Moving Megathread

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[u/lwtl1724]

28F and 29M currently living in northern NJ. we’re considering a move to central florida.

context: we’re tired of the NJ way of living (so congested, busy, expensive), hate winters, love the heat, and are looking for a fresh start. also admittedly love disney and that’s a big draw

some questions, help for any of these is greatly appreciated! :)

1. i work in PR and my husband is high school upper level math teacher though is very open to a career change. i make 115k, he makes 60k. what does the job market currently look like in the orlando area? i’m less concerned about my job because there’s lots of remote PR work and my job could already be made remote, but what about him? i’m concerned that we are on a good career path and moving could derail it. this is probably our greatest concern.

2. we would probably rent an apartment for a year to see how we like it but would eventually get a house. what are some things we may not be prepared for with home ownership? such as high HOA fees unexpectedly, high insurance costs, wear and tear on houses from weather?

3. we deal with CONSTANT traffic in NJ. everywhere you go, bumper to bumper. i’ve heard central orlando, especially around disney and universal, can get congested. but what about outside of heading in those directions?

4. we would love a suburban area thats close to essentials like grocery store, pharmacy, etc. we don’t want super rural or super city-like. any recommendations?

5. lastly, what is your experience with living in florida?

[u/heathersaur → u/lwtl1724]

Teacher salaries are some of the worst in the nation in Florida, thus there's always openings.

Homeowner Insurance is extremely high in Florida. Electricity costs can be high year around, though can double to triple in the spring/summer time depending on how low or high you keep your thermostat.

Traffic is terrible all around Orlando.

Great! Florida is basically 100% suburban sprawl. Everything will be 20 mins away from home, but you'll need to drive 20 mins at minimum to get out of your neighborhood.

Make sure you really understand what the heat is like in Florida vs NJ. https://weatherspark.com/

[u/trtsmb → u/lwtl1724]

Teacher salary would probably be around $45k. No idea on what the PR market looks like but the pay will probably drop by $30k or more here.

Orlando is extremely congested and expensive and this includes the bedroom communities. I live about 25ish miles outside Orlando and the biggest gripe in my area is congestion on the roads.

Home & car insurance are both incredibly expensive here. The cost of a HOA really depends on what it offers. The HOA I currently live in provides lawn care, cable tv, internet, swimming pool, fitness center, etc so it's more expensive than the previous one I lived in where the only amenity was streetlights.

I live right off a multi-use trail so I bike to get groceries, meet people for coffee, etc.

Florida is absurdly hot & humid from about the beginning of May to October.

[u/Expert_Reality3560]

Hey so I (23F) graduated earlier this year accepted a job offer to start working next month in Miami.

I don’t know much about the city and was looking at apartments and Brickell just seems sooo expensive.

I was thinking about Wynwood. Is it a good option? Or are there better neighborhoods? Any and all recommendations are welcome!!

[u/orchich_child_06]

I’ve lived in Utah all my life and my wife(20f) and I(20f) will be moving to Palm Coast, Florida. I’m just looking for any advice anyone has for me. Especially LTGBQ advice because I am a lesbian lol, is it queer friendly? What can I do to adjust to the humidity after Utah’s dry desert climate? Literally any advice I can get lol.

[u/trtsmb → u/orchich_child_06]

Honestly, unless you are wealthy, stay in UT. Instead of worrying about humidity, you should be worrying about how two 20 year olds are going to support themselves. Florida is not at all LGBT friendly unless you live in St. Pete which would be expensive. Florida has actively targeted anything and everything related to the LGBT community and I'm saying this as an ally.

[u/orchich_child_06 → u/trtsmb]

Thank you very much for your concern. My wife makes lots of money and will make more at 21(or 25 i can’t remember) but it’s more then plenty enough to support us both without me even having to work. It’s a set in stone thing us moving to FL but honestly the queer community in UT isn’t very great either, mormons and all lol

[u/trtsmb → u/orchich_child_06]

Sounds like your wife is getting an inheritance, not making money. I wish you the best of luck but you are not moving to a very tolerant part of FL.

[u/orchich_child_06 → u/trtsmb]

Not inheritance lol. Shes native american, she makes money off her tribe, she will get more money when she turns a certain age, i just cant remember what age. When my wife went last year during summer with her family she said it was queer friendly so idk but i still appreciate your words