Thinking About Moving

go for it!
here's a little quiz that might be fun to find out where to move:
http://www.bestplaces.net/fybp/
and here's
http://moving.about.com/od/whymove/a/best_places.htm

Hi C., Not to put Florida down but i'am from here and want to leave myself.I grew up here but it so different from those days! Iam raising a son down here.The school system is the worst! There is no fresh air and it is very dirty from the over population!Florida is nothing how it used to be!I also raised 2 daughters up in Georgia ,What a difference!Florida was nice at some time but not recently.Good Luck in whatever u decide!

I agree with Sylvia, if you are not used to the cold it will be a big shock for you and your kids. I remember growing up in Toronto Canada and our winters were very cold. We pretty much got the same weather as New York. We had what we called snow days from school. These were days when the teachers couldn't get into work because of the snow storms we had. I moved here 6 1/2 years ago and I would not move back.I lve it here hot wheather and all. I live in Weston and I am very lucky I have great neighbors and a wonderful school that my kids can walk to. It's alot cleaner here because we have no polution like most cities have. I have allergies and since I moved here my allergies went away. Colorado sounds nice, but the winters aren't so nice. (Unless your are a skier then they can be managable)

Good luck on your decision.

Hi, C.. Wow. That's a huge decision. Here are my thoughts about such a radical move. I'm sorry, but I'm going to be kind of a wet blanket.

Well, if you think about what's going to happen in your first Colorado winter, you have to know that you are not going to save any money in that season. The cost of living in Florida is generally lower than it is in any place farther north because your heating bills are very low or non-existant. In Colorado, heating during the winter is a major part of your living expenses. I don't know if they use oil or coal, but you also have to consider that the price of either one changes frequently, and if the price of your heating source is down now (it would be, because there's no need for it in summer), it will surely go up when winter comes because there will be a huge demand for it. So your heating expenses in Colorado can take a turn for the worse suddenly, just as your homeowner's insurance can down here.

In Florida, people can actually live without air conditioning or heating about 7 or 8 months out of the year, depending on where they live. If you're closer to the Atlantic Ocean, you get more breezes than if you're farther inland, and you need less airconditioning. You need less heating, too, because the southern Atlantic Ocean stays relatively warm even on very cold days. The coldest winter I ever knew (I have been here 45 years), I didn't need a heater more than a week or two, and then only at night.

As far as the cost of food and such, that all depends on where the food is grown and how difficult it is to transport it to the supermarket. In Florida, a great deal of our food is grown right here, both produce and meat products, so our food costs tend to be lower than they are in other areas where food has to be trucked in. I know Colorado has a lot of ranches and farms, but I don't know if they have a problem getting the food across the mountains and such. You might want to look into that. Also, during the winter months, you can have shortages of certain products if the trucks and the trains can't get through the snow. You will always have to have a survival kit for the winter, in case of blackouts and being shut in for long periods of time...much as you have to have hurricane survival supplies here in Florida.

I'm not sure what you mean by everything costing too much in Florida. If you're talking about real estate or homeowner's insurance, then I see your point, but everything else tends to be less expensive.

If you've never been in a climate cold enough for snow, then you need to get yourself ready, both mentally, emotionally and physically. You will have to have clothing warm enough to protect you and your family from the incredibly bitter cold that Colorado experiences during their long winters. The shock of being stuck in the house for long periods of time during blizzards is another thing you will have to get used to.

I've never lived in Colorado myself, but I moved from Florida to New York when I got married, and it was an extreme shock. The mindset of the people in New York City or even the outlying suburbs is very different from what it is in Miami where I grew up. I tend to be a very laid-back person, but people there are very concerned with trendy clothes and consumerism. I was seen as a major freak. I didn't have a New York accent, either, so people identified me immediately as not from around there. I often got cheated by various people who were supposed to repair things. In general, it was very hard for me to make friends; I kept to myself, and since my son's dad and I didn't have a lot of money to spend on shows and restaurants, all the fun things in NY never happened for me.

The cold, wet winters depressed me hugely, and there were winter days when I might've been OK going outside by myself, but I simply could not bring my baby boy out in the miserable climate. In fact, even on mild winter days when it was only lightly snowing, when my baby was warmly cocooned in a beautiful new snow suit and carriage blanket, while I didn't have money to dress myself warmly enough, total strangers would walk up to me and criticize me for bringing my baby outside. LOL *I* was the one who was suffering from the cold, not my baby, but I was seen as a bad mom for running errands with my boy. Go figure.

So be prepared for the culture shock, too, getting used to the way that folks in a different part of the country think and act. You might want to visit the area you're thinking of moving to before committing yourself to being there full-time. LOL I wish I had spent some time in NY before living there. I would never have moved there.

Whatever you decide, I hope you choose the best place for you and your family to truly thrive.

Peace,
Syl

C.,

My MIL has a cabin that she built out there and stays out there part of the year. I have been out there once. If I didn't have obiligations here and my husband and his fanily didn't have there business here, I would love to move somewhere like colorado, it is beautiful. I say go for it.

Good luck.

S.