Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Are you really fixed on Florida? Georgia and the Carolinas (for example) have many of the advantages of Florida, without the disadvantages.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Exactly! Which is why I would advise anyone who wants to live in Florida, to come and visit in summer and rent a house away from the beach to get a real insight lol

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

St. John's County has a very good reputation for schools. we've visited recently to tour the high school and homes in the area. It's not a touristy area. Nice beaches (not overdeveloped), lovely homes and good schools.

We may end up in the Clearwater area (because of my husband's work) and right now Palm Harbor is the only community I can find that has good high schools.

Like some others have said, it depends on what you like. We wanted to be close to the beach, with good schools and low crime. Check out Julington Creek Plantation if you don't mind suburban subdivisons.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Hi Catrina and welcome to BE.

I'm sorry you feel you've been given a hard time. In fairness to our members we get dozens of posts similar to yours every week. Most dream of moving to the land of The Mouse. Unfortunately for most a dream is all it will ever be. Many of our members have been answering such questions for years...for some over a decade. So please forgive us if before giving advice about moving to Florida...we wish to establish what visa you will have.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

I wondered. But I didn't want to get too specific for fear of using the 'v' word and causing disruption...

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

27-37C? Pfft, that's our night time temperature here. We are predicted a high of 118F on Saturday (48C). They say it's a dry heat but at a certain point it doesn't matter.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Yeah, well that is one of several reasons why I live where I do, not Arizona, or for that matter, Florida. :rolleyes:

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

I wouldn't say that is any excuse for rudeness. If people are fed up then I would suggest keep scrolling, as their comments are entirely useless and a waste of everybody's time.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

I am sorry you see it that way, but IMO that was "getting straight to the point", or perhaps "a little blunt". I have seen "rude" before, :o and that wasn't it.

But if you're looking for "Ra ra ra! Life here is the greatest, come on over! :thumbsup:" then you're looking in the wrong place. We are all relatively down to earth, and recognize life in the US for what it is - it is "good" for some of us, and "great" for a few, but even though I am among the happiest and most pro-America members of BE, I would say that there are significant downsides to life in America.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

I know Florida pretty well. I'm moving to Tampa (assuming visa goes ok) in a few weeks.
We are going to Tampa because that's where our friends and family are, but I do think it's a great city. Lots to do - not far to the beach and an hour and half to Orlando. I like that Tampa does have some actual culture... The schools in Tampa are mixed, but South Tampa has excellent schools. The house prices are very steep though. Saint Pete is great (nearby), but the middle and high school are pretty bad. Palm Harbour is nice too.
Saint Augustine also had good schools - it's a cute town with lovely beaches, but is a little quiet for me. Stuart is a great little town - really nice community, ok schools and water everywhere. I'd live there if I could persuade our friends to go there (but they'd never leave Tampa!)
As for the heat - it is crazy hot in the summer months, but we've always just worked around it, getting out early before it gets too hot, spending time in the water and hiding indoors in the afternoons.
I like that people are pretty laid back and don't take themselves too seriously.

Re: Where to love in Florida?
 

Well the quality of advice you get will be based on the quality of info you product.

Good luck.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

To ask questions about moving to the US if you don't have a cat in hells chance of getting a visa is also a waste of everyone's time. As I have tried to explain...that happens time and time again with alarming regularity. That's the reason our members ask about the visa.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

I spent a lot of time in New Jersey before I moved. I soon found out that visiting and living in the US are two entirely different animals.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Hear, hear . 👍🏼

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Safety Harbor.
Posted in a good thread about my area.
posted this

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Why Florida? Lots of other places to consider that may be a better fit.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

We've recently relocated to North Port in Sarasota County. Nice place, with decent property prices, good schools ( by all accounts), not far to some of the best gulf beaches, far enough inland to be safe from hurricanes, although the odd twister touches down now and again. Close to Venice, Ft Myers, great dining and good weather.
Saying that Summer is very hot, until you get used to it. Winter is beautiful until you realize that the population doubles with 'northern' folk escaping the snow.
We've lived in New York, Chicago and now Florida. Each has it's own attractions.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

If you have kids then start by finding an area with good schools.

Have you looked at greatschools.org?

Also various newspapers rank US schools eg
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/florida

Might help you find some areas to focus on. Best in mind that charter and magnet schools might be tough to get into.

Re: Where to love in Florida?
 

The visa to some extent dictates where to live, that's the point though. If you're thinking E-2 and you want to open a Krispy Kreme, well you don't want to do it in Miami where there are fast food franchises on every street corner.

If you're coming on L-1 you're not going to set up your new office in Ocala even though it's a nice place to live, it's not a good location.

Anyway having lived in Florida for many years my view is the further north the better because living in Florida is like living in a massive cul-de-sac, anytime you want to go anywhere you either have to fly or drive a silly distance. Also, southern Florida is starting to have serious problems with water levels.

So I would say anywhere from greater Orlando northward excluding Jacksonville. Also depends on whether you want urban or rural. Also depends on whether you're okay having a zillion tourists around you at any given moment.

If you want a really nice place to live, imo the coast south of Tallahassee is the nicest because it's the only nice place that hasn't been ruined by development and/or tourists.

The east coast gets hurricanes quite often which are no fun, the west coast does too but they tend to not be as powerful.

Yeah places like Naples are nice but they're full of endless condos filled with retirees. Most of Florida frankly is full of endless condos filled with retirees which is why healthcare is such big business in Florida. Find the right balance. Miami as far as I'm concerned was ruined in the last real estate boom, too many high rise condos now. Broward is also very crowded. Get into Palm Beach and it's not quite as bad.

For example I really like St. Augustine but it is a hell of a tourist trap. Tampa is better than Jacksonville but it does have some seriously crappy bits. I wouldn't mind living in St. Pete though.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

37? That's rare in Florida, it's subtropical, so it's warm but it's not scorching hot like Phoenix. I never used to find the temperature to be that big of a problem, everywhere has AC.

The weather problems are the rain and the humidity. And the lightning. My car was struck by lightning while I was sitting in it, I had just got into it and shut the door, that was a close call.

In Phoenix though you can't escape the heat in summer, you need to go to California or a get a condo in Flagstaff. No AC can keep on top of that heat, even if you get your house insulated really well, you have to go out sometime.

And I agree about the difference in visiting and living there.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Canadians used to piss me off when I lived in Florida, always getting lost, got rear-ended by someone from Québec once.

Now I am one, ha. :lol:

Re: Where to love in Florida?
 

The clue is in post #4 - location is irrelevant when it comes to work in this instance. Besides, if requests for additional info had been couched in those pleasant terms I doubt there'd have been an issue ;)

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

I wasn't necessarily referring to you, as you have given some useful information and given us things to think about, thankyou

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Thank you very much for the info, schools are very important and need to do a lot of research on this!

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Thankyou everybody. There is a lot of information for us to think about and to start researching before we come over, and have more of an idea of where to look as it is such a big place, there are some very helpful points :)

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Yeah - I should have mentioned that I have lived in Florida before. So I'm actually going through this visa process for the second time. I lived there for a few years but gave my green card back and retuned to the Uk. So I am very much going with my eyes wide open.
The reality of being there is obviously different than vacations. But I lived in Cornwall for a while - and same could be said for that. People would move from
London - and then quickly realise there were no jobs, the Cornish are a tricky bunch (I'm Cornish so I can say that!) and there are terrible levels of deprivation...
(Actually a lot like Florida!)

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Cornish and moving to Florida. Snap!

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

I thought we were not to discuss that or how.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Hmmm... depends on daily way of life, I think. My husband used to think this in AZ, this notion of 'meh, it's not so bad, you just go from your AC house to your AC car to your AC office'.

And then he was laid off, and spent last summer out of work. He soon discovered that my experience of AZ summers was VASTLY different to his, and that the heat becomes very, very old after weeks and months of doing gardening and house maintenance when it's already in the 90s at 5am, trying to stop the groceries melting in the car boot, trying to stop bored kids losing their minds during summer break. It was interestingly illuminating for him.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Awesome! Where in Florida will you be?

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Again, why Florida? If you don't have to be somewhere specific in Florida for work, you probably don't have to be in Florida at all. Speaking purely for myself, I'd probably choose at least 40 other states and a couple of territories before I chose Florida. If Florida is really your thing, tell us why so that those who know the place can give you better advice.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

She already said, ".... and within maybe 1.5 hours of Orlando." ;)

How about Golden Oak? :unsure:

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

Well we live in the north east on the St. Johns River. We like it lots.
Sure it’s hot and humid but you get used to it. Being on the river, the bugs are a problem at times and so are the gators; one 11 footer took our neighbors 85lb Rottweiler cross recently.
Bass fishing is great. Beaches are great.
Cops are plentiful and very friendly if that appeals.
The roads are pretty clear and well maintained; it does get a bit crazy near some larger towns like Jacksonville though.
Having said our FL praises, we are selling-up to buy a RV to go walkabout around the mid-west.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

oh god .. dumb as rocks

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

I looked at some of those lovely homes at Golden Oak and honestly, they're all more home than I need now. Two powder rooms? A "wine room?" Still, you get more for your $2,000,000 than you would in New York City....

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

The AVERAGE condo in Manhattan is going for over $2million these days. :blink:

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

I think I'd tire of Orlando sooner than I'd tire of NYC.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

I don't think I could live in Manhattan. Even living 45 minutes north of GCC for eight months just about drove me bonkers.

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

This is not being disrespectful to the OP but I too wonder, why Florida.

You have to remember OP, we see hundreds of posts every year of people wanting to move to Florida just because of the beaches, the water and the weather. Most of them because they have vacationed there and imagine an iydilic life away from drab cold UK!

You may have chosen Florida for totally different reasons but just for a minute step back and think.

We have been here for 27 years. Here is Texas, we chose Texas because of family reasons. There was no job to dictate to us where we were going. Real life was certainly different from the vacation we had spent in Texas. School systems were hard to figure out, although we were lucky to be in a very good school district. And we had to work, so lots of fun adventures we had dreamed about before our move didn't happen for a long while.

Then life got easier and we thought about moving somewhere other than Texas because, as much as I like it, it is not always the best place to be! But then you realise life has taken over and you can't just up and move especially when it involves kids and school, work etc..

What I'm saying and what Adobe Pinon is saying is..look at the big picture. You obviously have choices because of your husbands business so don't settle for the something just because on the surface it sounds like the Magical Kingdom, keep an open mind.

(And to all the Floridian's on here, I am just trying to make a point. I'm sure most of do not regret your choice. Just as I don't regret mine, I just wish I had seen more of the other states before we settled!)

Re: Where to live in Florida?
 

As I said in the third sentence of the post you quoted, Arizona is a different kettle of fish. It gets way hotter there than in Florida. I can't ever remember it being 37 when I lived in Florida. And it gets far hotter than that in Phoenix.

In Florida it gets hot, but it's more humid and it rains a lot so that combined with AC and it's not that bad really. Phoenix though, well it's 45 today and it's not even summer.