Moving from NY to FL, what part/city of Fl would you recommend?

chicookie, BSN, RN · Jul 4, 2011

It depends.... I live in Jacksonville. Would I recommend it for a family with children? Eh..not really. The school system here is horrible unless you go to a magnet school. Its still bad but not as bad. I grew up in Georgia and when I moved here my first year in high school was HORRIBLE. Teachers not caring, its all about the FCAT, in Georgia as a student you felt like the teachers wanted you to succeed and here they didn't. I graduated a year earlier just because I was fed up with the system. By the time my younger sister was in high school she got huge amounts of days off and she passed without doing any work. BUT I've heard the magnet schools aren't so bad. Activities wise, there isn't alot to do as in go a theme park, etc. We have a zoo, the beaches, alot of parks and its very laid back. The crime rate has gone down and it also depends where you live at. Good areas and bad. St. Augustine is also really nice. They have that historic town thing going on. Don't be too excited to go to the beach all the time, what I see happen is people get excited about living close to the beach and then you only go once in a while

Miami is like living in Cuba. Spanish people EVERYWHERE. Lots of people, lots of things to do but my aunt hated the school system there and from what I've seen it's not that great. My cousin graduated and she didn't even know how to read in English. If you do decide to head that way look at the outskirts of Miami. Headed toward West Palm Beach and Ft. Pierce. I really like Ft. Pierce. Its a quiet town, the schools look good and you are close enough to the hustle and bustle of the big city.

I go to Orlando all the time and love it. There are alot of places to go and see but if you do pick Orlando again look towards the outskirts. My friends kids like their public school system. They said it was 100% better than Jacksonville. They live in Altamonte Springs and I really like it. Again you are close enough to the hustle and bustle of the big city without being in it.

Nursing jobs all over Fla are scarce. Findable with persistence. You might get one right off the bat, you might not. I've heard from people who have gone through months without finding one, I've heard from people who within a couple of weeks have one. *shrugs*

purpledrop · Jul 4, 2011

Thank you very much for your reply. It is evry helpfull and informative. Schools in NY are as bad as you described in Jacksonville. I grew up in Europe (Latvia) and at 7 y.o. we had to stand in front of the class and "spit out" all the times tables at once!!! My daughter is 8 and I am the one who is pushing her to memorize times table since in school they give them homework to do where they have to multiply, but never mention to memorize it!!! This kind of education really sucks!!!Again, I am talking about public schools.

I've heard good things about Sarasota and Fort Fauderdale. Is there anyone who lives there with children?Thank you very much!!!

purpledrop · Jul 4, 2011

Is there anyone who moved from NY to FL with kids?

nursejossy · Jul 6, 2011

Hello!

Check the Naples/Bonita Springs area.( SW Fl) There are 3-4 Hospitals in the area. The beaches are great, there are some areas with alot of younger people. The schools are great in some places not so great in others. The school you get the depends on the neighborhood you live in. Before you buy/rent check the school for that area!!! Its more small town, rather than the city feel of Tampa/Miami/Orlando. As for jobs, they seem to be hiring for seasonal nurses now. Seasonal is big in Fl, because the population triples during the winter "season". Hospitals to look at are: Naples Community Hospital, Physicans Regional and Lee Memorial Heath System. School Systems: Collier County and Lee County. Good Luck:cool:

slave_diverRN · Jul 6, 2011

Best of luck in your move to Florida....I hope you find the perfect spot for your family and a job!

I have to ask you one tiny favor. After you move here, please remember that you CHOSE to come, and kindly keep your comments about how much better things were in NY to yourself?

Pretty please? Thanks.

Getting To Great · Jul 12, 2011

Is there anyone who moved from NY to FL with kids?

Hello,

I recently relocated to FL from Queens, NY after 10 years of the ____. I used to work for NYS-Admiration of Children Services; and my field office was in the Bronx. I decided to make the change for my sanity and peace of mind. No more of the crap you initially mentioned. I have a child; and the school systems there is not that great at all, but if you can afford a good Private school in Westchester or Long Island then forget it. I grew up in South FL and went to Elementary, Junior High and High School there. Just to share with you my personal experience...I loved it. All the overwhelming extra-curricular activities that I was involved in which land me a scholarship to Saint John's University. For the member who mentioned that teacher's in FL don't care and that it's all about the FCAT, is to me a close-minded statement and judgmental on their personal experience. Like NY, there are state exams that students have to pass in order to move forward; just like many other states. Your child will adjust smoothly and he/she will be so involved with the extra-curricular that you will not have much to worry about (only if you're working on the same day he/she may have a game). In NY there are no activities for these children's when they leave school, but instead find them hunched up in the subway stations acting a damn fool. I will be the first to say because I worked as a CPS worker. The adjustment will be smooth, but challenging because the NY lifestyle is in my demander and hard to shake off. If you plan to move to FL, I recommend Central FL. Good Luck.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Jul 12, 2011

Best of luck in your move to Florida....I hope you find the perfect spot for your family and a job!
I have to ask you one tiny favor. After you move here, please remember that you CHOSE to come, and kindly keep your comments about how much better things were in NY to yourself?
Pretty please? Thanks.

Bless you!!!!!!

(no griping about the comparison of pay rates, union bennies, cuisine, driving, how "slow " people are, etal.)

And if one doesn't like the FL package, I95 runs north as well as south.

chicookie, BSN, RN · Jul 12, 2011

Hello,
I grew up in South FL and went to Elementary, Junior High and High School there. Just to share with you my personal experience...I loved it. All the overwhelming extra-curricular activities that I was involved in which land me a scholarship to Saint John's University. For the member who mentioned that teacher's in FL don't care and that it's all about the FCAT, is to me a close-minded statement and judgmental on their personal experience. Like NY, there are state exams that students have to pass in order to move forward; just like many other states.

I was talking about my high school specifically in Northeast Florida. Like I also stated the Magnet schools here are much better about that. Unfortunately I came from a great school system in Georgia and when you go from a great school to a bad school, its a bit of a shock. Especially after attended said school and have people say oh well that is better than these other schools....Also especially when you go to college and because this school system here was so focused on the FCAT, you end up in English 1101 and have no clue what MLA/APA is along with others from different public schools who have no idea what that is either. Jacksonville sadly bases EVERYTHING on FCAT scores and you won't just hear that from me. You can look at our newspaper and see that complaint everywhere. Hopefully with our new head of the school district, it will turn into a better school system. We are in process of closing 3 schools based mostly on their FCAT scores.... One can hope they will focus more on other things. Orlando schools/West south Florida schools/West Florida schools are better overall then Jacksonville and the inner Miami area. Just my :twocents: .

Getting To Great · Jul 12, 2011

That’s understandable, but one may also want to put in mind that teachers are becoming overwhelmed, underpaid and burned out due to the pressure (maybe) from the government. Children are mandated to pass these state exams in order to excel to the next level (I’m not sure how the Private School system works). I kind of don’t like it; but I understand why they are implementing these assessments. In order to apply for admissions to a College/University; SAT/ACT has to be taken, if not then the school has their own entrance exam (which by the way a lot of people do not pass); and if you fail the exam the school will place you in a Remedial Course until you pass it to move on the college level courses. The government is the Federal Aid who pays for these Remedial courses. That’s why these FCAT and all the other exams are implemented so tax dollars and loans are not wasted. When I was High school in FL we took the HSCT exam and I Hated it.

Mapesbmgj · Jul 15, 2011

Pine Island is exactly opposite of where you are coming from, we moved here 2 years ago and love it. The elementary school on the island is one of the best. The major hospital in the area is Lee Memorial Health Care, typical hospital system, I wouldn't say that they are great to work for, but there are much worse places. Cape coral is the closest major city, much different than the island. There are no hospitals on the island so you have to go to Cape Coral or Fort Myers to work, about 30-40 minute drive. My kids love it here too.

Nomijen · Aug 16, 2011

I just wanted to add that I live in FtP and the schools here BLOW. One of my reasons for going into nursing is that I want to be able to afford private.