Relocating To Florida?

I like Indigo's answer. I grew up in Westchester County and then moved to Northern NJ and am now down in Tampa. If you are talking about the west coast of FL, you would prefer Tampa and St. Petersburg. There are rednecks in other, more rural areas. Sarasota has a lot of retirees and a slower pace. If you move to the Plant High School District in South Tampa, you will have decent schools and that high school sends its kids to Ivy League colleges. There are a lot of professionals living there and you can walk to stores in a lot of the neighborhoods. However, a lot of people sent their kids to Tampa Prep and Berkeley Prep, which are more competitive than Plant. They are a lot cheaper than private schools up north, but you are still paying tuition. Some people start their kids in the private schools for middle school or high school and use the local elementary schools. There are a lot of cultural activities and museums in the Tampa-St. Pete area.

There are a lot of former NYers in Tampa and St. Pete and they have more diversity and more tolerance than other areas on the west coast of Florida. We have friends who were happy in Naples and liked the schools there, but the housing is very expensive and a lot of people there are snow birds.

We miss Wa-Wa too. We do love having Busch Gardens and had annual passes and went all the time when the kids were younger. We also had annual passes to the Museum of Science and Industry. There are two universities in Tampa, which also gives it more of a cosmopolitan tone and the major airport for the west coast is in Tampa.

South Tampa is more liberal and elects a Democrat to its congressional seat. North Tampa is gerrymandered onto other more rural places and has Republican congressmen.

Carrollwood has a lot of professionals and decent elementary and middle schools and they have their own cultural center which has art and performing arts activities. There are a number of Northeastern transplants who live in the Carrollwood Village section.

It's warmer that's for sure :)

Do you have a recession proof job? I mean, like nursing or teaching or something? Because you can't just get a job "somewhere" right now - NO ONE is hiring..even giants like Disney have a hiring freeze on. I would try to find work before heading down there.

People are ok...if you're very liberal (like me) you might have a harder time fitting into a more rural area...cities like Orlando and Tampa are more mixed, but outside of them they are bible thumping conservatives. (I had no idea til I moved down what a "mega church" was or that Jesus needed A/V guys :p ) Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I've had friends leave because they felt....out of place?

If you like the beach, don't go to Orlando. It's an hour drive from either coast :p

Good schools ARE hard to find. The states k-12 system is ...well, terrible compared to where you're from. If you're looking to go to college, if you were adaquate up north, you'll be an honor student down there. The state colleges are at least nice (if not academically competetive) and if you live there long enough and become a resident, they are CHEAP! My personal preference is USF but then I'm biased as I loved Tampa and that school. :p

Nothing is 24 hour. :( And there is no Wawa... if you like yankee food (subs / hoagies, cheesesteaks, tastey cakes, not greasy chinese, fresh bread ect) it's awlful :p But the spanish food is to die for - sooo much better than up north. But I do miss 24 hour diners. Most of Fla is a chain - something...there are virtually no "mom and pop" stores or businesses...it's all Walmarts, Applebees, and Taco Bells....

I'd go down for a few weeks and try it out. Rent a car and drive around.

People here aren't any different than anywhere else. I used to live in PA, we came here for the winter and stayed, 31 years ago; because we like it. People come here from all over the US to live, and tourists from all over the world.

I live in the St. Pete/Clearwater area.

It is cooler in the summer if you live near the ocean or Gulf of Mexico.

There are plenty of all kinds of businesses, resturants, malls, and entertainment. All kinds of fast foods. Publix are the best grocery stores.

My children were grown when we came here, so I can't tell you about the schools. No state income tax. You don't have to buy clothes for all seasons.

The sun is out just about every day. The west coast beaches are beautiful, all white sand.

best place on west coast is new port richey area called trinity, very good schools and area very nice with homes and shopping.

it is about 25 miles northwest of tampa and really no need to go to tampa unless the airport or a football game.

best advice is to stay away from tampa or st. pete as school not good plus way too much traffic and crime so the suburbs are better