Jacksonville area? Other FL locations?

[hatrik8]

I'm thinking of possibly trying to relocate to Florida. Just kind of throwing the idea around. My company has locations in Jacksonville, Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando so if the opportunity to relocate presented itself I might do it. I always thought I would never want to live in FL, but I'm realizing even though I love CT, the grass is greener elsewhere. FL has a lower cost of living and I would love to be somewhere it doesn't snow much or at all.

My goals would be:
A decent area with good schools for my three kids.
Not too far from the beach, less than an hour drive (prefer the Atlantic side).


Anyone of you FL people have any input good or bad about Florida?

 

[sy605]

Re: Jacksonville area? Other FL locations?

Jacksonville rocks.

All my AF friends live there. I hate leaving when I visit.

 

[alwayswantedone]

Re: Jacksonville area? Other FL locations?

I live in Jacksonville and I like it so far. There are areas to avoid like everywhere. I do not know all the good and bad places but if you decide to move to Jacksonville feel free to message me and I will give you whatever input I can to try and help.

 

[SYO237]

Re: Jacksonville area? Other FL locations?

Im in Lake Mary, suburb of Orlando. Was born and have grown up in this area. 45 minute drive to the beach for me (work there). It's Seminole County and we have some of the best rated schools in all of the surrounding counties for Elementary through High School. Got plenty of good colleges as well.

Ormond and going south down to Edgewater is all beach town stuff. Some areas are super nice, others are the stereotypical run down looking beach worn places.

For the most part, Seminole, Orange and Volusia counties are all decent areas as far as Central FL (Orlando) goes. There are small areas to steer clear, so if you got to seriously looking feel free to ask.

Only thing I can say about Jax is that you would be about 2 hours south of Hood. Could go either way as a good or bad thing.


Just realize that you may be leaving snow behind, but you now deal with severe thunder/lightning storms almost every afternoon in the summer time that come up quickly but move through fast, hurricane season, and sinkholes. Cold here is dipping into the 40s-50s. We do occasionally see freezing temps, but it would probably be laughable for you.

 

[sytyguy]

Re: Jacksonville area? Other FL locations?

Only thing I can say about Jax is that you would be about 2 hours south of Hood. Could go either way as a good or bad thing.

I'll call it a good thing. Jax is basically South GA, so if you make the move, clue me in. We'll all meet up and stare at Adam until it gets awkward.

 

[KyS10]

Re: Jacksonville area? Other FL locations?

I've never lived in Jacksonville, but I did drive out that way pretty regularly when I lived in the Destin area. I liked living in northern Florida a lot. I'll hopefully be moving back there within the next year or two.

 

[Sy1566]

Re: Jacksonville area? Other FL locations?

I like South FL. It's close to the water -beach, fishing, free diving (lobstering, spear fishing) -team sports throughout the year, concerts, bars, clubs, restaurants, you name it, and great weather specially September to April. But there are shitty areas that you'll stay clear of, hurricaine season every year, and it's expensive if you try keeping up with folks that have more on credit than they can afford. Having said that, I also like the Tampa and Jacksonville areas.

 

[hatrik8]

I don't mind the snow when I get the chance to snowboard or even enjoy the cold, but winter ends up being too long. I'd much rather prefer to have more warm weather and mainly a lower cost of living. If I had the option I'd just live in a shack on the beach. I'd even *gasp* get rid of my syclone for that opportunity.

My parents live in town now and my dad is about to retire. I think a lot of what I do might depend on what my parents do. I'm close with my parents and an only child. I can't just move far away and leave them behind. Ideally they would retire to FL and then I'd move near them with the wife and kids. My dad loves to fish and boat (so do I) so a longer summer season would be nice.


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[hatrik8]

Re: Jacksonville area? Other FL locations?

Still contemplating the idea of moving. We are going to Disney again in April and August this year so after that we will have experienced all four seasons. We may explore Orlando and Cocoa beach to get more of an idea of the area. Ideally, if I was in the Orlando area I would live to the south or east of Orlando.

 

[sycho]

Re: Jacksonville area? Other FL locations?

This is funny because the wife and i were talking about moving to FL also.

 

[randy merritt]

Re: Jacksonville area? Other FL locations?

Come on down, the weather is great. I live just south of Tallahassee in a coastal county.

 

[blue83z]

Re: Jacksonville area? Other FL locations?

I'll be in central Florida a lot this year myself, opening an office in lakeland.