple weeks ago it was 48 degrees at the break of dawn ... in Miami of all places.