Re: Florida Fact finding
 

I had a floor, insulation, dimmable chandeliers, and heating (ceiling fans were an option but it was December) in our wedding marquee in the UK. And that was 15 years ago!

No idea what kind of 'marquee' you peeps have been in in the UK but they sound more like tents to me. :lol:

Re: Florida Fact finding
 

Haha, marquees equivalent to glorified tents is all I've put up or been in.

Re: Florida Fact finding
 

Ours wasn't even that posh - I've been in ones with glass walkways between 'rooms', ones built hovering over ponds or swimming pools, another one built around a magnolia tree in full flower (ours did have a 10ft Xmas tree in but not quite as swish as that!) and ones with full kitchens.

We had my fathers 70th party last year in our garden, the marquee took 2 days to build.

I don't think marquees with all mod cons are exclusive to the US somehow. :lol:

Re: Florida Fact finding
 

The first time I asked if an event would take place in a "marquee" here, they though I was talking about the facade in front of a movie theatre! It was not a well-known term! ;)

Re: Florida Fact finding
 

⬆️ Yes christmasoompa indeed!
Our company has been going for over 40 years and is certainly not some pop up pegged in tent. Thanks for you comments but when it comes to the marquee business we have a greater understanding thank you we were just looking at all possibilities. Thank you for all you feedback it has made for an interesting read but if anyone could give some advice on the areas I asked about It would be greatly appreciated x

Re: Florida Fact finding
 

I spent many of my growing-up years in Florida and did my Bachelor's Degree there.

The first thing about Florida is that it is extremely different from one part to the next. You can talk to 10 Floridians from 10 different areas, and get the idea that none of them are from the same state. I think you will find West Palm Beach and, say, Sebastian to be quite different. Palm Beach County itself is quite diverse - from the billionaires on Palm Beach itself, to the citrus farmers in the western part of the county, to the rougher areas in West Palm Beach (as I am sure you have found in your research - Palm Beach and West Palm Beach are different). PBC has some of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in America - and also some of the most poverty-stricken.

Second, Florida changes very, very fast - when I was growing up Palm Beach County was viewed locally as a sparsely populated extension of Miami, and Orlando as the border between South Florida and the Confederacy. Recently though millennials began getting priced out of the metro areas and shunned the outer suburbs of places like Miami and Tampa - and so areas like Vero, Flagler County etc that would not have been considered as relocation options 20 years ago, got second looks and are now growing at decent clips. "God's Waiting Room" shifted from Miami Beach to Ft Myers/Naples in the process as well (Miami Beach only became MIAMI BEACH about 20 years ago - before that it was the near-exclusive domain of the elderly and drug dealers).

As for the other things in your post - the public high schools can be excellent and you should have no problems with that. The state is under-served for excellent universities however. Lack of competition means that locals tend to wildly overrate the University of Florida. Nearer to Palm Beach, Florida Atlantic University is in Boca Raton and Florida International in Miami, but are what are called a "commuter schools" - they have a reputation for serving non-traditional students (ie, older students, those living at home, career people etc). The University of Miami is a small, expensive (though with some scholarships for locals) traditional-style private university that historically draws students from wealthy Northeastern families (the Miami area has much, much stronger links with the Northeast than the South, and used to be called 'the 6th borough').

Climate, very mild in winter, summer hot and rainy. There is a concept called the "four o'clock thunderstorm" and you can set your watch to it.

As for home business in something like pool cleaning and lawn care - Southern Florida has a widespread black market economy for these things with lots of unlicensed and unregistered contractors working through word-of-mouth, and competition will be intense. I don't believe you need a license for some of those jobs. Be careful you don't spend a small fortune on a business only to be undercut by someone local doing the job at half the price in your targeted neighbourhoods. If you are going to be a business owner - knowledge of Spanish is advised (at least for your customer-facing employees) and in some parts of Palm Beach County may be essential.

Good luck.

Re: Florida Fact finding
 

Will ask ... will send a PM when I have the information.

Re: Florida Fact finding
 

Not sure if I've read that right. You want to work the summer and rest in the winter?
Snow birds are the life blood of many of the metropolitan areas and much of the State is very quiet in the summer months. You also suffer the previously mentioned 1/2 hour daily summer downpours and lightning storms along with stiflingly hot and humid temperatures.

Re: Florida Fact finding
 

I took it that they wanted to spread the hours throughout the year. I guess some business work that way in Florida, but anything tourist related would not.

Re: Florida Fact finding
 

I can do storm shutters all year round, fully licensed two man outfit. Up to 50 mile radius from Sarasota/Bradenton area. Drop me a PM with phone number if you want me to ask the boss to give you a quote. :thumbsup:

Re: Florida Fact finding
 

My bad, I misread that sentence.

Re: Florida Fact finding
 

I think the best way to relate Florida weather to the U.K. (Which I know sounds ridiculous), is to view the summer here like the winter in the U.K.
Seriously most people hide indoors from may to September. And most locals avoid planning events in the summer, due to bugs / heat / rain...

Re: Florida Fact finding
 

Yes you read that wrong. In the U.K. where we are currently, we mainly work April-Oct we are wanting a business that functions all year round 🙂

Re: Florida Fact finding
 

Good to know thank you 😊