Relocation Anxiety - Second thoughts

[DodgeGirl78]

I have been in a very similar situation the last few months, and in about 10 days we will load the U-Haul and head to our new life in Florida. It is scary and sad to leave family, friends and familiarity but so exciting to try a new life! I am a Florida native but have lived in Kentucky for 28 years now and I am FINALLY going home. The funny thing is, I was the one dragging my feet on the move. My Kentucky born & raised husband and daughter were the ones pushing this move so I have finally given in. It is troubling to worry about schools and crime and jobs etc. All we can do is research everything and try to make a wise choice. We will not be buying a home right away because we want to make sure we land where we need to be. If our first choice turns out to be a failure, we will try a different path. We only have 1 life, and for some people to spend that whole life in the same cocoon is what they want and need. For us, we need to experience new things and places and people. Changing schools and finding new friends will be challenging for our daughter, but she is up to the challenge and excited about the move. She may change her mind 2 weeks after we get there, but that's a risk we take.
My 2 cents to the OP is just do it! I spent many weeks reading these threads and freaking myself out..OMG look at the posts on heat and crime and no jobs and horrible schools! What are we thinking!! But then I had a reality check and remembered only our family knows what is best for us and I know WE will do what it takes to make us happy. No offense to any of the posters here, I know these forums are about sharing opinions. This one is just mine

[lilacmama32]

Originally Posted by DodgeGirl78

I have been in a very similar situation the last few months, and in about 10 days we will load the U-Haul and head to our new life in Florida. It is scary and sad to leave family, friends and familiarity but so exciting to try a new life! I am a Florida native but have lived in Kentucky for 28 years now and I am FINALLY going home. The funny thing is, I was the one dragging my feet on the move. My Kentucky born & raised husband and daughter were the ones pushing this move so I have finally given in. It is troubling to worry about schools and crime and jobs etc. All we can do is research everything and try to make a wise choice. We will not be buying a home right away because we want to make sure we land where we need to be. If our first choice turns out to be a failure, we will try a different path. We only have 1 life, and for some people to spend that whole life in the same cocoon is what they want and need. For us, we need to experience new things and places and people. Changing schools and finding new friends will be challenging for our daughter, but she is up to the challenge and excited about the move. She may change her mind 2 weeks after we get there, but that's a risk we take.
My 2 cents to the OP is just do it! I spent many weeks reading these threads and freaking myself out..OMG look at the posts on heat and crime and no jobs and horrible schools! What are we thinking!! But then I had a reality check and remembered only our family knows what is best for us and I know WE will do what it takes to make us happy. No offense to any of the posters here, I know these forums are about sharing opinions. This one is just mine

Thank you for posting! I too have been on these messages boards almost daily for months. Lots of info that is helpful and some that make me really think about this move. How old is your daughter? You are lucky to have everyone wanting to move. I wish my 10 yrs old was willing. It's hard to see her so sad whenever we talk about it.

Where are you moving to?

[lilacmama32]

Originally Posted by Tim Tim Tim

I hear the schools are decent. S tampa is really diverse though. You will have a million dollar house next door to a 100k house (which down here is a dump) so as far as people at the school there will likely be the whole range from rich to super poor. If your up in the county its a little less diverse and typically the schools are a little better as far as fights and problems between the people in the school.

Flooding does suck though. I wouldnt live here just because if it. Sure, your house may not be on a flood prone street but you have to drive around too and it can be a pain in the butt if you dont have a large vehicle.

I don't want anything to do with flooding if I can help it. Plus I can't afford living in a million dollar neighborhood. I think I heard the rent on an apartment in S Tampa was $2300 a month! That's crazy talk for me. I'd like to stay around the $1,000-1,300 range.

[DodgeGirl78]

Originally Posted by lilacmama32

Thank you for posting! I too have been on these messages boards almost daily for months. Lots of info that is helpful and some that make me really think about this move. How old is your daughter? You are lucky to have everyone wanting to move. I wish my 10 yrs old was willing. It's hard to see her so sad whenever we talk about it.

Where are you moving to?

My daughter will turn 13 the day we move.. Happy Birthday dear LOL Don't get me wrong, she has had her days where she was sad to leave her friends and school but for the most part she is ready to roll.
We are moving to Ormond Beach outside of Daytona. But that is just a landing zone for now until we find the right spot for us

Good luck with your future. I know it breaks your heart to make your child unhappy, but if you do what you think is best I am sure one day she will thank you for it.

[Tim Tim Tim]

Originally Posted by lilacmama32

I don't want anything to do with flooding if I can help it. Plus I can't afford living in a million dollar neighborhood. I think I heard the rent on an apartment in S Tampa was $2300 a month! That's crazy talk for me. I'd like to stay around the $1,000-1,300 range.

There not all that high but if you want something decent it will be. I was (for some dumb reason) considering coming down here. I work in all of these places and found a few that i liked, looked at the prices and laughed all the way home. Studios were going for like 1500 a month. Im in a 3 bedroom house in a way better location and neighborehood for 1200. If I want to go to hyde park or something I hop in the car and drive the 15 minutes to get there. Hardly anything is walking distance anyways from these places unless your willing to walk miles!

[Tim Tim Tim]

Originally Posted by DodgeGirl78

I have been in a very similar situation the last few months, and in about 10 days we will load the U-Haul and head to our new life in Florida. It is scary and sad to leave family, friends and familiarity but so exciting to try a new life! I am a Florida native but have lived in Kentucky for 28 years now and I am FINALLY going home. The funny thing is, I was the one dragging my feet on the move. My Kentucky born & raised husband and daughter were the ones pushing this move so I have finally given in. It is troubling to worry about schools and crime and jobs etc. All we can do is research everything and try to make a wise choice. We will not be buying a home right away because we want to make sure we land where we need to be. If our first choice turns out to be a failure, we will try a different path. We only have 1 life, and for some people to spend that whole life in the same cocoon is what they want and need. For us, we need to experience new things and places and people. Changing schools and finding new friends will be challenging for our daughter, but she is up to the challenge and excited about the move. She may change her mind 2 weeks after we get there, but that's a risk we take.
My 2 cents to the OP is just do it! I spent many weeks reading these threads and freaking myself out..OMG look at the posts on heat and crime and no jobs and horrible schools! What are we thinking!! But then I had a reality check and remembered only our family knows what is best for us and I know WE will do what it takes to make us happy. No offense to any of the posters here, I know these forums are about sharing opinions. This one is just mine

I was in the SAME boat when I moved from here to salt lake city. My wife was raised there, im from here. We decided to go, we were so happy there!!! some crap happened and we decided to come back with family and stuff.. we regret that move almost every day. We dream of going back but now with a 2 year old and really good jobs here, its not really possible to move back now since we dont have any job connections

So my advice would be to stick it out even if it gets rough for a while before you decide to move back to where you came from. Any area is going to be what you make it, I really dont like florida much but if you WANT to be here, you will like it. Make sure you leave enough money to "play" with in your budget because most things to do here that are fun, cost money.