Sorry for the longish post, but am going to try to be detailed.
I'm a native NY'er. 34 & male. I just got back from Florida after visiting my grandma after a week. I make a conscious effort to see her once a year.I miss her dearly. She was just recently very sick with bronchitis. Seeing her so out of it was highly alarming. She's well on the road to recovery, but really slowing down. Rightly so, being 79. She has zero family down there. Fortunately, she has a lot of friends down there that keep an eye on her, but recently when she was ill, there was nobody that she could really rely on. This bothers me and my family to no end.
It bothers me so much that I am strongly considering moving there to keep an eye on her. She lives in Davenport (Polk county) in a somewhat rural area. It's about 10 minutes away from everything you could want. Pretty nice area from what I've seem. A bit redneckish, but nothing out of sorts.
One of her best friends is very, very high up in the Disney food chain (more on this later). I had to go get something from them one day. We were talking about the condition of my gradma's health, told them half jokingly about moving down there to keep an eye on granny. She thought it was a fantastic idea. Well, this got back to grandma. She's not expecting anything as it's not an overnight decision.
Grandma and her friend were talking about me one evening. The friend from Disney can guaranteed get me a job at Disney. Not some garbage job either, like pushing a button to a ride or trash collector. Something office/corporate full time. Looking up those jobs on glassdoor, they seem like pretty decent pay. I've got a strong resume. That's the toughest thing, and would be covered.
I have no idea what salary would be at the moment and before I did anything I would have to be sure. I know rents are cheaper down there depending on areas. Where I've been looking has some nice places at $700 a month for 2BR. I pay $900 a month now split (so 1800) for a 2 BR. If I were to keep roughly the same salary, I would be more than set. I could also stay with my grandma for a few months until I got up and running.
Here's my dilemma. Everything and I mean everything, is up here in NY. Or close to it. All of my close friends of 15+ years. Almost all my family. My nieces and goddaughter. All the places that are home. I see my family at least 2x a week. I have the strong feeling I would be miserable without them. Especially my nieces. Good lord, the thought of not having them makes me literally sad if I think about it. I don't see my friends all that often, maybe 1-2x per month but everyone is super tight.
On the other hand though, I absolutely hate my job. I mean I've worked for a good 8-10 places over the years. I loathe my job. Been there for 4.5 years. I hate the state of NY. Most of the people. I hate the cold and snow. Hate the traffic. (Florida traffic is nothing in comparison in those areas unless it's gridlock on I-4) I already know about the absurd heat, pay being lower, palmetto bugs (shudder), love bug season and various other things to not move there. I've been going to Florida on a yearly basis since 8. I always love it there. But to move, I don't know.
I'm generally a bit of a recluse, so I hate Orlando and all the nonsense that's over there. I could always get a 2nd job like I do now to keep me busy. Or find a friend or two.
I'm so torn on the decision. Can you folks give me some insight on the areas of Davenport/Kissimmee/ or Polk & Osceola counties? They seem pretty safe from what i've looked up as far as crime demographics depending on area, like every state out there. I broke the news to my mom. She was not thrilled with the idea, but so proud of me if I made the decision to move there to look after grandma.
People seem to take a shit on moving to Florida. I could do the same thing about New York. Everyone wants to move here for some ongodly reason. Adding more positive than negative would be appreciated, but don't feel like you should sugar coat it. You can come in hard.
Last note; I may or may not get laid off from my current main job. If I do, that would seemingly make the decision much easier. Having a job lined up before I move is a definite plus. Cheers.