Me and my wife are thinking of settling down and have 2 options . We are both in tech and a year old baby . Either we can settle in central florida like the Orlando area or suburbs of Boston as we have families in both cities . In long term we care about quality of education, good diversity and safe environment to raise our family . We have friends and family in both areas . Which one would people pick ? Also I mention we both work remote ! TC: 450
Those are polar opposites. Do you want hot and sunny or cold and cloudy
Weather is not the only factor . Also I have lived in both states and here is my bias take . Florida is pleasant from November to February. Massachusetts is pleasant from April to October . Florida summer is hot af and it’s getting hotter each year . You can’t step out during day from April to September. Massachusetts winter is getting milder . However it’s cloudy and dark from Nov to Feb
So to me weather kinda negates itself in that sense and we wanna consider all other factors as well .
You should consider housing/taxes/safety/Your political orientation to some extent. I was in the Boston area and the housing is not cheap there. It is a vibrant blue state with lots of things to do. If both of you are working not a bad idea. I never was in Florida, but it's a pretty red state if that matters to you
Yeah we have found housing in both areas that we would be happy with so it’s sorta deadlock and looking for X factors that can help us decide . Safety is definitely a top priority . Politics is obvious too and yeah it matter but from what I know Orlando is blue unlike rest of Florida
Massachusetts is extremely expensive
What would you pick if affording house is non factor
If house expense wasn’t a factor I’d say Massachusetts.
Mass has the best schools, public private and charter
Do you want old and kinda run down looking or new and gaudy?
What do you mean ? Are you talking about housing ?
A new spouse?
What kind of tech are you both in? Boston has good startup and high tech industry- I think Orlando has good entertainment and app tech scene - so that could be a factor. I would base my decision on which one gets you closer to the coast, for me Florida would be great if I could be on the beach or water….but Orlando would be a nonstarter.
Well I don’t think I’d be near a beach lol it would be Orlando suburb haha . I am a software engineer. So I guess what would you pick between Orlando suburb Vs Boston suburb and why ?
Suburbs of Boston hands down, especially if you vote blue. I’ve lived in Florida and was very disenchanted not only with the politics, but the whole feel of the state. You can clearly see the abyss in education when compared to Boston. Boston is more diverse, extremely safe and people are often more self-aware and very generous here, especially after Covid. Weather sucks in the winter, but summers are great. Cost of living is higher no doubt, but it’s worth it.
What’s your take on weather?
Weather hasn’t been too terrible so far in Boston. Summer and Fall were gorgeous and very comfortable. Summer wasn’t too stifling, but I do have AC. I liked Florida weather, but summer could definitely get too hot. Also, it rained a little bit every day there, which for me was pretty ideal. Ask me again after the dead of winter in Boston, which locals claim is only truly bad for a couple of weeks. We’ll see.
I couldn’t think of two places that are more different from one another - warm sunny vs cold cloudy weather. One of the highest tax states vs lower tax states, high vs low COL. Blue vs red, etc. Boston has a thriving tech scene, central FL not so much. It all depends on what your priorities are. I lived in Boston for several years and have family that live in central FL. I would never live in central FL because the politics there are incompatible with my way of life. I would consider Miami because I appreciate warm year around weather, the cost of living is somewhat high but better than Boston and it has a lot of diversity and tends to be more blue than the rest of FL. Ultimately I chose to move to another blue state with a lower cost of living than Boston, good weather but has less tech. In fine with that cause I own an entire house with a yard, lots of outdoor activities and just chose to work for a remote first company.
Thank you this is quite helpful
May I ask which state you chose?
If MA, which town or city do you plan to live in. If it’s Boston, it is vibrant and a tech hub.
Also would love thoughts on why if you pick a certain state . We are just trying to get honest opinions as it’s a long term decesion and in addition to our thoughts we want to know if we are missing anything