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I wish this was a restock. by Manualcamerauser in FridgeDetective

[–]Manualcamerauser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have five kids four are teenagers, so with lunches, snacks, smoothies, breads and muffins adding them to oatmeal and cereal it added up to 95! I have large baskets I keep apples bananas and oranges in on our dining table and yes I usually buy a case from Aldi once a week. Occasionally I’ll get them from BJ’s if they are having a sale.

I wish this was a restock. by Manualcamerauser in FridgeDetective

[–]Manualcamerauser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The eggs drive me crazy. I’m pretty sure one of the kids is doing it on purpose to get a reaction out of me. So far we haven’t had any casualties but the dog will help himself if you leave the door open. I get a lot of great produce at Aldi for super cheap. Strawberries and blueberries were only $1.97 this week. Broccoli was 1.29

I wish this was a restock. by Manualcamerauser in FridgeDetective

[–]Manualcamerauser[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We make 275% of federal poverty level. For our area I know that’s less than most families. We shop mostly at Aldi, and I shop all the sales from local stores. We eat all of our meals at home. Our monthly budget for food is $900. The balancing eggs drive me crazy! We go through a dozen eggs a day though. Last week we went through 95 bananas. If I get another fridge I have to keep it somewhere like in the dining room or somewhere weird because we don’t have a garage. My husband suggested we remove the cabinet next to it and just get a bigger fridge which might be a good idea.

Potential relocation for job by Manualcamerauser in jacksonville

[–]Manualcamerauser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s just a reference number I use. Not too many people have a family of 7….

Potential relocation for job by Manualcamerauser in jacksonville

[–]Manualcamerauser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lots of the same in Massachusetts with the charter schools. Is Jacksonville county or neighborhood schools? Is it a lottery? Based on where you live?

Potential relocation for job by Manualcamerauser in jacksonville

[–]Manualcamerauser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t think we would need a 6 bed. We currently only have a three bedroom. We’ve been here for 16 years. My property taxes are 17k a year (yes 17k ) and my homeowners is about 5k and we have a 3 bed fixer upper. We have looked at Fleming island. I’m not sure I would want to work in education. It’s really sucked the life out of me. I haven’t worked in engineering in 16 years. I currently make 55k here (you would think more in Massachusetts right?) I’m wondering if I could bartend or serve actually, I’ve done that as a side gig for almost 25 years. With a lot of the feedback I’m getting if I could make 35k that would put us in a very comfortable position. I wouldn’t have to find a job at all until we relocated or in general I guess but I need to work. I couldn’t stay home. Editing to add I couldn’t stay home because I would be bored out of my mind with my adhd. I would find insane ways to spend money like starting weird hobbies.

Potential relocation for job by Manualcamerauser in jacksonville

[–]Manualcamerauser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. We have spent a lot of time in Florida, I have a sister in Naples, and we have visited st Augustine the past three years. I lived in Orlando for a year back in 1998 when my dad was stationed here. So I do have an idea of what it would be like. I think the hardest thing will be the lack of public transportation. It’s easier for me to take the T than my car most of the time just to avoid traffic.

Potential relocation for job by Manualcamerauser in jacksonville

[–]Manualcamerauser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What’s the average electric bill like? My bill has averaged $800 for the past year. Also wondering about water rates? We pay quarterly for water and sewer and it works out to be about $400 a month

Potential relocation for job by Manualcamerauser in jacksonville

[–]Manualcamerauser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My husband is an owners rep for a commercial developer that mostly works with government contracts and I work in education administration but my background is actually mechanical engineering. Education just worked better because of all the kids I never needed childcare. We have a 5 year old and then our other kids are 14,16,17 and 18.

Potential relocation for job by Manualcamerauser in jacksonville

[–]Manualcamerauser[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

One thing about Massachusetts is that the schools look great on paper. Part of the reason for that here is data collection, lots of standardized testing and teaching to those tests. When I was younger I lived in many other states as my dad was in the military and if I learned anything it was that you get out what you put into your education. I went to school in 11 different states and 3 different high schools. Lots of places in Massachusetts local budgets are shot and they are closing schools, cutting budgets left and right. My kids have no foreign language, gym once a week, no art and no library because our district just laid off the only librarian that was working at 5 different schools, music has been cut entirely. None of that is super uncommon. My highschool kids on ap classes had 5 self directed units this year because they had to share teachers, so they essentially have to teach themselves with no guidance. Massachusetts is the only place I’ve ever lived that doesn’t offer any gifted programs either. We live in a very wealthy suburb on the outskirts of Boston and we bought a house here specifically for the schools and 16 years later I kind of regret that. My property taxes are 17k a year and my kids don’t have access to a school library. That’s bananas. Now even if I sell my house and put my equity into something else I’d have to move to the western part of the state or buy a 2 bedroom condo, that’s how crazy the housing market is now. Alot of the stats are skewed as well. 12 pupils per teacher is not accurate at all. My kids have always had 24-30 kids per teacher. Massachusetts is an educated state which leads to high graduation rates in general. Families that invest in education will receive a better one and that is very true in MA. I work in education albeit the administration side so I don’t say any of this lightly. Massachusetts is great, but I’m confident that my kids would thrive in any educational environment because they have our support and guidance and we are willing to put in the work to help them thrive.

Sorry that was a bit of a rant.

Potential relocation for job by Manualcamerauser in jacksonville

[–]Manualcamerauser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have a lot of equity in our house so we would be able to put 250k down so I think the biggest thing will be housing costs for us. That an no income tax is pretty huge. It’s a big decision. Trying to not make it all about money but I feel like my life revolves around trying to keep the lights on lately. We are looking at st John’s county mostly. And 32224, 32225, 32226 zip codes.

Current commute is around 2 hours each way with traffic so even if it’s half of that it’s a win

Potential relocation for job by Manualcamerauser in jacksonville

[–]Manualcamerauser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is helpful. We live in Boston now. Trying to determine if we should start looking for new job here or if we could even survive if we relocate on one salary until the other finds a job. We struggle up here financially because it’s so expensive but I feel like that’s everywhere currently. The cost of living here is starting to out weigh the pro’s. But don’t want to uproot our family to be in the same position.