OMG...we are moving to Orlando!

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

The very best of luck to you on your new start!!!!!!

 

[happygirl]

I'm jealous

 

[BeccaGrace]

Thanks for all the replies and advice!!!! Please keep them coming!!! I appreciate all of the help

 

[PeterPan09]

I moved here from NJ 4 years ago and my only regret is that i didn't do it sooner. I live near Clermont, about 6 miles from Disney. I go often, but I only stay a couple of hours at a time, unless I have friends or family in from out of town.

Hope the move goes slowly and welcome to Mouseland!

 

[CentralFloridian99]

Your gonna love being close to WDW, Universal, and the other parks! Congrats on the transfer!

 

[MolonLabe]

If you do wind up purchasing a home in an hoa please make sure you take a look at their financials and ask them what the foreclosure rate in their community is.

Some hoa's have had to assess home owners additional fees to cover the fact that many homes are in foreclosure and are not paying their share of the dues, so it gets passed on or things start falling into disrepair.

I believe fl is one of the top five states right now for foreclosure.

On a happy note, congrats on the transfer.

That is an excellent point. Many folks who move down from the north don't fully understand the pitsfalls of HOA's.

We moved into a new neighborhood and my wife and I were debating between two houses. The house we are in now won out because there wasn't an HOA, something that is pretty rare for our type of subdivision.

It's a dream living HOA free. I don't think I could go back to one.

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You are going to love Florida. The taxes (or lack there of) alone will make you moved years ago!

Just be calm and collected and organized.

 

[luvlumpy]

My parents lived in the Winter Springs/Oviedo area a few years ago. I loved the area. Very family oriented, lots of shopping and restaurants and only a short drive from Orlando and WDW. So many good areas around Orlando, though. HOw exciting for you and your family...good luck!!

 

[BeccaGrace]

That is an excellent point. Many folks who move down from the north don't fully understand the pitsfalls of HOA's.

We moved into a new neighborhood and my wife and I were debating between two houses. The house we are in now won out because there wasn't an HOA, something that is pretty rare for our type of subdivision.

It's a dream living HOA free. I don't think I could go back to one.

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You are going to love Florida. The taxes (or lack there of) alone will make you moved years ago!

Just be calm and collected and organized.

Thanks for the HOA advice...I didn't think about the impact of all the foreclosures on the fees. Yes, ideally we would like to avoid HOAs but will definitely be careful if we end up with one.

 

[BeccaGrace]

Your gonna love being close to WDW, Universal, and the other parks! Congrats on the transfer!

Thanks! Your Star Wars Weekend signature just made me realize that we can finally go to our first one next year! And OMG, I can go to the food & wine festival! AND MNSSHP!!!! There are so many things I want to do that I have never done.

But I have to be honest...I've never been to any of the Orlando theme parks other than WDW.

 

[klmrph]

Congrats Sara! I remember your precious girls from Gymbofriends. I'm jealous and stuck in Indiana. Hope your move goes well and congrats to your DH.

 

[sbell111]

I lived in Winter Park while going to grad school at Rollins. I highly recommend it.

 

[BeccaGrace]

Congrats Sara! I remember your precious girls from Gymbofriends. I'm jealous and stuck in Indiana. Hope your move goes well and congrats to your DH.

Thanks Kristy...How funny that I was just looking at the picture and thinking I should change it because it's like 5 years old and then decided not to because it's my only connection to the Rocky Mountain Gymbo line (my all-time favorite!)...I haven't been on Gymbofriends in forever!

 

[BeccaGrace]

It definitely sounds like Winter Park is at the top of our list...we should find out where he will be working on Friday -- if it's close then Winter Park sounds perfect!

 

[mvazul]

Congratulations on the relocation!!

My family and I moved to Florida from Pennsylvania the week before Christmas. So, we have been here a little over two months. We have loved it so far. It's hard to remember it is winter. We picked out our Christmas tree in 85 degree weather and were wearing shorts while decorating it.

My main suggestion to you is to really check out the schools. Our daughter, Grace (in 4th grade) just took the FCAT (the state testing) today. It was only for writing. They have done, literally, very little except writing since the beginning of January. We had a meeting with her teachers and asked why there was no math homework. We were told it's because the parents complained about it too much so they no longer send it home. The math and science FCAT's are in April, so I'm sure the reading and writing will go to the wayside to prepare for those. We have applied to the local Catholic school for the fall in hopes that they will have a better structure.

We also have a son who is a senior. Yes, he moved halfway through his senior year. He was given the choice, he chose to move. School standards are lower here than in the north. They had no math class available for our son, because he had surpassed everything they offer. He was in the Gifted program [ ], in all Honors classes and taking most AP classes in Pennsylvania. Here, they have just thrown him into classes, because he needs certain courses to graduate. For example, he is in a Freshman Honors World Cultures class, because they had nothing to offer in History, but he needed a course for graduation. He is enjoying it, because he can basically sail through these last few months. However, I am afraid he will get used to that and forget what it's like to work once he gets to college in August.

Anyway, we are in Ocala - technically Silver Shores Springs. We really like this area. It's about an hour and 20 minutes from a beach either to the east or west and the same distance to Disney - which we haven't visited yet. I will be working in the parks with the College Program starting in June, so that will change then. Good luck on your move! If there is anything I can help you with just send me a PM. I would be happy to help.

Michelle

 

[chiefmickeymouse]

I would get a map and really get familiar with all the towns and areas that make up metro Orlando. It is pretty big and spread out and pretty diverse depending on where you live.

My friend lives in Clermont and she loves it. She says she can be at Disney in 20 minutes on the Turnpike and toll roads. She's worked for Disney for over 20 years and lived in Orlando since we were teenagers.

When I lived there, I lived in East Orlando. I was there last weekend and it still looks pretty good and is close to everything.

Winter Park is beautiful, but also pricey.

Second on Windemere, pretty awesome. I don't think you'll have trouble finding a house in your price range. The real estate market has been rough down there.

Be prepared for lots of toll roads. Get an Epass as soon as possible. It will make your life easier.

I would also suggest choosing your area by the schools. Great Schools can give you an idea of the ratings of schools in an area. Particularly since your older DD will be going to middle school.

Another poster suggested Ocala. My parents live there. It's really pretty, but it sure seems like a long drive when we drive from there to my sister's house in Orlando.

My sister lives in the Conway area of Orlando. She says that if she had it to do over again she would move to the outskirts of town (or maybe Melbourne) because of the crime in her area. Her husband is a Osceola County Sheriff's deputy.

I don't live in Orlando now. I'm in South Carolina as my husband is military. However, my family lives there and I've been there a couple of times a year for the last 20 years. I also graduated from the University of Central Florida.

Good luck and congratulations! Please also feel free to PM me if you have any other questions. If I can't find out, my sister will know.

 

[BeccaGrace]

You are all so awesome!!!! I will look into Windemere also (it seems like there are quite a few DISers in that area!).
I am still in shock but starting to get snapped back to reality with how much I have to do to get our house ready to sell...I don't even know where to start! We have a relocation specialist through DH's work and we are going to try to see if we can schedule him to come out next week to check out the house and give us advice but I'd like to declutter and clear out some stuff before then. Can't really focus on the fun stuff until I focus on the difficult stuff!

 

[disneychic2]

I can't give you any advice about Florida, but I can give you a couple of tips about getting your house ready to sell. You are on the right track with the de-cluttering. That's a huge step, but necessary. Also, it may seem obvious, but cleaning is important. You'd be surprised how many people don't bother to clean really well when trying to sell their homes. When we sold our house two years ago, I took half the clothes out of the closets and boxed them up, took all personal photos down and boxed them, painted every room in the house neutral colors, cleaned the carpets, spruced up the landscaping and just generally tried to look at my house with the eyes of a buyer. It's amazing how we get used to the way things are and don't really "see" the blemishes any more! Anything we could live without for a few months got boxed up. And in a down market, our house sold in 8 days!

It must be so exciting to be moving and starting a new adventure. You have a great attitude and so do your girls. Just remember there will be snags here and there, so try to take them in stride. I wish you great luck in finding the ideal neighborhood and schools. Also, good luck to hubby in his new job!

 

[Rogue26]

We just moved out of our house last week while we remodel. One of our favorite things about packing up was the dumpster in the driveway. We got rid of a lot of clutter. Take advantage of packing to get rid of stuff you really don't want or need anymore. You know your not really going to want to do it when you are unpacking. We also started packing up things we knew we woudn't need well before we moved out. You don't really need to wait until July to make sure your Christmas decorations are ready for the move. Congratulations!

 

[Metro West]

Welcome to the "neighborhood"...I hope your move goes well.

 

[BeccaGrace]

I think we are definitely trying to get rid of a lot of stuff up here...dh more than me though I think he is more focused about having less stuff to move and I am thinking more about needing the stuff when I get down there!
We have lots of big totes from Hurricane Irene that I am going to go through and start packing things into that we don't need. We are going to do the yard sale during Easter Break but I was really hoping to have a lot done and the house listed before then.
For those of you that moved...where did you put your stuff that you were packing or that you didn't want taking up space in the house while you were showing it? For instance...dd2 has a very tiny bedroom and to make it look better we are taking out her desk and bookshelf but we have nowhere to put it. Should we rent a storage unit for a period of time? I think that the moving people the company uses will bring one of those pods and then store your stuff until you move but I don't know if we can have them come twice (once for things we want to store and then at the end to pack everything else) - he is going to ask at his meeting on Friday.
We are actually not in horrible shape...we had our wood floors refinished in the fall and we painted the upstairs in all neutral colors...so that is good. I talked to the girls last night about taking things out of their rooms and explained that we weren't getting rid of their stuff but it couldn't be displayed while we are trying to show it and they were good about it. My MIL is trying to sell her condo right now, so they understand about having things ready to show. dd1 actually said she prefers getting it all out because it's less for her to clean!
I think my trouble areas are the bathroom (just clutter and it needs a fresh coat of paint) and the kitchen (it is not updated, so I want to show it as favorably as possible!)...we will also need some curb appeal (landscaping and I'm guessing the realty people will suggest a new front door/front step). DH is working on cleaning up the yard this weekend if it doesn't rain.
Oops, I'm rambling again...