Thinking abut moving to FL...good idea or not?! (Tampa: to rent, insurance)

[familyfun06]

We are considering moving to FL from NY (better weather & fewer taxes), nevertheless, we are interested in information anyone may have concerning the Tampa Bay area (inclusive of Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills, and New Tampa etc.), Orlando suburbs, and areas in between. Somewhat of a broad area however, we are trying to cast a wide net. Topics we are interested in:
Employment opportunities: (College educated w/20+ yrs in law enforcement) Opportunities in Criminal Justice field (Federal, State or local gov't level or private sector) and/or teaching criminal justice at college level.
Budget for housing: 100-140K (to buy).
Schools: Significant concern particularly early elementary (K-5)
Acceptable commute time: 30-60 minutes
Other important areas: Family communities, crime rates, cost of living, idea on home owner’s insurance rates, and overall taxes. As well as any other information one may consider useful for a family moving to FL. Thank you in advance and have a good day.
Respectfully submitted.

[stevo75]

Depends on the situation of course.

We are moving to Palm Harbor in 4 weeks ourselves. Family of 4 from Massachusetts. If you look through the threads you will find the Palm Harbor area and surrounding towns to be attractive to many. Good school systems, low crime, close to beaches and close to Tampa and many other reasons of course. Wife and I are flying down in 2 weeks for appointments to several condo's to rent and she is to visit her future employer (RN of 13 years). I am fortunate to work from home and as many say "make sure you have a job first".

I have had many friends who moved down to Florida and it seems the ones who usually come back are the ones who did not have jobs. No job means no money which means no enjoyment.

If you have a job lined up then good idea but if not, not so good unless you have a stash to set you for life.

I looked at the Orlando area as well and was looking up the Dr/ Phillips area which has low crime, good schools and so forth but I wanted to be on the Gulf coast more.

Good luck

[Irishiis49]

My brother-in-law retired as a Lt. from the NYPD,he works as a security guard Only makes $10 an hr but has a good pension and it is a low risk postion. If you work for Brinks etc. they pay better because you carry a gun. They own a home in Land-O-Lakes it was new when they bought it,you could buy one just like today for about $140,000. I know my nephews attended Land-O-Lake High and now SunLake and they did well!I'm not sure about the elementary or middle!

[crazynip]

We have already hit our quota of New Yorkers for the year.

[newyorker24]

Wesley Chapel has some houses in your price range and "A" rated elementary schools. As far as work, look around. I've heard that the Hillsborough County Sheriff's office does not accept lateral transfers and will force you to go through boot camp- experienced or not. But they have decent starting pay compared to some other departments in the area. You can also look at Tampa PD.

[familyfun06]

Stevo75, thanks for the info.

[familyfun06]

Crazynip, you can never have too much of a good thing

[D-R-B]

An "a" school in Florida is equal to a "c" or "d" school in NY. That's an "a" by Florida standards

[jambo101]

If you are set up where you are now i'd really explore the Florida job scene and hopefully secure a job before chucking what you have now for an uncertain future in Fla.
As the job potential these days is somewhat down at the moment i'd wait a few years and spend that time on summer vacations in Florida to see what areas you like and to see if all family members can handle the heat..

[newyorker24]

Originally Posted by D-R-B

An "a" school in Florida is equal to a "c" or "d" school in NY. That's an "a" by Florida standards

Agreed. That's why I put the A in quotation marks.