Moving to Florida

[Syracusian]

With great regret, since I love the Syracuse area and have been born/raised/living here, we are moving to Florida.

We do not have any specific jobs lined up, although we've applied to a few different places in a few different areas. I come in looking for suggestions!

Some background:

1. I'm a physician assistant working at an internal medicine office for the past 2.5 years. I'm open to working in a hospital, office, etc. No real preference. Graduated from Upstate Med in August 2018.

2. Angelina is going to graduate from Oswego with her Master's in Business Administration. She has her B.S. in chemistry and is currently working as a laboratory production director/executive at a small company.

Where we want to live:
1. Basically, we're open to anywhere. It can be east coast, gulf coast, central, northern, or southern Florida. Seems like if we had a preference, we're leaning towards the greater Tampa area.
2. The housing market is wild right now, but we're thinking somewhere near the $350,000 range or so. Preferably a single family home.
3. Angelina would prefer an inground pool. We'd prefer a place a decent neighborhood, schools, etc.

If anyone has any advice, friends, family, someone who knows someone that could possibly help in the process, it'd be beyond appreciated. Whether it's places to live, a possible lead on a house, where to work, if you like Syracuse sports and want to hang out, etc!!

Thanks in advance!
-Joe

 

[chugg21]

With great regret, since I love the Syracuse area and have been born/raised/living here, we are moving to Florida.

We do not have any specific jobs lined up, although we've applied to a few different places in a few different areas. I come in looking for suggestions!

Some background:

1. I'm a physician assistant working at an internal medicine office for the past 2.5 years. I'm open to working in a hospital, office, etc. No real preference. Graduated from Upstate Med in August 2018.

2. Angelina is going to graduate from Oswego with her Master's in Business Administration. She has her B.S. in chemistry and is currently working as a laboratory production director/executive at a small company.

Where we want to live:
1. Basically, we're open to anywhere. It can be east coast, gulf coast, central, northern, or southern Florida. Seems like if we had a preference, we're leaning towards the greater Tampa area.
2. The housing market is wild right now, but we're thinking somewhere near the $350,000 range or so. Preferably a single family home.
3. Angelina would prefer an inground pool. We'd prefer a place a decent neighborhood, schools, etc.

If anyone has any advice, friends, family, someone who knows someone that could possibly help in the process, it'd be beyond appreciated. Whether it's places to live, a possible lead on a house, where to work, if you like Syracuse sports and want to hang out, etc!!

Thanks in advance!
-Joe

I just left the Tampa area about 2 years ago. We enjoyed it but are nomads. It is still a place we would be willing to move back to though. We lived in the Westshore area a few miles from the Bucs stadium. Only did apartment living and would recommend Novus Westshore if you're looking for a place for a year or so to figure out the lay of the land and which neighborhood/area you're interested in. Vita Vea and a few other Bucs players lived there too so that was pretty interesting. If we were to return and were looking to buy, it would most likely be somewhere with easy access to downtown St. Pete, Clearwater or Dunedin.

 

[maxxyz]

I just left the Tampa area about 2 years ago. We enjoyed it but are nomads. It is still a place we would be willing to move back to though. We lived in the Westshore area a few miles from the Bucs stadium. Only did apartment living and would recommend Novus Westshore if you're looking for a place for a year or so to figure out the lay of the land and which neighborhood/area you're interested in. Vita Vea and a few other Bucs players lived there too so that was pretty interesting. If we were to return and were looking to buy, it would most likely be somewhere with easy access to downtown St. Pete, Clearwater or Dunedin.

I second the Tampa recommendation. Big enough to have a lot of great sports, entertainment, arts & culture but not so big that your commute is enormous. Ybor City is a great section for nightlife. Downtown Tampa is solid.

 

[TexanMark]

If you don't have kids right away...Tampa Bay is great. If you want kids and want the best public schools in Florida...look at St. John's County in NE FL

I live in Nocatee...which is a few miles from the Ocean. The place is crawling with both empty nesters and young families. The schools are excellent and are not ruined by "wokeness".

www.nocatee.com

$350K right now is going to be a tough get in an urban area.

I'd avoid Orlando...tourists, traffic and tollroads.

 

[florange44]

Joe-
I’ve lived in east central Florida (Melbourne) since 83 after graduating and moving from Cuse.

Real estate here is 50% of the price it is in south Florida. For $350 you can get 2000 sq ft in a home built in 1990 ~1 mile from the beach. Or you can get 3000 sq ft in a home built in 2010 ~ 6 miles from the beach.

This is a nice place to raise a family, crime is low, zero traffic, good schools. Mark is right, for great schools you have to go to Jax area or south Florida. Although we have one public school here that is top 20 in the whole country.

We are 60 min from Orlando airport, 75 to Disney, 2 hrs to Jax, 2.5 to Tampa, 2.5 to ft lauderdale.

I’m happy to answer questions or assist if I can.

Florange44 (George)

 

[florange44]

Ps. Either house in my example will have a pool.

 

[Halfmooncuse]

Good luck I just bought a villa in Lakewood Ranch. They are not building anything now due to the cost of raw materials. I’ll be snow birding but it’s just me and my dog. The waiting room to heaven lol

 

[capeorange]

I lived on the beach in Ft Walton Beach for 2 and a half years. Nice beaches but too cold in the winter. I've been in Cape Coral for 22 years and I love it. Home prices have gone crazy over the last 8 months but you can still find a decent home off water for 350.
The area along the coast between Cape Coral and Sarasota are also very nice.

 

[Ozone!]

 

[Ozone!]

Naples area is beautiful and a bit pricy, by some Florida standards. I love this area. Housing costs have become inflated, however that is a national issue.

 

[capeorange]

Naples area is beautiful and a bit pricy, by some Florida standards. I love this area. Housing costs have become inflated, however that is a national issue.

View attachment 202185

I omitted mentioning the Naples area because of housing prices close to the coast. It's a beautiful area.

 

[Mareiniss]

I just left the Tampa area about 2 years ago. We enjoyed it but are nomads. It is still a place we would be willing to move back to though. We lived in the Westshore area a few miles from the Bucs stadium. Only did apartment living and would recommend Novus Westshore if you're looking for a place for a year or so to figure out the lay of the land and which neighborhood/area you're interested in. ...

I second the idea of getting an apartment for a year or so in your chosen metro area. As Chugg said, it will give you a chance to get a better feel for different neighborhoods, schools and crime, etc. Housing prices may cool off a bit next year, too. Also, some northerners move to Florida only to find out that they can't take the heat and humidity. I have relatives in that category. Renting for awhile would give you more flexibility to move without the complication of having to sell a house.

 

[TexanMark]

Good luck I just bought a villa in Lakewood Ranch. They are not building anything now due to the cost of raw materials. I’ll be snow birding but it’s just me and my dog. The waiting room to heaven lol

We looked there. Lakewood Ranch is really nice.

 

[TexanMark]

I lived on the beach in Ft Walton Beach for 2 and a half years. Nice beaches but too cold in the winter. I've been in Cape Coral for 22 years and I love it. Home prices have gone crazy over the last 8 months but you can still find a decent home off water for 350.
The area along the coast between Cape Coral and Sarasota are also very nice.

I lived in Niceville for 5 years. It does get about 5 days of winter each year.

Best beaches in Florida are up there though

 

[TexanMark]

I second the idea of getting an apartment for a year or so in your chosen metro area. As Chugg said, it will give you a chance to get a better feel for different neighborhoods, schools and crime, etc. Housing prices may cool off a bit next year, too. Also, some northerners move to Florida only to find out that they can't take the heat and humidity. I have relatives in that category. Renting for awhile would give you more flexibility to move without the complication of having to sell a house.

I agree...rent first. I think in two years housing prices will come down 15-20%