petitefrancaise

citydata.com for your city is usually a great place to go and ask about cost of living stuff.

Honestly, when moving to the US, air/con costs was not a dealbreaker...... and still isn't.

Healthcare costs could be. The consequences of being ill or needing hospital treatment can be disastrous if the budget is tight.

College costs for the kids needs consideration and investigation. Also what qualifications will be accepted for the course the child has in mind. Look at community college perhaps for the first 1 or 2 years of a degree program and then transfer in to the local state college. That can save lots of money.

I have school age/college age kids. I wouldn't pay out for the USA college unless I had to and I knew they were staying for work afterwards. My own son will be in Europe studying and honestly, it's ok being so far away. Well so far, so good.

Look at the small business advice from your city - it is different here and I am sure you will be taking advice from an accountant about your business plan.

Nutmegger

Except ensure that trees are not too close to the house where they can trap humidity and cause rot, mildew, and mustiness in siding and roofs -- to say nothing of clogging gutters and dumping branches on the roof/patio/deck during a storm!

scrubbedexpat099

Whats AC? I pay about 13c KWH nd that is expensive for CO, we do have lots of coal fortunately.

Pulaski

It can't be long before the snow starts again chez Boiler.

scrubbedexpat099

I have just thrown a few logs in the Stove but snow in August!, September earliest.

jellybean_17

OP - it might seem like people are trying to pee on your bonfire and being negative here, but seriously take it all in because every single one of them are genuinely being helpful and true in what they say We took the E2 route (5 year visa permitted), have sufficient funds within that to support us while we try to make a go of things. However we are also under no illusion of remaining here indefinitely on that basis, nor are we sure we even want to. I was going to write a longer reply but there's nothing I can say that is any different to what has been said already. We are currently in Florida but moving states very soon.

Jerseygirl

Yup that is Ian and yes he is almost always correct. If you want excellent information you need to cut through his manner and take onboard his advice. I stand by what I said...his loss of input to this or any immigration thread is a negative...not a positive.

I would also add...if you are offended by comments in this thread...perhaps you should think again before embarking on the immigration process.

zzrmark

My turn to wade in, sorry for the wall of text!

We keep our A/C at 76F during the day and usually 75, mebbe 74 at night with the bedroom ceiling fans going. That's between 23.3C and 24.5C, so somewhat uncomfortable for the average Brit but it kept last month's leccy bill down to $180.

I see that 'property maintenance' was mentioned as a possible employment route. I came from the UK with nearly 30 years in the boat building and construction industries, the last twenty of which as a self employed man. I had hoped to set up on my own doing something in the construction industry, possibly with a bent towards fitting kitchens.
I am a seasoned traveller and have lived and worked in France in the past but nothing could prepare me for the way stuff works (or more correctly, doesn't!) in the US.
Firstly, I was surprised to find that kitchen cabinets were still being made in a way that the UK and Europe abandoned back in the '70's. Roofing is done differently, insulation... lol, blockwork... lol etc, etc.
People still use cheques to pay their contractors which might be a minor niggle but is a proper PITA.
If you want to run a bona fide company you will be expected to be licensed. My boss is a licensed general contractor and a lot of the requirements are for hurricane regulations, believe me when I say that the average Brit has not got a clue what that entails!!!
Not to say that training is impossible but first you need to learn the basics in building terms. Framing for studwork, drywalling never plastering in Florida, thermal windows for double glazed windows, saw-saw for a recipro(cating) saw (WTF???), casing for mouldings, baseboard for skirting and so the list goes on.

I'm not sure what 'property maintenance' means to you, the OP, but if you mean 'painter and decorator' then, as a previous poster mentioned, you will want to learn Spanish (actually that's not Spanish as a European speaks it, a bit like American English is different from English) because most manual contracting work is carried out by Hispanics who work all hours for peanuts. I have found that my poor Euro-Spanish has not been needed so unless you plan on grunting alongside a crew it isn't overly necessary.

Working outside in high humidity temps over 35C for six months of the year is not as easy as most people think. I've been doing it for 18 months now and it's quite draining! We had a native Floridian lad in his mid-twenties start with us recently, he's grown up in this area and managed just three 8 hour days before the heat did him in and he couldn't carry on. I had 9 months of subcutaneous heat rash last year which was definitely not fun and, touchwood, has not returned this year.

On the plus side I have a wicked tan (above the sock line, below the shorts line, arms and neck up!), seven days a year paid vacation time is a bit of a downer mind. Florida employers are not required to offer insurance if they employ fewer than 50 employees so I have jumped onto my wife's employer program which costs me nearly 200 bucks a fortnight, plus $30 bucks every time I visit a doc with zero dental or optical coverage and probably sweet FA for a lot of other stuff. Oh, and zero coverage outside the State of Florida.

HTH

carcajou

I am not sure what the hurricane building codes are like in Orlando, as hurricanes weaken dramatically and quickly once they reach land. Orlando does get strong remnants of hurricanes however. Orlando contractors called out to work coastal communities would need a very strong knowledge of hurricane standards as I believe (could be wrong) the code is the structures must be able to withstand a Category 3 (If Orlando itself ever got Category 3 effects - that would have to be the strongest hurricane in history). If the contractor has illegally cut corners and builds out of sandpaper and the building collapses - like, infamously, at Country Walk in 1992 - the contractor will be chased down legally.

OP also needs to keep in mind that in the US, Florida is ground zero for construction boom and bust cycles. Booms are great for those in the industry - money money money! But the busts are horrific and heaps go under and lose everything. One just needs to drive up A1A on Miami Beach to see empty condo building after empty condo building as a reminder of that. That, of course, impacts "property managers" regardless of how one wants to define that.

JOK1

Sorry not looking to get into any argument, fit or debate on line, I came help to ask for advice good or bad but I was not expecting to be offended by someone questioning my morals without the decent thing of asking, as stated I was selling the business not winding it up.

Yes, I would love anyones input Ian included but please remember it was him who said he was out about something he had not even asked about, a simple question like "Whats your plans for your current business" and an answer he would perhaps have liked would have been given.

Please remember I did not ask him to leave he said he was out for something I had never said I was doing, I have a lot of respect for my employee's and every single one of them knows what I am looking at doing, I do not keep anything that may change their life in ownership of the business away from them, as an employer I am open to my employees.

Yes, I hope Ian comes back, re-read this thread and see he jumped way too fast to come to any conclusion he did and offers more helpful advice but they are nothing I can do to help the situation, it was his call.

To others, thank you for your help.

JOK1

thank you.

Twinkle0927

Maybe it's me but it's sounding more and more like a mid-life crisis. You have been running a successful business in the U.K. for over 30 years in a good, solid industry. Not a fly-by-night fashion or fad industry. Now you want to sell up, buy a business you know nothing about in an area you are fast realizing you know nothing about just because you've had some great holidays there. I hope you have s good contingency plan. Sports bars? Are you thinking of aiming it towards the Brit tourists and showing premier league matches or will it be for locals? If so, do you understand all the rules of baseball, basketball, American football? Do you know when the seasons start and end? Do you know all the terminology? Team nicknames? Names of the top players? You're going to be up against competition from other sports bars where the owners live and breathe American sports and have done for many years.

I know you've said you're selling the U.K. business as a going concern and that you care about what happens to the employees but most of us have been through that abs we know the reality is different. When I was married to my ex-husband the company he worked for was sold 3 times in 5 years. Things got worse every time so on the third round he bailed out. In such situations things very rarely improve for the existing employees. Just my 2 cents on that.

JOK1

OK thanks, can ensure you this is not a mid life, last minute idea ect ect, We have even looked into moving over the last 10 years but for reasons of the young children decided it was not in their best interest to up and leave, now they are at the age they are it will be less disruptive for everyone and are planning this will take 18 to 24 months.

scrubbedexpat099

Makes more sense as in a couple of years they will be out on their own and certainly with the E2 takes one of the issues, what happens when they hit 21, away.

Nutmegger

But your older children are at or approaching university age, so isn't thinking of moving them now pretty disruptive, especially as they will age out of the US at 21? The separation from older children is one of the most difficult parts of opting for an E-2 existence.