Full time employment realistic? (Jacksonville, Tampa: health insurance, mortgage, house)

[Schuck16]

My husband and I have been considering a move to the Orlando/ Davenport area for awhile now. My husband has extensive experience in grocery management. What should we expect with the local job market in the area? Would it be reasonable to expect that he'd be able to secure a full time position within the grocery/retail business? How is the work force within the grocery business? Where we currently live finding good reliable employees can be a challenge. My husband has outstanding references and experience. He's also 51 and worries that may not be favorable when being considered for a position. However his health and physical ability is fine.

We are looking forward to making the move sooner than later and really don't want to wait for retirement in 15 years. Thank you for any input or feedback you might be able to provide.

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Publix is the main grocery store company here, and they are a very good company to work for. He probably won't be able to get hired on as full-time, but part-timers can usually work up to 35 hours a week.

[MrKnight]

Congrats on your decision to move to Orlando! The largest and most reputable grocer in Central Florida is Publix which is headquartered in Florida and frequently receives top ratings as a good employer. I would start with Publix first being the largest company with the most locations, however, here is a list of all grocery companies in Central Florida along with links to their careers websites:

Publix Supermarkets - Careers | Publix Super Markets
Whole Foods Market - Find and Apply for Jobs | Whole Foods Market
The Fresh Market - http://careers.thefreshmarket.com/
Winn Dixie - https://www.winndixie.com/Careers/default.aspx
Albertsons - Albertsons » Employment Positions (One Location Remaining)
Sedanos Supermarkets - Careers - Sedano's Supermarkets (Chain of Hispanic Supermarkets)
Bravo Supermarkets - Visit Stores in Person Bravo Supermarkets > Home (Chain of Hispanic Supermarkets)

In addition to the above traditional supermarkets, you also have options with multiple locations of SuperTargets, Walmart Supercenters, Costco, Sams, etc. which have grocery departments within their stores.

Best of luck with your job search!

[Schuck16]

Originally Posted by MrKnight

Congrats on your decision to move to Orlando! The largest and most reputable grocer in Central Florida is Publix which is headquartered in Florida and frequently receives top ratings as a good employer. I would start with Publix first being the largest company with the most locations, however, here is a list of all grocery companies in Central Florida along with links to their careers websites:

Publix Supermarkets - Careers | Publix Super Markets
Whole Foods Market - Find and Apply for Jobs | Whole Foods Market
The Fresh Market - The Fresh Market Careers - Supermarket Job Opportunities
Winn Dixie - https://www.winndixie.com/Careers/default.aspx
Albertsons - Albertsons » Employment Positions (One Location Remaining)
Sedanos Supermarkets - Careers - Sedano's Supermarkets (Chain of Hispanic Supermarkets)
Bravo Supermarkets - Visit Stores in Person Bravo Supermarkets > Home (Chain of Hispanic Supermarkets)

In addition to the above traditional supermarkets, you also have options with multiple locations of SuperTargets, Walmart Supercenters, Costco, Sams, etc. which have grocery departments within their stores.

Best of luck with your job search!

Thank you so much for your help!

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Schuck16

My husband and I have been considering a move to the Orlando/ Davenport area for awhile now. My husband has extensive experience in grocery management. What should we expect with the local job market in the area? Would it be reasonable to expect that he'd be able to secure a full time position within the grocery/retail business? How is the work force within the grocery business? Where we currently live finding good reliable employees can be a challenge. My husband has outstanding references and experience. He's also 51 and worries that may not be favorable when being considered for a position. However his health and physical ability is fine.

We are looking forward to making the move sooner than later and really don't want to wait for retirement in 15 years. Thank you for any input or feedback you might be able to provide.

Whole Foods Market is opening a new location in Altamonte Springs sometime around the first couple months of 2016 and The Fresh Market has plans to open a store on the east side of Orlando (can't remember where, I think Waterford Lakes area) sometime when the next year or so. Both could be good opportunities to start off in a full-time position versus starting over with Publix.

Another option is Winn-Dixie which was merged/acquired by the BI-LO chain and is now based in Jacksonville within Winn-Dixie's former headquarters. No one really knows what their plans are as they have also acquired the Sweetbay chain which was primarily centered around the Tampa Bay area and rebranded them as Winn-Dixie stores. Prior to the acquisition, Winn-Dixie had set out to upgrade their image to stores that are every bit as nice (or nicer) than Publix stores. Apparently that initiative is on the backburner for now as BI-LO "assesses" what they plan to do within the state. Publix is long overdue for competition within the traditional grocery store sector (they're pretty much it in most cities in FL) and if BI-LO plans to be the company to do it (many had thought it could be Kroger), it could be a good company to focus on in terms of growth opportunity.

[EditorJul]

In the tourist bubble, there are a couple small-name grocery stores as well (stuff like Goodling's), and you also have grocery delivery companies that could supplement income. For example:
https://www.gardengrocer.com/careers

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Originally Posted by kyle19125

Whole Foods Market is opening a new location in Altamonte Springs sometime around the first couple months of 2016 and The Fresh Market has plans to open a store on the east side of Orlando (can't remember where, I think Waterford Lakes area) sometime when the next year or so. Both could be good opportunities to start off in a full-time position versus starting over with Publix.

Another option is Winn-Dixie which was merged/acquired by the BI-LO chain and is now based in Jacksonville within Winn-Dixie's former headquarters. No one really knows what their plans are as they have also acquired the Sweetbay chain which was primarily centered around the Tampa Bay area and rebranded them as Winn-Dixie stores. Prior to the acquisition, Winn-Dixie had set out to upgrade their image to stores that are every bit as nice (or nicer) than Publix stores. Apparently that initiative is on the backburner for now as BI-LO "assesses" what they plan to do within the state. Publix is long overdue for competition within the traditional grocery store sector (they're pretty much it in most cities in FL) and if BI-LO plans to be the company to do it (many had thought it could be Kroger), it could be a good company to focus on in terms of growth opportunity.

Obviously (at 51) the OP's husband isn't looking for a career, but Publix is still the best option for someone looking for a reliable full-time job at a grocery store that is also a great place to work. Plus it carries other benefits such as stock and bonuses.

[Schuck16]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Whole Foods Market is opening a new location in Altamonte Springs sometime around the first couple months of 2016 and The Fresh Market has plans to open a store on the east side of Orlando (can't remember where, I think Waterford Lakes area) sometime when the next year or so. Both could be good opportunities to start off in a full-time position versus starting over with Publix.

Another option is Winn-Dixie which was merged/acquired by the BI-LO chain and is now based in Jacksonville within Winn-Dixie's former headquarters. No one really knows what their plans are as they have also acquired the Sweetbay chain which was primarily centered around the Tampa Bay area and rebranded them as Winn-Dixie stores. Prior to the acquisition, Winn-Dixie had set out to upgrade their image to stores that are every bit as nice (or nicer) than Publix stores. Apparently that initiative is on the backburner for now as BI-LO "assesses" what they plan to do within the state. Publix is long overdue for competition within the traditional grocery store sector (they're pretty much it in most cities in FL) and if BI-LO plans to be the company to do it (many had thought it could be Kroger), it could be a good company to focus on in terms of growth opportunity.

If Sweet Bay was still part if the DelHaize brand making this move would be much easier as my husband works for one if DelHaize's companies. As much as we are so ready to be out of NY and move to the Davenport area we won't make the move without a full time job for my husband. Having health insurance is a must although we could continue coverage through Cobra for a period of time.

We currently own our home in NY but to gain a mortgage on a home in Florida we have to continue employment in NY until closing on a house in Florida. The ironic part is that before we are willing to move we would prefer to have the job first then make the house purchase. Now we just need to know that there will be options for full time employment before we make the jump to purchase a house in Florida.

It's all crazy and I wish we were the type of people that would be willing to just jump in and sort it all out later however we are not.

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Originally Posted by Schuck16

If Sweet Bay was still part if the DelHaize brand making this move would be much easier as my husband works for one if DelHaize's companies. As much as we are so ready to be out of NY and move to the Davenport area we won't make the move without a full time job for my husband. Having health insurance is a must although we could continue coverage through Cobra for a period of time.

We currently own our home in NY but to gain a mortgage on a home in Florida we have to continue employment in NY until closing on a house in Florida. The ironic part is that before we are willing to move we would prefer to have the job first then make the house purchase. Now we just need to know that there will be options for full time employment before we make the jump to purchase a house in Florida.

It's all crazy and I wish we were the type of people that would be willing to just jump in and sort it all out later however we are not.

Well I'm sure you know this, but he's not going to be able to land a full-time grocery store job before moving.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Schuck16

If Sweet Bay was still part if the DelHaize brand making this move would be much easier as my husband works for one if DelHaize's companies. As much as we are so ready to be out of NY and move to the Davenport area we won't make the move without a full time job for my husband. Having health insurance is a must although we could continue coverage through Cobra for a period of time.

We currently own our home in NY but to gain a mortgage on a home in Florida we have to continue employment in NY until closing on a house in Florida. The ironic part is that before we are willing to move we would prefer to have the job first then make the house purchase. Now we just need to know that there will be options for full time employment before we make the jump to purchase a house in Florida.

It's all crazy and I wish we were the type of people that would be willing to just jump in and sort it all out later however we are not.

Do you have stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or even Aldi in your area? Securing employment there could lead to transfer possibilities here. As alluded to, it's pretty much impossible to get hired into most full-time positions in any occupation from out-of-state these days.