Need some advice

[jimmyboy8301]

Well my parents are moving to florida probably by the end of the year and i can't decide if i want to stay in nj or move to florida. right now i'm single, 23, and have just under 1 year in with the new jersey dept of corrections and make 44k a year, next year i sould be making just over 50k, I will top out here in 10 years at 75k as the contract is now (but that will go up a lot in 20 years). My car is paid off and by next year my truck will be very close to being paid off also, and i have no credit card bills. I have some very very good friends here and a lot of friends in general. However i have always liked the idea of being a cop in florida whether it be for a town/city or sheriff's officer. My parents are looking into orange county about 30 minutes outside of orlando. NJ corrections officers are law enforcement and have full police powers 24/7 so it looks like my cert will carry over for corrections there and i would only have to take the crossover academy. I am looking into Orange County Sheriff's Office and Orlando Police, and also Miami-Dade Police ( i realize how far that is). Most of the departments there start out in the mid 30's and top out in the high 50's to mid 60's. Right now I have 5 years in the pension and can retire in 20 years at 43 years old. If i move to florida i will have to start all over again in the pension. THe bonuses is florida will be a new place for a new and exciting career and new friends plus being with my parents. The downside is i won't be making much money plus i will have to leave a lot of my very close friends behind ( i consider my close friends to be like my family) I think when my parents go down to florida i am going to take 2-3 weeks off of work and see how i like it down there and maybe if i want to move. I was wondering if anyone might give me their opinion on what i should do and also if they have any information on florida as far as insurance, property taxes, the cost of living or a job in law enforcement. any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

[johnjzjz]

you can move away from jersey easlly, but coming back is very hard, if the family needs you because they are older than go, other wise you will not make as much money, and the inmates in fla are not the same as they are here, more ******** for less money and its a 2 hour trip by plaine jz

[OneFast383]

u wont need to make the money u do in jersey to live in florida.... things are cheaper in the south, and weather is always warm... downside is losing your friends.... im in S.C and make right at 53k a yr..... im sure i could make more at my job in NJ but i pay half the rent... insurance and everything else that i would be paying up there and no SNOW! Lol dont know if that helps u out any but i made the move from NJ to SC

[jimmyboy8301]

are you happy that you decided to go to SC instead of stay in NJ?

[Tsar]

Originally Posted by jimmyboy8301

Well my parents are moving to florida probably by the end of the year and i can't decide if i want to stay in nj or move to florida. right now i'm single, 23, and have just under 1 year in with the new jersey dept of corrections and make 44k a year, next year i sould be making just over 50k, I will top out here in 10 years at 75k as the contract is now (but that will go up a lot in 20 years). My car is paid off and by next year my truck will be very close to being paid off also, and i have no credit card bills. I have some very very good friends here and a lot of friends in general. However i have always liked the idea of being a cop in florida whether it be for a town/city or sheriff's officer. My parents are looking into orange county about 30 minutes outside of orlando. NJ corrections officers are law enforcement and have full police powers 24/7 so it looks like my cert will carry over for corrections there and i would only have to take the crossover academy. I am looking into Orange County Sheriff's Office and Orlando Police, and also Miami-Dade Police ( i realize how far that is). Most of the departments there start out in the mid 30's and top out in the high 50's to mid 60's. Right now I have 5 years in the pension and can retire in 20 years at 43 years old. If i move to florida i will have to start all over again in the pension. THe bonuses is florida will be a new place for a new and exciting career and new friends plus being with my parents. The downside is i won't be making much money plus i will have to leave a lot of my very close friends behind ( i consider my close friends to be like my family) I think when my parents go down to florida i am going to take 2-3 weeks off of work and see how i like it down there and maybe if i want to move. I was wondering if anyone might give me their opinion on what i should do and also if they have any information on florida as far as insurance, property taxes, the cost of living or a job in law enforcement. any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

i selected the important part in bold... This lead me to believe you should move down there and explore the local scenery while you still can

about the family part - ticket to jersey and back is only 200 bucks and its not like you are moving 10k miles away.

P.S. ive lived in florida and local scenary is quite good, believe me. i dunno why the **** i moved back, decision was made when i was drunk.

[OneFast383]

Originally Posted by jimmyboy8301

are you happy that you decided to go to SC instead of stay in NJ?

most of the time! lol ..... yeah i love it here.....car scene is awesome... got the beach 10 mins up the road.... only downfall is missin friends in jersey and my dad lives up there.... hell i made 8 bux an hr at strauss so teh job was one hell of an upgrade lol

[foff667]

property values in florida have gone up over the last few years ALOT...theres always a water shortage down there meaning your water bill will always be super high...property taxes probably wont be as much as up here but from what I saw **** aint necessarily cheap down there because its huge on tourists and also I can only assume home owners insurance is more expensive. Either way good luck with your decision.

[Slow 88]

upside is no emission testing!!!

[jimmyboy8301]

Tsar, are the girls down there stuck up snobs like 90% of the girls in NJ or are they generally friendly?

[bad64chevelle]

Jim, I understand the want to be with friends and family at the same time and that makes the move so much harder. I think taking a few weeks down there would be the best thing for you. You can relax, see what its like and just take in as much as possible. While down there you can figure out the costs of living and compare that to the amount of money you can make both places and see whats comfortable for you to live with (the main part). I think that you have good friends here and could make good friends there, but you most likely have had alot of your friends for a very long time. Go down for a few weeks take it all in, see how the people are, the way of life and the costs of living and give it a good comparison to NJ (dont forget the weather differences) and then on a clear head you can begin to make your decisions.

[Tsar]

Originally Posted by jimmyboy8301

Tsar, are the girls down there stuck up snobs like 90% of the girls in NJ or are they generally friendly?

I'd say women down south are generally nicer then northerners, however if you go down below Ft. Lauderdale then everyone is a dick. But thats mostly because everyone there is a former NY'er or some kinda northener
But not to get off topic; I've met some Georgia women, and Texas women and Floridians (doh) and for the most part they were nice, they carry themselves differently and their values are different so they come as a better "package" i guess. There're of course exceptions but thats what ive noticed. South FTW.

[jimmyboy8301]

i've noticed that a lot of girls from around have very low values and no self respect