All amenities in a smaller town close to the beach

[murfslaw]

Take a look at Atlantic Beach down to St. Agustine. You get a small town feel but close to a major city, Jacksonville. We're in Atlantic Beach several times a year and found to be much like Santa Monica, CA where I grew up.

[CarrieBanks]

Originally Posted by cfbs2691

Many people I've met down here were born with silver spoons.
It's tough for those of us who weren't.

Tell me about it! If only we were all that lucky

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by CarrieBanks

It's good to know that there are plenty of jobs that do offer a $12/hr salary as not everyone is lucky enough to make the $20 an hour which is astronomical. Here in GA if one person is making at least $12hr alone and upwards then you're doing pretty good especially for a small town. I guess I am now starting to learn some differences between GA and FL the more I read.

I can only say from my personal experiences trying to find a qualified secretary since mine left in December, it's been hard to find skilled people, even in this economy. Finally I think I've found one but our office manager swears the good candidates were just not to be found in droves like you'd expect.


Of course, it's a skilled legal assistant position... at a larger firm an experienced legal secretary is bringing in 50k or more.... not too bad for a 40hr/week gig, imo.



Another opportunity for those willing to put in the time is to get an insurance license or two and hook up with an agency. The big fields in S. Fla. are legal, insurance, and medical. Education and financial to a lesser extent. Climbing the corporate ladder from mailroom to CEO just isn't in the cards for most around here.

[CarrieBanks]

Originally Posted by murfslaw

Take a look at Atlantic Beach down to St. Agustine. You get a small town feel but close to a major city, Jacksonville. We're in Atlantic Beach several times a year and found to be much like Santa Monica, CA where I grew up.

Thank you! That certainly sounds promising for us. I will be sure to have a look.

[CarrieBanks]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

I can only say from my personal experiences trying to find a qualified secretary since mine left in December, it's been hard to find skilled people, even in this economy. Finally I think I've found one but our office manager swears the good candidates were just not to be found in droves like you'd expect.


Of course, it's a skilled legal assistant position... at a larger firm an experienced legal secretary is bringing in 50k or more.... not too bad for a 40hr/week gig, imo.



Another opportunity for those willing to put in the time is to get an insurance license or two and hook up with an agency. The big fields in S. Fla. are legal, insurance, and medical. Education and financial to a lesser extent. Climbing the corporate ladder from mailroom to CEO just isn't in the cards for most around here.

That's actually pretty good for a 40 hr week. I have to say that I was surprised to hear that even in today's economy with such a high rate of unemployment, it proved difficult to find the right person for the job. Shows how tough things really are. Thanks for letting me know the fields that are in most demand in S Florida. It's certainly good to know what we can expect or what we might be in for.

[CarrieBanks]

Thanks to everyone for all your responses, thoughts, opinions and advice which were so much appreciated!! We have a lot to think about and important decisions to make. I will be sure to let you know the outcome. Whichever way, I hope that we will find one that will meet all our needs, whether it's in Florida or somewhere else completely different.

Best of Luck to you all!!

Carrie