So how's the work/economy in Florida??

[MommaMia]

Sorry but I have to douse the fire on living in Florida..I have been here for 20 years and the "honeymoon" has worn off.  

I have lived in North Florida for most of 20 years and visited many other areas.  Yes, nice place to visit, but do you want to live here?  

It's not vacation land every day.  The cost of living is climbing every day, go up a few miles to GA and the gas is 10-15 cents cheaper.  Homes are even more expensive (I work in real estate and I know, Maybe not New England prices)

The schools here in Jacksonville suck big time!!!  I know I had to put my son in private school to get him out of them.

Going to have to jump in here  Brenda..... Yes, some school districts are really struggling.  Duval (which is where I beleive you are) is one of the strugglers.  But St. John's county is thriving.
another helpfull school link...    http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/

This state caters to tourist, if your not one of them, you must work and get out of their way.  There is no day at the beach for the working folk.  I wouldn't lump Jacksonville in the same category as say Orlando or Miami.... both places I would never live!

In the summer get ready for an afternoon thunderstorm, yes it happens most every day during the summer, here and gone in 30-45 minutes but it can ruin some camping equipment and any outdoor activities.  Along with the humidity it brings can make an ordinary day miserable.  Connecticut summers are extrememly humid... and the mosquitoes in CT were far worse tahn we have experienced here!

In North Fl we DO get temps in the 20-30s and have even had snow.  I have had to wear a winter jacket a few times this year already and had to cover plants or bring them inside as well as run the heat and the fireplace.  It also seems to rain on weekends only.Yes, but the temps typically dip down that low only a few times during the winter season, and only staying there for a few hours at a time.  The next day the temps generally clinb to a comfy 60-65.

Most jobs will pay you $7-$12 an hour here if your lucky.  Its hard to raise a family here and most people are not friendly.  (You need to know someone to get in just about anywhere or they are bringing someone they know from up north or wherever).Not from what I have experienced!

Try going to a resturant on Friday or Saturday evening the wait could be up to over an hour.  The grocery stores lack on fresh produce except the green house kind.  Most of Florida's produce is shipped up north or wherever.

Sorry if I sound bitter, maybe it's because I am.  I was raised in the mountains of central Pennsylvania.  I miss it up there, I miss my family, I miss my friends and this place can not replace it.


THE GRASS IS NOT GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE!


Florida is a nice place to visit, but I dream of getting out of here someday.  Paridise is not what it seems sometimes.

Brenda....

I really am surprised how bitter you sound.  When I was getting ready to move here, you never gave me the negative review that you just gave here!  As a matter of fact you were quite encouraging!

Since we have been here, I have only had favorable experiences.  The second day here, I went to pick up a $35 chinese takeout order and forgot my wallet.  The lady told me to take the food and pay her next time.

I don't know what supermarket you are shopping at, but our Publix is the best g-store I have ever been in.  Wonderful produce... like none we ever got in CT!  And on top of it, they bring your groceries to your car and Load It for you!  And they refuse tips.!!!

My husband is well paid for his job, making more $ than he was in CT (certainly more than $7-12 an hour)and with the cost of living being so much lower than CT, we are quite comfortable!!

I don't know what has brought about such negativity, but maybe you ARE ready for a change.  Just as we were sick of the past 20 years in CT!!!  Duval County is not where families with kids should be looking to live.

We love only needing a heavy sweater on a few chilly mornings.  I love gardening all year round. I love no snowy shoes tracking mud in the house.  I LOVE the summer afternoon Thunderstorms!!!  Besides... those are gone in 20 mins and pretty soon all the kids are back out playing.

[MommaMia]

I suggest you get that camper cleaned off and head down here for a week to see what it's really like!!  We came here on a whim when a headhunter offered to fly us all down for an interview.  Hubby wasn't even looking for a new job.  The minute we got here, we decided this was the place for us.  NO regrets!

BTW... Hubby works and we DO go to the beach... all the time.  It's only 15 mins away and our new favorite pasttime is hunting for sharks teeth!  So addicting!

[NightOwl]

Camperoo, Cindy is right--give it a try, look around, see what you might be able to work out.

And I agree with Cindy's remarks about  Publix!  They are fantastic stores--they stock a huge selection of  great stuff,including produce,  and have very courteous  employees.

Brenda, you are right about gas prices in Ga being lower, but about 90% of the public school system here  SUCKS, so it isnt paradise, either.   (A lot of our friends and relatives send their kids to private schools.)

[B-flat]

Perhaps you would like a good place which is booming in construction both in the larger cities and the small towns.  You might like south central NC in the Pinehurst area.  There's plenty of jobs in constructions and for others the hospital and country club each have more than 1000 employees.  The whole county is around 100,000 people so it is still small town, USA and a premiere retirement resort with a 5 star 4 diamond hotel, many services, restaurants of many kinds, cultural events, community college, public and private schools, super Walmart, plenty of chain stores, nice grocery stores, farmer's market.  It also has a horse country of big horse farms, rural aspects with different types of farms, a few campgrounds, industry and plenty of friendliness.  It's a place where people speak to you on the street, the cost of living and housing is low, taxes are kept low, and life in general is as fast or slow as you want it to be but it is usually slow and relaxes.  If you like doing things outdoors nearly year round, then this is the places to be.  We generally only have about 3 weeks of cold weather which would require a coat;other times in winter a sweater might be needed.  In summer there's a bit of humidity in late August into Sept but that's what air conditioning is used for.  I can't think of a better place to live and it's been home for over 36 years.  I came from an adjoining county after High School and have lived in the area since that time.  In the Raleigh and Cary area to the north of here there's plenty of construction going on but the cost of living and housing there is much more. Quite a few of the working people live in my area and commute to their jobs which is about an hour away.

[Camperroo]

It's funny after thinking about all this, I got an email from a friend's sister whom I had written about a month ago and she just emailed me back today to let me know my former childhood friend is married and living in Sarasota!!  It's a sign I tell you!!!

You know today was one of those days that was nice, in the high 20's, after the recent below zero spell, today felt like Spring.  The kids had friends over to skate out back (DH builds a rink every winter) but for me the grown up, it's just cold and ugly out.  The slush turned all to ice so alot of you former New Englanders knows what that means...bumpy, lumpy ice everwhere that makes it hard to walk without twisting an ankle!!   From DH's call from work today, sounds like he was a bit fed up with something on the job site..then I get an email finding out my childhood friend I've been trying to find for the last few years lives down in Sarasota!!  I can't wait to call her tonight.  I'll have to look up my map as I have no idea where Sarasota is as opposed to the Jacksonville area.   Meanwhile in my little nook of the country I spoke with one of the selectmen (happens to be my daughter's friend's dad) when he came to pick her up today, he told me about this building and that building being knocked down to make room for more townhomes and condos that are exploding in this town and being all schmooshed together and will be selling in the high 400's to 600's.  They are wrecking this community with all this tearing down of older homes and putting up a slew of condos in their stead....talk about crowded.

We're really thinking long and hard about what will be right for us to do...as it's the middle of the school year we'd have to wait till June to move anywhere at this point.   I told my DH I'm going to fly him down for a long weekend to check it out!!  DD wants to go with him (I don't like to fly at all).   I still can't help but feel that our pace of life would be a bit slower and less frantic if we relocated to FL.  We love being outdoors in good weather and of course camping and the beach. It just seems to be a natural fit...it's just the doing it part that's hard!!!!  

Cindy, now here's an important question for DS...he is into playing hockey big time here, plays all year round on a travel team.  Is there a youth hockey league in your area??  Couldn't find any info on the web.  I'll search again though.  

MommaMia your encouragement and positive attitude are just so great!!
You should be a motivational speaker...you'd be awesome!!

[MommaMia]

Cindy, now here's an important question for DS...he is into playing hockey big time here, plays all year round on a travel team.  Is there a youth hockey league in your area??  Couldn't find any info on the web.  I'll search again though.  

MommaMia your encouragement and positive attitude are just so great!!
You should be a motivational speaker...you'd be awesome!!

Hey there!  

Here are a couple of info places to get you started....

//www.nfha.com   Is a link with info on the youth hockey leagues in the area.  They offer leagues for players 3-17years old.


This next link is a press release from the Jacksonville Barracudas... the minor league hockey team in Jax.
http://www.jacksonvillebarracudas.com/press_releases/press.asp?comm=1&PressID=91

And the Barracudas official website...
http://www.jacksonvillebarracudas.com/

There is no Major League hockey team in Jacksonville.

In addition to ice hockey there are several roller/inline hockey teams.  Hopefully one of these numbers can be of more help.  
Jacksonville Hockey Association, Jacksonville. Bob Sabourin, (904) 399-3223

Jacksonville High School Hockey, Jacksonville. Dena Pantazi, (904) 262-9212, dena@pantazi.net

Jacksonville Jokers, Skate Station, Jacksonville. Terrence Kelly, (904) 384-0163, tjk01@bellsouth.net

I have 2 girls, 8 and 6 and one boy, only 3 so I don't know much about the "boy sports stuff" yet.  I will ask tomorrow morning at the bus stop.  Someone will surely be able to point us in the right direction!

If you should decide to come down, I'd be glad to help you find your way around.  Not only are there some pretty awesome "metro" type downtown activites like the MOSH museum and strolling the board walk at the Landing (especially pretty and romantic at night)and riding the water taxi or going for a dinner cruise, but I can show you some off the beaten path places.  A particular favorite of mine is to head to Shand's fishing pier on the St. John's river.  It's not the typical touristy fishing pier.  On sunny afternoons, it's a favorite hang out for a dozen or so old southern folk whiling away the hours catching their dinner (mullet mostly)on raw bamboo poles!  They say it's best pan fried, served with cornbread!

The San Marco area of Jax has some great boutiques for shopping.   A drive across the St. John's river amd North on St. John's Avenue with take you for a ride past some gorgeous old mansions and find you in a quaint little shopping area the reminds me so much of Martha's Vineyard.  There, you'll find a bistro type restaurant called Biscotti's.  They have the most decadent deserts you'll ever eat!

I know it sounds like I am gushing over our new home, but honestly I really love it here.  The way of life compared to the north is so much more at ease.  I find that I am so much more relaxed.  Northern winters left me tense.  I hate truding through snow and shuffling along on that crunchy ice.  I hate being  all bundled up with bulky coats over itchy sweaters, stupid wool hats always mashing my hair onto my head!  Tomorrow I will be spending a couple hours getting my new bouganvilleas in the ground out front. Also my roses are just finishing a bloom again and I need to prune those down to start a new bloom.  I think my mom in CT was shoveling snow today. Hehehe!

The worst thing that I have found about the weather here is that we wear our shorts and t-shirts so much that they are wearing out!  Up north, the shorts and t's would last a couple seasons, but since we wear them year round down here, they are going to have to be replaced more frequently.  Tough one huh?

We moved here in August and yes, the summer was hot!   But as you know, CT and MA gets their share of sweltering heat in the summers.  I didn't find the heat here to be unbearable.  Between the pool (community aquatic center last year and our newly installed inground) and the gorgeous beach just 15 mins away, we had no trouble keeping cool.

It's true that there are some areas in Jax that you just don't want to visit, but honestly most every big city has to deal with areas like that.  And for such a big city, it has such an intimate feel to me.

One thing that was pointed out to me is how Jacksonville is also referred to as the "City of Seven Bridges"  for the 7 bridges leading into the downtown area.  One of the prettiest sights that I have ever seen is those bridges all light up at night.  It's breathtaking!

Allright... The neighbor across the street is away and I need to go let her dog out.  The only payment I asked for is that I can swipe some fresh oranges off the tree in her backyard. Yum! So I'm heading out!

[mowalker]

I need to say this to defend myself.  

No  I am not homesick..I have made my home here and have been here 20 years as of june 2004.  I have a good family life here my oldest son lives just around the corner and my youngest son is still at home going to private school.  I do miss my mother and siblings in PA, as well as the mountains in central PA.  I dont miss shoveling snow or driving in it.

I never invited or intended anyone to believe that Northern Florida is the place to live or move to to relocate their family.  I was just warning those of you who may have considered it.  Cindy may have a nice life here she may be one of the lucky ones).  I did too for the first few months.   But it wore off and it wore off fast.  

We are taxed beyond belief here.  My SIL husbands' brother was once Mayor of Jacksonville.   He saw this City to do so much more than what has happened and still gets calls today for help from City executives.  So I do have an inside view on things, not just hearsay.

I will dismiss comments made about my post as differneces of opinion and leave it as that.

I will turn on the furnace and throw some logs on the fire it's getting to 34 degrees here tonight.  oh and turn on the mattress pad.  oh that is so good :J

Be careful what you wish for!

Love always


Brenda

[MommaMia]

I need to say this to defend myself.  

No  I am not homesick..I have made my home here and have been here 20 years as of june 2004.  I have a good family life here my oldest son lives just around the corner and my youngest son is still at home going to private school.  I do miss my mother and siblings in PA, as well as the mountains in central PA.  I dont miss shoveling snow or driving in it.


Brenda

Hey Brenda~  Glad to see you jumping back in....Please, don't feel like you have to defend yourself!  If you feel that's the case, that must mean you feel like you are being attacked and I am sure that's not what I or anyone else intended!

I think this quote of yours is what made the rest of us think that you were homesick... " Sorry if I sound bitter, maybe it's because I am. I was raised in the mountains of central Pennsylvania. I miss it up there, I miss my family, I miss my friends and this place can not replace it."


The tone of your first post was very off and I think once again it may be that lack of clarity that computers offer.  

I didn't mean to imply that you "invited or intended" for our family to move here.  We made that choice for ourselves and are quite happy we did.  But you never gave me the impression that it was a bad idea to move to Jacksonville.  You certainly are entitled to your opinion, but we are thrilled with our community and so are all the other families that I have spoken with within our neighborhood.  At least once a week someone at the bus stop will jokingly ask if any of us want to go back north and we all give an emphatic "NO WAY!"
[/COLOR]

Anyway....
I don't know what things were like as far as taxes and such in PA 20 years ago, or in MA for you Camperoo...but in our area of CT we were being raked through the coals.  Things here are much, much better.  

While we are in Jacksonville, it's good to keep in mind that Jacksonville is absolutely enormous.  Normally, a city/town is located within a county along with several other cities/towns being in that same county.  Here, Jacksonville takes up 5 differnt counties!  Just to give you an idea of size...In CT you could drive from the northern border of the state to the soutern border in under an hour and a half.  In Jacksonville, you can drive for an hour straight and still be in the same city!  So demographics can vary greatly from one area of Jacksonville to another.  So comparing where Brenda lives (neighborhoods, schools, stores, etc.) to our area may be like comparing apples to oranges.

In choosing where to live it's important to keep in mind what your priorities are.  For us, since we have young school aged children, our house hunt was focused by the requirement for a good school system.  So naturally, St. John's county was our best choice.  If we were older and had no children, we could have gotten an equally nice house, for much less $ since we wouldn't have to worry about the quality of the school system in other areas of Jacksonville.

We also like being a little off the beaten path and in a much more rural area.  While we are in a community area, the Julington Creek Plantation community is surrounded by horse farms and nature preserves.   We have more elbow room down here.  But being in the most southern area of Jax, my husband has to accept that he's going to have a 35-45 minute commute.  It's worth it !

OK...Yes, Brenda, it does get chilly, even dipping down to freezing at times but it stays that way for only a few hours during the night, not for weeks on end!!! And nothing to shovel here!  The neighbors across the street have lived here since their 8 yo was born and she has never seen snow.

I should point out that another  reason we chose Jacksonville is that it DOES have a change of season... it's just winter isn't one of them!  We like that it does get cooler and we like to be able to use the fireplace.  While we do need to turn on the heat, we also had to switch the ac on last week.

I need to get the sheets off the sensitive plants outside.  Yes, we got down to chilly 34 last night but temps are going up to 51 by noon.  And they are calling that a cold spell!

[SheBantam]

I was raised in St. Pete and drove through with my brother who was training in Lakeland the same week I was in Daytona. I picked him up at the motel and we went "home". I cryed when I left and begged my boss to let me telecommute.  It had changed in the 30 years since I left (have been back a couple of times since). But our Extrememly moderately priced (caled low end of moderate) house in Delaware would by 2 to 3 houses in St. Pete.

My long term plans are that when I retire, in about 10 years or so, I want to sell our present house in DE and buy one in or around St. Pete. By that time all I will need is a 2 bedroom one.

I DO remember snow in St. Pete. I also remember ice on the palm trees (water tables are about 6' deep in most areas, and most people have wells), back in the 60's and 70's (do not know if this has changed) when there was a freeze, people would leave their sprinklers on all night and the sprinklers that move back and forth would coat the palm frons and there would be icicles for us to look at on the walt to school.

There is also another thing I remember my parents talking about. The first winter...my parents never donned a jacket (I was 6 weeks old and I am sure that they bundled me well), the second winter they could not stay warm...

[Camperroo]

Thanks for the great links!!

I would definitely love to have "cool" nights where you can have a fire and then the next day have it be in the 60,70, 80, 90's etc.  That would be ok with me!!!  We did live in CA for a few years before we came back East and I can remember waiting for the "chilliest" night possible in CA to go get our Christmas tree!!!   Would go back to CA but we could never ever afford a home in our former town, it's as expensive in CA where we lived as it is here in MA.   But what we did enjoy so much was the outdoor lifestyle, it's what we miss so much.  CA winters were pretty much like Indian summer days here in New England.  I just loved it so much.  My friend I spoke with the other night who lives in Sarasota said she was so happy she was there, it's been 4 yrs now and it affords them the lifestyle they've always wanted!   I checked the crime site though in comparison to our MA town and WOW was the crime rate high in the Sarasota area!!!   I haven't plugged in Jacksonville yet.  You are all helping with my mid life crisis I think, because both my hubby and I are ready for a change in locations as winters just aren't our thing anymore.  Though DH did promise if we go to FL to live I can come back for the summers and continue to camp up in Maine, that way I can still see my family here and by the time the end of August comes I'll be glad to get back down to FL away from them all for a little bit!!!  I love 'em but you know you can only take them in doses!!!!

[Camperroo]

Just emailed the President of the Youth Hockey League for Jacksonville!!  Hope I hear back from him soon!  Sounds like they have a growing and competitive program.

[MommaMia]

Thanks for the great links!!........................

by the time the end of August comes I'll be glad to get back down to FL !

Glad to help out with the links....  We missed the bus this am so I didn't get a chance to ask for more resources.

One thing to keep in mind if you find you are serious about a move here...  

The school year is generally August 1st until May 21st.  So If you wait until the kids are out to move down, plan on a shorter summer this year.  And if you are planning on summer vacations up north, you'll be heading back here for the end of July, not August!

[Camperroo]

Thanks for the school year info, I had no idea.  I heard back today from the JAX Storm Youth Hockey President.  What a nice guy, I only wrote him yesterday!  He told me they have a very competitive youth league but travel team really means travel team down there as they go to Miami, Orlando, etc.,though their squirt team is ranked in first place as is my son's team now!!  Though we have had to drive up to NH a few times also which is a few hours away.  Anyway...to show you what an incredibly small world we live in, he said they moved to Jacksonville 2 years ago with their children and live in Julington Creek!!!!  As a kid he grew up in in Marlboro, MA which is about 25 min. from here!!!    My DH is going to call him to talk about why he moved there from here and get his impressions on work in the area, etc, and how his kids adjusted to the whole change.  He said he too had to reassure his boys they could continue playing hockey when they moved to FL.  This is becoming quite an interesting journey for us!!