Should we try to find work before we move to Florida? (Tampa: salon, apartment)

[vabuda1]

We’re planning to relocate down to Orlando area..we’ve been wanting to move to Florida for over 10 years now..my husband is a commercial flooring contractor, and would want to get into the hotels etc as far as what he’d like to do for work down there. Problem is we don’t know how to go about getting him into something and if we should start before we move or after? Does anyone have any tips or advice..or possibly any connections? TIA

[masssachoicetts]

Yes yes yes yes. I really cannot stress that enough. My family was from Boston, came down here and could not find a job paying more than mininum wage. Definitely look before you move down here. Luckily one of my family members got a transfer through American Airlines.

But after 5 years of operesive heat, no good pizza, bad seafood and are "grass isnt greener on the other side" we moved back to Mass. My parents will be selling and moving to North Carolina since its more outdoorsy, livable and the jobs are much better.

Also why now? I would wait two years to see if the market will come down in Orlando. Its very high for the job quality, so I would either consider somewhere better than Orlando (North Carolina where a lot of Bostonians move after they hate Florida, Tampa, or Virginia) or wait.

However, any of the hotels will hire you hands down. They see Boston on a resume and they assume hardworking. Bostonians have a good reputation compared to other groups here so jobs will be easier for you to get. I dont know what industry your in.

Before you move to Orlando think about everywhere else in Florida and the South because there's a spot for everyone in the South and living in Orlando is nothing like Visiting. We lived in Laurette Park Lake Nona and Village Walk.

[vabuda1]

The reason we’re going with Orlando area is because obviously we love the parks (Disney) we go 2-3x a year and that’s living in MA! And we can see there is a LOT of building/construction and that’s what field my husband is in..I am a hairdresser, but I’d have to go back to school because Florida requires more hours in order to get state license..even tho I’ve been doing for 20 years lol..but I’d work in housekeeping or whatever until I got my license again.

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by vabuda1

The reason we’re going with Orlando area is because obviously we love the parks (Disney) we go 2-3x a year and that’s living in MA! And we can see there is a LOT of building/construction and that’s what field my husband is in..I am a hairdresser, but I’d have to go back to school because Florida requires more hours in order to get state license..even tho I’ve been doing for 20 years lol..but I’d work in housekeeping or whatever until I got my license again.

Yes there is a ton of construction but a lot of it is low venture, SFH .. so Im not sure what real of Conx he is in, but if he is in on the business side, its a tight market.. however, if he is in the conx business for the actual construction its a good market to work in.

Orlando actually places high on construction for a smaller city. After San Fran, Boston, Seattle, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and New York / Austin tied... Orlando is 8th for construction projects... thats very impressive for the 22nd largest metro.

I say check it out first. Maybe if you live in Eastern Mass, you can sell your house/condo and use that to pay off an Orlando home and have extra money for the bank. Thatll provide extra support if it takes a little while to find a job down here. It shouldnt. The construction industry is almost as strong as Boston's down here, albeit its mostly Single Family Home construction. For hair, I remember when we moved back up North there were two hair cuttery's, a sports clips and a jack n jill salon opening up in my zipcode. I assume it wouldnt be hard to get a job in the field too.

Check out Winter Garden FL, Ocoee FL and the new, South Of Downtown District (SoDo) .. those are great areas of Orlando that arent too far away from the parks.

[aax]

Your going to want to live near the parks. Poinciana, Kissimmee, Four Corners.

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by aax

Your going to want to live near the parks. Poinciana, Kissimmee, Four Corners.

^ I dont reccomend Poinciana or Kissimmee.

Winter Garden area is more walkable and theres more to do outside of Parks

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by vabuda1

The reason we’re going with Orlando area is because obviously we love the parks (Disney) we go 2-3x a year and that’s living in MA! And we can see there is a LOT of building/construction and that’s what field my husband is in..I am a hairdresser, but I’d have to go back to school because Florida requires more hours in order to get state license..even tho I’ve been doing for 20 years lol..but I’d work in housekeeping or whatever until I got my license again.

We love the parks as well! It’s been 4 years since we moved and still arent tired of them because they keep adding things and not having to spend a whole day makes it so much more enjoyable. You need to have a few months of savings at least, be willing to work at least part time any job while you job search. Retail is always hiring here, places like Whole Foods pay $15+, etc.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

We love the parks as well! It’s been 4 years since we moved and still arent tired of them because they keep adding things and not having to spend a whole day makes it so much more enjoyable. You need to have a few months of savings at least, be willing to work at least part time any job while you job search. Retail is always hiring here, places like Whole Foods pay $15+, etc.

They are always hiring and it makes for great PR, but the reality is they don't offer enough hours at that rate to live on (20-25 hours per week). Since Amazon's acquisition WF no longer offers health insurance benefits for part-timers either. Target is paying $13 an hour now which seems great but they too don't offer full-time hours at that rate, and also do not offer healthcare to part-timers.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by vabuda1

We’re planning to relocate down to Orlando area..we’ve been wanting to move to Florida for over 10 years now..my husband is a commercial flooring contractor, and would want to get into the hotels etc as far as what he’d like to do for work down there. Problem is we don’t know how to go about getting him into something and if we should start before we move or after? Does anyone have any tips or advice..or possibly any connections? TIA

Bear in mind there are countless others in the construction field living "up north" who had the same bright idea about moving here because of all of the building happening here. Also probably much more so than up in Massachusetts that those employed here in construction are predominately non-native Spanish speaking making well below industry standard wages (no labor unions here), so the quality of life trade off you're most likely fantasizing about isn't likely unless as mentioned already....selling a home in the Boston metro area and utilizing that money to buy something here. Rent in the Orlando area is highly disproportionate to salaries due to high demand and what amounts largely to a population unable to get ahead to save for a down payment to purchase. The average rent for a one bedroom apartment in the area currently sits at around $1225 a month, and two bedrooms are at just under $1500.

[HokieGCC]

Without question ... (1) figure out where you want to live and how much income you will need including funding the move, (2) find work that makes enough money, then (3) it is safe to move. FL has a lot of low paying jobs.