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Looking to make the move. Not sure how life will change. Please let me know if anyone has made a move from Florida to MA and liked it or if you didn't. I will be renting, teaching at a highschool, have my own vehicle and don't mind a commute, I don't have children yet and am looking for a low crime zone neighborhood if that's possible.
Ashziggie, I can only answer backwards. I grew up in (and often return to) Mass and have lived in Florida since the later 1980s. The schools in Massachusetts tend to expect a lot more of students, so your teaching job may be a bit more interesting.
The culture is more homogeneous in Mass, less multi-cultural than in Southeast FL, where I live. My classroom has a very wide range of students of all faiths and all colors. I will miss the diversity, in my classroom and in SE Florida on the whole, if I move back to Mass. But Mass has fewer openly prejudiced people than the part of FL where I live, which is not to say there are no such people in Mass. Mass is less churchy, and far less mega-churchy (as in the big TV ministries) than Florida. I think there are half a dozen such mega-ministries where I live. Zoning that excluded non-evangelical Christians and people of color used to be legal here (Boca Raton). I had when I first moved here a wonderful Dean in our college, Jewish, who was denied membership in the then-available golfing country clubs.
You will find that more people like to read, that your students are strong readers partly because the climate keeps them inside part of the time and partly because it is the culture. Students in Mass naturally learn more history, as their setting is so full of historical towns and places including Salem, of course.
It's expensive, but the social services available for taxpayers are superior to those in FL.
The worst surprise might be electricity and oil: utilities are MUCH more expensive than in Florida. If you rent, try for a rental where the heat is included. Salem's a lively town--I hope you'll enjoy it.
Last edited by ladyalicemore; 10-13-2015 at 04:01 PM..
It's expensive, but the social services available for taxpayers are superior to those in FL.
This is very true. The other major difference I can attest to (as it was the main reason I moved), the quality of the hospitals and specialized medical care in the Boston area is superb.
You know that's an appeal to many, right? Not like it lasts as long as the heat or mosquitoes down in Flaw-da.
As a Floridian who moved to slightly across the Ma boarder to NH then swiftly back I will tell u there is no appeal. Also their snow lasts way longer than our mosquito season. Listen carefully to what these people tell you. The season change and hope for a white Christmas don't pay the bills. Which are about 3-5xs higher in Mass. Expect to pay upwards of $300+ a month for heating, plus electric and everything else.
Don't forget your car inspection! The winters in New England are friggin brutal. Especially for someone who's lived in Florida and rarely get Temps that dip below 60 For any long periods.e
Be aware Mass has VERY high taxes (and way more to boot) than Fla. housing is outrageous. Home property taxes can be upwards of $8000+ a year where as they'd be $1200
In Fla. it's called "taxachussets" for a reason!!! I love it there but only to visit
I lived in South Florida while going to college and Florida has always been like a second home to me. I've spent a ton of time down there and absolutely there are a million differences between Florida and Massachusetts. Some are financial (much more expensive to live up here), some are cultural, some are educational and basically I could compare and contrast for days on end. If you're thinking of moving up here, come up for a vacation and check it out. Talk to some locals about what it's like to live here and see it a bit for yourself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweetbottoms
Don't forget your car inspection!
The fact that Florida doesn't have mandatory automobile inspection is absolutely ridiculous. I can't tell you how many times I've been behind a car down there that had no business being on the road because none of its brake lights were working or for some other reason. As if the drivers in Florida being so horrible wasn't bad enough, you've got people driving cars that are a danger to everyone else on the road.
The fact that Florida doesn't have mandatory automobile inspection is absolutely ridiculous. I can't tell you how many times I've been behind a car down there that had no business being on the road because none of its brake lights were working or for some other reason. As if the drivers in Florida being so horrible wasn't bad enough, you've got people driving cars that are a danger to everyone else on the road.
No kidding. I-95 between West Palm and Miami is like a scene out of Mad Max. Even money there'll be at least one half-mangled '80s cutlass, spewing fumes, doughnut on, tail lights broken, weaving back and forth across lanes. And naturally the driver will be on the phone... admittedly talking to a driver in Massachusetts (so that part's a wash).
No kidding. I-95 between West Palm and Miami is like a scene out of Mad Max. Even money there'll be at least one half-mangled '80s cutlass, spewing fumes, doughnut on, tail lights broken, weaving back and forth across lanes. And naturally the driver will be on the phone... admittedly talking to a driver in Massachusetts (so that part's a wash).
I remember I once was driving down I95 and found myself passing an old Cutlass that had clearly been T-boned. The entire side was smashed in. The owner just taped some plastic over where the windows had once been and was just humming along the highway like nothing had happened. The tape was peeling off and the plastic was pretty yellow. So, I imagine the car had been like that for a while.
I also find there's a lot more road debris in FL for some reason. There's always huge chunks of tire in the road and on the side of the road.
FL drivers are the worst though. You've got the people who probably aren't physically capable of driving anymore so they're driving 10 MPH in a 65 zone mixed in with the kids in their souped up Honda Civics weaving between the other drivers like they're road cones. The tailgating is absolutely out of control down there as well.
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Not like it lasts as long as the heat or mosquitoes down in Flaw-da.
