Anyone convince a reluctant spouse to relocate to FLA for the LOVE of MICKEY?

[Mai Ku Tiki]

Aloha!

Desperate to move as close to WDW as possible...even after 30 trips (since 1971) I'm more convinced than ever that I MUST live and work at WDW!

Thought owning DVC would help, but every trip only makes me more sure that I was born to live there and be a Cast Member (and then volunteer in spare time at Give Kids The World!)

Anyone else this obsessed? Or maybe you already made the move? Is it wonderful?
Anyone regret the move?

How do I wait ANOTHER 4 years (til DS is finished with college)?
How do I convince DH? Helpppp!

~Rose~

 

[dbal]

just a bump! I was just thinking the same thing yesterday. I would love to here if anyone moved down to the world and what it's like. Does the pixie dust wear off after awhile? Or does this obsession just get fueled?

 

[Virgo10]

I had thought about it for at least the past 10 years. I have some significant back problems and living in New England in the winter is the pits. It wasn't until my DH developed severe arthritis that I got a positive response from him about relocating.

Now we're in the process of getting our home ready to sell and finally moving. I'm looking forward to it beyond words but still find that I'm sad at leaving behind the place I've lived my whole life. Still, any time those sad thoughts creep in, I think about all there will be to do down there. Then I get excited all over again.

So yes, I'm motivated by Mickey to consolidate years worth of possession into a fesible move so I can live near my laughing place. But equally, I am looking forward to living in an area where I do not dread the thoughts of winter because of the pain.

Roberta

 

[tinaluis]

Same here -- our house is now on the market. We were supposed to make a three week trip down to Orlando last Saturday to look for a house/neighborhood, but rescheduled it by about a week becuase of Hurricane Charley. Neither DH nor I had ever been to WDW when we visited in 1993 for our honeymoon. I was hooked and we visited at least 1x a year since then. After about 5 visits I said "You know, we visit here so often that we should think about moving here". He wasn't convinced. It took about two years to convince him and the main thing that finally convinced him is that our oldest DD, 8, has severe UC and the heat and humidity in FL actually make the pain in her joints feel better. When he saw how much better she felt when we were there he said we should sell our house. We've gotten all our ducks in a row, paid off all of our bills (except the mortgage) and are just waiting for an offer to come in on our house so we can go!!! Good luck to all considering the move.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

Aloha!

Gosh...I am so happy for you all, and SOOO envious! I also feel so much better physically when I'm there and CANNOT bear the thought of commuting in yet another winter....not to mention the endless greyness!!!!

So...how do you begin your search for a home? A job? We don't know anyone who lives there...Only on both coasts of FLA. And we have ALWAYS stayed on-site, so we don't know about neighborhoods near-by.

Maybe a new 'DIS RELOCATE Board' is in order?

~Rose~

 

[cheyita]

Rose - Are you my DH in disguise?

Don't get me wrong. Part of me would LOVE to move to Orlando. But the other part of me would miss all my family in the Midwest. We see them often.

Good luck on your quest, though. I do think it could be a wonderful thing to do.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

Aloha!

KAREN...It's very funny....In the years I've Been on the DIS boards (My prior posts were wiped out a few years ago) I've so often noticed comments about the SIGNIFICANT OTHER being less of a DISer....

I wonder how that happens? The next time I conduct interviews to fill the post of DH in this house, the level of committment and loyalty to THE MOUSE will be qualification Numero Uno!!!

If DH sees this 'll never get my house in FLA!!!

~Rose~

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

ALOHA!

Would love to hear more... I'm desperate!

This is a yucky August...weather won't be nice again til I'm back in the classroom...

Then winter....Ice...snow..... GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!!:


I WANT TO LIVE UNDER THE PALMS WITH MICKET!!!


~Rose~

 

[my3kids]

Honestly, I can't imagine a grown person relocating to Florida for a minimum wage job. I love to go to Disney World on vacation, but to move my family is something entirely different.

 

[JayBee]

A couple years ago we were serious about relocating to Florida, but wanted the west coast as DH is a serious fisherman. Would you believe the place we loved the most was Punta Gorda?


WAges at WDW are below $10 an hour...so good luck in your decision.

 

[LadyTrampScamp&Angel]

My situation is opposite. DH keeps telling me "why don't we just move there, you could get a job at Disney" and I say "NO!". I think he's trying to save on vacation costs

Honestly I think if I lived and worked there it would take away a lot of magic for me. I see WDW vacations as an escape from reality. I WANT to stay in one of the wonderfully themed Disney resorts, enjoy the parks, eat at the restaurants. I don't want to live nearby in the house I have to clean and maintain, drive to work at the world - when I would want to play. That would just take all the fun out of it for me.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

Aloha!

PUNTA GORDA was my alternative also. What a tragedy for those poor people.

I keep rationalizing that $$$ isn't everything.....But I probably will wait to go til I have my pension to supplement income...

Still LOTS of folks are there DOING IT AND......LOVING IT!

I've spoken to so many CMs in the 30 yrs I've visited WDW who are transplanted and I've never met ANY who wish they hadn't made the move.

I'm happy for them!

~Rose~ ***LIFE IS NOT A DRESS REHERSAL!****

 

[chrissyk]

I guess that **I** was the reluctant spouse, but I came around eventually. Now our house in Celebration is built, our house in MA closes in 3 weeks (KNOCK WOOD!), and we're finally getting on with our lives. These last 2 winters were just horrible beyond belief. That, combined with the cost of housing in this area, were major factors in convincing myself that moving to FL was the right thing to do.

Also, my DH just hates the winter so much. The thought of spending another winter looking at his sad face as he sat on the couch made me want to move also! He is just so miserable during the winter, and the winter lasts 7-8 months here I don't love winter either, though. We probably could have moved even sooner, but it took me a long time to realize that I don't **have** to live where the rest of my family chooses to live. There is such a thing as airplanes, LOL!

 

[btass]

My DH and I wanted to both go, then my MIL said"you're taking my grandson away!?! boo hoo boo hoo" real tears no less, and my DH buckled.

There we could have the hopes of a house of our own and live close to the mouse. Here we live in a very small apartment with no hopes of a house. DH is a momma's boy, she makes enough money to fly down every weekend if she wanted to, in her own chartered plane no less!!!

I am sorry for the outburst, I am just a little touchy about the subject.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

ALOHA AND CONGRATS!!!

CHRYSSK...
Celebration would be the PERFECT spot for me. I visit whenever at WDW. Love the homes, neighborhoods, dowtown. They have a great JULY 4 observance ...real MAIN STREET USA stuff! Are you retiring there? If you feel like sharing any details, please pm me.
Not sure we could afford it...ALTHOUGH....prices on our central NJ homes are at an all-time high....hmmmm....

How good of you to support DH. My sad face is on the sofa from OCT-APRIL every year so I know how he felt.

Now you have so many exciting possibilities ahead....Good luck on your closing....if you have a place with that extra apt over the garage, let me know....I just may become your first renter!!!!


~Rose~

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

Aloha!


Sorry to stir this up for you...

Family is one reason DH won't leave NJ either...so I know how it feels.

Hang in there!

Have a great time on your visit to WDW. Why not pick up the paper while there and show DH some home prices? Hasn't worked for me, but I keep trying!

You're not alone! ~Rose~

 

[chrissyk]

Btass, I was as reluctant as your DH. We live in MA by the way, so I understand about the housing costs. CT is even worse! The only reason that we were able to afford our own home was that we bought RIGHT before the housing boom (I mean like a month before...it was pure luck). We couldn't afford to buy this same house in a million years now. I am still seeing stars over what we got for it, which is why I am sooooo nervous about the closing going OK.

Anyways, my mother sounds like your MIL. She's all "I'll never see my grandchildren!". There was much more, including the real tears and all. It took a while, but I decided that I had to do what was best for us and not what was best for my mother. She's still ticked about it, but oh well! Your DH may come around too. If my husband reads this thread, he may chime in to tell you how he NEVER thought that I'd come around, LOL! We decided to wait until we were in FL to have kids, since my mother would probably have gone psycho if we'd moved actual children to FL

Rose, we're only 30 so we're not exactly retiring. We're moving on to a different phase of career, though. We've done OK up here (we're engineers, and we did put it back during the high times). Now, we can enjoy the fruits of that labor, and have the luxury to go for lower-paying careers. My husband would really like to become an Imagineer, and I'm going to be a high-school math teacher

As for the garage apartment, I'm kicking myself for not building one I so wish that we had! We totally could have selected the home with the garage apt. too We will probably buy a bigger house in the town in a couple of years, and the garage apt. is #1 on our list of must-haves.

 

[allshookup]

I can totally relate to the family thing. I have been begging my DH to move to Florida for years now but he wouldn't leave his ailing DM. I couldn't blame him, but I was sooooo depressed every long and cold winter. Well I loved my MIL but sadly she passed away 2 yrs ago. Now my DH is just waiting for early retirement (which does not include much money) but in less than 3 yrs we will be off to sunny FLA!!! I am currently attending school to get my bachelors in early education & he is going for his masters in criminal justice so we can have decent jobs when we arrive. We own land in Port Charlotte (which is right next to Punta Gorda) where will have a home built. We will be in our early 40's and my children will be in their early teens. I am hoping they will love having a year round screened in pool in their back yard and will not hate us too much for moving them away from their friends. I have sisters that live on the west coast of FLA and I miss them terribly...plus we will be less than 3 hrs from the mouse! I don't know how I am going to get thru the next 3 yrs but being on the DIS helps!