Possible move to florida!
01-19-2009, 11:26 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Possible move to florida!
Hey guys and gals, my girlfriend and I are considering moving somewhere warm, we simply cannot deal with these winters any longer, and have ultimately set our sights on sunny Florida.
Unfortunately trying to find a website that offers good opinions of different areas is like trying to find a hooker without a STD in lower Manhattan. I wanted to know if everyone here could perhaps post the counties they live in and what their honest opinions are of the area.
We are hoping to go somewhere close to the beach, no preference for either the Gulf or Atlantic, but we also do not want to go somewhere that is too populated, or city-like, such as Miami, or too far inland, like Orlando. My girlfriend will be finishing her Masters in Social Work in May, and I am already a New York State certified Social Studies teacher, so i'm sure one of us would be able to get a job initially when we make the move.
What i do plan on doing, when i get enough places to check out before we commit to an apartment somewhere, is flying down to Florida, so we can see the areas that we will be choosing between. But i know when we do this, it will be for about a week, which is not nearly enough time to really see if the said area is where we want to live, and that's where i was hoping to get some opinions from my fellow s2ki members.
Feel free to contribute even if you do not live near a beach, as all options will be considered, and thank you ahead of time for taking the time. My girlfriend and I are both 24 years old, and pretty settled in. We're not into the bar or club scene, more of a hiking, picnicking, going to the beach type of couple. Hopefully that could help in your descriptions. Maybe tell about the restaurants in the area, or recommend areas that you've been to.
Thanks again everyone
Unfortunately trying to find a website that offers good opinions of different areas is like trying to find a hooker without a STD in lower Manhattan. I wanted to know if everyone here could perhaps post the counties they live in and what their honest opinions are of the area.
We are hoping to go somewhere close to the beach, no preference for either the Gulf or Atlantic, but we also do not want to go somewhere that is too populated, or city-like, such as Miami, or too far inland, like Orlando. My girlfriend will be finishing her Masters in Social Work in May, and I am already a New York State certified Social Studies teacher, so i'm sure one of us would be able to get a job initially when we make the move.
What i do plan on doing, when i get enough places to check out before we commit to an apartment somewhere, is flying down to Florida, so we can see the areas that we will be choosing between. But i know when we do this, it will be for about a week, which is not nearly enough time to really see if the said area is where we want to live, and that's where i was hoping to get some opinions from my fellow s2ki members.
Feel free to contribute even if you do not live near a beach, as all options will be considered, and thank you ahead of time for taking the time. My girlfriend and I are both 24 years old, and pretty settled in. We're not into the bar or club scene, more of a hiking, picnicking, going to the beach type of couple. Hopefully that could help in your descriptions. Maybe tell about the restaurants in the area, or recommend areas that you've been to.
Thanks again everyone
01-19-2009, 11:56 AM
#2
Registered User
Hey there.
I used to live in Broward County (the Fort Lauderdale area) and have been in St. Lucie County (north of West Palm Beach) for about a year. It sounds like the St. Lucie / Martin County area might fit what you're looking for. It's still within driving distance of things if you want a night out somewhere fun (Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, etc.). It's definitely slower paced than the Broward / Miami-Dade areas and you can get more for your money up here. My main complaint is that the closest major airport is about 45 minutes away. (In Broward, I was about 10-15 minutes away from the airport, so it was super convenient.)
Are you planning on teaching down here? I don't know if FL and NY have reciprocity when it comes to teaching certificates.
If you're interested in seeing the area, let me know. There are lots of nice areas where you can avoid zero lot lines and cookie-cutter communities. That's one of my favorite parts. Plus, you're close enough to the beach that you can pop over there at any time.
I used to live in Broward County (the Fort Lauderdale area) and have been in St. Lucie County (north of West Palm Beach) for about a year. It sounds like the St. Lucie / Martin County area might fit what you're looking for. It's still within driving distance of things if you want a night out somewhere fun (Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, etc.). It's definitely slower paced than the Broward / Miami-Dade areas and you can get more for your money up here. My main complaint is that the closest major airport is about 45 minutes away. (In Broward, I was about 10-15 minutes away from the airport, so it was super convenient.)
Are you planning on teaching down here? I don't know if FL and NY have reciprocity when it comes to teaching certificates.
If you're interested in seeing the area, let me know. There are lots of nice areas where you can avoid zero lot lines and cookie-cutter communities. That's one of my favorite parts. Plus, you're close enough to the beach that you can pop over there at any time.
01-19-2009, 11:59 AM
#3
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you are going to get replies for all areas of the state.
are you looking for small town or medium town?
do you want a medium town that feels larger than it is
give us a much more defined list of what you are wanting out of the city you choose and we can help narrow it down for you.
I can be totally unbiased and suggest a city other than my beloved Clearwater if your criteria meets my knowledge of another city or area. I have lived ALL over this state.
let us know what you are wanting (be as specific as you can be)
are you looking for small town or medium town?
do you want a medium town that feels larger than it is
give us a much more defined list of what you are wanting out of the city you choose and we can help narrow it down for you.
I can be totally unbiased and suggest a city other than my beloved Clearwater if your criteria meets my knowledge of another city or area. I have lived ALL over this state.
let us know what you are wanting (be as specific as you can be)
01-19-2009, 12:07 PM
#4
Registered User
The bradenton Sarasota area is coastal not too big but still close enough to tampa area for the city feel. My wife is a teache in the Manatee county school system, she could help answer questions on employment.
Let us know what we can help you with.
"a hooker without a STD in lower Manhattan."
Let us know what we can help you with.
"a hooker without a STD in lower Manhattan."
01-19-2009, 12:38 PM
#5
Thread Starter
Thanks everyone
Yeah i do plan on teaching in Florida, and i am not currently sure of what the teaching requirements are for Florida, but from what i've heard, if you have NY certification, you are usually in the clear in most of the country since there is so much criteria to make certification up here.
I don't really have a preference, i guess medium sized towns would be preferred over small rural towns. I am used to living in the suburbs outside of NYC, and really like that type of area. For now it will be mostly apartment searching, but may ultimately end up in a housing purchase if we are completely satisfied living there. I would like to not be limited to just a few restaurants, and maybe a movie theater or two, bowling alleys, etc. for entertainment. I would like an area with a low crime rate. Maybe an area with quite a bit of water activity, such as boating or watersports.
Captainbk, thank you for the offer, i am sure i will have to ask you and your wife for employement information down the road.
Yeah i do plan on teaching in Florida, and i am not currently sure of what the teaching requirements are for Florida, but from what i've heard, if you have NY certification, you are usually in the clear in most of the country since there is so much criteria to make certification up here.
I don't really have a preference, i guess medium sized towns would be preferred over small rural towns. I am used to living in the suburbs outside of NYC, and really like that type of area. For now it will be mostly apartment searching, but may ultimately end up in a housing purchase if we are completely satisfied living there. I would like to not be limited to just a few restaurants, and maybe a movie theater or two, bowling alleys, etc. for entertainment. I would like an area with a low crime rate. Maybe an area with quite a bit of water activity, such as boating or watersports.
Captainbk, thank you for the offer, i am sure i will have to ask you and your wife for employement information down the road.
01-19-2009, 12:51 PM
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I am a lawyer who lives in the Orlando area and happen to represent Orange County Public Schools which is one of my largest single clients.
Be very careful about the job market for teachers. Florida has never in my opinion made public education as high priority public policy--the lip service of state and local politicans notwithstanding. Moreover, Florida overall has an unemployment rate slightly higher than the national average because the state has been particularly hard hit by mortgage foreclosures. Ad valorem tax revenues, a major source of funding for education, are therefore also down throughout the state.
The state is experiencing a $2.5 billion shortfall which the legislature has addressed by cutting budgets. One of the largest single hits is in educational funding. To deal with this and with reduced ad valorem tax revenues, OCPS for instance is going to put some of its senior staff on four day work weeks and is already cutting none essential staff positions. The Superintendent waived his contractual raise and several thousand dollars in performance bonuses, and most of the the District's legal counsel have agreed to reduce their hourly rates by 15 percent to help deal with the unprecedented financial shortfall. And OCPS is actually in better shape fiscally than other districts. I work with a lot of other school districts, and most are really hurting compared to central Florida districts.
In addition, the state as a whole is experiencing a slowdown in the rate of population increase. Pinellas County, where PrimoGen lives, has even experienced a net population drop as have some portions of South Florida. Orange County anticipates a net reduction in student populations as unemployment rates increase. Most school districts are curtailing new hires and trying to tide over the economic slow down.
It might be better to buy an extra sweater and stay in New York for the time being until the situation here stablizes.
By the way, how does your girl friend feel about your trolling lower Manhattan looking for hookers?
Be very careful about the job market for teachers. Florida has never in my opinion made public education as high priority public policy--the lip service of state and local politicans notwithstanding. Moreover, Florida overall has an unemployment rate slightly higher than the national average because the state has been particularly hard hit by mortgage foreclosures. Ad valorem tax revenues, a major source of funding for education, are therefore also down throughout the state.
The state is experiencing a $2.5 billion shortfall which the legislature has addressed by cutting budgets. One of the largest single hits is in educational funding. To deal with this and with reduced ad valorem tax revenues, OCPS for instance is going to put some of its senior staff on four day work weeks and is already cutting none essential staff positions. The Superintendent waived his contractual raise and several thousand dollars in performance bonuses, and most of the the District's legal counsel have agreed to reduce their hourly rates by 15 percent to help deal with the unprecedented financial shortfall. And OCPS is actually in better shape fiscally than other districts. I work with a lot of other school districts, and most are really hurting compared to central Florida districts.
In addition, the state as a whole is experiencing a slowdown in the rate of population increase. Pinellas County, where PrimoGen lives, has even experienced a net population drop as have some portions of South Florida. Orange County anticipates a net reduction in student populations as unemployment rates increase. Most school districts are curtailing new hires and trying to tide over the economic slow down.
It might be better to buy an extra sweater and stay in New York for the time being until the situation here stablizes.
By the way, how does your girl friend feel about your trolling lower Manhattan looking for hookers?
01-19-2009, 01:01 PM
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I live in Lehigh Acres which has it's good and bad just liek any area. Homes right now in my area are stupid cheap and we're no more than 2.5 hours from anything worth seeing. We're about 45 minutes from the beach and 10 minutes or less from the interstate. It's a growing community that hit a spurt right before the market dumped. Our zip is 33936 or 33972 if you want to search.
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01-19-2009, 01:11 PM
#8
Originally Posted by triman54' date='Jan 19 2009, 04:51 PM
The state is experiencing a $2.5 billion shortfall which the legislature has addressed by cutting budgets. One of the largest single hits is in educational funding. To deal with this and with reduced ad valorem tax revenues, OCPS for instance is going to put some of its senior staff on four day work weeks and is already cutting none essential staff positions. The Superintendent waived his contractual raise and several thousand dollars in performance bonuses, and most of the the District's legal counsel have agreed to reduce their hourly rates by 15 percent to help deal with the unprecedented financial shortfall. And OCPS is actually in better shape fiscally than other districts. I work with a lot of other school districts, and most are really hurting compared to central Florida districts.
on this. Crist has called for a $100million cut in the education budget as of Jan 5, 2009. With about 3,950 schools in the state of Florida, that works out to about $25,500 per school that each school won't receive. Even if Crist increases the cuts to $500 million (1/5 of the $2.5billion dollar deficit), that raises it to a little over $125,000 per school.$125,000 is equal to 1 janitor, 1 assistant to the assistant principal and 1 cafeteria lunch worker.
01-19-2009, 01:12 PM
#9
I've lived here in Ocala (Marion County) for all of my life. It isn't a big city ... but, has grown substantially in the last 10 years.
The primary road splitting Ocala is Silver Springs Blvd. which is also SR40. Taking SR40 east (70 miles/85 minutes) will literally dead-end in the Atlantic Ocean at Ormond Beach (just north of Daytona). Taking Interstate 75 (via the Florida Turnpike) south will get you in Orlando in just over an hour. If you stay on I-75 it will take you to Tampa/Clearwater in just under 2 hours. Going North on I-75 will bring you to Gainesville (University of Florida Gators) in about 40 minutes. Taking US Hwy 301 north will take you to Jacksonville in just under 2 hours.
Ocala is in a fairly central part of North Florida which makes it nice when wanting to 'get away' for a day.
The biggest growth this area has seen is in retirement communities like On Top of the World and the Villages of Lady Lake. Both are extremely well maintained and are practically self-contained communities with an amazing assortment of social entertainment available to the general public.
Ocala has been making efforts to keep those communities growing but not within the traditional 'historic' downtown Ocala area.
Here are a few resources:
Ocala / Marion County
Ocala Chamber of Commerce
Wiki Ocala
Ocala.org
The primary road splitting Ocala is Silver Springs Blvd. which is also SR40. Taking SR40 east (70 miles/85 minutes) will literally dead-end in the Atlantic Ocean at Ormond Beach (just north of Daytona). Taking Interstate 75 (via the Florida Turnpike) south will get you in Orlando in just over an hour. If you stay on I-75 it will take you to Tampa/Clearwater in just under 2 hours. Going North on I-75 will bring you to Gainesville (University of Florida Gators) in about 40 minutes. Taking US Hwy 301 north will take you to Jacksonville in just under 2 hours.
Ocala is in a fairly central part of North Florida which makes it nice when wanting to 'get away' for a day.
The biggest growth this area has seen is in retirement communities like On Top of the World and the Villages of Lady Lake. Both are extremely well maintained and are practically self-contained communities with an amazing assortment of social entertainment available to the general public.
Ocala has been making efforts to keep those communities growing but not within the traditional 'historic' downtown Ocala area.
Here are a few resources:
Ocala / Marion County
Ocala Chamber of Commerce
Wiki Ocala
Ocala.org
01-19-2009, 02:06 PM
#10
Thread Starter
Awesome, thanks for the information everyone, i'm gonna email this info to my girlfriend right now.
As far as moving, in won't be until after November of this year that we are moving, because thats when her current lease ends, which will be a great amount of time for me to save money for the event that it takes the both of us to find jobs in our respective fields.
As far as moving, in won't be until after November of this year that we are moving, because thats when her current lease ends, which will be a great amount of time for me to save money for the event that it takes the both of us to find jobs in our respective fields.