Hey all,


I've been trying to get out of the Northeast for the last 10+ years.  Finally the wife is on board but last year the Covid bug squashed the job market.

I may have a job opportunity in Florida. Although in it's complete infancy this could give me the ability to vacate the Northeast at last. On the surface it seems like a good move.

However, I've noticed a lot of people have left Florida for other states. I'm just wondering why the exodus?  I've heard nothing but bad about south FL.

My son is 12 and I want to make sure he'll be in a good environment because the transition will be challenging for him.  Public schools haven't looked promising so far.

I'll be on the road a lot so I'm thinking someplace in central FL.  I'll have to travel through the entire state at times.

I'm grateful for any help, thoughts and guidance.  Getting our of the Northeast is a priority for us but I don't want to be stuck in a miserable situation in FL.

All the suggestions I've heard are on the East coast of FL.  I'm just wondering, is there something wrong with the Gulf side?

Thank you sir I'll definitely take a look.

St Johns, Flagler, Volusia.....Areas around there. Basically the central thinnest part of the state.  Mostly the same commute times to every where in FL.  Nothing wrong with the gulf coast, but expect higher coast of living.
Don't move to a central city. Try to stay outside of them.
Schools suck. Homeschooling or private are better options.
Of course anything is better then where you live now.

Thanks for the tips.  We'll check them out.

Outside of the metro areas the gulf side is very rural and more prone to storm surge if a hurricane pushes up that side (less dunes)  The east coast is practically one giant wall of hotels/motels/condos/timeshares/golfcourses and crazy high property prices if you get near the ocean or the intercoastal. Hurricanes can make a mess flooding wise on that side too, if you are near the ocean or intercoastal.

Bugs are everywhere if they aren't sprayed down, some places are unlivable without the treatments (after andrew in 1992 they didn't treat for a while and people found out the skeeters are thick down there. We all laughed at the ones that were surprised).

South florida is culturally not american. Well, it is and it isn't. It's not too much of a joke to call it the capitol of the carribean. It's a mixed bag. You see individual city names on the map down there. If they took out the signs, you'd never know you went from city to city:



They also have water shortage problems in S. florida, and if you are near the coastlines (pretty far north and south on said)  when they let off water from okechobee and an algae bloom happens, you will wish you weren't (this goes for both coasts, as the water releases go to both). I know of at least one trucking company that reputedly won't even ship to south florida because they got tired of trailers disappearing and everyone never "seeing anything."  People have been fleeing the area since the 1950s. It's not hell on earth, it's not unlivable, it's just very heavy urban sprawl. It doesn't build up, it spreads out.

Tampa/st.pete/etc is kind of a mixed bag, known as the road-rage capitol of the state, and is it's own cultural ecosystem. It seems (this is just an impression, not even @ the level of opinion) that sinkholes are more of a problem in the places with heavier population - that falls under do your research.  Orlando is all of america crammed around the evil mouse and one of the reputedly most dangerous stretches of interstate in the conus (I-4). You can likely not be cheek-to-jowl crammed there, if you search, but subdivision levvit town growth down there is absolutely astonshing. It took less than 10 years to turn all the ex-orange groves after the 1989 freeze into disgusting postage-stamp cookie cutter housing divisions. The citrus tower on 27 should just be renamed into the subdivision tower.

Ocala is very transplant and surrounded by big money horse farms. It's full of idiot drivers (teenagers trying to do 65 through town mixed with 80 year old retiree grannies who cant' decide when to merge into traffic that cut you off at the last instant); putatively it's more conservative/republican. Gainesville is a little ship of leftist lunatics due to the university of florida who can be summed up as a wretched hive of villany and scum surrounded by conservative/republican voting districts who commute there to work. Jacksonville is a central core actually metro area surrounded by ever expanding suburbs and exurbs and townships that are all in the process of merging into a coherent urban area, their roads are never enough for the traffic loads, the people don't know how to drive in traffic, and the place is an odd mix of conservative and whacky liberal with several military bases tossed into the mix. Also in certain areas it can be dangerous; there's about one shooting every single night on t he news. Locals can tell you where to avoid. Starke is a country town that grew up around us 301, fairly southern, doesn't have a lot of services if you are used to metro areas, and they just got a bypass put in around the town, so they're getting less economic development, which is going to suck for them bad.

The panhandle area is florida, but it's an entirely different kind of florida. Can't really speak for those places, but outside of the urban areas they seem pretty solidly conservativeish.

It will take you a while to adjust to the  humidity and heat.



Rules are pretty simple: wide brim hat. Iced water. Gatorade or the like is ok, but beware sugar overdose from it. MOVE SLOWER in summer.

Oh, and if you move down here and vote democrat, we'll feed you to the gators.

That's some great information.  I appreciate you taking the time to do all that.

As far as the heat goes I lived in the AZ valley for almost 6 years.  I know it's not humid like FL but I know what 115 feels like.

Man, so far it's like the consensus is, "there's no where to live it all sucks."  The combined feedback from a couple forums has not inspired confidence so far. I've received some excellent information though.  

I speak a fair amount of conversational Spanish, Mexican technically (thanks AZ).  Oh and I've had my non resident FL permit for almost 10 years.  Not really sure if that helps anything.

This gig that I'm interviewing for is a long shot at best.  I'd cover the whole state except for the panhandle.  Logistically I'm thinking somewhere mid line in the state would make the most sense.  I'll be on the road maybe 3 days a week, 2 days in the home office.  My house budget probably doesn't help much either.  I really don't want another 30 year mortgage (20 is ideal) but if I had to do 30 I could probably push it to 350K.  Living close to the coast I would think translates into higher home owner's insurance cost?

Don't worry about me voting in the D column.  It's not gonna happen.  Heck, I'd feed myself to the gators!

My wife and I both love Tampa. Biggest complaint by far is the other drivers. I likely won't be getting another motorcycle because of it. We're looking at houses, probably going to buy in Apollo Beach. That being said, I have a friend that lives in Lakewood Ranch and he absolutely loves it. If we didn't want to stay so close to Tampa we'd go there.

I don't know about the rest of the Gulf Coast, but I know Tampa very rarely gets hit by hurricanes. I think the last direct hit was 1920.

The east coast will be more expensive. Sinkholes are mainly in the northern half of the state. Coastal are are far more populated, central Florida is rural, incredibly rural at times. The exception is the Empire of the Rat (Orlando/Disney area) Move there at your own peril.
I chose the southern gulf coast area (Bradenton) Yes, this area is often referred to as Gods waiting room since a large part of our population is retirees. We have the best beaches, world class beaches even (Siesta Key) Lakewood Ranch mentioned earlier can be very nice but housing can be expensive, lots tiny and sometimes feels a bit fake (planned communities) The Keys are beyond expensive, you would probably need a speedboat to supplement your income by running drugs or illegals.
Miami, well, Miami is Miami, Ft. Lauderdale is the same story. The area is referred to as the Gold Coast for a reason.
The north gulf coast still has an old time small town Florida feel. Urbanization has not infected it yet.
OP, what are you looking for? Fishing? Hunting? Beaches? Nightlife?
Oh, As for people moving out, More are moving in than out. Last year we averaged over 1000 new residents a day. Damn yankees have been swarming in again.

I'm born and raised in the Tampa Bay area and love it. You couldn't pay me enough to live anywhere near Orlando or Miami.

I am SE of Tampa , if you stay out of the city the area is nice and I do like it.
Here are the problems, thousands of people like yourself are moving here from the NE, it's really getting crowded here, not just in the Tampa area.
The growth is out of control, the county  just put additional water restrictions on us until 12/22, and they will not slow down the growth, people just voted to raise taxes.
Traffic is also out of control, this county has now voted blue in the last two presidential elections I believe.

I've had enough nightlife for 6 lifetimes, so I'm good there.  

I'm looking for decent schools (7-12 grade), areas to shoot (wish I could afford enough private land but that's probably not in the cards), some fishing and beaches for the beach.

I'm the type that would rather be more secluded and away from things.  I can go to where the people and places are but wouldn't want to drive more than 15-20 minutes to a Publix etc.

I like the idea of that old time small town feel you mentioned.

I'm on the Space Coast near the Cape.
350k will get you a nice place, homeowner's insurance isn't that bad unless you are out on the islands.
It's close enough to Orlando that you can do big city stuff if you want to, but you aren't surrounded by it.
Lots of fishing opportunities both fresh and saltwater if that's your bag.

To reply to, "why the exodus", here's my take on it.
I'm in SW Fl.  We're looking to leave within the next 2 years.
We're just tired of paradise.  Population has increased from 82k in 2004, to almost 200k now.  Traffic sucks.
Next it's the influx from me- yammy.  Go to Home Depot on a Saturday.  It's like you're in a different country.  Almost no English heard.
Then it's the heat and humidity.  IDK if It's because I'm getting older, or maybe there's something to that "climate change" thing.  Seems like summer never ends.  May - November with 90+ temps, and 200% humidity, makes it hard to do anything outside.
During "winter", you can't go anywhere because of the snowbirders.  Restaurants, doctor's offices, events, ect., all full of them.
We loved it here when we first moved here.  We were in the panhandle before.  Maybe we just need a change.
Good luck !

Give Sanford / Lake Mary a look.

I’ve lived in Sanford 20 years and love it.( native Floridian, I’ve been around and lived other places)

Sanford has an old downtown on the riverfront that is active and busy ; lots of restaurants, breweries and pubs, a theater.
Still small enough to drive across in ten minutes, traffic in town is never horrible.

A mall, all the chain stores and restaurants, 30-45 minutes from Orland and Disney one way, same to the beaches the other.

Easy access to I-4 and the beltway around Orlando, 30 minutes to Orlando airport, and we have a small airport in town that has an Alligent hub, a flight school, charters and general aviation

Seminole County has A rated schools, my sons high school was rated 252 in the nation.

Good ranges nearby, plenty of nearby hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, boating.
2 mile river walk for walking the dog, exercise, watching the sunset and casting a line.

That sounds ideal.  I'll definitely check it out.  Thank you sir.

I'm also trying to avoid my neighbor's house being a car length away from mine.  I currently have that on both sides of me now.  

However, I've been fortunate to have "keep to your self" type neighbors over the last 15 years.  I have about 18-20 feet between houses on the left and right sides.

I’m on a half acre 5 minutes from 1-4 and the mall. My neighbor has 1 acre.

There are plenty of old neighborhoods with 1/4 acre lots, and plenty of homes with acreage in the surrounding area.

Just depends on what you want and what you want to spend.

That situation is RAPIDLY changing. Anywhere from Okeechobee downish is a dumpster fire in the real estate market. I'm about to be a registered trainee appraiser (Almost done with the final class, which is just boring regulations of USPAP), but I might not do anything with that license for a while, because my dad wants to pay me to write reports for him, and it's a decent living. There are days he's getting offered ten assignments, and each one pays $300-$500 . He literally can't work fast enough by himself and is leaving potential profit on the table just because the market's moving so fast. It's burning down, and it's a lot of rich New Englanders dropping 100% cash on properties.

Just for context on the whole 115 vs 95-98; the sun intensity will be sorta the same. The radiant heat will be about the same. *your ability to dump heat out of your body will not.*  Your sweat (unless there's a good breeze) won't evaporate. It will make you hotter, when conditions are high humidity and high dew points (aka, soupy air). That's the difference. You can adjust (sans health problems) and dress for it.

On the "it all sucks" - we are a pop growth state and very nearly 50-50 R-D. I'm not joking about south florida being the capitol of the carribean. It's not just that ... well, let's put it this way, some places have signs that say ENGLISH spoken here, in certain areas ... it's that the culture is changing. Love it, hate it, that's just a thing.

Also you should know that complaining about this state is a past time. You should just straight up ask about areas you're potentially interested in, so you can know just assess for yourself.  If you are trying to find an area where you're going to be far away from any liberals ... you'll have to move into the literal sticks; see below. The redder areas? Those are out in the sticks. BTW, the keys look solid red - they aren't. Key west is a lunatic leftist town. The rest of the keys are some level of sorta-red.



You are probably also going to have to directly ask "what is good about your area in spite of what you don't like."

South florida: the ocean. The intercoastal water way. Yes, you'll need a boat for that, but people down there get onto the water to get the heck away from it all. There actually *is* good hunting down here, if you don't expect venison that's great like like western america. We have a wild hog problem - or you could say we have a "not enough freezers for all the pork" problem. We have turkeys. Yeah, our deer are runts and don't taste as good as the ones out west, but they are here.  When we can force the hippies to let us, we've had a few black bear hunts. I don't know the status on alligator hunting, but those boogers are NUMEROUS. Oh - every migratory bird that doesn't go down to-through mexico? *they come here.*  Yes, there's the fishing. It's not as easy-peasy as it used to be regulation wise (we joke that you need to bring a lawyer to fish legally... btw, DO NOT FISH ILLEGALLY IN THIS STATE ... you will get destroyed by the FMP and FWC, and there's a good chance you get ratted out). There actually is some worthwhile culture and some nice parks down here - but they are small, some virtually hidden from the wider world. Because of the heat, we can have some pretty neat gardens, like the one around bok towers, or leu in the kingdom of the rat. There is the stuff at nasa - night launches are something to behold. Little known secret - florida also has cattle country and the remnants of a localized cowboy culture. There's even a subset sort of related to that - the salt-water cowboys. We were literally the last cowboy frontier.   The tourist economy is a double-edged sword - because of it, we have the infrastructure that (if you can time and avoid the peak and traffic) you can get around this state FAST. And while obscenely top tier expensive food is here, what you'll find here is that within about ... ~10 ish miles of the coast, you can usually get *good* seafood, because they can get it fresh off the boat.

The main real problems with florida is that we are an EXPLOSIVE population growth state with development to match (developers spread OUT here, they don't build vertical), and we are so very very close to having the state tip blue. Effectively, it's a fight between the southeast florida/tampa st pete/orlando/bits of jacksonville blue areas and... everywhere else.

My wide taught for 36 plus years in Sarasota County which is about 55 miles south of Tampa. We have lived in Lakewood Ranch for the past 22 years. I have lived in the area since 1967, and love it both areas have excellent schools. That provide for special needs in education, wether for
advanced gifted or academically challenged. Our preference is LWR in Manatee County which is tad more conservative than SRQ county. So any one
who is pro second amendment above all else welcome, any one who isn't please stay out.

OP, shoot me a PM. Might be surprised what you can get where I am (Citrus County) for the budget you mentioned, especially compared to other places.

“Old time small town feel” mixed with long-term growth is basically how it is here

OP take him up on it.  I live on the panhandle but "vacationed" in Citrus County last month.  I was impressed.  If a hurricane took my current house, I would look to relocating there (outside Crystal River specifically).

I was born in South Florida (Broward Co to be exact), grew up in Palm Beach Co, and once I finished school moved to the West coast to Sarasota about 11 years ago.  I could not fathom moving back to South Florida with the amount of congestion and how left leaning the entire area is.  With that said, in the 11 years we have lived in Sarasota, the population here has exploded as well, so it is only a matter of time before we look like the East coast.  I'm also assuming it is parallel to most places in Florida where rent and real estate are nuts and houses are selling within a day of being listed and have bidding wars. A decent apartment in Sarasota will run you upwards to $1700+ for a 2 bedroom.  House costs are all over the place depending where you live, some neighborhoods are in the $250-300k range, some are $1M+.  Our value has gone up probably $75K just in the last year.  Luckily, it is still primarily right leaning other than the City limits which is where the hood is and most of the liberal artsy people. Our public schools are rated very well, and a huge plus is the newly elected Sheriff is extremely pro-2nd amendment.  

Lakewood Ranch is nice, but I have heard they have some pretty steep property taxes. If you are going to check there I would stay clear of University Parkway/UTC as that place has turned into a cluster in the past few years with development, and it isn't dying down anytime soon.  Look closer to SR70/SR64

I live in Central Florida, I left NYC about 8 years ago.
I do prefer it to NYC and would never go back but if you plan to move here I hope you have an indoor job lined up as the summers can get brutally hot. The winters are great though

FlashMan7K said


He is correct.  At one time Mullet were classified as Birds, not fish.  A lawyer pointed out in court that birds, not fish have gizzards.  Mullet have gizzards, therefore they are birds.  Now our fishing laws say something like fish and mullet......

My dad just moved from NY to Palm coast. It's paradise, and I'm working on following him down. Beautiful home, amazing pool, 10 minutes to the ocean. Subdivision but he likes that. Haven't found a place to get a good bagel or Italian bread yet, amd pretty much every restaurant is a chain place.

Edit to add. It's paradise. No hesitation. Do it.

OP back on the radar.  

The original job opportunity didn't work out but now my current employer has an opening in the Tampa area (not exactly Tampa, trying to be covert here).  I just applied this morning through our company site.

I would like to find a home no more than 45min to an hour away if I get the gig.

Yeah, we don't want people from the NE here.

That's a pretty divisive statement.  

I'll make sure I avoid you when I get down there.  I'm allergic to people like you.  

Nah, I'm a nice person, and I think NE is a beautiful area with nice people. But, you people are loud and talk kind of fast.

I can't disagree with that.  People are too freaking loud up here.  We do talk fast, we just don't realize it when we're around the same kind.

I lived in AZ for 5 years so I learned how to slow it down to normal conversation speed.  When I came back here people told me I had a Southern accent.  LOL

My goal would be to blend in so no one would suspect that I've transplanted.  I'll need to change those license plates fast!  

I be fair though, you guys have nothing on a loud redneck, which we have plenty of in NW FL. No offense to rednecks.

To answer your question though, I prefer the Gulf Coast of FL over the Atlantic side. As people said, more rural feel to it, plus the beaches and water are nicer. With certain exceptions, the Gulf Coast is usually more "conservative." I haven't been everywhere in the State, so mine is an overly general opinion.

NW FL is a good area IMHO, it's more like AL or GA, except Pensacola which is going downhill IMHO. Also, the tap water in the rest of FL smells funny. lol.

I have some friends that live in Largo and Indian Rocks Beach. They love it there and say the schools are good. Not too far from Tampa.




If you have the title for your cars, it's pretty quick and easy. If you don't, your finance or lease companies will need to send them to FL before you can register them. Coordinating that can be a pain.

I am visiting family in FL next month and may be looking at some houses along the way in Port St. Lucie.

Anyone know much about that city and surrounding area?   I looked at property in January from Ft. Lauderdale to Palm Beach
and it was like every house was under contract before I even got a chance to tour it.  My realtor said Port. St. Lucie is offering more value
now for your $.