moving to florida
 

Im In need of sum info ..Im considering moving to Ocala Florida nxt yr when my oldest daughter graduates high school, however my problem is Ive been working for the state of Delaware for 13yrs, im wondering if my state time (yrs with the state ) will transfer with me or if I will have to start all over . Im a CNA and I already found out that will definitely transfer without me having to retest all over. Please help me out, ive googled it and looked all over for info on state time going with me.

>>im wondering if my state time (yrs with the state ) will transfer with me or if I will have to start all over <<

If you are asking if you civil service time in Delaware will count towards retirement or something in FL . . . I seriously doubt it.

I live in a different state but -- I was a manager in State Government and while work experience from other states could help qualify for positions, it did NOT count toward service time.

No it won't and you will have to start over. You can't even transfer state to Federal years. You can buy back military time for Federal but not state. 13 years is a good start towards retirement. I have five relatives with Delaware retirements. Wages are much lower in Fl also.

Have you looked carefully at the job market in FL and the salaries/benefits. (I know in many area the support for pubic healthcare is extremely minimal.)

Also you said you eldest daughter is graduating high school. What about your other kid(s)? Fl has very uneven school ratings and you need to choose very carefully where you live to get decent schools.

There are many factors to consider when moving to Florida including the various costs of living. Despite the fact that Florida has no state income or inheritance taxes, it does have sales tax (unlike where you currently reside). The costs of things such as hazard and auto insurance are almost definitely higher than where you live (unless, perhaps you live somewhere in New Castle County) and auto registration rates may also be higher.

Some things will vary depending on where in Florida you decide to live including the quality of the schools (just as it is IN NEW YORK).

As noted above, pubic healthcare is important. Definitely take that into consideration before moving anywhere.

You are looking at maybe 24,000 a year tops. You have benefits now with Delaware and vacation, sick leave, insurance and retirement. Fl is a right to work state and it sucks for many. If you could get into the VA it would be best but don't see many State jobs for CNA. The VA homes here are state but Daytona Beach would be the closest for you in Ocala. The VA hospitals are in Orlando and Gainesville but that would be federal.

The OP said she wants to move when her daughter graduates from HS--suggesting that schools are not an issue.

It's difficult to comment on the wisdom of the plan without knowing why Ocala is an option on the first place.

<< im wondering if my state time (yrs with the state ) will transfer with me or if I will have to start all over>>

If you're asking about retirement benefits and eligibility, there is no way that will transfer. These systems are geared (badly, considering the deficits and unfunded liabilities) toward approximating payments in and benefits out based on contributions you have made toward that system and your contributions to Delaware do nothing for Florida.

Stick it out in Delaware until you qualify for your pension. Seven years seems endless now but will fly by.

Use your vacation time to visit Florida. Visit the Ocala-Gainesville area in February and see if it is warm enough. Visit again in August and see what the weather is like. Look at job listings, housing, taxes, food costs.

These visits will help the time pass, and you will learn a lot. Ask a real estate agent to show you what you can rent for what you are likely to make. Do the same, preferably with a sales agent, to look at what you can afford to buy. Ocala is generally a pretty wealthy place. Would you be happier in a more diverse college town like Gainesville? How would you fly back to Delaware in an emergency? Probably Orlando to Phila or Washington. How hard is it to drive to Orlando? How do your family get there to visit?

If you work for the state of Delaware, why not ask your employer? There is obviously someone at work who's job it is to know this. Call HR. However, there's no way it'll transfer...

Also, why Ocala? It's not a particularly interesting place. I've got family there and it's full of strip malls and not much else.

Ocala is a nice place to raise horses, though.

Used to be. More cookie cutter developments, fewer horse farms these days.

Hello everyone and thank u for giving me advice. I saw a few questions that I will answer, im considering Ocala Fl because my brother and his wife moved there 3yrs ago also my sister n her husband along with his family moved there last yr, there all employed by Wal-Mart or Home Depot for years and those companies transferred them along with there time. I do also have an 8yr old so the school system is important as well. I had no clue about a lot of the things that were told to me on here, thank u everyone for ur input. Also when and if I decide to go that will put me at 15yrs with the state so maybe I can hold out 5 more.

>>employed by Wal-Mart or Home Depot for years and those companies transferred them along with there time. <<

Of course your relatives get credit for past years working for those companies. They are national firms that transferred them - they are still employed by the same companies. If they quit and went to work for different companies - they'd have to start over.

Delaware State Government doesn't have a branch in Florida you can transfer to - TOTALLY different situation.

Now, IF you worked for the Feds instead of State Gov't, your time in service would transfer. But you must have known that . . .

Careful chellepie, talking about what WalMart did for your family members. There are posters here who will tell you that WalMart treats its employees like dirt. And they don't need any first hand reports claiming they don't!

I was born and raised in Delaware and the schools there are so much better than the ones here in Fl. What county do you live in? I would just visit till you get that 20 year retirement. You will appreciate having it in your old age! Maybe try and get your LPN or RN in the next five years to increase your job chances here. The CNA pay is horrible in Fl.

If you already have family there - why ask questions here?

Surely they can give you all the local assistance and advice you need.

As for comparing working for a state government to a national corporation - I find it very hard to believe that an adult can be so naive as not to see the obvious differences.

Separately I am assuming that "C" means "Certified". Does that certification transfer to FL or will you have to be certified all over again? FL is one of the places that does not have reciprocity in a lot of licensures (a pharmacist friend of mine found that) since they want to prevent a massive influx of semi-retireds from taking jobs from locals.

>>>>If you already have family there - why ask questions here?<<

You think her family -- working for HD and WM -- conversant in reciprocity rules of civil service? Mine isn't.

"If you already have family there - why ask questions here?"

Let's trash people for asking about France if they have friends who have gone. Let's trash people asking for advice they could find on the internet. If someone says, what do you think of -----", let's reply, "don't you have any friends you can ask?"

Nytraveler, do you enjoy being rude, or does it bother you as much as the rest of us?

Sorry -

asking strangers about living in a specific town in FL when you already have multiple relatives who live there does strike me as odd. Perhaps for additional info about something in particular - but not from ground zero.

As locals, they know what real estate, utilities and insurances cost and what the schools are like. They might not know about her job situation - but they know a lot about daily living conditions.

Where did she ask about Ocala? She responded to a question about why she was moving to Ocala.

vincenzo, the OP returned about midway in this thread to bring up some of those other issues. But oddly it was only to explain why she was curious about the area -- and that's where she mentioned having an 8 year old. Perhaps none of the relatives have children, so it's possible they are not the best people to ask about schools here. But that midway post was a gracious thank you for the replies given here. As a result she gets slammed for "bothering" us -- what a rude reception to a thank you.

Amen. And even if she did ask, is it so outlandish that she might ask to supplement her family's info with more info from a forum where others might be familiar with the area? Are we to assume her family is the encyclopedia on Ocala? (And actually, I don't think she asked about the school system. Others mentioned it first, and she said it was "important.")

I will never understand people's need to react that way.

A quick google search showed that FL does indeed allow licensing of CNAs in FL based on reciprocity (having a license in good standing in another state). However, there is an official process involved.

I would suggest you go to the website of the Florida Board of Nursing to get details of the application process, documents necessary and fees involved.

http://floridasnursing.gov/licensing...t-reciprocity/

nytraveler, she already knew that. she was unclear about this.

< I'm wondering if my state time (yrs with the state ) will transfer with me or if I will have to start all over >

I had to move to Fl because of a job transfer and was in culture shock for about a year. I have grown accustomed to the state now and after 26 years I could not go back so guess it doesn't hurt to be open to new options. We do have cheap heating bills.

Cheap heating offset by AC electric? ;o)

The heat vs AC issue is hotly debated by a surprising number of people I've met here in Florida. I chalk it up to schadenfreude: live here long enough and you develop a taste for looking down your nose at fools who live in cold climates ;-)

Here's what they say: in, say, Chicago, you have heat going all winter long, full bore, every day, as well as AC in the summer; in Florida (most parts), you have AC going for most of the year, but a few months (maybe only two) that require neither heat nor AC, or heat for a few hours at night for a week or so. Thus, Florida wins, which is a theme among Floridians.

I don't think I could live in a cold climate again, but as flpab says, it was a culture shock at first.

Our electric bill runs around 150.00 all year long. We live in a big house but well insulated.
I had 700.00 gas bills for my mums house this winter in De and we had the heat set at 55 to 60 to keep pipes from freezing and for the showings. Most months it ran around 400 but then she had electric also.