I’m excited to introduce you to Beth Anne Eretto. Beth Anne owns and operates Beth Anne’s Best and you can also follower her on twitter. I’ so happy that she is sharing her plunge story with us.
Beth Anne, her Mom and her sister, Stephanie
Scott: Who took the plunge? Beth Anne: My Mom and I moved here first. My sister, Stephanie, joined us about 3 months later.
Scott: When did you take the plunge? Beth Anne: We relocated to Florida in June 2011.
Scott: Where did you move from? Beth Anne: We relocated from the Dallas, TX area.
Scott: What area of Florida did you move to? Beth Anne: We moved to St Augustine, FL which is in North East Florida.
Scott: Why did you choose that area? Beth Anne: My mom had recently gotten a new boss and decided it was time for her to move on and find a new job. She put it in Gods hands and put her resume out there . The Director of the St. Augustine Catholic Diocese called her for a phone interview, as he had been looking for someone to fill a position for over 2 years. After the phone interview, She was invited to St Augustine for in-person interview. At the completion of the interview, the Direction told her he would be in contact the following week with a job offer. At this time, my Mom had 2 possible jobs in the works, one in Boston and this one. The St. Augustine, FL position was a better fit for our family.
Scott: Did you choose to buy or rent when you took your plunge and why? Beth Anne: We chose to rent. We had been renting in Texas and at the time did not have the credit or savings for a down payment to purchase a home.
Scott: Did you have any problem finding a job after you took the plunge? Beth Anne: My mom did not since that was the main reason for our move. My sister had worked in childcare and she was able to fine work fairly quickly in that field. I, however, had a difficult time finding stable work that would pay a living wage, even with my bachelors degree. I ended up going back to school for a certification program due to the lack of employment in this area.
Scott: What was the most difficult thing about your move? Beth Anne: Being new to the area, it was difficult meeting new people and trying to find out what people did for fun in the area.
Scott: Now that you have taken the plunge, what are your 3 favorite things about living in Florida? Beth Anne: I love living only 15 minutes from the beach. I also enjoy the many different restaurant choices available. I also love living close to the many theme parks in the area like Disney World and many other attractions.
Scott: Speaking of Disney, how far from Walt Disney World do you live? Beth Anne: We are approximately 2 hours from Disney. It’s a little to far to visit every day, but much closer than when I lived in Texas!
Scott: What is your family’s favorite Disney Park? Beth Anne: Our favorite is Magic Kingdom!
Scott: What is your family’s favorite Disney attraction? Beth Anne: All of the roller coasters! We enjoy riding Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Expedition Everest and of course, Rock ‘n Roller Coaster!
Scott: What advice would you offer to anyone considering taking the plunge? Beth Anne: RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH! Really research the area you want to move to and research how much things really cost by physically going to the stores if possible. When we researched rent, groceries, gas, utilities, etc. from Texas it looked pretty similar but it has really more expensive to live here. Many apartments and housing look cheap because they are income controlled, however since our income was just above the income caps we didn’t qualify for any of the “cheaper” housing and have struggled to find affordable housing.
Also, we are no strangers to moving. We did a DEEP cleaning of our belongings and got rid of A LOT of stuff prior to moving to Florida. I encourage you to take this time to do a good de-cluttering of your belongings and donate old books, toys, clothes, and furniture to charity.
Scott: Do you have anything else you would like to share with the readers? Beth Anne: We were used to what it took to move from previous experiences, but one thing we did not take into account was how much it would cost to change our licenses, insurance, and to register our cars in Florida from our previous state. I would make sure to look into this to make sure you have saved enough money for this step of your move.