Question about moving to FL

[sailaside]

We just moved to Florida two weeks ago. We enjoy it so far.

 

[NinaBella]

Not sure if this can be posted here--so Mod's feel free to move if the wrong forum.

After YEARS of trying to find a job in FL, I finally got a call last night to attend a job interview in the next couple days. They are flying me down and paying the bill--so it sounds very promising that I can get this position. The company is out of Maitland, but I don't know much about this town (other than being around 30min from Disney--which was the first thing I checked, lol). Need to know schools, houses, living costs, etc. Prefer to be in a school district that is 'large school' (AAA?) as my sons are very good athletes.

Need advice quick. They want this position filled in the next month, so I have ALOT of research to do, and quick. Hate to post on this forum section--but I know others on here have relocated, so I'm looking for advice from them.

I will add that Florida has the highest number of uninsured motorist in the U.S., therefore, auto insurance rates are higher. So check out the rates as part of your cost of living increase. The Orlando area is not known for good schools. My friend's hubby worked for Disney and had a corporate apartment, but she and the kids stayed in Tampa after researching the schools and could not find one she was happy with.

 

[HopperFan]

I will add that Florida has the highest number of uninsured motorist in the U.S., therefore, auto insurance rates are higher. So check out the rates as part of your cost of living increase. The Orlando area is not known for good schools. My friend's hubby worked for Disney and had a corporate apartment, but she and the kids stayed in Tampa after researching the schools and could not find one she was happy with.

And that is why there are so many private schools in Florida. My friends all had their kids in private school in Orlando and S. Florida, so it's really important to investigate before you commit to buying/renting if you will be using public schools.

 

[nancipants]

I live in Davenport. A new public school just opened up, but we have four charter schools in the area, too.

And it doesn't matter where you live. My cousins bought a house in Seminole County, which is known for having the best schools. They still send their kids to super expensive private school.

Me, I did fine with a public school education. I was in the IB program, though.

As for Maitland, it's a nice area, but I do not like that section of Orlando. I-4 is bad enough on my commute. I have a co-worker that lives in Lake Mary (I work in Downtown) and he uses the SunRail train.

 

[7165red]

I would suggest you check out www.city-data.com and scroll down to the fl. forum. There are many locals on these forums and I am sure they will have some helpful info for you. Lots of luck and I hope you will fine some place that will meet your needs.

 

[Accident]

I can get really wordy on moving here but I'll keep it brief but feel free to ask me anything (private convo is ok also if you need to get specific and don't want it public)..

I recently moved here (moved in april 4th). I had the luxury of a company with great remote employee culture and I was remote already so it didn't really matter where I lived I just had to take some time off and move..

Places to live was the most confusing and uncertain part of the move. I just didn't know the area even though I could tell you every place on disney property that a tree has changed.. My ultimate choice was to ask on this forum for where I should be looking at places to live. That thread can be found here and still very valid answers and a lot of info on where to also not live.. When it came down to it with both a trip to see the areas about 6months ahead of time and a 1 month ahead of time trip to actually secure a place to live I still had no clue what was the place I wanted. I decided I needed to learn more of where I wanted to be, what I actually did and what that stuff was located, and if I could even handle the weather when I can't escape the heat that I avoid taking vacations in. So the answer was simple, found 3 areas that I liked enough to try and decided to rent... I strongly recommend you look for a place based on your work and daily life needs, don't go next to disney where it's more costly when your heading to universal all different hours and in all different traffic day and night...

securing a place to live I did in person, I wanted to see the neighborhood before I signed off. I used the websites to get some rental company and general idea of what was where for how much.. I lined up some places, came down and same day secured a spot (it's roughly outlined in my feb 2015 trip report, link below including some more info on the move and post move.). What I found is places that are good rent really fast (hours, not days). You need to be ready to secure a place you like really fast and generally they are ready to move in right away or very close so be ready for the cost of having that place and whatever arrangements your doing while looking/before moving..

Now I'm here for 6 months later, renting was the right thing to do.. This place is meeting my goals which was certain things I needed being remote and working from home.. Things in certain walking distance and close to where I like to hang out and play. i'm very happy in my day to day life, I'm understanding how floridians deal with this heat (they don't, floridians just have working A/C where the rest of the country doesn't and they know how to go from a/c to a/c with minimal outside effort ). After new years the serious thought on are we going to buy near here, rent another year and explore central florida more or buy/rent elsewhere to try that. Talking to others here for under 3 years, many rented in 2 or 3 areas before committing to a house purchase or long term location.

So that's finding a location to be, finding a place and what worked for me in a high level nutshell..

 

[glassslippergirl]

OP, I'm putting out good thoughts for you and the job.

I'm a life-long Floridian and really wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I'm a high school teacher, so when choosing a school, I'd advise looking at A middle schools. With high schools, a B indicates a really good school, especially if it was historically an A that recently dropped (there was a big scoring change this last year that hit some good schools hard). You may be disappointed in the wrestling programs. It's just not as big a sport down here as in some other parts of the country. However, you can't find many better places for high school football. Community and travel soccer programs are also really big.

You've looked at houses so you know that you pay for your piece of paradise. Wait till you add your homeowner's insurance in to your mortgage payment. Just be prepared. The good news is that running your AC all year (and you will run it all year) is cheaper than a winter of heat up north.

I wish you good luck. I live south of your target area, so no help in neighborhoods but happy to help you with school info.

 

[writerguyfl]

Things in certain walking distance and close to where I like to hang out and play. i'm very happy in my day to day life, I'm understanding how floridians deal with this heat (they don't, floridians just have working A/C where the rest of the country doesn't and they know how to go from a/c to a/c with minimal outside effort ).

Hang in there, Bryan. The weather will get far more enjoyable in a couple of months. You'll be able to walk outside without feeling the need to shower immediately when you get home.

 

[Ametista]

I live in Davenport. A new public school just opened up, but we have four charter schools in the area, too.

And it doesn't matter where you live. My cousins bought a house in Seminole County, which is known for having the best schools. They still send their kids to super expensive private school.

Me, I did fine with a public school education. I was in the IB program, though.

As for Maitland, it's a nice area, but I do not like that section of Orlando. I-4 is bad enough on my commute. I have a co-worker that lives in Lake Mary (I work in Downtown) and he uses the SunRail train.

Are there areas to avoid in Davenport/west Kissimmee? My husband has to commute to Tampa 3x a week and I work from home so I want to be close to the parks. It looks like houses are so inexpensive compared to here (Denver). Does being in the Disney vacation home area depreciate the houses and affect the schools? Sorry I have a million questions. Our friends live in Highlands Reserve and they love it, but they are older and he teaches at a charter High School.

 

[ilovefh]

Are there areas to avoid in Davenport/west Kissimmee? My husband has to commute to Tampa 3x a week and I work from home so I want to be close to the parks. It looks like houses are so inexpensive compared to here (Denver). Does being in the Disney vacation home area depreciate the houses and affect the schools? Sorry I have a million questions. Our friends live in Highlands Reserve and they love it, but they are older and he teaches at a charter High School.

The schools in that area are generally not great, but there are some good charter schools in Davenport.

They just built a new public K-8 serves the area your friends live in. Eventually I think it will be good but right now they are dealing with size issues. Kids who are zoned for the school are being sent to other schools because they are out of room.

Aside from the schools I really love Davenport. You will hear people say it's not great because Davenport allows short term rentals so you could live amongst people vacationing. You have to look around though. Our street had 21 houses and only two were vacation rentals. My friends don't have many on their streets either.

We loved living in Davenport and we would have stayed there if our son didn't have special needs. We moved to Winter Garden so he could go to a special needs charter school that has been amazing.

 

[adisneyaunt]

My only advice is to Rent before plunking down ur hard earned money to buy in a place that May not be your perfect place.....until you ve lived here Atleast a year.
Best of luck with your move and to the family as well!

 

[nancipants]

Are there areas to avoid in Davenport/west Kissimmee? My husband has to commute to Tampa 3x a week and I work from home so I want to be close to the parks. It looks like houses are so inexpensive compared to here (Denver). Does being in the Disney vacation home area depreciate the houses and affect the schools? Sorry I have a million questions. Our friends live in Highlands Reserve and they love it, but they are older and he teaches at a charter High School.

I will PM you.

 

[boxer]

Thanks for the replies....just to update, they gave me their first offer, and we are in the midst of negotiating. I plan to PM a couple of you for additional advice!

 

[glassslippergirl]

Thanks for the replies....just to update, they gave me their first offer, and we are in the midst of negotiating. I plan to PM a couple of you for additional advice!

Congrats and good luck!

 

[NH-to-FL]

Are there areas to avoid in Davenport/west Kissimmee?

Of course... just like most other developed areas. While there is a lot you can do via the web, such as Google maps and street view, there is no substitute for going and seeing things for yourself. When we were ready to buy we drove around some areas we had identified. We quickly ruled a couple out just by driving through the neighborhood.

You will hear people say it's not great because Davenport allows short term rentals so you could live amongst people vacationing. You have to look around though. Our street had 21 houses and only two were vacation rentals. My friends don't have many on their streets either.

We bought a home in Davenport. In a development that has many short term rentals. That was because we wanted to rent for a few years before I retired. We now snowbird there and no longer rent. Over the years we have seen the homes turn from short term rentals to full and part time owners. One of the sub-divisions in the development does not allow short term rentals. We have not experienced any issues from the short term renters. And have met a number of very nice folks in our development.

A good resource can be a realtor. We were lucky and found a very good realtor who listened carefully to our needs and steered us to nice areas.

Our friends live in Highlands Reserve and they love it, but they are older and he teaches at a charter High School.

Highland Reserves is a nice development. Especially if you like golf. Since you have friends in the area you should be able to leverage their knowledge and experience.

They just built a new public K-8 serves the area your friends live in. Eventually I think it will be good but right now they are dealing with size issues. Kids who are zoned for the school are being sent to other schools because they are out of room.

Yes, the Polk County school system is having some issues with funding and rapid population growth. The new school was overcrowded the day it opened. Do your homework on the schools before choosing a neighborhood.

Wishing you all the best on your move.