Hello, I'm considering taking a job in Florida - it is a sales job and they would allow me to choose which metro area I wanted to be near. (Miami, Tampa/St. Pete, Ft. Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Tallahassee)

I'm moving from Boston. I love the city but I'm recently married and the cost of a started home is prohibitavely expensive. I'm not FROM Boston so I leave behind no family.

Where would you live if you could live near any metro area in Florida? I like to be near a relatively large or medium sized city. I like the outdoors, so being at the beach, or on the water will be important to me. I'd prefer to keep a boat, but this is certainly not a requirement. Where would you recommend that I live? We're sub 30 years old and would want to buy a smallish house/condo in an upscale area.
Thanks!

I live in Orlando but that's not one of your choices. Your age group would be perfect for Orlando - not many retirees.

Remember that to live on the beach is expensive. Most communities are inland and a drive to the beach. I think alot of people considering moving there think the whole state is one big beach. I love to visit but to live there is quite another story in my opinion.

I vote Jacksonville. The St Johns river is beautiful. Not far from the coast. Major sports center. Somewhat of a climate, i.e. not hot year round.

I agree the Jax area is a good place to look. They have the river, beach, sports, culture & a relatively lively younger set. Ponte Vedra is nice near the beach but there are several places that might suit your commute needs.

I agree, it's definetly Jacksonville for my vote. I live in West Palm and people who live in Miami and Fort Lauderdale have been moving up here! Tampa's to smoggy. Jacksonville is near the beaches (beautiful) and St. Augustine. Not too far from Orlando. I'd say Jacksonville - hands down!

I live in Tampa and have to vote for Jacksonville. I don't know what that last post means about Tampa being too smoggy (news to me), but one of the reasons I would vote for Jax is its location. It has the beaches, history (St. Augustine), big city with small towns around, but the biggest plus to me is that you can drive very quickly to get to other states. In Tampa, and the other southern cities, it takes 5-6 hours to just drive out of Florida. I think it would be great to live near the border of other states to make traveling easier. Just my thoughts.

Thanks for all the responses. Around Boston we'd be required to spend about $500K to get a crappy starter home in a nice town within 10 miles of Boston.

Would I be able to get a nice place (yeah, close to the beach or marina!) in Florida, either Gulf or Atlantic side, for less than that? Location is much more important to us than size of the house and since my job is working out of a home office I dont' need to be in a downtown area rather I need to be - let's say about 10-15 miles from the epicenter of any major metro area.

I've lived in Tampa for over 25 yrs. I love it. Smoggy? What the heck? You can definitely find a great place in Tampa for less than $500k.

If you want to be really close to the beach then you are looking at St. Pete or Clearwater in this area. I really prefer the Gulf over the Atlantic.


Is there any possibility to visit some of the cities? That would probably help you.

Happy searching!

If you would like to among people with a northeast mentality, you might consider Ft. Lauderdale where plenty of us are. You can buy a nice starter house, gated community, etc. in a suburb 30 minutes from downtown for $300K. A more upscale home or condo can easily be had for under $500k.

Bostonian you will be comfortable in Florida. The more southern you go in the state, the more Yankee it gets. I suggest Miami, you will find lots of your kind there.

I live in West Palm Beach, and am a 30 year old professional. I would suggest Ft. Lauderdale. If the beach is important, the clear blue waters of the south-eastern coast are far superior to the cloudy waters of the west coast and the not-as-clear waters of Jax. You won't find any scuba diving in Jax or Tampa for a reason.

As other posters have established, Tallahassee is out of the question.

As for the need to be on the water, I agree. What is the purpose of moving to Florida if you are going to live inland?!?! ...and remember, mosquitos don't blow in off ther ocean. In all of South Florida, condos can be had on the water for under your price range.

If you don't have to commute to the downtown on a regular basis, you can be more flexible in moving to the north of Ft. Lauderdale (less crowded), but if you do need to commute make an effort to live near where you have to travel to, as the highways are extremely unpredictable here.

I also agree that if you can take a trip to visit, you should. The cultures of these locales are very different. For info on real estate prices, check out Realtor.com - you can search by map. Also, many of the county property appraisers have public records online now, so you can check out how much the seller paid for it.

Good luck!

I have vacationed in Ft. Lauderdale and I love it there. I find most people who live there hate it. The Beach as above poster states, is clear, not cloudy like the Gulf side. I was very dissapointed in the gulf side. When I was there in Summer it felt like the place was dead compared to Ft. Lauderdale. Very quiet. Different likes and dislikes for all folks I guess. I could not comment on all areas I only know I love the ocean, and in the summer time you can sit on the beach and enjoy the Ocean. The gulf side was far to humid in comparison. Just my limited observation. There was a cool breeze off the Ocean in FLL. Good luck.

anywhere except Flarida. Its too backward.

Sarasota or Siesta Key. Fabulous beach-Crescent Beach on Siesta Key, rated one of the best in the world. Lots of culture, upscale shopping, not as crazy as the bigger cities, wonderful restaurants, gorgeous sunsets, high prices but you can afford it. It is urban in feel, lots of upper class retirees and lots of young urban professionals. Several well-known authors and celebrities hibernate here. Airport in Sarasota is not a gut wrenching drive. And you can get to Tampa in about an hour and a half. Pricey condos on beach or look at smaller homes on the causeway or near the infamous Tamiami Trail that runs the length of the state. So many new developments with beautiful homes it will be hard to choose.

Jax - Good location, good airport, close to many good travel destininations.

Tallahasee is the nicest town in Florida, especially the north side of town. Lots of trees, 2 national universities, educated population, culture, shopping, cheap housing prices and a polite southern culture.

My parents lived in Melbourne for years. I love this part of FL and would tell you to stay out of South Fl and that includes FT. Lauderdale

Tampa St. Pete or Jaxs would be best and house prices cannot compare. For our $300,000 dump starters up here you get a mansion in FL.

You need to seriously consider Tallahassee. It benefits culturally from the colleges as well as the fact that it is the state capital. It is a lovely town with lots of trees and rolling hills. Traffic is a little bit of a problem., but the town offers a lot and is family friendly. It is also small enough to get your arms around yet large enough for the conveniences. I don't live ther but go there often.

Thanks for all of the responses. I suppose that I'm leaning towards the Miami-Lauderdale-Palm Beach end of things, but you never know.

The way it works is this: I am taking a job with a big multinational company. They're training a bunch of people at once, and only after you're trained to you compete against the other trainees for your final location. I'll have a lot of choice, but I could easily not get my #1 pick of relocation.

Anyway, it's going to be nearly impossible to visit before moving there as a rusult of how my relocation assignment will work.

I will have lots of time after moving to my new territory to live in corporate housing while we choose a house to buy, or rent. We don't need to be in the middle of the action, traffic will not be an issue for us, so I'm really hoping to be able to buy a small house or condo (2 bedroom min) for around $350-400k. Sounds like I'll have a lot to look forward to.

As far as being a Yank surrounded by Southerners I'm not too concerned. I have found that Bostonians aren't too friendly to outsiders and I've still managed to make a wide range of friends.