Exploring the Atlantic Coast - Possibly Relocating Advice
 

Hey,

So I live in Michigan - I'm a 32 year old female. I'm single and a professional. I work in a hospital - thinking of relocating to Florida but I don't know where. I am thinking the Atlantic coast below the frost line (because I'm in love with the sea breeze and I want to grow fruit trees - yes I'm a dreamer - probably a stupid thought)... so possibly Port St. Lucie and below....

Problem is I don't know anyone who lives in Florida to give me advice and my co-workers hate Florida - so no help there. I have never been to Florida either so I have no idea if Florida is a good fit. There's what you see on TV and reality.

I know I can look at crime rates (but in all honestly, I'm not sure how I'll be able to interpret it and accurately. I've been told Florida's crime rate is inflated but then again I wouldn't know). I can also look at school districts - but again no children. There's a matter of taxes... that can get confusing and I need to first zoom in on a location before I consider this.

I'm hoping to get 4 days of from work in October... My thoughts are, land in Miami, rent a car and drive. But it seems so goal un-oriented. Any advice on people who may have done this before? How should I go on about this to get a real feel if Florida will work for me or not? Any places to visit/things to do/cities to drive through etc etc?

Any advice is appreciated!

For someone from Michigan a major problem will be handling the heat and humidity of our Florida Summers. When you visit in October and you find the weather too hot and humid, remember to double the uncomfortable feeling for the really hot months, April to September. Any particular reason for thinking of the Atlantic coast?
If you haven't visited Florida before, 4 days isn't going to be nearly enough for you to make an informed decision.
If you work in the medical environment in the hospital, rather than administrative, you shouldn't have a problem finding a job. Maybe you should check the classifieds of the online newspapers for the major Florida cities to see what's being offered in the way of jobs. Here's the one for the Tampa area: http://www.tampabay.com/

A bit unusual -- someone registers and asks a question and a few minutes later someone else registers to post a response . . .

Probably just a coincidence and these are legit (?) -- but in any case there are several Florida experts on here and they will have lots of advice for you. However -- 4 days will not give you ANY idea what Florida is like or where you might want to live.


here are two recent threads about moving to FL

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...a-597787-2.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ement-home.cfm

>>. But it seems so goal un-oriented. <<

I agree.

What are you even talking about, janisj? Bazal registered a while ago. You know, no one needs your permission to post whatever they want to post here.

Anyway, growing fruit trees in Florida is a time-honored tradition, citrus, that is, and not so much on the coast as in the center of the state. So an ocean breeze plus an orchard of some sort are, as far as I know, mutually exclusive. Now, if you're talking about just having a garden with a tree or two, no problem!

You must know that 4 days isn't enough, but it's a start, so why not look at job listings online and choose a city to fly into which seems best for your job hunt? Maybe throw in some online real estate research as well so you can get a sense of cost of living. Then spend your 4 days exploring that city and the area immediately around it.

And plan on doing that a few times if you can possibly manage it.

It will still be plenty hot in Florida in October. That said, every place has bad weather by someone's definition; only you know if you're ready to trade cold winters for heat and humidity.

oh jeeze . . . I'm sorry. Total brain freeze :"> Was reading a different thread by a newcomer and then opened yours and saw the two posts back to back and . . .

Anyway, what I posted was correct -- there is no way you can get any idea re where to move, or what the job situation is, or how awful the summers can be, or how nice the winters . . . on a 4 day trip in October.

Agree that it makes little sense to head down without picking out a place that shows available jobs and also has housing that can be paid for by the salaries offered.

Don;t know the details in Michigan, but in FL the Medicare coverage is not great based on MDs I have spoken with there - including forcing use of outdated meds because they don;t want to pay for coverage of much better newer meds (for instance, treating asthma patients with theophylline).

If this type of care is something that would bother you, you might wan to take a look at the overall health system there.

She's never been to Florida--wants to get below the frost line--and loves sea breezes. She is young. Has a pretty good profession for being readily employed. Already worried about crime.
I wonder if she has considered the Atlantic coast from say the Virginia line down--great weather and a lot of sea breezes.
I wonder if she is interested in demographics like young people her age.
She's going to Miami? and not considering the upper panhandle--or the gulf coast.
I suggest a career counselor. And as said, 4 days won't do it.

Nowhere does she say that she thinks 4 days will "do it"--4 days is what she can get off work this October.

I realize that retired people think in terms of weeks and months, not days, of vacation, but the OP is not retired.

Florida in summer can be da UP in winter.

Both are extreme, not just in temperature but in the blessed endlessness of it all.

That said, my mother (lived in Jackson, Port Huron, etc before graduating from Big Blue) loved every single minute she ever spent in Florida as a young professional and later as a housewife.

Go in October. If you like it, go back in July. In the meantime, look at the job situation in your specialty. Be ready to jump.

I suggest the OP actually ask those co-workers WHY they "cannot stand" Florida and evaluate <B>those</B> responses.

Assuming that somebody "is going to have trouble" with heat, humidity seems like a stretch but we here IN Florida hear this all the time and just keep laughing.

But Dukey.... you don't have a "hair problem." Some of us girls find FL humidity the kiss of death for decent hair. -:)

It makes your hair look like it was done with yeast.

To the OP--really, you need to visit with a purpose ANY PLACE you might consider relocating to. There are a lot of ways to search on the internet--in particular for a job that might interest you. Read the newspapers from some places--maybe the ones that Ack suggested. See what that feels like.
Look 'em up and see what kind of parks and recreation they have
ETC ETC
Dukey LOVES Florida--maybe you will and maybe you won't.

<we here IN Florida hear this all the time and just keep laughing.>

I agree whole-heartedly. And I'm going to assume all this talk about hair is a joke!