Planning a move south (Jacksonville, Orlando: bank owned, for sale, foreclosures)

[Warm weather lover]

Hello, my names Amanda, I have talked for years about moving and have finally decided to quit talking and start doing. Let me tell ya a little about me so I can get the best advice and info I can.
I am in my early 30's and work as a Licensed Practical Nurse. I also have a long work history in restaurant management too. I am a divorced mom of a preteen girl, I have a Rottweiler and a boxer that I will not part with and I also raise tortoises. I live on the Tennessee/ Virginia state line and have lived in this area my entire life. I have talked about moving "south" for years. I hate the winters here. Their cold and depressing, the weather isn't idea for my tortoises either. I have researched different areas for years, the main thing I look at is the weather and housing prices. I currently own my home now and would really prefer to buy a home at my new location and stay away from renting. I am comfortable with a small town/ country style place. I don't go out to bars or have what people call a "night life". I like to stay home and entertain there. A nice backyard bbq with a couple friends is my idea get together. Like I meantions earlier I have two big dogs that are trained, being inside sometimes and outside sometimes and they will require a little stretching room and a place to set up their 10x20 kennels. I also have tortoises which would be outside and require a "house", I would prefer enough area to build a small barn but I could make a large yard storage shed work if I had to. I also love having a koi pond, bigger the better, so with all these things I am looking for the biggest piece of property possible. During my research I quickly found out that a "yard" in Flordia is much smaller then a "yard" I'm use to here. I have discovered, after looking at hundreds of homes for sale pics that if the home is set up on property just right I could probably get away with half an acre which is drastically different then the 5 acres I'm use to. As for a home, I would need something that has good "bones". I can do just about any cosmetic remodel needed but I would need the electrical and plumbing, roof, heating and cooling in good condition. I am not scared of a good "fixer upper" if the major things are there and I can live in it while I fix it. My daughter has requested a pool, I'm not big on that idea but it's important to her so I will throw that in. I have actually seen a lot of places in the Port Saint Lucie area and Lehigh acres area that got me excited. I have always been told housing is to high in Flordia and I would never be able to buy there but these two specific areas have house prices the same if not better then my current location. So both these areas have the weather I'm looking for and housing prices that I can handle so I start researching each area and I start getting conflicting info on them. I read that both areas are great then the next article or thread will say "oh you get what you pay for", those places are the ghetto. I am not wanting a gated community or anything like that, but I do want to live someplace that I can go on an walk in the evening andale it back home unharmed. I don't want to worry the whole time I'm away from my home that someone is going to break in to it while I'm gone. (These last comments are things I have read happens in these areas, i am in no way assuming these areas are actually like this) I was told some city's and county's have band all residents from owning certain breed dogs and as I stated earlier I do own what is considered a "viscous breed dog" I would not even consider givingy dog up so I need to know if these areas are like that. I do plan on getting a Great Dane once I'm down there as well and I know some places don't like the mastiff breeds as well.
I do plan on coming down and attempting to secure a job before I move permanently. I would also like to narrow down which area I want to move to so I could maybe arrange to look at some available property's while I'm there, perhaps secure a home as well. If anyone that lives in these areas could give me advise or info on these areas I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

[UKWildcat1981]

Since you work in health care you should be able to get a job in Florida easy. Palm Beach country is pretty nice but can get expensive. Northern Florida can get a bit colder in the winter but its still warmer than 90 percent of the rest of the country places like Jacksonville and Tally in the Panhandle. Most my family moved from the Northeast to Atlanta or parts of Florida like Ft. Lauderdale and Orlando and they loved the warm humid weather. If you a work history in health care and you are a hard worker you should be able to get a job, I did. I am graduating from graduate school in health care admin and got a job in Nashville but I can others from all over Florida and Texas. Good luck.

[Warm weather lover]

Thanks for the reply. I know I want to stay in south Flordia. I had looked at some aces in spring hill area but I noticed a lot of listings mentioned sinkholes. I also monitored weather and it's about 10 degrees cooler then ft Myers and Port Saint Lucie, which might not seem like a big deal but that makes a difference when it comes to my tortoises. Is Port Saint Lucie a nice place for the most part? Is there certain places I should stay away from? I know in kingsport there are certain places that are what we call the "projects" and then there are also very nice areas. Like the area I live, our homes are 75,000-150,000 but if I run out to the grocery store and forgot to lock my front door, the odds are nothing's going to happen but I lived about 10 miles farther in kingsport a few years ago and in that area I kept my door locked when I was home and the price of homes there were slightly less then where I live now and the next road over they built a subdivision and homes there cost 300,000. I have been looking on zillow at homes and property's and it seems like Port Saint Lucie and Lehigh acres/ft Myers have some larger homes 2000-3000 sqft for 80-90 thousand. Now most of them are forclosures and need complete updates which is fine I'm capable of doing as long as the major things, electrical and plumbing, roof, heat pump, theajornthings are there and fine. Could anyone recommend a realtor or online source that I could reference to and get some of this information.

[Fancy4]

Do you live in Kingsport now? I lived in Bristol for 5 yrs back in the early 90s. Loved it there

[Fancy4]

We live in the southwestern part if Port st Lucie. I feel perfectly safe walking here at night. Usually I have my dogs with me. I am a SAHM and always keep my doors lucked during the day, it's just me tho.

We are not in a HOA development and close (5 minute ) drive to the new hospital.

Good luck with your search

[Warm weather lover]

Fancy4
Yes I'm in Kingsport now. A lot of people actually suggest Bristol when I make the statement I want to move. Bristol is nice but my main goal is to get away from these winters. I know people think I'm crazy but I seriously get depressed when winter rolls around. I am much more a sunshine, warm enough to enjoy sitting on the porch person. I am the type of person that likes to get up in the morning, go to work, take care of my business and then come home, enjoy the outside and for the next five months I'm trapped inside. I have to rearrange my house every season cause I grow tropical plants and I put them outside after last frost and bring them back in before first frost, I have my spare bedroom turned into a tortoise house cause they had to come in, in another year or so it's going to be difficult to get 3 100 pound tortoises in and out, lol. The warmer location will be better for many reasons. Are your kids school age? If so are the schools ok there? My daughter wants to b home schooled but I'm not real sure if I want to do that, I'm afraid it might put her behind socially. I have read different things about Port Saint Lucie and some say it's a small, know your neighbor type of town and others say it's a crime riddled ghetto, since you actually live there and have lived in my area, what is your opinion? I would love to hear from actual residents on the area!!

[Warm weather lover]

Another thing, if anyone is an LPN could you give me a ball park salary rate of an LPN? I checked online but I believe they have their numbers wrong. According to what I read I would make less then I do now and I work at one of the worse rate of pay facility's in the area. Thanks!!

[Fancy4]

Well, my boys are 12 (6th grade) and 14 (9th grade). My 12 year old is an introvert. Prefers to be inside.
His brother on the other hand has no trouble making friends and loves being outside, etc.

The schools are ok here, it what you make of it. My boys do have been complaining a lot about the math this year for some reason ( common core, I guess) .

We did the online school with the 12 yr old a couple of years ago and he loved it and got great grades, I'm actually looking into it again for next year.

The shopping down here is not bad. You have Target, Walmart, etc. We gave one supermarket called Bravo that I love. They have such an ethnic mix of groceries, and the prices on their produce are a lot cheaper than Publix or Winn Dixie.

Is the flea market still there in Kingsport? We used to love going there

If your kids are the same age, stay in touch

[Fancy4]

Forgot to add, my neighborhood is extremely quiet, we totally lucked out with our house. We have great neighbors who will help you out in a pinch if you need it.

I myself don't go out, only because I can't afford it-lol, so really can't give advice in that area.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by Warm weather lover

Another thing, if anyone is an LPN could you give me a ball park salary rate of an LPN? I checked online but I believe they have their numbers wrong. According to what I read I would make less then I do now and I work at one of the worse rate of pay facility's in the area. Thanks!!

Facility? What kind of facility?

You will make more in a demanding hospital than a nicer slow paced less stressful ALF or Memory Care facility. According to nurses that I've spoken with in an ALF where I have clients (as a dog walker)

It also appears you don't have many years as an LPN if you have a long history in restaurant management so that may be a factor.

There are online cost of living calculators you can enter different cities/towns and compare.

Kingsport TN seems to be at the TN average and 12% less than the national average. ( except for housing at 68% the national average)

PSL is higher at around 100 ish percent and 122% for utilities.

Ft Lauderdale, OTOH, is all over the map at 113% with housing at 138%

NYC is 170% with housing at 233% HAHAHA

My former corporation pays the same as up North and other states but I'm sure it's different in the medical field down here. You may have to make adjustments like choosing less "house" than where you live. ALSO, I always say EVERYONE should rent first before buying however, our prices are creeping back up to 2009 levels. A "bargain" will take more shopping around and research. Like ignoring that a kitchen doesn't have "GRANITE" but has a great yard or good bones or great maintenance etc. There are still some bank owned foreclosures that haven't been listed yet. There's one right on a street where I work (in Vero Beach) that's actually nice - nothing wrong with it - the bank just hasn't gotten around to listing it. (I ran into a realtor who was getting the listing organized when I was dog walking by one day). For example.