Moving to Florida

epilotdream91

epilotdream91

Well-Known Member
hello all, ive been living in NYC for about 12 years and i think its time to move on to warmer weather. I recently got a job in vero beach FL, flying with Flight Safety Academy as a CFI, my start date is May 15th, i'll be training for 3 weeks and than if it all goes well i'll move to the line. This is a great thing because i'll not only be flying with them but it also happens to be my first aviation job ever. I am super excited to be part of their CFI staff because i know i'll be in a quality school surrounded by professionals. It is also a big step in my life because i will be moving out of my parents house for th 1st time and, well.. time to grow up i guess haha.
 
Yes watch out for me!! It seems that many don't and try to make my life a bit more interesting for a few minutes.
 
Late congrats on your move plans to our sunshine state! I'm also thinking about doing a CFI gig with them since they're located not far from where I live here in Melbourne. Get ready to sweat senseless and bring lots of sunscreen so that your skin can cope with the obscene amount of beach days :)
 
I keep thinking that I want to move there (Tampa to Naples area) everytime I go there in the winter, Fall and Spring for a 135 trip. Then during the summer, I'm like " WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS PLACE...GET ME OUT OF HERE"!
 
ocdflyboy said:
I keep thinking that I want to move there (Tampa to Naples area) everytime I go there in the winter, Fall and Spring for a 135 trip.
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This was me for the last 10 years. Moved to Naples last year, and couldn't be happier! Not too worried about the hot summers, it's a fair trade to escape the cold.
 
Zero Beach lol.......Lived in FL for a few years...Cheap and warm, the Mecca for the masses! Sorry...just too cookie cutter. A Walgreens and CVS on every corner across from the Wal-Mart, AppleBees and Chillis....ICK.
 
I will also be moving to florida this summer. Any place people would recommend for living in Vero Beach or sanford? I'm looking to work for aerosim or flight safety.
 
joel_MQY said:
Can you elaborate? I'm living down here looking to do just that.
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Do a search on here for Florida operators. 98% are scumbag operators. There are very few good corporate positions. I live in Jacksonville, and there are only a couple of corporations who operate here, and are extremely competitive, even with tons of internal recommendations.

South Florida is even harder, from my understanding, since everybody trains here, and then wants to stay, so they prostitute themselves out. If you go airlines, it's a very hard commmute from my understanding.

Anything I'm forgetting, @chrisreedrules @KLB ?
 
Well @StoneCold pretty much nailed it. If you are looking for cheap living and can stand the sweltering summers, FL is okay. But be prepared to be competing with a minimum of 20 other qualified pilots for even the crappiest of flying jobs. Pt91 and 135 jobs are a dime a dozen, but most will either want to pay you peanuts, make you sign a ridiculous contract, or ask you to pay for your own type rating to fly for them. It's prevalent here because so many young aviators are willing to do it. The farther north you go in FL the fewer the jobs, but in my opinion the better the qol. I generally make a point to not venture any further south than Orlando. If your in Jacksonville let one of us know and we'll buy you a beer. Good luck!
 
joel_MQY said:
Can you elaborate? I'm living down here looking to do just that.
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@Stone Cold and @chrisreedrules pretty much hit the nail with the head about how South Florida operates. I managed to score a gig with one of the better companies down here, but many of the others are terrible. There a some that you should steer well clear of and others that will pay you pennies to fly a large cabin aircraft. They'll hire you low time, but you'd essentially be payed extremely low wages and be locked into a contract.
Besides the few good operators down here, you could always work for companies, such as Flight Options, TMC, or NetJets which are all hiring at the moment. I worked at TMC before getting my current job.
 
Cool, thanks, that's good to know. We moved down here (to Orlando) for family and it's a better place to train/build hours. Open to moving when it's time to find a flying job though - never thought about the amount of pilots hanging around the state. Makes sense.

Thank you for the insight! Likewise on the beer if you're ever around Orlando.
 
Baronman said:
Zero Beach lol.......Lived in FL for a few years...Cheap and warm, the Mecca for the masses! Sorry...just too cookie cutter. A Walgreens and CVS on every corner across from the Wal-Mart, AppleBees and Chillis....ICK.
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You must of lived in the wrong part of FL. Where I live there is less than a handful of chain restaurants within 5 miles of me and a ton of locally owned small mom-and-pop restaurants.
Am I right @drunkenbeagle @Rocketman99 @kfour
 
Gonzo said:
You must of lived in the wrong part of FL. Where I live there is less than a handful of chain restaurants within 5 miles of me and a ton of locally owned small mom-and-pop restaurants.
Am I right @drunkenbeagle @Rocketman99 @kfour
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Yea here in jax we have our share of chain restaurants and stores, but we also have a ton of great mom n' pop places too. Plus st Augustine is only a 25 minute drive down A1A from here and they have a ton of great places to eat and shop too.
 
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