Thinking about moving from my hometown to florida,opinions from relocated folks?

Well I've lived in my home town for my entire life (I'm turning 25 this year.) Married, and my daughter is currently 13 months old. I really like it here, small down southern mentality. Safe. Etc. After going to Daytona Beach twice last year, and having a great bit of family (wifes) down there, I really liked it. We have since given serious consideration to relocating down there once my wife is done with her RN program. IT would be in about a year, to year and a half before the move.

Most of *MY* family is local to here, including my parents. I have one brother who moved to Fuquay-Varina,NC. I don't see him too him for obvious reasons.

I'd love some input from people who have relocated, my personal issue is I know if we chose to stay here, I will always wonder if our life would be better in Florida and if we made the wrong choice.

I also know if we DO move, I will always wonder if we should have stayed and we made the wrong choice?

I am pretty close to my parents, and I know my dad would be fairly upset about us moving ,but after talking to him he mostly would miss us and his granddaughter. I would definitely miss them.

After all my recent hardships (made other threads) my life is HOPEFULLY on the right track. I have some job perspectives and I am ready to get back on the working force after my knee surgery in September, and I've declared myself a psychology major for my associates degree that is in parttime progress at the local community college. (Transfer degree.)

Having moved a bunch of times, I vote finish your associates degree prior to the move and then go for it. It will help you find a job (in theory) at the bare minimum it will look good on a resume. Sometimes I desperately miss PA and even VA, more so than my hometown in MI or my time spent in CA, but I know that moving has been the right choices for me. There will always be times where it feels like a mistake, no matter how good it really is.

I still think of PA as home, and VA wasn't too bad, but you never know it till you leave. FL to VA isn't that long of a drive so holiday visits are not out of the question.

I appreciate your input. I'm looking into colleges down there too.

FYI-Once my wife is working as an RN, I will either quit or work VERY limited hours to become a FT student.

Curiosity:Where in Va were y'all when you lived here?

Life is an adventure...make it happen.
The wife and I have moved about 25 times in 40 years, and never regretted any of the moves.
I'd move again if I could sell the house (lousy market) and convince her to try it again.:danceban:

You'll love Florida!:31:

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Originally Posted by Ghettokracker71

I appreciate your input. I'm looking into colleges down there too.

FYI-Once my wife is working as an RN, I will either quit or work VERY limited hours to become a FT student.

Curiosity:Where in Va were y'all when you lived here?

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Lynchburg.

I lived in Florida from '84-'88. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area. I never liked it that much. I moved to Northern Virginia in '88. I am very happy I did. I like Virginia way more than I ever did Florida.

Go for it. Lotsa good people in Fla. I think most of them are just hillbillys like me that got down there and didnt have enough money to get home.

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Originally Posted by glockman10mm

Go for it. Lotsa good people in Fla. I think most of them are just hillbillys like me that got down there and didnt have enough money to get home.

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Kind of like people in Ohio and Kentucky being from WV...:image035:

Go for it , maybe even try somewhere like SC or Georgia Low Country, like Charleston, SC or Savannah, GA, close to pretty much every body and a booming area.

I loved Florida for the first 10 years (1981 - 1990), moved to western PA and loved it. It hurt leaving PA and returning to Florida. I know there are good people in Florida, but, as a whole, I find people friendlier in other areas (southern Colorado, PA, WA, VA). I just (last week) moved to Washington (Seattle's eastern suburbs) and find the people friendly here. Florida is a pro-2A state, but it has its quirks. No state income tax, but you pay a "sunshine" tax (you get nickel and dimed to death with high utility costs, high DMV costs and not so friendly drivers).

I'd wait until you get your degree and keep your options open. Embrace any major move, but do it with your eyes wide open. Any area is only as good as you make it. I enjoyed living in Cleveland (I was there when the river burned) so make the most of wherever you land.

I think that life is an adventure and every chance that you have to see and experience something new adds value to you as a person. To me moving is natural; by the time I was 5, I had lived in three different countries/continents. And of course, 20 years in the US Army broadened my horizons a lot more.

If you liked Daytona Beach, then go for it. You will always wonder, one way or the other, so might as well check out how people live in FL. That will also give your family and friends in VA an excuse to take a vacation to visit you, or meet you half way at your brother's house. BTW, I used to live in the next town over from your brother (Lillington, NC, one of my many moves). Good luck with your decision.

Tie up the loose ends and go for it. I made the same move in 1995, from the same state, with a five year old and don't regret it...I love Florida.

At your age, with a young family, i'd do it!

Florida is nice I'm one of the few actually born here that I know among my friends. If you like your small towns then stay away from the big cities. We are pretty good for concealed laws here we do have a couple quirks/negatives but so do most states. Currently in the process of attempting to gain open carry if that is a concern of yours. If you don't like bad drivers then stay away from Florida, or at least the Orlando area which is where I live. I can't count the number of people I know that complain about "Florida" drivers when in all actuality most are from up north, out of the country, or just tourists lost. The weather hardly ever gets cold, for you being in a state that get's snow then it's probably never cold here. The thunderstorms are just amazing I think if I ever move from Florida that will be what I miss most is Mother Nature's light and percussion show extraordinaire. If you can afford it and want to try something new I'd say go for it. Personally though if I was happy in VA and had all my family up there I'd be there. Since my family all lives in NJ or PA and living in NJ is not an option I want to take again I'm still here in Florida. Oh if you do come don't forget to get some sunglasses.

Go for it. Finish up your schooling first as JD suggested. It will help in your finding a job and on your resume.

There are two Florida's - north and south. Two very different landscapes and two very different cultures. It starts to change about Lake City. When you get south of Wildwood it quickly becomes a different country. You need to spend some time in both areas to decide what you prefer. For a small town semi-rural life style that also has beaches check out the Emerald Coast - Pensacola to Panama City.

/s/ Florida Native - a vanishing species

+1 to Paladin's comments. We have family in Lake Wales and Tampa, and we used to live in Ft Walton Beach so we have a pretty broad perspective. We loved the Emerald Coast, but dreaded the trips "downstate". Florida has wonderful people everywhere, but we felt that most of them live in the Panhandle :smile: