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possibly relocating to florida - have some questions - long
hi there! my husband and i are kicking around the idea of moving to florida and i have some questions i am hoping you ladies might be able to help me with. the backstory is dh and i were living in pittsburgh when we started dating/were married, though we had met and become friends while we were both living in san francisco many years earlier. most of my family is in pittsburgh and we're very tight (and big, i have 8 siblings), we had a lot of friends as well but for career and health reasons (dh) we decided to move. now we're in san jose, ca which is great for tech (dh) and a nice enough place but ridiculously expensive. we've never planned on staying here permanently and have had our eye on seattle for some time now. dh wants to get out of hi-tech and study marine biology and/or bioinformatics and i would like him to do it because he just hates what he does.
we just had a huge tragedy in my family. one of my older brothers lives in stuart and his youngest was killed in an accident three weeks ago at fsu in tallahassee. he was just 19 and it's been so very hard, i don't even have the words to describe just how horrifying and heartbreaking his death has been. everyone was there for the funeral; my oldest brother flew in from europe, me and my sister from california, and all the rest of the sibs and their families and my parents (sil's parents passed away years ago). before we moved to ca, dh and i had discussed moving to florida but decided on ca because the tech market here is just so big and dh is more familiar with it. a few days into the time we just spent in florida dh told me that after watching the way my family pulled together, and the fact that we're both very close to my family, and with the fleeting nature of life in such sharp focus for us in the wake of my nephew's death, that he thinks we should be closer to them. i don't disagree with him and he suggested moving to florida instead of seattle. there are lots of good programs for what he wants to study, there's even one in fort pierce, which is near my brother and his family.
anyway... to the questions, finally. i know dh is doing his own research but is anyone familiar with the tech market in the treasure coast area (specifically stuart-port st. lucie-fort pierce area)? we're open to other areas but all things being equal i'd love to be near my brother and his family. i work in education (staff at a university) so there's always some place i can find a job. even with going to school dh is still going to have to work at least 50% because he makes so much more than me. also, i know the real estate market in florida has taken a huge hit but what's a good price for a house (and yes, i know it depends on where you are - lol)? just a nice three bedroom, regular house? real estate is so inflated here - starter homes are $450K and up - and i don't want to wind up paying to much because compared to here it seems like it's being given away. obviously we'll get some guidance from my brother and sil if we decide to move. i guess i'm just generally interested in your experiences in florida, do you like it, do you hate it, what do you wish you'd know before you moved there (for the non-natives)?
thank you for reading this... i never intended it to be so long.
Re: possibly relocating to florida - have some questions - long
I just wanted to say hi and I'm so sorry for your loss
That's so sad.
I wish I could give you more advice, but honestly I have no idea of anything in that area. I'm only familiar with Miami and Broward County.
I would look on realtor.com in the zip codes you are interested in to get an idea of the price of homes. The best deals are short sales and foreclosures and you could definitely get something for less than $450k. I would also search jobs in your field. Do you want to work at a university? You might want to check job openings first since the job market is bad.
Good luck!
Totally understandable. Moving and relocating is a big decision and I believe it often happens after people have suffered a loss. I know my MIL was told not to make any major decisions (especially about moving) until a year after her husband passed. I think that's actually good advice. Sometimes you need time to get over the grief to think clearly and weigh the decision well.
First off, I would like to say I am so sorry for your loss. It's comforting to have family close by and hope that you found some peace with yours during the difficult time.
I currently live in Port St. Lucie. I mainly am on the bump side and there are at least 2 others there who live in Stuart and Port St. Lucie. You may consider posting your questions there for additional advice.
I have lived here for almost 5 years. I lived in South Florida before there, but grew up in NJ. I personally love the area because it is a slower paced life. Like the reply above stated, you can definitely find a good home for under 200k here due to the hit we took in the market. I live in an area which is zoned only for residential properties. We back up to a preserve and houses on our street that are 2000+ square feet sold for 160-175k. It's definitely a steal in my opinion.
As far as jobs, I don't work in either of the fields that you are looking for information in. Jobs are scarce and many people do travel for work. Traveling down to West Palm or even north to Vero Beach is feasible, but it will tack on at least a 30-45 minute commute to your day (each way).
Whatever your choice is, best of luck to you and your family. If you have any questions, you can always email me emcob05 at yahoo dot com.