want to move to flordia...need some help!

[jolenegreen2]

HI everyone! Hubby and I have decided that withi the next 5 years or so...we want to move from NY to Flordia. As of right now we have 2 toddlers and a baby. I would love to have more. Hubby and I have never been even out of NY let alone gone to Flordia! LOL. I would def like to ask some of the flordia natives here what would be the best area to live in. Here are some things we need to think about:

-I want it to be warnish yr round???? not sure what Fl weather is like when it is below freezing in NY...today it says 56 meanwhile its -1 here! LOL

-not to expensive of an area to live in. We can barely make i here in NY...not sure if the cost of living is higher or lower there?? Can anybody share what the ups and downs are there?


-somewhere we dont have to worry about hiding our kids from tornados or hurricaines all the time or whatever else goes on down there! LOL. We are only use to a big nasty snow/ice storm! LOL. We just had 10 inches of the white crap dumped on us the other night!


...where they can be safe. Not in the city....but suburbs or country would be nice. I would like an area where my neighbors arent right beside me and I can reach outside and high five them out the window...
I have been looking at houses online but it is so hard to decide about an area if u dont know what it is like...u know? Anyone that can help...Id really appreciate it. Thanks

Also.....wondering what the cheapest way to move would be? Any suggestions? We have 2 vehicles and 3 motorcycles plus all of our stuff? We were thinking about U-hauling it down there.....a couple trips...one for our stuff, one for the motorcycles...then hubby taking a bus back twice to get the vehicles? Any other suggestions or info would be great! Thanks so much!

Also-does anyone homeschool? How are the rules for Flordia?

[joyofsix]

Not from Fl but don't forget to look at Ga or Ala as alternatives too. They might be less expensive. Good Luck

[ladykemma2]

it would be helpful to know what is hubby's profession.

i would suggest houston as a cheap, warm, with lots of jobs, alternative.

one thing to consider is the heat - it is possible to have 400 - 500 a month air conditioning bills, especially if you are home all day, and hurricanes are a fact of life on the gulf coast.

edited to add: why don't pay a visit in august or september- see if you can handle the 105 degree heat with 100 percent humidity. When it's so hot you can't touch the steering wheel. we adapt by doing exercise and strenuous stuff like going grocery shopping at the crack of dawn or in the evenings.

[EarthGirl517]

Are you looking to buy a home? One area that was hit hard by the housing market (therefore has good deals now) is Cape Coral. It is just west of Fort Myers, FL. That is on the Gulf Coast south of Tampa. My mom lives there and just bought a 3 bed house with a pool for under 100K. I used to live there and we also had a 3 bed pool home. Bought it for 80k and 5 years later sold it for 250k (during the big boom). Hurricanes do hit there occasionally, but we never had a big problem with it.

One thing to know about this area is that it has a high percentage of unemployment. A lot of people are in construction and that has dried up a lot. Otherwise it's a great place to live and relatively inexpensive. My mom just works at a local grocery store and does jut fine. In fact my husband wants to move back. I don't, but that's because I like the cold.

A lot of people live in Cape Coral and work in Ft. Myers. Cape Coral is safer, prettier, and has the great deals on houses now. If you tell me what kind of work your spouse (or yourself) does, I can tell you who the big employers are in the area. Let me know if I can answer any other questions for you.

BTW - two great resources when you're looking to move is city-data.com & salary.com. City-data will give you all kinds of info on crime rates, weather, housing, main professions in the area and such. On salary.com you can compare cost of living in two different cities.

[milkshake]

Too funny...DH and I are on the same 5 year plan to move to Florida! We are from Mass and are just sick of the winters. I second using city-data.com for researching areas in Florida...the forums are very helpful gathering info on schooling and moving.

Good Luck!

[justpeachy92]

I live in NC right now, but did live in Florida for 5 years and would love to talk my husband into going back. We lived in both Hillsborough county and Citrus county, between those two counties I would say that Citrus county had the lower cost of living, I loved the teachers at the elementary school my kids went to, and there was never a time in Citrus county that I worried about the safety of my kids in the neighborhood we lived in.
As far as winter goes in Florida it is very mild, the cold spells would be just a few days in January, where it might hit freezing at night and then be pushing 60 in the day.
As far as summer goes, I would prefer a summer in Florida over one in NC or Pa (grew up there) any day. Where we lived in Florida we didn't have the humidity like we do here and had in PA. While living in Florida there was never a day that I couldn't stand to be outside, like here there are days where you feel like you walked into an oven when you step out the door.
If I was you I would really look at the job market down there, Florida has been hit hard with the recession. As for the moving, I have found after various state-state moves we have done over the years, truck rentals cost alot more when you move south, and the rates are higher during the summer months. When we moved from Florida to NC, we moved what we couldn't part with due to emotional attachment, and furniture and household stuff in a pod, storage thing. The pod was $1000 cheaper than a uhaul of the same size. With the money made from selling alot of what we owned in a yard sale, I was able to easily replace needed things that didn't make the move. The move was also much easier having dh and I and our 4 kids in our van, instead of one of us driving the kids in the van and the other in a moving truck.

[jolenegreen2]

We both work at walmart...so we would just transfer. We really dont make great money! Thanks everyone

[Maine Girl]

Also the carolina's are affordable

[lgw]

I lived in Florida and have visited the entire state. I would recommend the Pensacola/panhandle area. You are less likely to get hit by hurricanes, the economy seems more stable there than central Florida (though the state as a whole has not weathered the recession well), and the area is more rural and beautiful. The cost of living is lower but so are the wages.

I will say, though, that I could not wait to get out of there. Despite living in the panhandle, I went through two hurricanes in three years. And I hated the hot, humid, muggy weather. Culturally, there were aspects of the panhandle that I enjoyed, but overall, I found a pretty weak work ethic and significant social problems.

You really should visit before you move.

[LeeCee]

this will be the worst decision you will ever make. I moved here 20 years ago, my husband's family moved here and he dragged me here.we are from new york. most of the year it is like living in hell. I often think hell would be cooler than florida. it is hotter than hell and extremely humid.the pay also is very low.you will not be getting anywhere near what you are making in new york.living without seasons to look forward to are very hard to get use to.I really miss the seasons especially fall and winter.you need to come here and see what it's like before making any move.

[Moor]

Ok.
I lived in Ohio, Arkansas, and Kentucky before moving to Florida.
I LOVED it there. I would move back in a heartbeat, if DH was willing.

I grew up in a small town outside of Gainesville. We were two hours away from either coast. So that was nice.

Yes the cost of living is lower, but you do not have to pay all of the taxes there, that you have to pay in other states. IE: Ohio has a city tax, state tax. Florida has neiter. In Ohio, if you eat at a restaurant, then you pay tax, but if you get it to go, then only tax on the soda. Not in Fl. you pay tax if you eat in or take out.
When I lived there, you did not have to pay school fees. You do in Ohio.

I really suggest you take a good look at Fl. before you make the decision to move there. Are you prepared for the rattlesnakes, cotton mouths, alligators, spiders, roaches, palmetto bugs, love bugs, mosquitos the size of small eagles, seagulls all over the place, mosquitos the size of small dogs, panthers, alligators, mosquitos the size of some cats?

There are a lot of pros and cons to living there. One thing you will really have to get used to, is the heat. It's a different heat that up north. There is no changing of the season's unless you live in the northern part of the state. You will get to see the leaves fall, but they only turn brown, maybe a few reds. It does get cold in the northern part, but it's a different cold than anywhere else I have ever lived. One year, it got to 10 degrees, but I was still wearing shorts.

One thing that you have to deal with, no matter what state you live in, is the snow birds. That's what people call the older folks who only come down for the winter. They are all over the state.

Also, tourist. No matter what part of the state you live in, there is always tourist's. That is one reason that Fl does not have a city or state tax. Tourism.

Just visit. If you decide on an area, then visit that area. Get a feel for it. When there, talk to locals about it. Get all the info that you can. Because if you just up and move, then decide once you are there, that you don't like it, then you are stuck until you can afford to move again. If you are really serious about this move, please, please, please, make sure you have all of your facts before moving.

[zakity]

If you are looking at homeschooling, dig around the net and see if you can find a state homeschooling site. In Oregon, we have OHEN.

[loveless82]

Hiya,

My DH and I were planing on doing this too a few yrs ago. Now for me I would love to move FL or anywhere for that mater. But DH find a great job here and the dream of moving away got put on the back burner...lol..
My mom-in-law move to Port Charlotte FL this past summer. She say's she love it there, but it took till Nov find work and her DH still hasn't find any work and he a truck driver.
My only advice for you would be to get all the information about where you moving too and plan well. Good luck!!

[ladykemma2]

this will be the worst decision you will ever make. I moved here 20 years ago, my husband's family moved here and he dragged me here.we are from new york. most of the year it is like living in hell. I often think hell would be cooler than florida. it is hotter than hell and extremely humid.the pay also is very low.you will not be getting anywhere near what you are making in new york.living without seasons to look forward to are very hard to get use to.I really miss the seasons especially fall and winter.you need to come here and see what it's like before making any move.

agreed -it's nine months of different flavors of heat

[angelbumpkin]

I live in Tampa. It is extremely hot in the summer but great in the winter.
We have friend the in the country outside of Tampa and it is beautiful.

Here is the link regarding homeschooling here in Hillsborough County.

http://www.sdhc.k12.fl.us/homeeducation/

PM me if you need any other info.