Contemplating a move to Sarasota or St. Augustine, FL... (Jacksonville: crime, job market)

[crkuznicki]

I am currently residing in Oak Harbor, WA, and....after living here for almost three years, I cannot stand it anymore. As beautiful as Washington state may be in certain areas, the rain and constantly overcast skies are seriously getting to me. I hate the wind, the rain, and the cold. I really want to live near a beach, one in which the sun actually shines, so, after some research and contemplation, I am seriously considering Florida. At first, I was looking at moving to Denver, CO, however, it snows there quite a bit during the winter (I am NOT a winter person, at all...snowboarding can be fun, but I can't stand driving in the snow, and being cold), and, when I went out there to look for jobs back in October, Denver ended up not being as promising as I thought.
I just recently started to consider looking at either California or Florida, maybe even Arizona. I have lived in California for about two years in the past (didn't really care for it). I have a few friends and relatives who have made the move to Florida, and have completely fallen in love with the state and ended up staying. So, I am now looking into two different places: St.Augustine or Sarasota, FL. St.Augustine, from what little bit I know, seems to have a historical look to it, which I really like, and Sarasota, from what I've been able to gather, is right there near the beach, and it seems like a fairly clean community (a bit of a small town atmosphere, kinda close to Tampa, not as high in crime as Bradenton).
My whole situation is that, with the economy the way it is, I am kinda nervous about leaving the job I have here in Washington state. I am working as an administrative assistant, so the majority of my job experience is in administrative program management, etc., with some retail experience and customer service. I am not really asking for a huge salary ot even a pay increase from what I'm currently getting, just wanting to know what the outlook is in Sarasota or St. Augustine in the way of landing a job. I am fairly young still (only 27 years old), and have my whole life ahead of me, and I definitely don't want to spend it rotting in rainy Washington state....I need a change, with beaches and sunshine!
Any input would help...or any other places in FL....suggestions are helpful, I am open to just about anything at this point:-)

[FLBob]

You'll here it from a number of people so I might as well be among the first; don't leave your job unless you have one lined up....

That said you've picked two of my favorite Florida cities. St. Augustine will be a bit cooler in the winter, and the fall,winter,spring season is what really makes life in Florida special. I like the summer too but many people don't tolerate days on end with low 90's. The good news is it chases them north so everything is less crowded. I can't handle more than a few days in a row without sunshine, so I know I wouldn't survive WA. Tried Colorado but found I need more water and greenery.

The economy isn't going to be bad forever so take your time and work on your resume, keep sending it out. You might want to try Jacksonville (just north of St. Augustine) better job market now. You can always relocate once you adjust to Florida.

[SoFLGal]

Like FLBob said don't leave your job unless you have one here.

That being said, I prefer Sarasota to St. Augustine. They are really quite different. St. Augustine's weather is much cooler than here and the beaches are not near as nice as Sarasota. I think you would find California much more expensive than Florida as far as housing and cost of living.

There's a lot to do in Sarasota depending on your what you like. Siesta Beach is a beautiful beach, downtown Sarasota is one of my favorite areas to visit with all of the eclectic restaurants and shops. The Gator Club on Main St is one of the places that some of the younger professional crowd hang out at. There have been several posts lately about younger people moving to town and really liking the vibe.

Another place that may appeal to you is Jupiter but in my opinion the beaches aren't as nice as here and there are other factors that give Sarasota an advantage.

Good luck with where ever you choose!

[gypsychic]

Where in Florida do your relatives/friends live that you mentioned? Maybe a choice near some of them would come into play. St. Aug. and Sarasota are both nice towns but very different. St. Augustine is quite small, and it does have a cute historic area called "old town", but this area is very touristy, transient and always crowded. It's a fun town to visit or retire in, but honestly I don't think I would recommend living there for a younger person. If you do like that coast, go on up to Jacksonville, because employment in St. Augustine would probably be absolutely nil.

We live in Sarasota, and I think overall you would enjoy it here much more - it is larger with fantastic beaches and much more to do overall. Also, it is only about an hour south of Tampa - you might actually look at Tampa to live and you can easily go to beaches of St. Pete or Sarasota. Tampa will offer more employment opportunities, because there again, jobs are always tough to find in Sarasota, and these days it's about as bad as it has ever been.

Try to line up a job first, or come down with money saved and stay with your friends, - we are not trying to be negative, but just don't want you to make a mistake in moving with no job. That said, you will love it here, I too hate too much rainy/cloudy weather, we have bright sunny days with clear blue skies, and just enough rain to keep it interesting.

Maybe you could come for a visit and put some "feelers" out for jobs - possibly give the address and phone # of your friends/relatives so that you will seem more "local" to prospective employers.

Good luck to you!

[cavsfan1129]

I am experiencing the same problem. Same reason for leaving (among others) Have a great admin/marketing background and am thinking really hard about moving to the Tampa (surrounding) area. I am employed now, but its not my dream position. My husband and I have been looking to leave the greater Cleveland area for a couple of years now and a drastic change in our lives has made us think that we need to go now or we will procrastinate on this forever. I would love to save up backup money and just go for it. If I can survive with Cleveland's economy, gloominess and bad weather, and feel like I can take on the challenge of finding employment in FL.