keys

Hi Everyone,
Can you please confirm from your personal opinion and experience, which is the best place to stay and live between California and Florida for a family with three children of 8years 10years and 13years, so good school is important to us, but also with a finance professional background who has worked within the banking and finance industry. Everybody’s opinion and contribution is highly appreciated. Which of these two states is more relevant to us and has the edge for a family with children and a lower crime level.
Thanks in advance

cowtowntaff

I personally think it is very important to visit anywhere you intend to immigrate in person so I would try and go to the USA for a couple of weeks and check out both states. You are talking quite big areas here so I would narrow things down to cities, not states as well.

From my personal experience of LA and Miami, I would say that California is a bit better to live in with better professional prospects, but costs and taxes are higher.

scrubbedexpat099

To be honest not sure if I would want to live in either. Given the choice CA.

Mummy in the foothills

Me too.
For Finance I might choose San Francisco, it seems pretty family friendly we like to spend a couple of days there at a time and love the shopping

Sally Redux

Each state is quite large, so generalisations about crime and schools are rather difficult to make.

md95065

Very true, but when people ask extremely general questions like this about where would be a "good place to live" along with virtually no relevant information on which to base a recommendation I usually suggest Woodside, CA

fatbrit

Looking at previous posts: prospective E2 visa, three children (eldest is 8 years from aging out), and the USA consists solely of CA or FL. You really couldn't make this stuff up.

Sally Redux

Sounds hideous

Sally Redux

There is a Disney in France now.

ian-mstm

I recommend Kentucky - it meets all of your criteria and is nicely located between California and Florida.

Ian

crg

Florida is pretty much one big trailer park, so start there. If you don't like it there you can just uproot the pink flamingo lawn ornament, throw it in the ole double wide and tow it all to California.

Poppy girl

Personally I would say Florida, only because its a darn sight closer to Blighty if you need to go back for what ever reasons...plus 3 kids airfares travel time etc

keys

Do you all Californians sound and respond like these, then it will be a scary place live, l better head to Florida fast...

Noorah101

If I had my 'druthers, I'd choose California over Florida. CA is less humid, in my opinion. I can't stand humidity.

Rene

md95065

OK - let me try to be more helpful.

For me the answer was and still is California - I have visited Florida a number of times and could not possibly live there - the climate (heat and humidity) alone rules it out for me.

If you hope to get a good education for your children from the public school system then it will depend on exactly where you live - right down to which side of the street - because the schools are all zoned geographically - as such Florida vs California doesn't tell you anything useful. If you are looking at private schools then I am sure that you can find good ones in both places, but they will be expensive.

Downsides to California include, but are not limited to, high state income tax, excessive regulation of businesses at all levels and the fact that the state is pretty much bankrupt. Not sure that Florida is really that much better though ...