Need advice! Michigan to Florida move (Clearwater, Sarasota: salary, living, moving to)

[DaniellaG]

Originally Posted by MichiganMan20

Your from Michigan too!? Lol You know on second thought, maybe I should just stay here because ill have the whole state to myself! Everybody is leaving! Lol But yes hopefuly by the time 2014 comes around ill be confident with where I wanna move. You know another thing I realized, all the states usually has nice summers, I'm looking for a place with just better winters! I know that Hawaii and Southern California has the best year round weather, any other places with warm winters with summers that dosnt have unbearable heat?

I have a complicated situation so I still have a home in MI. Anyhow is the weather the reason you want to move from MI or are there other reasons?
I remember when I was your age I really disliked MI but now being older having lived in many states I see how many positives MI does have. You can really afford to have a nice lifestyle there. I do feel CA is nice but especially if you want to raise a family it is very expensive. Some are never able to buy and always have to rent a smaller place. For some that is ok and for others it is not. Hawaii is so expensive as well.
In terms of mild climates it is hard to find both but some states I feel are more extreme such as FL being so many months of it. At least in other states you have a break earlier. I also feel FL living is not for everyone.

[MichiganMan20]

Alright I put a lot of thought into this, again thanks everybody for the input, you've really helped me out. Even though Florida has the humidity and extreme heat for the summer months, I think I'll be able to handle it. I just feel like I can handle heat better than the cold. I remember days in the winter up here when it was below zero, I couldn't even go outside, there was nothing you could do. With the heat, it sounds very uncomfortable, but I'd just go to the beach, and a pool area. You mentioned how Florida isn't for everybody, some people love it, some don't. I plan on visiting over the summer and see how bad it is, but I could be one of those people that just loves South Florida. Heres the thing too, Physical Therapy is a great career that will give me lots of opportunities to travel. Traveling physical therapist assistants are in demand, right now I plan on entering that industry. It seems perfect for me, theres so many places I'd like to see just in the U.S. Working for that company will let me visit all of these places and really see for myself how it is. My opinion could change, but right now I plan on spending sometime living in South Florida. Hopefully someday I'll meet a great girl and get married, raise a family, all of the American Dream stuff that I strive for too. Once that happens, I could be moving someplace more rural. Maybe even back to good ol' Britton, MI, I love the schools I went too when I was younger.

[Swimmom32]

I wish you all the Best, and keep that positive attitude We love South Florida and well people think we are crazy, however we have wanted to live here for the past 14 years and well life took us in a different direction....My son will totally agree with you on the PT aspect, and it being a great Career as it really is...he has quiet a few friends who will be entering that field as well as well as himself...He is already trying to line up something for the Summer as He has no plans to ever leave South Florida so he tells us time and time again...lol

Your Young and have nothing to lose, if you Don't like it here then you move on!! If you love it here, well then you will have something to look forward too in your new career and life

Please keep us posted...and an FYI there are a few excellent Schools if you want to go for your Masters or Doctorate in PT

[SAKIRAV]

On the contrary SWIMOM, I think you'd be crazy NOT TO WANT to live in South Florida.

[Swimmom32]

Yup SAK I so agree with you there

[MiamiLIFE]

Originally Posted by MichiganMan20

Alright I put a lot of thought into this, again thanks everybody for the input, you've really helped me out. Even though Florida has the humidity and extreme heat for the summer months, I think I'll be able to handle it. I just feel like I can handle heat better than the cold. I remember days in the winter up here when it was below zero, I couldn't even go outside, there was nothing you could do. With the heat, it sounds very uncomfortable, but I'd just go to the beach, and a pool area. You mentioned how Florida isn't for everybody, some people love it, some don't. I plan on visiting over the summer and see how bad it is, but I could be one of those people that just loves South Florida. Heres the thing too, Physical Therapy is a great career that will give me lots of opportunities to travel. Traveling physical therapist assistants are in demand, right now I plan on entering that industry. It seems perfect for me, theres so many places I'd like to see just in the U.S. Working for that company will let me visit all of these places and really see for myself how it is. My opinion could change, but right now I plan on spending sometime living in South Florida. Hopefully someday I'll meet a great girl and get married, raise a family, all of the American Dream stuff that I strive for too. Once that happens, I could be moving someplace more rural. Maybe even back to good ol' Britton, MI, I love the schools I went too when I was younger.

FL is hit or miss for lots of people because the neighborhoods can transition very quickly from nice to the hood/trailer parks. However, with that said, the are you're talking about is great. My sister lives in Palm Beach Gardens. That area and surround Jupiter are very nice and don't have those ugly transitions. There are numerous churches for Catholics and Delray Beach has great nightlife and food (Atlantic Ave is where all the action is). The other nice thing is that from Palm Beach Gardens it is only an hour to Miami so you can easily go see a Marlins game at the new stadium or a Heat game in downtown. Heck I live in NJ and it takes me an hour to get to Manhattan to see anything. If you like warm weather, you will be able to handle the humidity. And the evenings are great. You can eat outside and don't need a jacket. In southern, CA because it is a desert climate, it gets cold at night...brrrr! And the Pacific ocean is freezing year round. The Atlantic ocean is very warm and comfortable. I just got back from Key West and it was awesome. There is lots of things to do in FL if you are into water sports. Also, great food. The weather is amazing in the winter and in the evenings. Palm Beach Gardens, Delray, Boca, Jupiter are the best areas, IMO. Jupiter will give you the most bang for you buck. There are lots of planned communities there with sidewalks where you can go biking and running. You're also close to Juno Beach which is beautiful. California is expensive and so is San Diego. And California is also very pretendious. Everyone lives way over their income level just to show off their cars and clothes. Not mention CA has huge finanical problems from all their liberal give-a-ways. Income taxes are going up again under Jerry Brown. I wouldn't go to CA. It is only getting worse there and people with money are leaving there in droves.

TX has horrible weather. It is oppressive in the summer. The best city in TX is Austin. I will say Austin is a really great city. It has lakes and mountains and trees unlike Dallas.

Another place that I would consider is Arizona. Scottsdale is a very cool place.

At the end of the day, FL is the most affordable.

[MichiganMan20]

MiamiLIFE, Thanks!
You answered all of my questions, thanks for your input with my curiousity with living in San Diego too, right now Palm Beach Gardens or Jupiter sounds like the best place for me to live.

And my older brother lives in Scottsdale, AZ too! He really likes it out there, the immigrants are a bit of a problem out there though, hes had his jeep broken into a few times, I've heard that South Florida is a bit diverse too, but I can't see it really bothering me too much. If they won't bother me I wont bother them lol.

How about South Carolina? I went to Hilton Head on Spring Break in 2010 and fell in love with it, living in SC is also something I've thought about.

[DaniellaG]

I think you need to really research and visit. Not just based on a picture which may look nice. See PBG and Jupiter is not diverse. Also the average age is 45 I think and that was similar in Boca yet the average seemed like 70. Being young and single this makes it hard to meet people. Jupiter I feel is more so for retired or families then PBG which does seem to have more of a variety of ages and people.
As for CA I find the people more down to earth then FL by far. Also a younger population,diversity depending on area,etc. Yes it is expensive. SC I know very little about.

[hfm123]

I have lived in the Boynton Beach area for about 10 years. Like someone already mentioned Royal Palm is a long way from the beach. During season the traffic is crazy, so you may want to look closer to the coast.

Jupiter and West Palm are nice but remember there is a VERY large retirement population here. It seems the further south you so the younger people get (excluding Boca). You may want to check out Delray or even Ft. Lauderdale. I work with a 20-something person who commutes from Ft. Lauderdale and she has been looking for a (younger) fun and affordable neighborhood for awhile. She is looking at City Place in West Palm, which she really likes but it is a bit more expensive. Good luck with your move!!

[MiamiLIFE]

Originally Posted by MichiganMan20

MiamiLIFE, Thanks!
You answered all of my questions, thanks for your input with my curiousity with living in San Diego too, right now Palm Beach Gardens or Jupiter sounds like the best place for me to live.

And my older brother lives in Scottsdale, AZ too! He really likes it out there, the immigrants are a bit of a problem out there though, hes had his jeep broken into a few times, I've heard that South Florida is a bit diverse too, but I can't see it really bothering me too much. If they won't bother me I wont bother them lol.

How about South Carolina? I went to Hilton Head on Spring Break in 2010 and fell in love with it, living in SC is also something I've thought about.

If I was going to the Carolinas, I would try Raleigh or Charlotte. Raleigh is a great town. Lots to do, lots of young folks, great colleges so lots of educated people and there are lots of housing choices. Many, many, many new apts and good places for someone your age to grab and beer and make friends. You're not near the beach, however. But, the Carolinas offer good lakes and mountains, which you won't get in West Palm.

If you want something that feels like South Carolina, but still want to be near the beach, go visit Jacksonville, FL.

Atlanta will be too expensive for you and I am not a fan of Atlanta anymore. It grew so much and has horrible traffic. On a level with Los Angeles. Quality of life has dropped a lot in Atlanta.

FYI - it will still get cold in the Carolinas in the winter, but the winter season ends much faster than it does up north.