I have a company pursuing me about an opportunity in the Weston Florida area. Potentially the position could be in Atlanta, but I think they are pushing for Weston. I have been to Atlanta enough to know I could live there but have no idea about Weston.
So learn me. I have 3 kids and a wife. Schools trump most.
This is totally speculative at this point. I don't think I'm going anywhere unless they make it really worth my while.
*fixed a spelling issue.
If you go to work in Weston try to live as close to the Atlantic as you can. The water in the Gulfstream flowing in the Straights of Florida keeps the area near the coast south of Palm Beach cooler in summer and warmer in winter. It gets hotter and more humid out in Weston in the summer than along the coast by a noticeable amount. Kids were all grown by the time I moved down here so no help on the school situation.
I moved here primarily because it's an awesome place for car guys. All kinds of stuff going on year round.
Weston is a far western suburb of Ft. Lauderdale. Clean and new. I understand the schools are some of the best in Broward County. Diverse population, fairly affluent. Great place to live if you do not commute into Ft. Lauderdale or Miami. Traffic gets insane on connecting roads. Short hop to the Keys, Everglades are literally across the street. Yeah, a few stray gators show up in canals. Pythons, too. Catch an episode of Gator Boys, they are based in Weston. Weston has one of the best hospitals in the US, Cleveland Clinic. Taking the wife there tomorrow for a tune up. I have lived in the area for 20 years.
Thanks for the thoughts guys. I appreciate it.
Burmese pythons. Cocaine.
Pythons yes, Coke smugglers, not so much. Those crazy days are pretty much over. Weston is one of the most peaceful areas here. Decent politics, good law enforcement, pretty safe area. I prefer the more eastern areas, but my kids are in their 40's, so no school issues.
Yes, I would like to live closer to the water, if possible. One of my biggest regrets with my time spent in Charleston SC, is that I lived in a non-descript inner area that was devoid of any "local flavor"...
But we shall see. Again, speculative.
There seems to be an oddly large concentration of grmers in florida, and challenge is a same day drive. Thats what i got.
Plus no crappy mid-west winters and better yet no state income tax!! Florida (most likely somewhere in south Florida) here I come in about 9-10 years.
I got nothing but I'm pretty sure you couldn't move farther and stay in the continental US. That would be quite the move. Good luck.
All of south Florida is way too crowded for me to even think about living there. We spent about a week in and around Boca Raton last year. Way too crowded.
If I were to move to Florida it would likely be somewhere around jax beach. Still too many people for my tastes but not as bad as south Florida.
not to thread-jack, but how hard is it to find places in South FL that are still natural and not human-packed? Not wilderness per say, but just to get out of town for a day and not see humans everywhere I look?
AngryCorvair wrote: Burmese pythons. Cocaine.
I don't like snakes but I'm sold anyway.
Do you hate everything about Seattle? Because the Miami megalopolis* is about as opposite from Seattle in every way as you can get in the U.S.
(* technically the "Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area")
There are areas where it is much less populated. West and south. Homestead and The Redlands are basically agricultural. Great roadside veggie stands. 20 miles south of Weston, I like it but swmbo says no. My daughter lives in Homestead, loves it. I give guided tours to visitors. Fun times guaranteed. Hey, where else can you find a drag strip owned and operated by a city police department?
Wall-e wrote:AngryCorvair wrote: Burmese pythons. Cocaine.I don't like snakes but I'm sold anyway.
I LOL'd.
cwh wrote: where else can you find a drag strip owned and operated by a city police department?
For real?
Wall-e wrote:AngryCorvair wrote: Burmese pythons. Cocaine.I don't like snakes but I'm sold anyway.
Compared to the meth & heroin problems taking over the rural Midwest, I think I'd prefer a snake & cocaine problem too...as long as there's no motherberkeleying snakes on motherberkeleying cocaine. Nope, no thanks to that E36 M3.
SEADave wrote: Do you hate everything about Seattle? Because the Miami megalopolis* is about as opposite from Seattle in every way as you can get in the U.S. (* technically the "Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area")
I don't hate Seattle. This opportunity sought me out. 2nd time this has happened. 1st time I Went with it and landed in Seattle. We shall see where it goes.
In reply to AngryCorvair: Looks like the strip has closed for lack of funding. Sad. It was pretty cool. Had a feature called "Beat the Heat", where a cop, in an Official Medley Police car would line up with all comers. Beat the cop, get a tee shirt saying " I beat the heat!". Original idea was to provide a safe place for the street racers. It really was run by the City of Medley Police Dept.
So.. this is oddd. I have beginning talks with companies in Boston, The inland Empire, Florida/Atlanta, and Lincoln NE...
In reply to ultraclyde:
Depends on if you have an airboat
Fueled by Caffeine wrote: So.. this is oddd. I have beginning talks with companies in Boston, The inland Empire, Florida/Atlanta, and Lincoln NE...
As far as quality of life goes, not sure how these stack up to your current locale...
What are you looking for? What is most important when determining you and your family's quality of life? I have lived in the IE and FL, the former for a short stint, and the latter for most of my life. South Florida has always felt a bit isolated to me, though I lived more on the southern end of the state. Cost of living is pretty good, still no state income taxes, and you can definitely get a huge house dollar for dollar compared to the NW. I loved LA, but the IE seemed to amplify the worst of southern CA while also taking away the things that made the area desirable in the first place.
If I ended up back in the southeast, my target would be somewhere between Atlanta and Raleigh.
I grew up ~10 minutes east of Weston, and my parents are still there. It is an upscale, planned suburbia. There are quite a few different types of communities that you can commute there from, but most are still suburbia. If you lived east, that would at least be opposite to the main traffic flow.
There are some good public schools, and some very good private schools.
South FL has become more and more populated, to the point where it is nearly full to its extents. The third world influence of the Caribbean has also crept north over time - crime, population density, politics, traffic, noise, as well as the language, music, sports, and other positive cultural influences.
I moved an hour north and wouldn't consider going back.
In reply to MattGent:
That's funny, I've been researching a company in Stuart, Florida. Which is just over an hour south of Treasure Coast. All of the stats seem to be pretty close to Pekin,Il, (except for the weather) according to bestplaces.net. It's always nice to have a first person perspective, though.
I had no idea about the crowding. Not a fan of that at all.
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