Parents moving to florida from canada (Clearwater, Sarasota: home, find a job, good schools)

[Makin the move]

Hi there,

We have a 5 year old and a 2 year old and are considering moving to Florida for a better quality of life (mainly weather). I am a social worker with a Master's degree and my husband would like to work in law enforcement (but doesn't have a BA).

We have been to Clearwater and loved it! We'd love to move there but don't know if it is a good place to raise a family. Is it safe, good schools, easy to find a job? Also, we want to be about 20-30 minaway from he beach at the most.

We have heard that Sarasota (Manatee county), fishhawk and Pasco are also good places to raise a family.

Can someone please comment on your experience with these 4 places and on how easy it would be to find a job on our fields?

Any information would be greatly appreciated!!

😎😎

[MortonR]

First of all, you need to have some idea of what to expect as far as income. Understand that Florida, for the most part, pays professionals less than other major metropolitan areas might say, in the Midwest or east coast.

Property values here are high, and the highest ones are closest to the water. Your desires are common amongst people who want to live here but no nothing of the area. They typically are:

Close to the beach/water
Commute of 30 minutes or less
Good schools
Walkable community

To get all or even most of these you're probably talking about a home in the $400k or higher range, easily. That's in Pinellas. You won't be anywhere near a beach or water (Gulf of Mexico) if you're not in Pinellas County.

Now let's talk about employment....

I work for local government, which employs a lot of social service people like yourself. Depending on the position and skills, you're probably looking at a salary in the $30,000 range. Social workers in the school systems do a little better than that, but not much. And in the case of the schools or government, you won't get hired in above the starting salary, at least it's unlikely you would. Social service agencies would probably pay in the same ranges or less.

I would strongly encourage you to use the search function and carefully read through the hundreds of posts similar to yours that are already archived here. Terms like "moving to Florida" or "relocation" would be a good place to start.

Not trying to be negative, but you're one of many, many people who have expressed similar desires with little to no knowledge of the area. Do some research and I can assure you that your questions and concerns will be addressed.

RM

[engineman]

Moving from Canada, have you sorted it out with Immigration? If not that is where to start.

Law enforcement jobs may require citizenship, inquire at a potential place of employment.
I was a member of a volunteer sheriffs organization in Arizona and citizenship was a requirement.