Leaving Family & Friends (Tampa, Christmas: home, living, cost of living) - Tampa Bay - Florida (FL) -Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater - City-Data Forum

lilacmama32 · 08-12-2011, 11:18 AM

Since this is a relocation board, I hope you don't mind me asking a personal question rather than a Tampa Bay question.

How did you handle moving away from family and friends?

I have never lived outside of the area I currently live in. I am close to my parents and have a nice life here. I have the choice to move to FL and try something different. I have a job once I arrive doing exactly what I do here, I do not have a financial burden as we currently do not need to sell a house, I am not in debt and as long as my husband finds a job we can move.

My fear is leaving my family and missing them so much. I had a long talk with my dad last night and he told me not to stay just because I would miss my family. Life can change in an instant and this is a chance to try something that we might really like. Then again, we might not like FL and can move back if that is the case. I can have my job back in MI and my husband was told he could have his but there is always the chance he wouldn't leaving the company.

I imagine some of you went through the struggle of leaving family and just wonder how you feel now? Was it worth it?

jambo101 · 08-12-2011, 11:45 AM

I left the area my Mom and Dad were living (St Pete) some 35 years ago. Got a great job where i moved to,a job i could never have got in Florida and its been win win ever since. Of course 2-3 weeks every winter i go on vacation to see Mom and Dad, Sure i miss them but i'm happy knowing they're doing ok and i'm doing ok.
Florida?? nice place to visit but i can only take it for 4 weeks max. winters only.

lilacmama32 · 08-12-2011, 12:05 PM

We have vacationed in FL for 15 years and thinking of moving there since my work has offered me a job there. My husband loves hot weather and I think it would be fun to live where it is warm and beaches are only a drive away. Sure I worry about missing the fall here and snow at Christmas but we can vacation up north. I worry about missing my parents and friends. I am an adult with children of my own, but I have never lived anywhere but here. It would be fun to try something different. Everyone says they will vacation with us and since my family and friends all vacation in Florida I imagine we will see them.

jambo101 · 08-12-2011, 12:25 PM

Give it a try, if you find it too tough after a couple of years you can always move back..

Tim Tim Tim · 08-12-2011, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilacmama32

Since this is a relocation board, I hope you don't mind me asking a personal question rather than a Tampa Bay question.

How did you handle moving away from family and friends?

I have never lived outside of the area I currently live in. I am close to my parents and have a nice life here. I have the choice to move to FL and try something different. I have a job once I arrive doing exactly what I do here, I do not have a financial burden as we currently do not need to sell a house, I am not in debt and as long as my husband finds a job we can move.

My fear is leaving my family and missing them so much. I had a long talk with my dad last night and he told me not to stay just because I would miss my family. Life can change in an instant and this is a chance to try something that we might really like. Then again, we might not like FL and can move back if that is the case. I can have my job back in MI and my husband was told he could have his but there is always the chance he wouldn't leaving the company.

I imagine some of you went through the struggle of leaving family and just wonder how you feel now? Was it worth it?

I actually moved FROM Tampa, to salt lake city and left my whole family behind. In all honesty it brought us even closer I would say, I talked to my parents daily on the phone or over web cam. )We are already close family) The thing that made it tough was that my parents were so upset. They really didn't support the move and all I kept hearing was how sad they were which made me feel guilty for leaving.

I would say that if your parents are supporting you then it wont be too hard for you to cope with. For me personally, I loved salt lake city so much that I was much happier there even though my family wasn't with me ( I moved with my wife, her family is there ). Needless to say, my wife got pregnant and I really felt that the right move was to come back so that our daughter could grow up with the close family that I got to grow up with. well, im glad she gets to see grandma and grandpa several times per week but unfortunately, me and my wife just really are not as happy here. We felt like life was much better there, much more things that we BOTH enjoyed. Now were pretty much stuck here because we both have good jobs that would be very hard to replace over there and moving across country isnt exactly cheep. Were hoping that someday, somehow we can end up back there!!!!!

Tim Tim Tim · 08-12-2011, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambo101

I left the area my Mom and Dad were living (St Pete) some 35 years ago. Got a great job where i moved to,a job i could never have got in Florida and its been win win ever since. Of course 2-3 weeks every winter i go on vacation to see Mom and Dad, Sure i miss them but i'm happy knowing they're doing ok and i'm doing ok.
Florida?? nice place to visit but i can only take it for 4 weeks max. winters only.

Im with you on that, Its nice to visit but it sucks to live here (in my opinion). my field of work requires a good amount of working outside and its just plain discusting in the summer. Humid, hot, bugs etc..

lilacmama32 · 08-12-2011, 12:58 PM

My job is indoors 9-5 PM so the heat doesn't bother me. Do you enjoy the weather in the winter months?

user8 · 08-12-2011, 01:37 PM

i wanted to leave the dc area for a good 10 years or so. originally my destination was colorado, but that got sidetracked by a few life events that forced me to remain at home. i came close; even started packing for the rockies. when i met my now-wife in virginia a couple years ago (she's from albany), we both had talked about how tired we were of dc and the miserable people, harsh winters, outrageous cost of living, traffic, etc. we decided to give florida a shot even though we weren't necessarily looking for a subtropical climate. we just needed to get out of dc. so here we are.

leaving my family and friends wasn't as difficult as i thought it would be. with the exception of my father who lives in oregon, all of my family is within 40 miles of each other in northern va and md. i do miss them but it was time for a change of scenery. ironically, i talk to my family more now than when i lived 3 miles away. it's interesting, though. since we moved in march, it seems to have lit a fire under a bunch of folks we left behind. 2 moved to philly, 2 to denver, 2 to connecticut, 1 to germany. i guess sometimes it's easier to take that first step when you see someone else do it.

is florida our last stop? i doubt it. but it was an important first step. i'll never move back home.

Dollydo · 08-12-2011, 02:48 PM

People today are very mobile. There is no guarantee that your parents will never move from the state they currently live in.

Your parents support your move, what have you got to lose? Airplanes fly back n' forth everyday.

Maybe your parents feel that it will help you to be more self sufficent if you move away. I don't know, just a thought.

Tim Tim Tim · 08-12-2011, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilacmama32

My job is indoors 9-5 PM so the heat doesn't bother me. Do you enjoy the weather in the winter months?

In the winter, the weather is great here. In my opinion its close to perfect a lot of the time. The only problem is the winter is 2 months long and its dark by 5:30 so by the time you get home from work, its dark out. That leaves weekends which for me, tend to go by WAY to fast.