Middle Aged Craaaazyyyy???

[DaniellaG]

This is one of the reasons why so many people are in debt. People make choices based on want vs need. One has to be realistic and work with what they have. Having 3 or 6 months of savings in this economy is just not enough to make a move. Savings should be there in case one has an emergency. You never know what may happen in life.
I understand how being in a state that you are unhappy with is but also how happy are you going to be going into debt not making ends meet?
If you are able to transfer or find a job then it is different. Though I would also look at why you left in the first place and make sure you are not glorifying FL because things are not great where you are.

[mikejm30]

Thanks for all the responses! I posted this and forgot about it for awhile. Great responses! I left Florida originally after my father died and after getting out of a relationship with a girl I thought I was going to marry, so I convinced myself I had to leave to forget everything. Sometimes I wish I had just moved to another part of Florida instead of another state! Anyways, I'm still leaning towards going but know I must be careful and if I cannot telecommute with my current company it's going to make this much, much harder. I know it's risky and I could end up trading a job that pays very well for a job that pays half of what I receive now (if I even find a job). This is probably the 3rd time since I moved away from Florida that I seriously considered moving back, and the first 2 times I talked myself out of it due to the economy and so on. This time I feel the desire to return is stronger than the previous 2 times.
I still dont know though...I feel lost and confused about this every single day...

[staywarm2]

Originally Posted by mikejm30

Thanks for all the responses! I posted this and forgot about it for awhile. Great responses! I left Florida originally after my father died and after getting out of a relationship with a girl I thought I was going to marry, so I convinced myself I had to leave to forget everything. Sometimes I wish I had just moved to another part of Florida instead of another state! Anyways, I'm still leaning towards going but know I must be careful and if I cannot telecommute with my current company it's going to make this much, much harder. I know it's risky and I could end up trading a job that pays very well for a job that pays half of what I receive now (if I even find a job). This is probably the 3rd time since I moved away from Florida that I seriously considered moving back, and the first 2 times I talked myself out of it due to the economy and so on. This time I feel the desire to return is stronger than the previous 2 times.
I still dont know though...I feel lost and confused about this every single day...

I understand your lost confused feeling. We talk about moving back all the time. I think it's the "draw" of FL that lingers in the mind--warm weather, the ocean, the free and easy lifestyle. It's very alluring...

[mikejm30]

Staywarm2: yeah I hear ya, I think about that stuff everyday.
I was born and raised there, lived there for over 30 years before deciding to move away. I have felt for years now that I turned my back on my home for stupid reasons and now I want to make it right. I know I can't go back in time. I know I can't change the past. I know that it's different down there now. I have many friends with families down there that moved either out of state or moved up a county or two or moved over to the Tampa area to get away from the urban areas of Miami and Fort Lauderdale. I realize it's different in S. Fla now. If I can telecommute I could literally go anywhere I wanted, so hopefully that happens and I can choose. I wont know until at least April though so after the holidays I'll start applying for jobs down there.
And, worst case scenario, if I move back and it doesn't work out, I still have family in PA and they would welcome me back with open arms.
Hey, you only live once, right? I figure I might as well try before it's too late (this was also my rationale for moving away in the first place!)

[staywarm2]

Originally Posted by mikejm30

Staywarm2: yeah I hear ya, I think about that stuff everyday.
I was born and raised there, lived there for over 30 years before deciding to move away. I have felt for years now that I turned my back on my home for stupid reasons and now I want to make it right. I know I can't go back in time. I know I can't change the past. I know that it's different down there now. I have many friends with families down there that moved either out of state or moved up a county or two or moved over to the Tampa area to get away from the urban areas of Miami and Fort Lauderdale. I realize it's different in S. Fla now. If I can telecommute I could literally go anywhere I wanted, so hopefully that happens and I can choose. I wont know until at least April though so after the holidays I'll start applying for jobs down there.
And, worst case scenario, if I move back and it doesn't work out, I still have family in PA and they would welcome me back with open arms.
Hey, you only live once, right? I figure I might as well try before it's too late (this was also my rationale for moving away in the first place!)

Let us know which area in FL you pick for relocation. I'm always looking and can't find the right place...

[OnMyWaytoMySelf]

To each his/her own. I'm a florida native and prefer living out my life in the mountains of the West.
I never say NEVER going back, because 'never' is not a good word. I therefore use the term 'prefer'
from the time I was fifteen years old I have wanted to leave florida and not look back. now that i have no close family still living, I chose to leave and am glad I did. I currently live at over 6,000 ft above sea level near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and have never felt better physically.

If anyone decides to move to florida it's always a good idea to listen to two sides of thought, those opposed and those for. florida has beautiful beaches, and depending where you live in that state great foods from around the world. I was born in Tampa so I've had food from every country from Spain to Lebanon and beyond.

Life is too short to be somewhere you don't want or have to be. I understand DaniellaG's post up top when she writes, "One has to be realistic and work with what they have. Having 3 or 6 months of savings in this economy is just not enough to make a move. Savings should be there in case one has an emergency. You never know what may happen in life."

This is the very way I've been thinking for most of my life and as a result of NOT taking a risk, I have been in a rut since high school, working and doing everything I was taught as a child I "should" do instead of what was good for my soul. I finally thought, what would I do if I was given a short time to live? My response to that thought was leave florida. If on the other hand you love florida, you should go if not as a permanent move, then just check it out for some time before deciding for sure. If you don't have enough savings, then you must at least have very good to excellent credit and use it only for lean times or emergencies as I do and pay yourself back as you spend.

We must all do what we feel we must, but just remember there is no guarantee about how long any of us will be here and we should take a well thought out risk and put some faith in action. I'm glad I did.

All the best to you.

[Jack Piper]

Originally Posted by OnMyWaytoMySelf

Life is too short to be somewhere you don't want or have to be...

We must all do what we feel we must, but just remember there is no guarantee about how long any of us will be here and we should take a well thought out risk and put some faith in action.

I jump sometimes with just enough $$$ to last a month. I have weeded my life down to an ultra compact [url=http://brompton.co.uk/] Folding bikes, folding bicycles from Brompton Bicycle[/url] and an Osprey Talon 33 Pack, so moving is light and simple. When I finish work in a place, 4-9 months, I hop an Amtrak train and head out to a new horizon.

If I never jumped i'd be stuck in LA...