I'm originally from Bergen County, NJ, and over the years, I met many people who had this fantasy about relocating to Florida. With the exception of Grandma, each and every single one of the New Jersey folks I knew crawled back home within a year with their tails between their legs. They had unrealistic expectations. For example, I knew a word processing supervisor in a prominent law firm who was earning over $20/hr. in NJ in the early '90s. She found that the same job only paid $8/hr in FL. I've already taken a huge nosedive with wages in MA, so I hope FL isn't much worse.
I do indeed value the objective opinions of fellow FReepers; thanks for your reply!