Moving back to Florida...
 

My wife and I are planning on moving back to Florida in the next 6-12 months. We've lived in Clearwater/IRB for approx 3 years and are wanting to come back, buy a house (on the water) and settle down.

She can work in Pensacola, Clearwater, Tampa/St. Pete, Naples, West Palm, Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.

Any suggestions on these cities as far as the best boating? We primarily boat in the intracoastal and offshore when the waves are < 3' as we have a smaller (< 30') Baja. Our boating lifestyle consists of 1-2 hr "cruises", sand bar partying and bar hopping by boat. Never been on a Poker Run, etc... but would like to some day.

In Clearwater we loved going to Shephards, The Pub, Gators, Egmont Key, Shell Island, Fort Desoto, etc...

Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Thanks for the awesome forum!!

West coast I would go naples, east coast west palm. I like the west coast, but for me the work is just not there.

IMO Ft Lauderdale, no question. I know others will disagree, but for me it has everything. Easy cruise to Miami and Biscayne bay, also close to Delray and West Palm. Right in the middle more or less.

Haven't done much down there, but just spent a week in west palm. Great little spot there, peanut island. Here it's pretty popular. But if you move there stay east of 95......

I agree, but couldn't afford to be in the "Nice" area of lauderdale, so I went west and north a bit. Easy trailer or run anywhere from North Palm beach to the middle keys.

Thanks guys, I'll look around over in those areas. I've never been on the east coast, just the west side. We love the clear blue water and calm waves on the gulf side.

Her job would rather have her over in the West Palm/Miami area anyway. I just need to find something for me. ha

What type of work do you do?

I'm a Project Engineer/Manufacturing Engineer on the machining side of things.

My wife is a Private Banker/Financial Advisor.

There is work down here for that, may not be the pay you are used to, but the work is here.

I just interviewed at this place yesterday..........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnN-hm-nahI

And have an interview here today............

http://pointblankarmor.com/

Here is where I work now

http://biomet3i.com/

I am a quality assurance tech, and currently supervising a crew of 30, looking to get back to the technical side of things hands on.

In the Naples/Ft myers area you have Athrex and a few others. Maritime Engineering(Don) here on OSO knows that area better, and works in that field on the west coast.

http://www.arthrex.com/

Holy $hit... I just sent a resume to Arthrex last week.

moving to Fl
 

pensacola, or fort walton beach are great boating area's.

Arthrex is a great company, I have family that does contract MFG work for them, and if I wasnt upside down in my house I would be selling, moving to naples and working there. Also, Federated Precision where I went yesterday makes parts for them.

Thanks... we honestly didn't even look into that area until I saw some threads on OSO from there.

Are there any fire departments down there that don't require you to be a medic or emt? I'm looking to move as well and it's hard to give up this job and pension to go back into the full time repair business.

I wouldnt mind moving either Jame...

I like this area also, we go there often. You can ride from Pensacola all the way through destin in the bay and crab island is in destin, always a good party there

Palm Beach County...East of US 1 or West of the Turnpike.

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Palm Beach/Jupiter Inlet is the farthest East and closest point to the Gulfstream. Sixty miles 90* True to Freeport, Bahamas.

Now that's what I am talking about.... beautiful.

Tampa St Pete area is nice to move to as you know, it is diffrent then the east coast of Fl. Much better beaches over here on the west coast.

You got us beat generally on the beaches...but our water is 15~20 degrees warmer in the winter.

Not that I am aware of, that was my b!tch when I moved down also. Was a volunteer for 15 years and was looking to get paid for it. Not even any real volunteer companies down here.

Red...due to our "Obamaism" economy, no FD's are hiring anyone....in fact...they have wage freezes in effect and are buying out older guys contracts to avoid paying retirement bennies. The cities/counties are doing all they can do to stop circling the drain.

With a new administration next year...look for things to change dramatically in the next 12~18 months.:evilb:

Seems to be the nationwide trend. I've got 6 years in hear and can retire full benefits at 55, guess I'm just going to have to hang in there.

Well there is a price to be paid for living in Florida I have noticed, at least for my line of work anyway, Manufacturing Engineering. I will be taking a hit in salary, although the weather and beautiful beaches are what my wife and enjoy and want to settle down to. From the states we have lived in (Oh, NC and Tx), Florida is the worst for me income wise.

Thanks for the input from everyone. The job search has begun. We'll see what the market has to offer and weigh the good with the bad. Being on the water in Florida isn't bad no matter what. Pensacola/Destin, Tampa/St Pete, Naples, West Palm/Ft Lauderdale ALL look to be our kind of places.

BEERME!!!

Damn gas is still the same price though!

Your probably gonna find the most $$ in/around palm Beach in that field, of course the homes will also reflect that increase in pay. Quite a bit of MFG still in this area, pay will most likely be slightly less once you hit Broward and Dade counties. Good luck, and let us know when you come to visit.

Good info here, thanks! I'm hoping to make the move to Fort Lauderdale in November from Atlanta.

Stay with it...55 is the new 35. I tuned 60 last month and am having more fun now than I did when I was 40!!:evilb:

It's a great time to buy real estate down here though. You can get what was $1M waterfront for less than half of that if you shop it.

The other thing to bear in mind, is if you relocate to the huricane zone of South Florida, you are going to pay DEARLY for homeowner's insurance / windstorm protection.....That, of course, assumes someone will actually write you a policy. Be cautious.

That's not just South Florida but anywhere on the coast.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Br1dgemann
The other thing to bear in mind, is if you relocate to the huricane zone of South Florida, you are going to pay DEARLY for homeowner's insurance / windstorm protection.....That, of course, assumes someone will actually write you a policy. Be cautious.
That is so true anywhere south of Interstate 10 insurance is absurd ! When a bad hurricane hits NOT IF but when it hits insurance company's will do anything NOT TO PAY !
READ YOUR POLICY CAREFULLY (WITH YOUR LAWYER).

Update: Happened sooner than we thought... moving back to the Clearwater Beach area in a few weeks. Start the new job Feb 1st.

:thankyouthankyou:

Good news, hope it all works for the both of you. BTW I'm jealous.

Congrats!!! I have always liked that area...great boating, beaches and easy access to Caledesi Island. I have used that inlet a few times making the Gulf run to and from Panama City.

Welcome back!!

Welcome back! I'm in the Tampa area, been here almost a year. Seems nice enough.

beerme....Please keep us posted where you decide to live. I do not know your personal finances and please understand where Im coming from. I lived in Pompano Beach for two years and spent most of my time from West Palm to Miami. The line of work I did was mostly on the water (ICW) and I meet some great people and drank a few beers with them. All I can say is WOW. The money the sight and sounds are unbelievable in these areas. If I was fortunate enough to even THINK about being able to buy a house in those areas would be a accomplishment of its own. You cant even compare any other places in Florida to South Florida. Yes I have been to Naples,Ft Myers,St Pete,Tampa etc and are all great places that I would live but IMO you cant compare these places in the same sentence as south florida. Good Luck and keep us posted!

Big fan of boca lake! (East cost between westpalm and ft laud)

Yes, I will... we're looking inland in the Clearwater, Dunedin, Largo area to rent for a year, then purchase something on the ICW after we settle in.

Let the stress of moving begin.... arrrrgh!!!

Congrats and welcome back. This is definitely where I would have recommended. I have boated and fished all over the state and would definitely say the Tampa Bay area has the best boating.