Dont move to florida

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Just want to get the message out. My wife & I are both nurses. We moved to florida because my family lives here and it has been a big mistake. I am posting this on the new nurses thread to warn those of you who are considering moving down here. Before deciding where you want to work consider what the hospital is paying and what the cost of living is. In florida it sucks. Feel free to PM me and I will certanly elaborate.

It's great if you can rebuild the house yourself but, where are you going to live in the meantime? After the fires hit ... landlords took advantage of the sudden demand for housing and they raised the rents big time so ... .

That actually happened in New Orleans after Katrina too - they doubled and tripled the rents in all the areas that didn't flood. A friend of mine had rented for years in one unflooded neighborhood, paying $450/mo. for a 2BR half shotgun apartment, and when another friend moved into an apartment a block away, they asked $1800.

His was slightly nicer and had a tiny shared "yard" out back, but about the same size inside and not that much nicer.

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That actually happened in New Orleans after Katrina too - they doubled and tripled the rents in all the areas that didn't flood. A friend of mine had rented for years in one unflooded neighborhood, paying $450/mo. for a 2BR half shotgun apartment, and when another friend moved into an apartment a block away, they asked $1800.

Yeah ... that's the problem with disasters, especially unpredictable disasters. It's pretty risky to not have insurance, IMO ... because I don't know how you can really plan for all of it.

In our area, fires are usually the big risk but, last year ...

We had unusually cold temperatures where a lot of people's water pipes burst ... flooding their homes. Luckily, we ran drips on our faucets but others weren't so lucky ...

A friend of mine was out of her house for three months but ... her homeowners insurance did cover her home repairs and temporary housing so ...

You never know what's going to happen. The insurance is probably worth the cost, IMO.

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Specializes in New Graduate Nurse.

My wife and I moved to Miami from Alaska about 2 years ago. She had a great job opportunity here, and I wanted to go back to school and become a nurse. I am glad we did it...only because of my educational goals. Previously I have lived all over. Alaska, Seattle, Oregon, Minnesota, California even as far away as Italy. But DANG!!! We can't wait to move back to AMERICA when I am done with school. I don't even intend on working here.

I am sure South Florida was once beautiful....but it has long since been ruined.

(I am literally typing thoughts and backspacing them as I compile this post....I don't want to sound too insulting to the decent handful of people around here.)

As a local friend told me as she was packing up her Floridian home of nearly 30 years to move to North Carolina. "Miami is no longer an American town...it is a South American port, in America."

If you don't speak Spanish or maybe Creole...you will have a TOUGH time getting a job here in South Florida. In fact most positions list Spanish as a qualification requirement. Legal racism?

At school, we are constantly reminded of the nursing crisis here in South Florida. How the health care system is either in trouble financially or crippled by staffing shortages. The truth is, you cannot own a home and raise a family in this area while working in a "service" profession such as nurses, teachers, police...etc. These jobs just don't pay well enough around here. In a few years...there will be no middle class in Miami.

akspudus

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As a local friend told me as she was packing up her Floridian home of nearly 30 years to move to North Carolina. "Miami is no longer an American town...it is a South American port, in America."

If you don't speak Spanish or maybe Creole...you will have a TOUGH time getting a job here in South Florida. In fact most positions list Spanish as a qualification requirement. Legal racism?

so, what is an "american town" ? please definie that. it'd be very interesting to know! wal*marts, 2,000 square foot homes surrounded by white picket fences in the suburbs, occupied by white families?

and how is it racism to be able to speak spanish as a job qualification? i was talking to a friend about this, it's moreso an equal job opportunity problem than racism. as far as legality goes, it's not like english is the official language of the United States (contrary to popular belief).

i think this conversation can get really ugly, so i'm just going to end it here and focus my energies on other things. later.

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please do tell me why it sux. I live in Dania Beach near Hollywood fl. I need to pass my rn nclex but I hold an LPN from PA that I need to trans in the meantime

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Alex - I don't care for Florida either, but I haven't had your experience up in Tampa. I'll have been here two years in December, and I've lived in Minneapolis and New Orleans previously. I did notice in the part of Miami I visited a few years ago that grocery store clerks and such spoke only Spanish, but we were staying with a Cuban friend so I assumed it was just his neighborhood. The hospital I'm doing my clinicals at just calls for a translator if the patient speaks no English, and while I'm sure being bilingual wouldn't hurt, you don't need Spanish or any other language to get hired. The nurses on my last rotation had to call for one for both Spanish and Creole speaking patients while I was there. It was never a big deal. We will be able to afford a house here once I graduate, although I'm sure it will be nothing lavish. The recent downturn is great for first-time buyers, although prices are still much higher than I'm used to after almost 10 years in Louisiana. I'm surprised to see myself defending Florida at all, but maybe I just have different problems with this state (look back at my earlier posts to this thread).

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Modeator note: No need to go off on any tangents here. Suffice it to say that sometimes the language barriers can be tough in nursing in Florida. Leave the judgements out of it.

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American town? That extremely bothers me, I swear we are all immigrants and we should be accepted everywhere! Everyone says you need to know spanish to get around and that is not TRUE! only in Little Havana that I might see a problem but in Coral Gables, Miami beach, North Miami, Aventura you are able to get around and everyone speaks ENGLISH! too. I cannot wait to go back to Miami I'm stuck in a boring American city! Gainesville, full of? Is that fair? and does it bother you so much to learn a second language?! It's funny, Americans only know English is that fair? and it is our fault you are "culture sensitive"

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Specializes in Cardiac.
is that fair? and does it bother you so much to learn a second language?!

i speak spanish, and live in jupiter, fl (about 2 hours n from miami). but i shouldn't have to for a job requirement. and although we were all immigrants at some point, it seems that most people attempt to learn english at some level because it is our predominant language.

it's funny, americans only know english is that fair? and it is our fault you are "culture sensitive"

i wouldn't move to munich without learning german or expecting to have a language barrier issue. and if i did move without learning it, i sure wouldn't complain about people not speaking english, it's their country, i am the one that needs to adapt.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Thread closed. I think we've said all there is to say about moving to Florida or not moving to Florida. Thanks.

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