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Hey all, I’ve been reading up on a bunch of these threads, but I figured I’d start my own to get more direct answers specific to my situation! I see there is a lot of negativity surrounding northern people transplanting to FL, but hey, I didn’t choose to be born here, and boy was I ever born in the WRONG place for me, so I’m not going to let that stop me.
We are a family of 3: husband, 10 year old son and me- born and STILL live in a town in the Upper Pneninsla of Michigan right in the border of WI. Where we live is referred to as the “heart of big snow country” and gets colder than Siberia often in the winter (no, I’m not exaggerating.) Fun fact? We DESPISE snow. We don’t do any outdoor activities all winter and my husband and I both suffer from seasonal affective disorder due to it being dark nearly all the time. Suicide rate is very high here because we have winter around 7-8 months out of the year and nearly all of it has ZERO sun. When the sun is out, you can’t go outdoors because with sun brings the coldest temps. Christmas night hit a “feels like” temp of -48. You are supposed to take high levels of vitamin D and we also have a artificial sun lamp you’re supposed to do light therapy with. Anyways, if I haven’t convinced you enough already, we absolutely hate it here and have been wanting to escape for years.
We have visited FL quite a few times and, living by Lake Superior, we love being near water, so we’d like to be a decent distance from a beach. We have really liked the Sarasota & Clearwater area feel. I realize though that we’ve only ever come to FL as tourists so I need some insight into real life. We need a suburb that’s affordable, has a decent school system and ideally, not a crap ton of crime. We would rent until we’re sure we like the area. Husband works for the city here and does tons of stuff that I’m not crazy familiar with but he fixes water lines, sewer systems, tons of maintenance and machinery operating things. I own a dance studio here and would like to open one there, so if anyone has insight into an area that’s not super saturated with dance schools already, that would be ideal, but I realize that’s not something everyone knows offhand. I imagine an Area with a lot of children would be good for that!
Other tips/info that would be nice to be informed on? Does the Sarasota area get unbearably hot in the summer months? We have been trapped indoors most of our lives already, and I’d really like to not be trapped indoors all summer. I realize it gets hot, but are you still able to function? Or do you have to stay indoors for safety like AZ? I imagine there are things to do- we literally have a dump of a bowling alley and a movie theater for entertainment around here.
I realize this post is all over the place. I’m just looking for some insight from actual humans who have experience in the area- researching the internet becomes a black hole of random information!
Have you done any research on other threads in this forum that may answer a lot of your questions? Because you're right, your post is all over the place.
I highly recommend you have jobs lined up before you come here, or at least a job for your husband assuming you can survive off his income while you try to get a studio situated. Lots of people come down here just dreaming of sunshine and thinking everything is going to be all good, find out that's not how it works, and end up leaving not long after they get here. Jobs down here typically don't pay as much as jobs up north as well. Do you have savings? Any family or friends here?
I highly recommend you have jobs lined up before you come here, or at least a job for your husband assuming you can survive off his income while you try to get a studio situated. Lots of people come down here just dreaming of sunshine and thinking everything is going to be all good, find out that's not how it works, and end up leaving not long after they get here. Jobs down here typically don't pay as much as jobs up north as well. Do you have savings? Any family or friends here?
We definitely wouldn’t come down until we had some sort of job situation figured out. That’s why we haven’t took the leap yet. I feel like I need all our ducks in a row before making a move, but that’s preventing me from doing anything. And here we’ve sat in misery just talking about moving for years on end. We wish we had family or friends that lived anywhere, but we don’t, so unfortunately there will be no safety net. We have to sell our house here before we leave and that will be our only “savings”. Your video is funny and probably true for many people moving down there, and definitely sounds like a couple things I said, however, I would never leave spontaneously in a whim. I’m way too much of a control freak for that haha. I want to make sure when we move, we have chosen the right place, done all the research, and are able to survive!
Your timing might be good, actually. I recently saw a news story that both Sarasota and Manatee County are having trouble filling county jobs so your husband's experience might just land him a job quickly. I'm sure you can easily do an online search of both county websites for open jobs. For dance studios, there are several around here but I'm sure there's always room for more. There are plenty of kids here. I imagine getting active in the community and schools will be the best way to get known.
I don't think there's a negative bias against northern transplants. I think there's a natural resentment toward people who come here and then complain that it isn't like "up north". Or worse, come here and try to make it like up north, lol, and that is coming from a one-time transplant. As long as you adopt your new home by adapting to your new home, I think you'll be fine.
^^^^ What bbronson said. I would look closer to the Tampa or Sarasota areas for jobs. North Port is a great town for younger families, and is not far from Sarasota. Yes, it's very hot anywhere in FL in the summer -- air conditioning is your friend, but you can get acclimated quickly. Just know when to go out and stay in. Good luck in your search and your future move!
I highly recommend you have jobs lined up before you come here, or at least a job for your husband assuming you can survive off his income while you try to get a studio situated. Lots of people come down here just dreaming of sunshine and thinking everything is going to be all good, find out that's not how it works, and end up leaving not long after they get here. Jobs down here typically don't pay as much as jobs up north as well. Do you have savings? Any family or friends here?
Hey all, I’ve been reading up on a bunch of these threads, but I figured I’d start my own to get more direct answers specific to my situation! I see there is a lot of negativity surrounding northern people transplanting to FL, but hey, I didn’t choose to be born here, and boy was I ever born in the WRONG place for me, so I’m not going to let that stop me.
We are a family of 3: husband, 10 year old son and me- born and STILL live in a town in the Upper Pneninsla of Michigan right in the border of WI. Where we live is referred to as the “heart of big snow country” and gets colder than Siberia often in the winter (no, I’m not exaggerating.) Fun fact? We DESPISE snow. We don’t do any outdoor activities all winter and my husband and I both suffer from seasonal affective disorder due to it being dark nearly all the time. Suicide rate is very high here because we have winter around 7-8 months out of the year and nearly all of it has ZERO sun. When the sun is out, you can’t go outdoors because with sun brings the coldest temps. Christmas night hit a “feels like” temp of -48. You are supposed to take high levels of vitamin D and we also have a artificial sun lamp you’re supposed to do light therapy with. Anyways, if I haven’t convinced you enough already, we absolutely hate it here and have been wanting to escape for years.
We have visited FL quite a few times and, living by Lake Superior, we love being near water, so we’d like to be a decent distance from a beach. We have really liked the Sarasota & Clearwater area feel. I realize though that we’ve only ever come to FL as tourists so I need some insight into real life. We need a suburb that’s affordable, has a decent school system and ideally, not a crap ton of crime. We would rent until we’re sure we like the area. Husband works for the city here and does tons of stuff that I’m not crazy familiar with but he fixes water lines, sewer systems, tons of maintenance and machinery operating things. I own a dance studio here and would like to open one there, so if anyone has insight into an area that’s not super saturated with dance schools already, that would be ideal, but I realize that’s not something everyone knows offhand. I imagine an Area with a lot of children would be good for that!
Other tips/info that would be nice to be informed on? Does the Sarasota area get unbearably hot in the summer months? We have been trapped indoors most of our lives already, and I’d really like to not be trapped indoors all summer. I realize it gets hot, but are you still able to function? Or do you have to stay indoors for safety like AZ? I imagine there are things to do- we literally have a dump of a bowling alley and a movie theater for entertainment around here.
I realize this post is all over the place. I’m just looking for some insight from actual humans who have experience in the area- researching the internet becomes a black hole of random information!
You and everyone else wants to move to this area. Living here is different from being a tourist & everyone wants to live near the water. It is unbearably hot here during the summer months but outstanding from January through May but you will have to fight off drivers who have no idea how to use a blinker, change lanes or navigate round-abouts. It was 43 this morning & so don't throw away those winter clothes...Affordable is a relative term ~ 200K, 300K 400K ? Schools are not like "up north" ~ I'm from the greater Detroit area ~ my children were born & raised on Anna Maria & now in the process of finishing college. Neither SRQ or Clearwater are without crime; we just have some really insane clown crime. If you had done your research, you would see that many of your questions have been previously asked & answered. Pull yourself together, contact a realtor for assistance & get your house sold first. It may be difficult for your husband to land a city job prior to relocation, have $ set aside while job hunting. 3/2 homes in neighborhoods close to the beach that you'd want to live in are $250K and up.
You and everyone else wants to move to this area. Living here is different from being a tourist & everyone wants to live near the water. It is unbearably hot here during the summer months but outstanding from January through May but you will have to fight off drivers who have no idea how to use a blinker, change lanes or navigate round-abouts. It was 43 this morning & so don't throw away those winter clothes...Affordable is a relative term ~ 200K, 300K 400K ? Schools are not like "up north" ~ I'm from the greater Detroit area ~ my children were born & raised on Anna Maria & now in the process of finishing college. Neither SRQ or Clearwater are without crime; we just have some really insane clown crime. If you had done your research, you would see that many of your questions have been previously asked & answered. Pull yourself together, contact a realtor for assistance & get your house sold first. It may be difficult for your husband to land a city job prior to relocation, have $ set aside while job hunting. 3/2 homes in neighborhoods close to the beach that you'd want to live in are $250K and up.
I would correct you on the outstanding weather starting in January. I believe it starts in October and runs through mid-May. I actually wrote on my calendar that the weather broke this year on October 24th, and I just confirmed it on a weather website. It went down to 79 and never got above 90 after that. So I'd say we have a good seven months of mostly great weather, except for occasional cold snaps like this one.
Last edited by Avalon08; 01-02-2018 at 09:45 PM..
Reason: corrected spelling
I would correct you on the outstanding weather starting in January. I believe it starts in October and runs through mid-May. I actually wrote on my calendar that the weather broke this year on October 24th, and I just confirmed it on a weather website. It went down to 79 and never got above 90 after that. So I'd say we have a good seven months of mostly great weather, except for occasional cold snaps like this one.
Agree with you, the nice weather usually starts in Oct with the first cold front of the season while Nov and Dec are predominately nice. Sure there can be hot times but they usually don't last too long. Plus, outside of the holidays, the place is deserted which only makes it better IMO.
I was there through 10/14/17 to catch the last of the 80 degree water temps and it was still like summer. The next week I had someone at my place and they were loving the cooler weather.
On the contrary I think your May is quite hot but the water is best during that time of the year which is before the summer rainy season, it's crystal clear and warm again.
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I imagine an Area with a lot of children would be good for that!
