I'm thinking of relocating to Florida from Massachusetts.Any advice? I have 6 children and heard school systems are not good is that true? Where is a good part to raise a family? I can't afford Mass. any more. What do they pay good decorators out there?
Florida schools are not good and probably won't be for a long time, if ever. You may find a good school once in a while but they are few and far between and may not stay at their best for very long. Florida has historically not made schools a priority and have always spent less per child than the rest of the country. Trying to hire people who can spell, construct sentences and do math, is not easy, most of the top candidates were educated in other states. I work in higher ed and see a wide variety of kids from all over the world. Kids educated in Fl are not usually as prepared for college as their cohorts from other places. Places that spend more per student on education. Florida has always depended on getting people from other places to fill employment needs.
I can understand thinking a move to FL is a good idea. I have lived here (NE FL) since 1989, but I don't have any school age children. I am so happy I don't have to worry about snow and ice any longer. No state or local income taxes. They did however just change the property taxes and now local government is having to worry about where they are going to get money for schools, police, fire rescue services, trash pickup, etc. They are going to collect fees, but I think they are going to have to do income taxes at some point if they keep giving the rich these tax breaks.
Bad news for decorators - no home baking allowed. I can't tell you how much people in this field make since I am a hobby decorator. The majority of jobs are service jobs which don't pay as well as they should. Professionals (doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc.) do better. Computer programmer and network technician jobs are in demand.
My advice is look at the want ads for places you'd think you'd like to live. Once you've narrowed it down, subscribe to a paper from that region or read it daily on the internet to get a feel for the area and review the classifieds. I was recruited to move here by an employer, so all my moving expenses and transtion fees and costs were paid. My dream was to live on Sanibel Island but there weren't any jobs there that paid enough for me to live and work there.
Hello:
Miami-Dade and Broward county schools suck!! My daughter lives in Lee county and she the schools there are excellent also to live there is much better than in Miami or Broward County. My husband and I are empty nesters so we don't have that problem now we still live in Miami-Dade county but God willing not for long. Relocating to Lee county, I love Cape Coral and Pine Island where my daughter lives. So beautiful and peaceful too.
Not only did I go to school here I also raised my kids here. The schools are bad. We moved into an area that was touted as having better schools the answer is no. We had our oldest Daughter get her GED because she could not handle school. Our youngest daughter just graduated back in May and it was a chore to get it done. She has a learning disability and was suppose to get extra help and we constantly fought with the school to get her the help she needed.
As far as the weather if you don't mind running air conditioner 10 months out of the year great. Property taxes are high and so is insurance if you can find any. The pay scale is low but as proviously stated you don't have a state income tax.
We are in the process of selling our house to move out of Florida. We just don't like it anymore. I live in the Tampa bay area.
Just moved to Fl. in Feb. I'm in Kissimmee and I know that the schools here are not good at all. They are better than some states, but a lot of it has to do with what district your in. Realators are usually up on which districts are better than others. Fl. is a great place to live because of it's diversity. Lots to do here, however, where I am, it's VERY crouded and unfortunately, I'm an English speaking minority. I need to learn Spanish if I want to converse with the majority of people here. There are some beautiful places here with lots of entertainment. Huge crime rate, You have to keep in mind that EVERY city and neighborhood no matter where your at has it's good and bad points. And you can't make a decision on what it's really like with just a visit. You have to live there to figure the place out. Good luck.
Amy
We live in Tampa, and my daughter goes to a public school. We were wary when we knew we were moving here because we heard the same things about the schools. There are a lot of 'bad ones' and you'll get different reasons for why they are 'bad' depending on who you talk to.
Here's my experience. I love my daughter's school. It's not a top notch A school, in fact it slipped from a B last year. But I'm confident she will still get a good education. Here's why.... to understand why a school is "failing" you really have to be inside it and see how things work (and don't work). I am fortunate to be a home mom and can volunteer a lot there. The staff all know me and joke that I work there because I am there so much. I see the classrooms, hear the meetings (pretty much every kind since I work in the media center), and talk to the staff. I see a lot of what goes on behind the scenes. The principal is excellent (vice principal is a hoot), and I can't say I've met any teacher who is not extremely dedicated to their kids.
I think that if you do move here, just research the schools. There are great private schools, but also good public schools. The key is to really know what you're looking at - and be involved in the process along with the school. My daughter is doing great. Last year (1st grade) she went from average reading skills for a 1st grader at the beginning of the year, but by Christmas she was reading at a 3rd grade level.
Good luck, don't be disheartened.
My son and his family live in the Ft. Myers area. My grandaughters attend charter schools. From what I have been told, their education is not suffering. I would like to add though....I could not afford to live in that area of Florida as housing, food, ect. is very expensive compared to Ohio. On the otherhand, come January when the cold and ice make me hate the north, Florida sure does sound inviting. If I were considering the move, I would investigate what the gulf coast side of florida has to offer, I really like the area from Tampa down to Naples. Best wishes for your future.
The west coast of Fl. is much prettier than the east coast btw.
I was born and raised in Florida. I live in Ocoee which is outside of Orlando. I have seen this area just continuet ot grow and grow. There is alot I don't agree with and alot I do.
I have to agree that the they have not made the education in Florida a top priority and it saddens me to think these kids can do so much better if they had the tools to work with and support from the people they need it most. I had my kids in a charter school for six years and I constantly seen their moral and self esteem drop. Charter schools do not get the funding that the regualr schools get so you are always doing fundraisers. And believe you me I was always doing them to help get the supplies that the school needed. I was head of the fundraising committe for these years and had a forty hour week job and it was always they same people that did everything. So there are drawbacks to everything. I put my kids back in public high and middle school and I haven't seen my kids this happy about school in a long time.
You have to do your research as far as the areas that you want to move to. I can give you any informaton you want about the area that I live. I can tell where and where not to move.
It is important that the teachers and the people at the school knows theparents. Communication has to be constant for parents and teachers.
Every school my kids have been in know who I am and know I stay in top of their education.
I don't like the cold and sometime the heat can be unbearable but I do like living here. I think its just matter of choice.
Do your research.
Can't use your own kitchen to do cakes though if you want to be legal.
I am sure you will make the the right decision for you and your family.
Ok I'm finished...
Thanks
faye
I don't have any children to comment on the schools in Florida but here is my advice on living here (I have lived in the Tampa Bay area for over 10 years BTW):
1 - There are only 2 seasons here - hot and hotter (in July and August it is especially dreadfully hot and humid)
2 - Come hurricane season you are constantly living with the fear that your house could be blown away
3 - Housing cost here in my area are ridiculous
4- Wages here are not as good as up north
5 - A lot of people down here are extremely wierd
6 - The crime rate is much higher here (and I moved down here from Philadelphia)
7 - Come season time (when the snowbirds come back down) the driving is horrendous
Just a couple of thoughts
Have you thought about other southern states? I'm originally from GA and the cost of living is much better there, the schools are good in the right areas, and the pay rate is comparable to where I live in PA. The only thing that bothered me is that you can't just run to the store w/out makeup b/c you will definitely run into everyone you know, and they will gossip about it, and it really doesn't seem like Christmas to me when the a/c is on.
I live in the Lehigh Valley in PA. It's 90 minutes from NYC, 2 hours from the beach, 1 hour to Philadelphia, and 1 hour to the mountains. The cost of living is reasonable here, it's safe, and my school system is good.
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