It is much better for your health. Everything is level also. No hills to climb. We live on the Gulf of Mexico. It is cooler here in the summer than inland.

You save alot of money on clothing. Don’t have to worry about winter clothing. North Florida is colder in the winter than central or south FL.

Homeowner’s insurance and taxes are high right now.

Good luck in everything!

Minus: The overcrowding. My son and I went down to check out the Tampa area. The traffic was incredible.
And the snow birds were not there, when we visited.

Plus: 70 degrees in Feb

We lived in Jax for 2 years in the 70s. Son wanted to go back, after his Dad died. I took him in August. He had forgotten about the heat and humidity, .

Minus: Yes, the economy should be a huge consideration, imo. Our unemployment rate has jumped nearly 3 percentage points over the last 18 months. It isn’t just the unskilled jobs that are taking hits; professionals are having a tough time finding work too. Should you decide to move here, I highly recommend that you save up at least 6 months living expenses and be able to buy individual health insurance policies to carry you until you and your husband can find work.

Plus: you work in Healthcare. There are great jobs available in the healthcare field. The East Central Florida area still has plentiful work for experienced healthcare workers. I live in the metropolitan Orlando area; in Orange County. Other counties in the metro area are Seminole, Lake, Osceola, and possibly Marion, Volusia and Brevard counties. Check out “Orlando Health” and “Florida Hospital”: these are our two largest hospital systems. There is a huge medical core being developed just north of Orlando International Airport, near Lake Nona, the Burnham Institute is building a research facility, M.D. Anderson cancer research and treatment center is moving there, Nemours is building a children’s hospital, the Veterans Administration (VA) is building a hospital there, and the University of Central Florida is building at Medical School there.

Minus: Salaries and benefits here may not be comparable here to what you had ‘back home’. Be sure to check out salaries before you decide to move here. We are a ‘right to work state’; so unions do exist here but not to the extent they do ‘up north’.

Plus: There is no state income tax here.

Minus: It is becoming difficult to obtain homeowners and other property insurance here. The damage from hurricanes, tropical storms with flooding, wildfires, and tornados has caused our premiums to go very high, and some properties are not able to find private insurance and must use the very expensive state insurance funds. My husband and I have begun looking for new homeowner’s insurance because our insurer, State Farm, wants to pull out of the state…..we’ve been with State Farm with this house since 1981.

Plus: Home prices and rent have become more reasonable. Two years ago speculators drove up the prices to ridiculous heights. Now, there are foreclosures and newly built houses sitting empty. However; there are many stable, more established neighborhoods that are wonderful. The prices may not be as low as they are in the midwest, but they are more reasonable than they were two years ago. Try to avoid developments with many empty house or foreclosures; look for older neighborhoods.

The population here is fairly diverse; native Floridians, long time residents like me, and newcomers from all over the world. Some areas are highly transient; people move in and out frequently and there is little sense of community. My area is more established; a few rental homes but mostly people who live here for many years. It is likely that you will hear many languages being spoken; especially if you work in healthcare. Most people expect to hear spanish being spoken; but there are many others: Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, French, Portuguese, etc. Many students in our public schools come from families whose native language is not English, there were well over 100 languages counted in the last survey. This makes it challenging here sometimes, but I love it, the mix can be quite fun.

Minus: Heat, humidity, lightning, insects, over crowded roads, limited public transportation, and many animals that can become pests.

Plus: Today it will be in the 60′s all day, with clear blue skies. I think it is lovely here. The plants and wildlife here are beautiful. There are lakes, fresh water springs, beaches within a one hour drive, rivers, and parks. There is lots to do here; you can be as busy or as lazy as you wish.

You might want to consider spending some time here before you move. Take a couple of weeks, have a realtor take you around, schedule some job interviews, shop in local grocery stores and farmers markets, check out property taxes and the cost of water and other utilities. Some people love it here, and others do not.

Good luck to you!

Also considering that the entire nation is in the midst of a recession/depression and Florida is especially hard hit. Don’t expect to find a job all that easily.

Insurance rates are astronomical on account of the hurricanes. Live in certain areas and you could loose everything you own in one night and count yourself lucky simply because you are still alive.

Also I am not sure that it is a healthier climate. How do you deal with oppressive, humid heat on a continuous basis for weeks on end? That is what it will be in summer. A lot of northerners can’t handle it.

And that is saying nothing of the bugs and the snakes and the other critters that get into everything!

Also, as you get older, IMO it is not wise to move away from family. Have known a number of seniors who have regretted this.