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You've hit the nail on the head.

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!

99% of the jobs in the South pay less than their identical job descriptions in the NorthEast.

But, there's no state income tax in FLA and the cost of living itself is much cheaper.

and the people are generally friendlier, at least according to my NJ relatives, who marvel at "Southern Hospitality" every year they visit. Something about strangers saying "Howdy" to them absolutely baffles them.

good luck!

"each and every single one of the New Jersey folks I knew crawled back home within a year with their tails between their legs."

I escaped from Bergen County NJ 44 years ago when the Navy stationed me in Florida. I certainly haven't crawled back yet.

I've lived in Sanford,Orlando,Key West,Jacksonville and Lake City, FL over the years and cannot imagine living in another state, with the exception of Texas.One of my daughters lived there for a few years and I enjoyed my visits there.

I still have relatives I visit occasionally in NJ and am amused about their attitudes and misconceptions regarding living in FL.They think I'm joking when we compare property taxes...my $1300 per annum for a 4BR 2.5BA, 2000sq ft home on a half acre lot versus their $1200 to 1300 per MONTH! Some of them defend their high taxes by saying they have better government services....but they aren't evident to me. We have no state income tax here in FL,and on the average we have better roads and no winter to speak of.

No, you won't see me crawling back to the Garden State anytime soon.

I live in Daytona and my wife works in the resort industry and the pays really sucks. Most jobs start out close to min. wage and go slowly up from there. She has been a bookeeper for 10 yrs at a resort and makes about $10/hr as I said it took that long to get a somewhat decent pay in the resort industry. I work for a defense contractor and bring home much more. We love Florida and will not leave, however, it may have been a different story if I did have the job I have. We came from NY in 85, 3 kids through the school system and all college grads, 2 in Jax and 1 in NJ and wants to come back to FL.
Taxes are low, food costs are low, housing is starting to jump in the Daytona area, however there is good housing for lower incomes.
I suggest you take a working vacation and check out the job market, housing and schools. Schools are better in different areas and that is one thing we looked into.
Hope this helps.