Move to Tally (Miami, Tampa, Tallahassee: how much, homes, find a job)

[eeberlien]

Hello all,

I am a retired military servicemen (U.S Air Force), I am married with three smaller children aged 11, 9, and 7. And I have a 20 year old. We currently reside in Utah (Salt Lake City) and we are not happy with it. We have steady jobs that pay well but we don't care for Utah. It's pretty but not our kind of pretty. We like the water, the Green, and the critters. We moved to Tampa Florida in 2009 and it didn't work out. Our timing was clearly bad oops! :-) We have regretted leaving ever since. Things have improved country wide since then. Things still aren't great but better than they were. And so we're planning to try again, the question is where. We've already ruled out Miami, and Cape Coral. Tampa is currently at the top of our list, in fact our plan is for Tampa. However, I felt I would be remiss in my surface research if I didn't look into Tally. Essentially I want to know what Tally is like, and if I am smart to move there. What are the job prospects like? I have a background in aircraft maintenance, I was an instructor for a time while in the Air Force, since my retirement I have worked at a lab in an asphalt plant, and I am currently working on light rail commuter trains. Essentially I turn wrenches and am able to lift semi-heavy objects (I'm a bit of a big guy). My wife has a great deal of experience in the health care field. She is currently a certified nurses assistant (CNA). I have a retirement coming in and so depending on the cost of living we wouldn't need to make much to survive. We love the beach and the ocean. I know Tally is further from a beach than say Tampa, but how much further? We're interested in slowing down, stressing down, and enjoying life. We would prefer to have employment lined up prior to our arrival for at least one of us. I would appreciate any opinions and/or advice I can get. Thanks :-)

[WellShoneMoon]

Originally Posted by eeberlien

We like the water, the Green, and the critters.

What are the job prospects like? I have a background in aircraft maintenance, I was an instructor for a time while in the Air Force, since my retirement I have worked at a lab in an asphalt plant, and I am currently working on light rail commuter trains. Essentially I turn wrenches and am able to lift semi-heavy objects (I'm a bit of a big guy).

My wife has a great deal of experience in the health care field. She is currently a certified nurses assistant (CNA). I have a retirement coming in and so depending on the cost of living we wouldn't need to make much to survive.

We love the beach and the ocean. I know Tally is further from a beach than say Tampa, but how much further?

We're interested in slowing down, stressing down, and enjoying life.

We would prefer to have employment lined up prior to our arrival for at least one of us. I would appreciate any opinions and/or advice I can get. Thanks :-)

I'll address your points one at a time.

Your wife should be able to get a job pretty quickly. CNA's are not well paid around here, but I know that there's a constant demand for them in nursing homes, hospitals, and home health care agencies.

As far as your job prospects are concerned, the biggest employers are state government and the universities (FSU, FAMU, TCC). I know that they all have employees doing wrench-turning/heavy lifting kind of work, although openings may be few and far between. You can look for state jobs on the web, at myflorida.com -- click on the "Floridian" button and look for the link to "Working in Florida."

The closest beach is about an hour away, and the closest beautiful beach (on St. George Island) is about an hour and a half away.

Tallahassee is a great place for slowing down, stressing down, and enjoying life. I moved here from Miami, and it took about six months for me to "decompress." Things are definitely slower here, which is not always a good thing for everyone. Works for me, though.

Tallahassee doesn't look anything like peninsular Florida. Rather, it looks like old Southern cities, with rolling hills, and live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. It is not tropical here, it does get cold in the winter. Probably not like you're used to in Utah, however.

I've been to Tampa many times -- I'd choose Tallahassee over Tampa in a minute.

Hope this helps.

[TD*]

This post above is spot on.

Tallahassee is a BEAUTIFUL city, that is very family friendly, has great neighborhoods, and great schools.

You and your kids will love it here.

Its growing quickly now, but its the perfect medium sized city.



Closest beach is Alligator Point/ Bald Point state park 1 hr away.


Then St George Island is 1.5 hours away like the above poster said.


I think you will love it.

Most people move here from central and south florida to escape the traffic/ rat race, and superficial attitudes.

People who visit and move here always comment on how nice everyone is, and respectful and courteous.

[TriStateLove]

Originally Posted by eeberlien

Hello all,

I am a retired military servicemen (U.S Air Force), I am married with three smaller children aged 11, 9, and 7. And I have a 20 year old. We currently reside in Utah (Salt Lake City) and we are not happy with it. We have steady jobs that pay well but we don't care for Utah. It's pretty but not our kind of pretty. We like the water, the Green, and the critters. We moved to Tampa Florida in 2009 and it didn't work out. Our timing was clearly bad oops! :-) We have regretted leaving ever since. Things have improved country wide since then. Things still aren't great but better than they were. And so we're planning to try again, the question is where. We've already ruled out Miami, and Cape Coral. Tampa is currently at the top of our list, in fact our plan is for Tampa. However, I felt I would be remiss in my surface research if I didn't look into Tally. Essentially I want to know what Tally is like, and if I am smart to move there. What are the job prospects like? I have a background in aircraft maintenance, I was an instructor for a time while in the Air Force, since my retirement I have worked at a lab in an asphalt plant, and I am currently working on light rail commuter trains. Essentially I turn wrenches and am able to lift semi-heavy objects (I'm a bit of a big guy). My wife has a great deal of experience in the health care field. She is currently a certified nurses assistant (CNA). I have a retirement coming in and so depending on the cost of living we wouldn't need to make much to survive. We love the beach and the ocean. I know Tally is further from a beach than say Tampa, but how much further? We're interested in slowing down, stressing down, and enjoying life. We would prefer to have employment lined up prior to our arrival for at least one of us. I would appreciate any opinions and/or advice I can get. Thanks :-)

Tallahassee is very military/veteran friendly! They recently started the initiative to be the first Capital Purple Heart City in the nation! I have no idea about employment there. I'm a recent college grad and could not find a job there, they don't really have many entry level jobs, it's more of a city for established professionals (which is good for you!! Bad for me!! haha).

Your wife should be able to find a job as a CNA - I personally highly recommend that she check out CRMC if she likes working in a hospital atmosphere, or Westminster if she prefers working in hospice/retirement care. She may even be able to find a teaching/assistant teaching position at TCC or the vocational school - Lively Tech. Tell her to start looking for jobs as a CNA now though!!!! Because after BSN students at FSU finish their first semester (December), they often all apply for jobs as CNAs at the local hospitals.

If you're interested, I would contact the Veteran's Centers or Collegiate Veteran's Associations at FSU, FAMU, and TCC. They are friendly and welcoming people. Most of them are around 26-30 years old and are full time students, but they may have connections for servicemen/women - I know they're always trying to help each other out with finding employment and such. And I know FSU is trying to become the most military/veteran friendly university in the country, so you may be able to find employment on campus.

As someone already said, the closest beach is Alligator Point. It's small, but it's very nice. Usually quiet, and in the evenings you'll see families walking up and down the beach with their dogs and children. Destin is a beautifulllllllllllllll beach town and is a few hours away, but worth it for a day or weekend trip.