New to Florida

[Kodiak]

Moving to Florida next month from San Diego...New EMT-B NREMT and CA certified. Prior Military and a good work history. Where is the best place to live and work as a EMT. Also how long does the process take to transfer over to Fl. We have a few different options of where to live. My other half is bring transferred down here and was given a list of different areas to choose from. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Chimpie]

Florida is a big state, and very different depending on where you go. Is there any particular part of Florida you'd like to move to?

Also, please only post your question in one area. Posting it in multiple areas leads to confusion and missed replies. Thanks.

 

[Kodiak]

Thank you sorry I thought I deleted one of them. I will back and do that now. We are open...somewhere close to the water. Either the gulf or Atlantic side. Nothing to far north. We like the south a lot.

 

[Chimpie]

South as in Key West, or Southwest Florida or East Coast....... I live in Southwest Florida, but I'm no longer in EMS. What I can tell you about the area directly around me, as as EMT you'll be limited to IFTs. There's a couple of agencies, but from what I've heard is that they are overloaded with Basics.

Can you commit a year to medic school? It will make job finding much easier and you'll make more.

 

[Kodiak]

Yes I am interested in Medic. After we get set up. Not as far as key west. Tampa and down for the Gulf side and Daytona and south for the Atlantic side.

 

[Chimpie]

... We have a few different options of where to live. My other half is bring transferred down here and was given a list of different areas to choose from. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The demographics are so different between the two coasts, and along those two coasts for that matter.

I'm located near Sarasota, Florida which is on the west coast, about an hour south of Tampa. Sarasota is fairly safe but has an older population (which is what makes it fairly safe). In Sarasota County, 911-EMS is part of the fire department. The county has a lot of money and the ambulances are all high-tech and well maintained.

Just to my north but still south of Tampa is Bradenton which is part of Manatee County. Bradenton is blue collar and rougher than Sarasota, but head out to the east part of the county and it's totally different. 911-EMS is part of the county and housed in fire stations, but separate. From what I've heard, they work very well together.

I believe to get on either one of these departments you have to be a paramedic (I could be wrong though). Hundreds apply for these positions every time there is an opening, but I have a few friends who have gotten on.

As an EMT, there is Ambitrans and West Coast Southern which are both IFT. They do frequently hire EMTs.