Little late answering, but I'm in Florida also, so most of the trades I've been in have been out of country… they have all gone very well, I have been happy and I think my partners have been also. People who've been here awhile have probably been in at least 1 trade with someone else here, so you can ask anyone who has been involved in a trade with 'JoeBlow' ex. to PM you about their experience.
One helpful thing has been finding someone who can help with buying items only available in a given country, and/or acting as a buying agent sort of, helping you keep expenses down. An example, the Yowies here in the US- several of us have helped out-of-country members get pieces, helping with trades with other US members, having all the pieces shipped to them and shipping when they have accumulated all the wanted pieces to help keep their partner's shipping expenses down. I also received payment help once, someone acting as an intermediary when a seller that couldn't accept Paypal had something I wanted; a member here could and could pay the seller how they needed it. People here have been great!