NC, SC or FL???? (Jacksonville, Miami: 2013, chapel, employment)

[kristinak26]

Have anyone had experience living in either one of those states???
We're looking to move, FL right now is our #1 choice. But how is SC and NC??? How's the schools!??
Any info would be helpful!!

[StreetSmarts]

Just depends on what you're looking for... I've lived in nc and fla.

[engineman]

There are a lot of different places in all 3 of these states. NC and SC higher places are not the same as the coast.
Jacksonville is radically different from Orlando, Miami or the Tampa Bay area.

Your concern about schools indicates you are not fixing to retire. Employment presumably is a factor also.

[wallyb2013]

I agree with the PP that it really depends on where you live in each of those states. I've lived in all three states and just moved from NC to Tampa Bay. The schools aren't great in any of these states generally unless you live in the suburbs of one of the bigger metro areas. South Tampa actually has the best schools by leaps and bounds, but it's very expensive. Greenville, SC is a fantastic smaller city with great public schools and a lower cost of living than most desirable cities in NC/SC. That's where I would probably move if given the choice, but there aren't a lot of professional opportunities there.

We moved to Tampa Bay for my husband's job from Charlotte, NC, and so far I'm finding it to be slightly more expensive. St. Pete seems to be the most "happening" place but it's not as family friendly as South Tampa so we're torn on where to buy a home.

[dothetwist]

Public school systems are local. You can have a stellar system, right next door to a failing one.

It takes a LOT of research. While there are ratings you can find online to give you some idea of the situation, they can be misleading and/or outdated.

Often, but not always, zip codes with higher incomes, higher housing prices and housing values will have better schools.

As with many things in life: You get what you pay for.

[Eric_96SC]

I've lived in all three states, originally from and currently reside in Upstate South Carolina. My preference is central Florida around New Smyrna Beach as I grew up in that area and have a lot of fond memories there. The Tampa area is on my short list of places that I would relocate to if I had the chance to move back to FL.

Now that I've settled down with kids, though, SC has been a pretty OK fit. SC has a lot going for it, but it definitely has its cons, too. While I hesitate to say the Upstate is booming, it is experiencing rapid growth to an extent where the infrastructure can't support the growth. There is no worthwhile public transportation. Housing prices are also climbing steadily.

Check the South Carolina forums, as well.

[Swimmom32]

Originally Posted by wallyb2013

I agree with the PP that it really depends on where you live in each of those states. I've lived in all three states and just moved from NC to Tampa Bay. The schools aren't great in any of these states generally unless you live in the suburbs of one of the bigger metro areas. South Tampa actually has the best schools by leaps and bounds, but it's very expensive. Greenville, SC is a fantastic smaller city with great public schools and a lower cost of living than most desirable cities in NC/SC. That's where I would probably move if given the choice, but there aren't a lot of professional opportunities there.

We moved to Tampa Bay for my husband's job from Charlotte, NC, and so far I'm finding it to be slightly more expensive. St. Pete seems to be the most "happening" place but it's not as family friendly as South Tampa so we're torn on where to buy a home.

Im surprised you find it more expensive than charlotte...we lived in charlotte for 4 years and I always thought Charlotte was a bit expensive and recently just came back from Charlotte and cant beleive the housing how crazy expensive it is and food was always expensive as well as we paid more for income tax in NC than we do even here in NJ.we left NC.and moved to the east coast of florida and that was more expensive but from what my friends tell me who are from the tampa area charlotte is more expensive...its good to hear other people's prospective

We are looking forward to moving to Wesley Chapel...

[kbrkr]

I get such a kick from these discussions regarding good schools or bad schools.

Like you can just drop your kid off at any institution, and they will churn out a genius or something.

An education is only as good as the family support system around the child. If you take no interest in educating your child, your in for a big surprise in the education your child receives. Parents need to review assignments, check progress reports, participate in homework, read books together with the child, coach and mentor them, shut off distractions, and meet regularly with your educators. And finally, the teacher and the class needs the supplies and tools necessary to perform adequate education. Every schools system is under-funded.

[kristinak26]

Originally Posted by kbrkr

I get such a kick from these discussions regarding good schools or bad schools.

Like you can just drop your kid off at any institution, and they will churn out a genius or something.

An education is only as good as the family support system around the child. If you take no interest in educating your child, your in for a big surprise in the education your child receives. Parents need to review assignments, check progress reports, participate in homework, read books together with the child, coach and mentor them, shut off distractions, and meet regularly with your educators. And finally, the teacher and the class needs the supplies and tools necessary to perform adequate education. Every schools system is under-funded.

Well, there are bad schools and there are good schools, I would never want my kids to go to a school where majority of children are from the ghetto. I used to live in Trumbull, CT and graduated from Trumbull High. Next door to Trumbull there was Bridgeport, and Im sure a lot of you have heard about Bridgeport and its popularity. So I would never want to live in a town that is anywhere close to being like Bridgeport.
Basically what we're looking at is a nice family friendly town with good schools around, also our baby hasn't even been born yet, but both of us have been moving around the country so much that we want to spend at least next 10 years at the same place. So we are looking how good the schools are. We love the beach, so we want to be close to the beach. We both 26, so we don't want to live in a retirement community either. Both of us are going more towards FL, I used to live in St. Augustine before, but it gets CRAZY crowded there over the holidays. So far I've heard good things about Carrollwood, Wesley Chapel and Palm Harbor, so we definitely we'll be checking those places out when we take a road trip down that way some time in August.

[PDF]

All 3 are very different. I like NC because it has 4 seasons, friendlier people, and pretty much the same COL. Plus mountains.