My husband and I have been debating on whether or not to move from Tacoma, WA to Eustis (central) Florida. He is originally from Florida and September 2009 my dad moved to Longwood, FL. Our main reason for wanting to relocate is because he will have more time with his twin sons who will be 5 this coming December. The absolutely adore their father. Their mother moved there when my husband was still stationed in the army and couldn't follow. He learned later that his command was wrong and he could have done something about her ability to take them out of state but that is neither here nor there. Bottom line is that we have a lot of family in that area. So this last Spring when we went down for his visitation, we both agreed that we would save up money, and move out there.
I have been out of work for sometime, but am just about to take my test to become a CNA, My husband is a student and a Security Officer. My main concern about moving is that the economy in central Florida is not so good. We will have a place to stay why we find jobs, our stuff will have to go into storage, and we will hopefully have a few thousand after to help establish ourselves.
Has any one moved across country with out the help of the military? And if so, what advice can you give us. I am most concerned about out of state job hunting, because ideally we would love to have jobs waiting or at least a number of interviews set up. I am also concerned about our ability to keep up with Child Support, Daycare, and Medical for the boys during the switch. We do not want them to go with out. We are middle class people and their mom only works part time.
I've moved cross country three times in the past 15 years. The one piece of advice I have is don't leave a sure thing (your husband's current job) if you don't have something lined up in Florida. The economy really isn't good and it's not getting any better soon, so you risk losing a lot of money in the deal. Moving cross country is not cheap, especially if you won't have guaranteed income when you arrive.
There are websites like monster.com and the state's website that have job postings. If you make it clear that you will be moving on blank date then the employer shouldn't have a problem with it. Tell the employer you are moving to be near your/husband's children so they know you will follow through and it's not just a random move. For daycare, find a daycare that looks good and search out reviews like crazy. For the financial aspect of child support and daycare save up money. The more saving you do, the less hard the move is. Moving from washington to florida will take about 4 days without kids, and I'm assuming they are already in Florida. Will you use a uhaul type truck? Research the prices on them. They get pricey, also ALWAYS inspect them before you take them. They will try to nail you with fees because of a scratch on the truck that was already there. Budget tried it with my dad. So when the guy has his sheet for the truck's info I always had him write down the scratches, etc that were already there.
Save, save, save :) That is the best thing you can do. Research all the things about moving (uhaul type truck or selling a lot of things so you dont need one but not selling too much or you'll end up screwing yourself when you get there lol), the cost of gas and food. The upkeep on the car you have, if your car can make that trip. Is he still in the Army? Even if he is getting out and going on terminal leave (paid vacation to transition to civilian life) he would get paid to move to Florida. If he's not then all I can say is saving, having enough for 6 months (at least) of living outside of the costs of moving. The Medical I'm guessing is with your husband's current job? You may have to get them on a third party insurance or talk to their mom for her to get Florida medicaid and do it that way so that when you move and he is no longer working they will still have Medical insurance.
I do agree with the other mommas, be sure the job is lined up first.
Make sure you find a job first b/c Florida is really hard right now. As far as finding a deal on a home, this is a great time. Bad time to sell but great time to buy. bottom line is your husband or you or both of you, have to find jobs secured before you move. Then you can see if the salary is enough to support your monthly expenses. Make it a job to find a job over the next few weeks or months. Good luck to you!
We moved to be near family. We had some money saved but we moved in with family and job searched just as you plan. We, too, put all our stuff in storage. We moved the end of May and were able to get our own place by the end of October. Once my husband got a job we began the search for a small home where we could easily keep bills down. It was totally worth it. Yes, we struggled for a couple of years but having family nearby was a support system we hadn't had before. And it was huge!
1)Can your husband speak to his ex about concerns? She must know by now that he wants to keep up the payments and be close to his kids. If you think she can appreciate that (plus I'm sure you will be a help to her) maybe she will take the pressure off a tad if he promises to make it up to her IF he has to back off for a couple of months.
2)Cut every possible bill you can. Don't eat out and find yourself something part-time or something you can do from home...... anything..... temp jobs, I do a home business (email me if you want info), a couple of hours at the local Hallmark, babysitting, driving a neighbors child to or from school, walking dogs, housesitting. I don't know where Logwood is, but there are a lot of elderly people where my MIL lives. Many would pay someone just to take them to the grocery store once a week.
I follow the old saying: Nothing ventured, Nothing gained.
Sell your stuff. Seriously. I paid for 3 uhauls to move our family in stages. It cost $6,000. Do not do this. You would be better off to have professionals pack and ship it than to do that.
Also, take a money order from the bank. I was a Bank One customer, they had a Bank One there, but it was a different Bank One and I could not access my money. This caused me to be without money for 10 days.
