Relocating ?

Katherine8908

So with all the other craziness going on in our lives my fiancé wants to start planning our move to Florida or possibly south Carolina I have never lived anywhere other than upstate ny he has moved around his whole life and I don't even know where to begin as far as looking for an area to live in schools doctors etc we don't have any family down there either to help but we have always wanted to live in the southeast and he thinks now is the time to do it . Does anyone have any advice on where to start with a big move like this ?? We will be renting at first until we really find a place we want to settle down. This hasen't even begun and im already stressing blah !!

kimey1

DH and I are in NJ and we prepping for a potential move to Asia. We were planning on it prior to finding out about the pregnancy so now it looks like i may give birth there.
We are planning to sublet or stay a month at a reasonable hotel while we find longterm housing, and I will need to find a good doc as well.
Don't stress too much. My hubby is stressing and I keep telling him that doing stuff with a small baby wont be too hard. We plan to settle somewhere longterm when the baby reaches the age to attend school.

Katherine8908

Wow kimey Asia that is a way bigger change than another state good luck now I sound like a baby haha

PeggyOlsonFTW

I think that you have the right idea about renting for awhile so you can decide where you'd like to settle. Can you see if there's local Facebook groups in the areas you're considering? Joining one and asking specific questions there might be a good place to start.

Katherine8908

Yes that's what I'm trying to find lol I don't even know what areas to consider if anyone has recommendations on credible( sp? )websites or something where I can compare schools, crime rate etc.

PeggyOlsonFTW

Greatschools.net will tell you about schools and U.S. News and World Report will tell you about school rankings. Not sure if it's just high school or districts

imrachellea

Well, for schools, I actually teach in the #1 top rated district in Florida. And there are definitely bad districts so you want to make that a priority.

TKaiser91

We looked into moving to Florida a couple years ago when pregnant with DD, but DH's job told him he had to wait another year before relocating down there. But we were looking at the Palm Coast are because my dad lives there and it's a small area like we wanted. Also looked at Palm Beach which is a little more south because that is where his store would've been. To make things easier on you I would make a list of things you want and don't want when you move, i.e. Close to beach, more inland, small town, big city, popular tourist area or not so much, etc. Then pull up a Florida map, pick a side ( Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean) and start writing down city names that you find on that coast. That way when you look up the school and crime ratings you have an idea of where it's located. I'm biased but I would look up Palm Coast, Fl. It's a little town off the main highway and has pretty decent schools and crime isn't horrible. It's on the Atlantic Ocean, about 10 minutes from the beach, 30 minutes north of Daytona Beach, 30 minutes south of St. Augustine ( my favorite place In The whole world) and about an hour south of Jacksonville. Good luck on your move!

cmerribury

I feel you! My husband just applied for a job that would relocate us to Dubai! It's terrifying, but it can be an adventure. Hang in there!

KHouz

We've relocated twice now. From TX to WI then WI to IA. My ds1 was 2 when we moved the first time, the second time ds1 was 5 and ds2 was 3.
As far as schools, I used greatschools.com to look up test scores and reviews of the schools. We also went and checked out the areas we were looking at to see if we liked that part of town and felt comfortable there. We also looked at what houses we could afford and what we wanted in a house. In WI we settled for crappier schools but a better house since we planned on moving before ds1 started kindergarten (we ended up moving about 3 months into his kindergarten year).

Motiejmr

I live in Miami and it's awful, but I stay bc DH family is here and they help with the baby. I lived north of Orlando for a bit in a town called deltona about 30 min north of Orlando and 30 min south of Daytona beach. I loved it and rent for a big house was cheap! I also hear great things about Tampa area, but of course be careful to steer clear of the bad areas.

Katherine8908

Thanks everyone you are all making me feel much better about this

mswings1

I moved from upstate NY to Florida when I was 6 months pregnant with my son. I also grew up in the area I moved to so I can't be a help as far as looking up what area to go to, but I can tell you that moving while pregnant isn't horrible! The worst part was I wanted to carry things and everyone else wouldn't let me help

kimey1

@Katherine8908 another good source is Zillow or Trulia or similar real estate websites, so you can figure out not only the school ratings in the area but also the crime rate. Some sites show median income which can be helpful too!
You can do this!

babykitch2016

@katherine8908 don't worry, my fiance just got a new job offer for SC. No family there, though it is only 5 hrs from where i currently live it feels like a lot right now may bcuz of all the changes happening to me, then a move while I'm finishing school. ....trust me im with you on this. But i just keep reminding myself that we wouldn't be moving if it wasn't the best thing for our family.

pinottoparenthood

Have you guys looked into the job situation? Not sure what you are doing now, but I would say that's the first order of business! We live in NC, pretty close to SC, and there are some really great schools in certain areas... plus if you live close to NC, there is TONS to do in Charlotte. I would say start researching school districts. Try to talk to people who live in the area. Maybe go for some visits (is there anyone you can stay with?) and start touring houses, etc... not that you have to buy one right away, but just to get a feel for the neighborhoods and what you can get for your money, etc. GL!

sarahufl

kimey1 said:

@Katherine8908 another good source is Zillow or Trulia or similar real estate websites, so you can figure out not only the school ratings in the area but also the crime rate. Some sites show median income which can be helpful too! You can do this!

Be careful about Zillow and Trulia for school ratings- we found they were unrepresentative for our area when we were buying our house.

korpatch

Zillow is great.