Florida Moving Guide
The step-by-step guide to simplify your move to Florida.
Welcome to Florida!
The step-by-step guide to simplify your move to Florida.
Moving to a new city, let alone a new state, can be a very stressful process. There are lots of items to juggle from securing employment, finding a new place to live, selling your current home, arranging for movers, getting your kids registered in a new school, obtaining a new driver’s license and plates, locating a new family physician, and the list continues on. For your convenience, the following is our step-by-step checklist to help simplify your move to Florida.
Checklist for future Florida residents.
( INITIAL planning stage )
Start Researching Florida's Cities
Before you hop in a car and start driving all over Florida, we recommend doing some initial research online to discover Florida’s popular destinations to learn what each offers local residents. A good starting point is our page comparing Florida’s West vs East Coast where you will learn the growing cities that many are moving to, the average age per capita in these cities, as well as an overview of real estate prices per square-foot for these locales. Next, visit our Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast pages where we overview the various regions and metropolitan areas on each coast.
Once you decide which Florida coast you’d like to further explore, we then recommend visiting our city pages to learn about the awards and accolades that each city has received in recent years, as well as our TOP 10 reasons why many are moving to these respective areas. You will also learn about the attributes each city offers such as lifestyle, amenities, employment, real estate and healthcare just to name a few.
Other helpful pages to discover Florida include the best places to live in Florida as well as how expensive is it to live in Florida where we overview the median sales price of homes for Florida’s 22 MSA city regions, including the cost of living.
Begin Looking at Employment Options
Unless you’re retired with an income stream or have won a recent Powerball lottery, there’s a good chance that you’ll need to find employment upon your relocation to Florida. As part of your initial research, you’ll want to begin looking at available jobs and careers in your targeted cities. As a quick overview, the largest sectors which drive the Florida economy include tourism & hospitality, real estate & development and defense & homeland security. To view all major sectors of Florida’s economy, and the top employers within each, visit our Florida’s Major Industries & Largest Companies page.
As a general rule of thumb, you’ll find greater employment opportunities within the larger metropolitan areas such as Tampa Bay, Orlando or Fort Lauderdale-Miami as this is where the majority of the larger financial, insurance, technology and healthcare companies are based. Smaller to mid-sized cities such as Sarasota, Naples and Vero Beach are more retirement destinations and thus employment opportunities tend to be more service based which cater to the retirement demographic.
Come Visit Florida
Once you’ve narrowed your city choices down to one (or several), your next step is to visit these destinations. There’s no better way to experience the sights and sounds of a new place than to check it out first-hand. Visit the local restaurants, the area’s top beaches, the top-selling Florida communities of your desired locale, as well as popular local attractions to get a feel for the overall vibe of the town, including the traffic situation. Most importantly, engage people in conversation. Ask what they like most about living there. Ask what they like least. Are people friendly? Does the city feel like home to you?
Connect with a Real Estate Expert
A great way to discover a town and its offerings is to connect with a local relocation expert who regularly works with people who are moving to their part of Florida. As local residents, these Realtors (who focus on relocations) are able to provide you insights and to answer any questions you may have about living in their respective city. They can also provide you with a very accurate measure of real estate prices as well as the annual cost of living. Our Florida relocation experts can also help you identify the best places, top neighborhoods and overall best opportunities for housing options while you’re visiting their city. Also be sure to check out our Florida real estate page where our experts provide their current market outlook, trends and relocation advice.
( AFTER you find a place to live )
Start Planning Your Move to Florida
Once you have a confirmed closing date for the new home you’re buying, or have a set move-in date for the place you will be renting, your very next step is to start planning your actual move to Florida. You will want to start deciding which items you will be bringing with you, as well as begin the process of reaching out to movers to find out their respective costs and schedule of availability. Be sure to check out our how to save on your Florida moving expense page where we overview popular moving options and ways to reduce overall moving costs.
Arrange for Your New Utilities
As a general rule, it’s typically best to start reaching out to your new utility providers roughly two or three weeks ahead of your scheduled move-in date. This advance planning allows the utility companies plenty of time to coordinate service for any installation services or to setup any equipment that may be needed.
Enroll the Kids in a Florida School
If you are moving to Florida and currently have kids, you will surely want to get them enrolled within your new local school district. For your convenience, below is a link to Florida’s Department of Education to help you locate your local school district.
Locate Your New Florida School District
Florida’s Best School Districts
Register to Drive in Florida
This step is only required if you are moving to Florida from out of state. As a brand new Florida resident, you will need to get a new Florida driver’s license as well as to register your vehicle(s) with the state. The needed links are below.
Setup Your Florida Driver’s License
Register Your Vehicle in Florida
Register to Vote in Florida
Voting in all elections is your civic duty! You can easily register to vote in Florida at the link below. As an FYI, when going to vote, you will need to have your new Florida driver’s license, or Florida ID Card, which is issed by Florida’s Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles.
Register to Vote in Florida
Locate a Florida Doctor and Dentist
When transitioning to a new state, it’s important to find a good family doctor and dentist for when healthcare services, or regular check-ups, are needed. To locate physicians and care providers throughout Florida, the following is a great site to start with. You can also search by practice specialties and read patient reviews.
HealthGrades.com
( ONCE you've moved in )
Grow Your New Social Circles in Florida
Once you’ve moved into your new Florida residence, you’re likely eager to start meeting new faces and to grow your new social circles. For those with type “A” personalities, meeting new faces and getting involved may come easy, but for others, not so much… We encourage you to check out our Quickly Grow Your Social Circles in Florida page where we overview the best ways for seniors to start making new friendships upon their Florida relocation.
Discover Florida's Most Popular Cities
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