Moving To Florida

Reasons To Move To Florida

The reasons to move to Florida are many. It might be the weather, the outdoor activities, the beach, or maybe the economy. Other individuals choose to move to Florida in their "later years" for retirement or just a more leisurely lifestyle.

The economy in Florida has been hit hard by the real estate and housing downturn. As you can expect, Florida was one of the shining stars during the real estate boom, and thus, has been hit nearly the hardest among other states like California and Nevada.

For years, real estate and development fueled growth and fueled economic expansion in Florida. With real estate collapsing, economic activity has definitely taken a hit. It was recently announced in March 2010 that the unemployment rate was 12.2%, significantly higher than the national average.

With that said, there is still opportunity in Florida in certain industries. Obviously tourism is big in Orlando and South Florida. Conventions and meeting planning is huge in Orlando with the city being one of the largest in the country with regards to number of hotel rooms. Even during the recession, new properties such as the Hilton Bonnet Creek Resort and the Waldorf Astoria have opened their doors. Orlando is also doing a lot to attract technology companies with the University of Central Florida pumping out students in the fields of sciences and math.

South Florida cities like Ft. Myers, Naples, Ft. Lauderdale, Miami and others have been hit hard by the recession as well.  Other Florida cities like Gainesville and Tallahassee have faired better weathering the economic downturn due to economically stable entities like the Universities and the state government.

It's likely that you're either moving to Florida for employment or for lifestyle.  If it is employment, than that will dictate your choice of city.  If it is for lifestyle, then you have some options.

The Gulf Coast

The Gulf Coast region is spectacular when it comes to a leisurely lifestyle.  Cities like Sarasota and Naples are the more upscale cities with high end real estate, dining, and entertainment as well as world class beaches.  For more reasonably priced areas, consider cities like Clearwater and Dunedin.

The panhandle areas on the Gulf are more reasonably priced regions as well.  For example, cities like Panama City, Fort Walton Beach, Destin have great beaches and more affordable real estate.

Middle of the State

If not inclined to live near the beach, there are some great cities in the middle regions of the state.  Orlando has incredible lakes, sports teams, and lots of industry.  Ocala is a city south of Gainesville that has beautiful lands and state parks.  Just north of Orlando is a region with huge lakes and towns like Mt. Dora, Eustis and Leesberg.

South Florida

Miami, one of the larger cities in the state has a diverse culture and economy.  This city on the water isn't for everyone - most either love it or hate it.  It has a very large Cuban influence as well.  Just north of Miami are cities like Hollywood, Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach.  These are for the most part, fairly expensive regions with boating, restaurants and night life.

The state of Florida is home to some of the most competitive athletics at every level. Florida is a prime state for high school athletics with colleges from all over the country descending on the talent here for recruiting purposes.

With regards to football, the college teams of the Florida Gators, Miami Hurricanes, and Florida State Seminoles arguably make up the most competitive groups of collegiate teams from any state.  Throw in the professional teams of the Jaguars, Buccaneers and the Dolphins, and you have excellent football on both Saturday and Sundays.

When it comes to basketball, we're blessed with two great teams, the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat.  Both have competed for championships in recent years.  Florida also has two professional baseball teams: the Tampa Bay Rays and the Florida Marlins.

You simply can't beat Florida's sports.