Moving Out Of Florida?

Good areas around Jax, close to several tracks.
$400k is 2000 sqft in a neighborhood with amenities in the burbs or 1500 sqft 10 minutes from the beach.
Town is diverse without being contrived. Lots of nationalities represented in food.
Some salaries are lower but trades are on fire.
Billing rates range from $50 hr for skilled painters up to $100+ for master craftsmen in niche trades like faux, stairs, marble and granite, wood floors with inlays, wallpaper, copper work awnings and drains, upholsters etc....Electricians and plumber as well.
You will never see so many 80,000 dollar pickups.

 

I’ve been slowly making the move out of Florida for the last 18 months . We spend about half the year in az - trying to make it full time but I’m married to business in fl. The mtn west offers all the fun I want within a 5 hour drive. I don’t fish , golf , play tennis or drink so Florida doesn’t have much to offer me anymore.

 

How long have you suffered gender dysphoria?

 

I appreciate the honesties. I’m at a fork because I am invested in my job here and sort of at the tilting point of being able to leave. If I wait too long I will probably become “un-hireable” for age unless I go back to school for a piece of paper that says I can do what I already do.

or I stick it out and finish my “career” here to solidify the pension.

if I move and can start another retirement system I can still put a solid 20-25 there and retire well, supplementing my current set up.

im not as much worried about escaping politics, as much as escaping the sardine packing. The idea of having land, maybe a mountain view is really intriguing.

I’m obviously indecisive like a woman so I really appreciate the perspectives

 

We checked out AL but it just didn’t knock us off our feet. Potentially we looked in the wrong area being near Birmingham, but they would accept my license so we checked there first.

 

The dirty little secret about pensions (if you're lucky enough to have one). Most do not adjust for inflation. Ten years after you retire what looked like a nice sum, all the sudden is getting tight. I wish I had the choice of taking a lump sum when I retired. 6 months after I left the plan changed but I was not able to alter the benefit. If you quit and can take your money as a cash payout, that is what I would do. Be smart enough to invest wisely and realize in a few years you'll be way ahead.

 

Maybe a smaller move? Northwest St Johns County here south of Jacksonville area is BOOMING. Great schools. Great activities for kids. Great place to live.

 

Loxahatchee in south Florida mostly 1 acre lots.

It’s commutable to large(r) cities. Skilled trades there leave alot desired. I cant tell you how many stores people have told me about them. An honest hard working person would do well there I believe if for example you wanted to be a plumber. I dont know about jobs at utilities.

NC and TN would not be my first choices and would never mover to Georgia

 

If I was moving to somewhere down there I would look around the TN/NC line, Knoxville....possibly over toward Chattanooga.

Or just follow @Venom51 and head NE of ATL into the mountains. I think he is lonely because no one lives near him.

 

Birmingham water/wastewater, mountains of problems. Local government corruption screwed that system over. There are good systems in Alabama, Montgomery being the best imo. Not under a mayors thumb. The reason I was there from 1982-2016.

 

I serve as the law director for a small City 45 minutes North of Cincinnati and a rural water district that distrbutes water in the unincorporated areas of Hamilton County (Cincinnati) and three surrounding counties. I also routinely communicate with rural water districts throughout the state. Ohio is desparate for water operators.

 

May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your testicle hair.

 

Yup...sharks!

 

Meth Gators...

 

Check out near east tawas or Oscoda. Michigan

You can get a house right on lake huron and the masses still haven't figured out yet that it's a good bang for the buck

Hunting and watersports are all very close

If you're interested in Michigan I have a decent buddy network and can ask around

 

When I retired, that was pretty much in every state. If you were certified, you could go practically anywhere. We hired operators away from smaller utilities all the time.

 

You can snowmobile to your front door when its -20°F.

 

We just spent a week in Michigan, went from the western bottom all the way to Copper Harbor and then down through Wisconsin. It really was incredibly beautiful, to the point I could almost move there. I say almost for one reason...winter. How bad is it really?

 

If you hafta ask…

Though seeing that Vespa with the sidecar studded up for ice racing would be cool.

 

Move to NY