Those that convinced thier significant others to move to FL, how?

[steviej]

How'd you do it? I interned for a year in Disney, loved it, best year ever. I am dying to move back. I keep trying to convince my fiancee to make the move, but she's not having it. She keeps saying her family is here in nj and there'd be no work for her down there (she's currently in grad school to be a therapist)

Did anyone else have a hard time convincing your wife or husband to make the move? If so, what'd it take to get them to go. I was born in NJ, I was raised in NJ, I live in NJ now. But as far as I'm concerned, Florida is home.

I am sick of the crummy weather here, hate the winters, despise them. And she keeps saying what about hurricanes. Would really appreciate some tips, will make the move in a heartbeat.

 

[Master Yoda]

About the only question I can answer is the hurricane one. That answer would be, "uhh Hello! Sandy!"

 

[steviej]

About the only question I can answer is the hurricane one. That answer would be, "uhh Hello! Sandy!"

tried it. Her response? "hurricanes hit down there a lot more often than they do here" and she got me there unfortunately lol btw yoda, 23k posts? that's awesome! lol

 

[Master Yoda]

tried it. Her response? "hurricanes hit down there a lot more often than they do here" and she got me there unfortunately lol btw yoda, 23k posts? that's awesome! lol

The reality is New Jersey has a much higher chance of extreme weather than central Florida. If and when a hurricane hits central Florida the sting has been taken out due to it being so far inland. There is no tidal surge to deal with, just wind and rain. You will never have a blizzard in Orlando, nor freezing rain. I have lived in Fl since 72 and have many friends in Jersey. I'll take the weather here in Florida any day over Jersey.

 

[steviej]

The reality is New Jersey has a much higher chance of extreme weather than central Florida. If and when a hurricane hits central Florida the sting has been taken out due to it being so far inland. There is no tidal surge to deal with, just wind and rain. You will never have a blizzard in Orlando, nor freezing rain. I have lived in Fl since 72 and have many friends in Jersey. I'll take the weather here in Florida any day over Jersey.

I agree 1000%. Tell that to my fiancee, eh, it's been a few weeks. Time for me to make another pitch anyway lol

 

[RandomPrincess]

My husband and I would gladly move if there were jobs in his field that paid anywhere near what he makes now. There aren't. Also there are no Therapists in FL? That explains the weird stories on the news all the time.

 

[steviej]

My husband and I would gladly move if there were jobs in his field that paid anywhere near what he makes now. There aren't. Also there are no Therapists in FL? That explains the weird stories on the news all the time.

exactly. What i keep saying! As far as the pay goes, the cost of living in FL is much lower than me in NJ. Don't know where you're from. When I'd heard an entry level manager in Disney makes approx 35k (which was my initial plan after college), here in NJ, you can get by the skin of your teeth with that, but in FL? you'll live like a king there.

Next time you guys go to Disney, rent a car, drive around some friendly neighborhoods (winter park, windermere, certain parts of claremont) and pick the brains of residents. You might be surprised at the feedback you get!

 

[RandomPrincess]

We live in the DC metro and my husband works for a government contractor. His job doesn't exist in Central FL. We could live in Central Florida for about 1/2 of what he makes but in this market it's to risky for a new career field. I'm easy preschool teacher. I can work anywhere.

 

[Master Yoda]

exactly. What i keep saying! As far as the pay goes, the cost of living in FL is much lower than me in NJ. Don't know where you're from. When I'd heard an entry level manager in Disney makes approx 35k (which was my initial plan after college), here in NJ, you can get by the skin of your teeth with that, but in FL? you'll live like a king there.

Next time you guys go to Disney, rent a car, drive around some friendly neighborhoods (winter park, windermere, certain parts of claremont) and pick the brains of residents. You might be surprised at the feedback you get!

Well not quite, but it is much easier to do than a lot of other places.

 

[Sans Souci]

Which type of therapist is your fiancee studying to be? The VA is looking to hire a ton of therapists. There is a huge mental health crisis in the veteran community right now. I know of a colleague (LCSW) who got a job at McDill AFB (Tampa). Very competitive pay, very. I think there is loan forgiveness, too.

But, again, I don't know if your fiancee is studying to work with that type of population, or if she is even open to it. It's not for everyone.

 

[steviej]

Which type of therapist is your fiancee studying to be? The VA is looking to hire a ton of therapists. There is a huge mental health crisis in the veteran community right now. I know of a colleague (LCSW) who got a job at McDill AFB (Tampa). Very competitive pay, very. I think there is loan forgiveness, too.

But, again, I don't know if your fiancee is studying to work with that type of population, or if she is even open to it. It's not for everyone.

She's going for her LCSW license!

 

[Sans Souci]

She's going for her LCSW license!

Does she want to work with a specific population, or is she general? The VA only hires practitioners/therapists with licences. I'm sure you know from talking to her it can take a few years to get all the required supervision hours.

Also, even if she got an NJ licence and there is no reciprocity, she might have to do her supervision hours and exam to be licensed to practice in FL. I don't know how that works between them, I live in neither state.

 

[DisneyDelirious]

Just to to throw it out there unless something has changed if you work for the VA you don't require a license for the state you are in. You require a license, but it's not dependent on the actual state you are working in as it's a federal job. It's a unique set up that comes in very handy for new grads. There are other ways around it for federally declared distasters but one of the big perks of it is in a pinch they can bring folks into disasters to work with near instant federal recognition and be able to go to work. Won't know unless you ask or do some research. Here is a link that may be helpful: https://www.usajobs.gov/JobSearch/S...&Title=Social Worker&ApplicantEligibility=all

 

[Sans Souci]

Just to to throw it out there unless something has changed if you work for the VA you don't require a license for the state you are in. You require a license, but it's not dependent on the actual state you are working in as it's a federal job. It's a unique set up that comes in very handy for new grads. There are other ways around it for federally declared distasters but one of the big perks of it is in a pinch they can bring folks into disasters to work with near instant federal recognition and be able to go to work. Won't know unless you ask or do some research. Here is a link that may be helpful: https://www.usajobs.gov/JobSearch/Search/GetResults?OrganizationID=VA&Series=0185&Title=Social Worker&ApplicantEligibility=all

That's good to know, thanks. I don't work for the VA, I just know in general they are looking to hire mental health professionals. I always keep my ear to the ground when it comes to potential employment.

 

[s&k'smom]

Another thing to consider is would her license transfer to Florida? She may have to meet different requirements, my friend was a dental tech and couldn't practice in Florida without retaking different licensing requirements. Not to rain on your parade sorry if it sounded like it, I would love to live in Florida but couldn't leave as my son would never ever get the same services here in Mass that he would in Florida. But hopefully when he's older and settled I can spend a few months. Good luck!

 

[hiptwinmama]

As a displaced native Floridian... I know the feeling. I am counting the days until my hubbys job could transfer him back home. I had to convince him to agree to move back to, and he did. Show her more parts of FL, other than just Disney. Orlando really is just kind of yuck, compared to the rest of the state. Take her to the Gulf Coast, to St Augustine, the pretty and relaxing parts. Now the southeast part of the state, either you love it or you hate it. It's like one big metropolis.

 

[Disneykidder]

My husband and I would gladly move if there were jobs in his field that paid anywhere near what he makes now. There aren't. Also there are no Therapists in FL? That explains the weird stories on the news all the time.

This is the reason why I haven't moved already. I can retire from my job in 17 years and that is when I am moving to Florida to work for the mouse. I am in education so I am thinking maybe human resources or college program interviewer or dvc rep. Whatever it is, I will be happy there.

 

[PatriciaH]

We moved to FL for close to 6 years (Celebration.) It was a lot of fun and we met some great people, but it was time to move back north. We were sick of contract work and crappy benefits. The crime was getting scary too. DH got offered a great job back north so we took it. The cost of living in FL was more than MA for us. Other than housing, it costs more to live in FL for my parents (from NYC) and our friends from NJ, CT and CA. The electric was crazy. Groceries cost much more and were awful quality. When we rented, even our rent was more than north of Boston on the train line. Some areas are cheap, but I would not want to live in a bad area. Even Celebration has had a lot of break ins the past few weeks-7 houses in 2 weeks I read. Also, their new Publix liquor store was just robbed. Anyway, just check out areas carefully.

 

[Lexxweb]

Old thread, sorry.

I think if you have a dream/passion to be in FL or Orlando more specifically, then you need to be there. As your partner she needs to understand that Disney isn't in NJ, you can't do YOUR job there and she most certainly CAN do her job in FL. It might take a few exams/forms to fill out to get licensed, but helping people is helping people. Unless she's healing NJ specific issues, there's no reason she can't be open to it.
Using hurricanes as a reason to not move is a pretty lame excuse, what about the horrible winters, the lack of sunshine most of the year, potential blizzards, etc. If hurricanes bother y'all that much, don't live on the beach. Orlando is far enough inland it just seems like a really bad windy storm. Nothing too crazy. We also don't get one every year, the weatherman just do a grand job scaring people in the summer.
She doesn't want to leave her family? I get it, y'all have lived there forever and it feels like home but what about the family you're both about to make together? You can start you're own family in a new place, and the old family will always be there to visit (who doesn't want to visit a family member that lives near Disney?). You might even be able to convince a couple of them to move as well.
You have to always be open to try new things in life, moving to a strange city and starting over is one of them. How can you really know yourself if you've ever thrown yourself out of your comfort zone and tried something completely off the wall and different.
Wouldn't you kinda hate yourself if you moved down here years later, discovered how wonderful it is, and how long you could've been doing it but wasted all that time? It's never too late to do the right thing, but the sooner the better. Follow your heart, everything else follows.

Not trying to rag on your fiancee, I'm sure she's great but I wanted to make sure my point was clear! Good luck!

 

[HollyAD]

Ok so my husband and I talk about this all the time! We both want to move to Fl but for different reasons! His parents are there and I am obsessed with the entire state...Can you imagine being a car ride away from all kinds of great weekend trips? Key West (my fav!) Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Vero Beach and Orlando of course. I want to move to Celebration after I saw how incredibly cute their hospital is...(I guess that's a work priority for the hospital to be cute lol) But I know NJ cost of living is very high. I love in MD and the real estate in Florida is cheap. However, nurse pay wouldn't be as good but if my mortgage was a lot less then it is worth the pay cut. I even thought of taking a travel nursing job in the area first to help with the expense of moving. Are there any agencies for therapist for traveling? That could be a great place to start. I have friends that relocated using a travel nursing job and made out great.