To stay or to go. . . Puertor Rico vs. Florida?

I do not like the winter and my children are always sick during the winter months, so I have decided to relocate to either Polk County, Florida or Humacao, Puerto Rico. My problem is that I want the best for my children (ages 7 %26amp; 12 - the 12 y.o. in on the autism spectrum PDD-NOS). I will begin next year to look for a teaching job. Either place, I will work as an English teacher.



I need your input about either place: positive and negative experiences if any that a relative, friend, or yourself may have experienced. For example: neighborhood, schools, avg income, etc.



Any information will be greatly appreciated. Thank you !To stay or to go. . . Puertor Rico vs. Florida?
~ Well I lived temporarily (8 months) in Lakeland, Fl. My mom lives in Lake Wales, Fl. I had a few friends in Haines City and worked in Davenport. That is most of Polk County. I have been through all of the smaller areas as well, Avon Park, Sebring, Winter Haven and they are all about the same, Lakeland is the biggest.



In my opinion, I couldn't wait to get the heck out of there. I hated it!



I don't know where you are coming from, what you like and don't like so it may work for you, it may not.



I'm not a religious person and Polk County is very Baptist! I'm not a redneck and Polk County is very southern, good ole boy mentality. I don't like Central Florida and all the citrus trees. The schools are not so good and the housing market is less than appealing. My husband and I are from the coast of Florida and have always been near the beach so Central Florida was a huge change for us. We prefer the Florida Beach Life with upscale living, dining and shopping. That is NOT Central Florida. It is however very relaxed with most of the traffic in Lakeland and Winter Haven. Haines City is very heavy Mexican/Spanish speaking area. Lakeland is very family oriented feeling with events, a very nice clean downtown and lots of lakes. It is not a bad place at all, you don't feel concerned about crime in Lakeland; Winter Haven and Haines City is a little more questionable. If I were to move back to Polk County I would ONLY live in Lakeland as the rest of the surrounding areas are not as nice in comparison.



If you go to Lakeland, the best tip I can give you is to stay on the South side of Lakeland (everything there is North and South it is a mirror image) however, South side is nicer, has more money, more educated and has quality people. The North side is very redneck, has some KKK memebers and has more land with mobile homes. Carillon Lakes has nice homes in a gated community that is very affordable. Lakeland has a new shopping center with theater that is very nice on Hardon called Lake Side Village.



I have had friends that visited San Juan and just say how much of a city it is, more than they thought, however I have never been there.To stay or to go. . . Puertor Rico vs. Florida?
I live in Orlando, FL right now. Personally, I believe you should bring them to Florida.



1: They have somewhere to go for their summer vacations (Disney, Universal, Seaworld, Islands of Adventures)

2: I think it will be a lot safer.

3: If they are Americans, you want to keep them on this side so that they can continue dominating the English and still manage to speak spanish because of the amount of Latin Speakers here. In Puerto Rico, they might lose their English.

4: It is going to be hotter here.

5: Travelling will be less expensive as you have an option of going by car or plane.

6: There are better schools here.



I really hope this helps!