Should I move to Florida
Curious if you think it is a decent place to raise a family. How the weather is. Way of life etc. I would be moving from Cali.
Trending Content
| +30 | Non-Competes Banned | 37 | 3h | |
| +30 | ADHD ! | 14 | 17h | |
| +29 | Being Christian in investment banking | 14 | 3d | |
| How do I become Sigma | 15 | 1d | ||
| +19 | Moelis has the cutest Analysts? | 4 | 3d | |
| +18 | Best NYC neighborhood for single 30M | 12 | 4d | |
| +16 | Underage intern, drinking? | 7 | 3d | |
| +13 | Secretive vs Universal Prestige? | 7 | 3d | |
| +12 | Can someone justify why is million written mm or MM? | 8 | 3h | |
| +10 | What are divorce rates in IB? | 13 | 5d |
Career Resources
Yes, including Miami. Best city in the US right now, generally nice weather (gets a little hot/humid sometimes), and has grown a lot in the past 3 years from a vacation city to very residential. Only going to get better.
Obviously for a family, other slower-paced cities like Orlando, Tampa are also good bets, just depending on the vibe you are going for.
delete
How old are you? I actually like Sarasota and can give more details as I spent some time there growing up but there’s a large older population
Sarasota is beautiful, less expensive than any of the big cities but I would argue nicer, 40 min drive from Tampa, and if you're looking to have kids the best school in the entire state is there. Seems like it would be one of the best places in FL to start a family. No idea how the finance or tech scene is though aside from Rumble put their new HQ there I believe.
Can try and give some perspective, though I’m still <1yr into being a Florida resident. Also in a semi-different place in life it seems (just turned 29, living with long-time gf and saving for a first home vs starting a family) but I’ll speak to some of the changes we’ve experienced moving here and personal pros/cons vs other places I/we have lived (I grew up and went to school in CA, met my gf in NYC and lived there for 3 years, then Chicago for 2, and been in Tampa since March of this year.)
1. Weather - Coming from the west coast, and after having lived in two colder climates, I have to say the weather here in FL is great for the most part. I was spoiled with southern CA up until I left after community college, so I’ll admit the muggy summers will take some getting used to, but I’m still able to golf everyday and its “cold” being 60 degrees outside. The bugs are another thing during the summer months but my blood seems to antagonize mosquitoes. Don’t have to worry about a winter jacket, gloves and a beanie just to make a grocery run (though you’ll still see some people here doing it in Dec/Jan/Feb lol) so I consider that a positive. We had a hurricane scare this past summer and actually had to evacuate, but it seems relatively rare on this side of the state (compared to the east coast) and the fact that Tampa is on an Indian burial ground and supposedly protected. I see it as having to contend with something similar to CA wildfires, though without the added unpredictability of idiots with a matchstick or firework. The brutal winter freezes in Chicago I would just stay indoors, so no real hazard there.
2. Mobility - similar to CA, you’ll need a car and car insurance is only getting more expensive (thank you grandma/grandpa/Florida man/uninsured) but at least gas is cheaper! Won’t have to worry about the cold and salted roads taking a toll on car exteriors but still have to protect your paint from fading (unique love bugs that can damage cars with their acid if left on too long, parking in shade.) I do miss Chicago and NYC for their public transportation.
3. Going Out Scene/Social Life - Tampa is growing rapidly and nearby St. Petersburg also provides additional options. I will say I have disappointed with majority of the “upscale” types of restaurants, though again, having lived in four of arguable the best areas for food (LA, SF, Chicago & NYC) it’s hard to compare. I’ve found the better spots to be hole-in-the-wall type spots for Mexican/Vietnamese (which is similar across the other cities) and no longer paying $25 for a pasta dish and $50 for an entree that leaves me thinking I just paid NYC prices for a meal that wasn’t even close in quality. Can’t speak to the nightclub scene but have some friends that say it’s ok. Tampa’s biggest thing that I love are the amount of local breweries, and having local sports teams. It’s also a pretty active lifestyle city, with a nice Bayshore boulevard walk that spans downtown and down along a harbor where lots of people bike/walk/run, loads of gyms (new Lifetime opening up soon that looks sick), tennis/kickball public courts all over, and all kinds of water sports (paddle boarding, kayaking, kite surfing.)
All in all, I’m happy here and I don’t think I’ve given up a whole lot compared to other places I’ve lived. No state income tax is a nice plus. Seem to be paying more for utilities, and the cost of living overall wasn’t as low as I’d thought it would be compared to Chicago (paying $2800 for a 2bd2ba compared to $3500, and the apartment finishes leave a lot to desired compared to high rise I was in.) People are friendly and pretty easy to find a group of people you can relate to. I’d much rather be raising a family here than Chicago or NYC comparatively, though I may still lean San Diego if I had the option and could comfortably afford it, and that’s a big if. We’re planning on staying here for awhile barring any major career changes, and another commenter seems to be right about Sarasota having great school systems - have also heard that from longterm residents. Disney being less than 2 hours away might be nice for the kids too.
delete
Also a Southern CA native now residing in Tampa (been here for 6 years) and agree with the vast majority of what you said. Weather is great except for summer, owning a car is comparably priced (basically a wash between cheaper gas and more expensive insurance) with less traffic, and the social scene is both sufficient and growing/improving.
My only nitpick is that I've never been able to find a Mexican restaurant that passes muster versus what CA offers...if you found a great hole-in-the-wall place I may need a local recommendation!
only if you leave your shitty california politics behind
I have friends that live in Miami and Tampa (in Finance and PE) and are looking to move to Texas due to COL and housing. They didn't seem positive on the Florida vibes.
COL in FL has jumped like 40%+ in most major metro areas over the past couple of years because of how many people from NYC and CA are going there. I have a friend who was paying $1,300/mo for a 1br/1b in 2021 just outside Miami and that same apartment is now nearly $2k. One would think Florida's endorsement of more expressly anti-leftwing policy like what DeSantis has been pushing in schools might stem the tide but the flight from other states is real and very large with 1,200+ new residents per day. Texas on the other hand seems to have a lot more space and capacity to absorb people without major changes to the COL - I have another friend who recently moved to Dallas from NYC and have 2 others who are contemplating the move in the next year or so.
Interesting on the COL point.
Tons of people have moved from the northeast to FL - I'll assume many are boomers looking to retire or people who move their primary place of residence. However, curios to hear peoples sentiment on life in FL after a few years there. Do people prefer it there or in the northeast?
Yes but not Miami. Look at Tampa or Sarasota - COL is more reasonable and people are more down to earth. Miami doesn't really have a better job market if you're working in tourism or something with LatAm.
Western FL is where it’s at
Buddy mentioned to me recently that one thing people massively underestimate about living in Florida is how expensive home insurance is, specifically hurricane or flood insurance. Mentioned his family member has a bigg-ish house and pays 5k per month in home insurance.
Isn’t Florida full of gators and hurricanes in the summer..
The gators don’t migrate somewhere else like birds…they live there.
hurricane season is June through November - which is not “summer”
These southern states seem to be really humid. People should be deciding between ny and ca
Et sequi perspiciatis voluptatum qui rerum. Aut officia et itaque esse consectetur. Illum aut qui a facere.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...