Anyone love Florida so much after vacationing there they move to Florida?

[GoingtoWDWagain]

I'm sure many that have vacationed to Florida end up feeling they should move there. Anyone do so? If so what areas of Florida would you suggest? After numerous vacations to WDW wondering if its time for my family to make the move

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We're originally from East Coast and have been living in California for 14 yers now. My husband was offered a job in Florida back in 2006. We were looking in the area of Lighthouse Point. My husband insisted to live on the water. It's a nice area and the guy he was going to work for lived in the area too, along with most of his and his wife family. Husband ended up not taking the job. He has always liked Florida but now he likes South Carolina better. P.S. Took a trip to Celebration, Florida once and found that area nice. Houses are just a bit too close to one another for me.

 

[Brewersprts]

I was born and raised in Florida. I now live in Ohio, unfortunately, and every time I to down to Florida on vacation I wonder why in the world am I still up here in this terrible state. It was below 50 on the 4th of July. That is stupid

 

[MandiC]

When we came home I started home/job searching immediately and was stuck on moving for a good 3 months afterwards. Not to Florida, as much as I enjoyed the February Florida weather I know that I would not enjoy May-September and that is the same position I am in now except it's November-March I don't enjoy. We looked into moving to South Carolina or Tennessee (I know, not very similar, I wanted TN hubby wanted SC...I need to live on at least 2 acres, he wants the ocean) ultimately all our family is here, we know it here, the schools are great here and the prospect of moving now, when we are pretty well settled was scary so we have, at least for now, decided against it. I still bring it up. We are right in the middle of a big decision with our house (sell and build/buy or do an addition) and moving out of state is always in the back of my mind. I can't imagine living here and being miserable half the year for the rest of my life but the thought of pulling my kids away from their friends, community, grandparents, aunts/uncles/cousins...ugh!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Just the opposite! Every time I visit Florida, I wonder why anyone would want to live there, mainly due to the weather.

 

[starsweeper]

Just the opposite! Every time I visit Florida, I wonder why anyone would want to live there, mainly due to the weather.

Exactly! I did live in FL for about 18 months for a work assignment. It was great from about mid-October to mid-April, but miserable late spring to early fall. DH and I have talked about having a rental for a few months in the winter when we're older but I'll never buy in FL. We like our 4 seasons in central KY without extremes.

 

[lovegrumpy]

We have lived there two different times in different areas with Dh being in the military. There is a 70% chance that's were we'll end up after he retires.

 

[nerderella]

Count me in with those who enjoy keeping Florida for the visits. You couldn't pay me to live there again before I'm retired.

My husband's job moved me from Boston to West Palm Beach, and since my grandparents have a home in Jupiter that I spent tons of time over the past 20 years visiting for vacation, I was excited. The area was familiar, I knew I liked it, and I thought the fun of living on the beach and spending days at the pool would be what Florida was like, and boy was I wrong. The job I took due to limited options gave me a lower salary by 50%, quoting a "sunshine tax" and lower cost of living than Boston, but aside from our house being cheaper than it was in Boston everything else was just as expensive. I was miserable. I also never went to the beach other than for morning runs, and never hung by the pool, even on the hottest days. We did keep up our frequent visits to Disney, which was nice.

 

[sunkissed4]

DH and I moved to Tampa almost 5 years ago from very, very, very upstate NY. We didn't just do it because we like to vacation here, DH had a good job offer so we jumped at the chance for a change. We're alone, no family around so that's tough but we love it here.

I never understand people complaining about the summer heat, we just go to the pool or the beach and enjoy ourselves. Much better than being stuck inside from October to May in northern NY yuck!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Just the opposite! Every time I visit Florida, I wonder why anyone would want to live there, mainly due to the weather.

1) I hear you!
. . . warm in the winter
. . . sunny 312 days a year
. . . precipitation doesn't require s a snow shovel
. . . road salt isn't used
. . . it has zero state personal income tax
2) After living in six states due to employment, and working in five countries, Florida is rough.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Exactly! I did live in FL for about 18 months for a work assignment. It was great from about mid-October to mid-April, but miserable late spring to early fall. DH and I have talked about having a rental for a few months in the winter when we're older but I'll never buy in FL. We like our 4 seasons in central KY without extremes.

I don't find coastal FL any worse than the Midwest for Summer heat - better, in fact. But, I'm with you on the 4 seasons. DW meanwhile, would love to move to FL.

 

[Wes1stTrip2016]

We lived in Winter Park, a suburb just north of downtown Orlando for 12yrs. There are many things to love about Florida living...no state tax, you reach a beach within 90 mins, all the theme parks, great restaurants/shopping and warm winters. The downfalls for us were the property taxes, rising crime rates and the god awful traffic.

I still miss it sometimes.

 

[Nanu57v]

Today was the first day in weeks it got above 80...and it is AUGUST! My kids were out waiting for the bus in negative temps this winter. We had 11 snow days, 11 2 hr delays and 3 early dismissals. My husband is interviewing with a company now in the Orlando area. We don't want to go through another PA winter!

 

[lovethattink]

We moved to FL years ago. We didn't move here for Disney, but it's definately one of the perks of living in central Florida. To do it all over, I'd pick somewhere with quicker access to I-4. There are some really nice subdivisions behind the mk. Many of my friends live in Winter Garden or Windemere. Dr. Phillips is known for their good schools. Lake Mary area was recently listed as one of the best places to live, but traffic is almost always backed up there. One thing to keep in mind are toll roads. If you plan to go to Disney often, you might want to make sure you can easily get the without toll roads.

 

[cah5525]

Left NY July 4th and we are now living a mile from the ocean in Port Orange, FL! After this past winter living in NY, I was so ready! We spent two weeks at Disney in the spring and I didn't want to leave. The idea to move was first born out of my love for Disney but was accelerated by that depression that settles in after returning home to the cold. Everyone told me that I would hate the heat. I don't. Maybe its the coastal breeze? Maybe I'm still enjoying the thaw-out?
I transferred my job and may have to take a part time job just to pay for the cable package offered here! Whoa! That and the cost to transfer auto registration to FL are my only gripes so far.
Love all of the choices for eating out, so many!
Had just traded my car in before the move and wish I had found something with tan interior instead of black - the inside of my car looks like a sandbox.
If Florida should not work out for me, there is no way I'll ever return to NY State!

 

[MissMaryQC]

1) I hear you! . . . warm in the winter . . . sunny 312 days a year . . . precipitation doesn't require s a snow shovel . . . road salt isn't used . . . it has zero state personal income tax 2) After living in six states due to employment, and working in five countries, Florida is rough.

Heehee.

I was born and raised in Miami, Florida and I lived in Orlando for about a year. I love Florida! Sure it's hot sometimes, but we make up for it with beaches and pools! Plus there is no such thing as winter, which my thin blood appreciates. Miami is a hard city to live in if you don't make a ton of money; rental prices are ridiculous and, at least for us, owning is not an option because of taxes and insurance. I'm actually in the process of convincing DBF to move to Central Florida when DD is born. He's a stubborn man so it's been slow moving, but there are a ton of great city's here. I particularly enjoy Orlando (college park is probably my favorite area), St. Augustine, Tampa, Jacksonville, Naples (expensive), to name a few. If you're really considering it come and stay a while but go to "local" spots. Hit up the grocery stores, the little restaurants, drive through some residential areas, just to get a taste of day to day life. Best of luck on your journey!

 

[puffkin]

When we came home I started home/job searching immediately and was stuck on moving for a good 3 months afterwards. Not to Florida, as much as I enjoyed the February Florida weather I know that I would not enjoy May-September and that is the same position I am in now except it's November-March I don't enjoy. We looked into moving to South Carolina or Tennessee (I know, not very similar, I wanted TN hubby wanted SC...I need to live on at least 2 acres, he wants the ocean) ultimately all our family is here, we know it here, the schools are great here and the prospect of moving now, when we are pretty well settled was scary so we have, at least for now, decided against it. I still bring it up. We are right in the middle of a big decision with our house (sell and build/buy or do an addition) and moving out of state is always in the back of my mind. I can't imagine living here and being miserable half the year for the rest of my life but the thought of pulling my kids away from their friends, community, grandparents, aunts/uncles/cousins...ugh!

You sound a lot like us. We've talked about it. There would be a lot of opportunities in my DH's career and I don't have any doubt that I could find a job. But ultimately our families live here and we are heavily involved in community activities and athletics right now with our kids. With us both working full time, and even with the kids in daycare, we still need help A LOT with getting the kids to activities or picked up if one of us gets stuck at work or in traffic, for weather delays, sick days, etc.

We just made the decision to stay in our house and finish our basement over moving to a bigger house. We won't get that money back (which was a hard decision to make), but it makes the house "livable" for us for the long term as the kids get bigger. We also were able to stay on track with our 15 year mortgage, now down to 10 years rather than buying a bigger house and going back out to 30 years. Our plan is to pay off this house, then buy a condoin Florida. I am thinking by that point we should be able to spend a fair amount of time there through the winter and get that paid off before we retire. Especially as technology keeps improving, I am hoping both our jobs will allow more telecommuting opportunities.

I do like May-October in Pennsylvania. I don't even mind if its cold Nov-Dec for the holidays. It just feels right. But Jan-April here is for the birds

 

[staceyrhood]

Yes! 13 years ago next month, I packed up everything and moved from the Atlanta area to Disney (Celebration)! I love if here, we have a great school, wonderful neighborhood, and it takes 5 minutes to get to Disney from our house...can't beat it

 

[MOpGrad2013]

We are planning on moving down after DD graduates next year. DH was in the military so we had many discussions about our "forever home." We seriously looked into Texas, but realized we would still want to visit Disney a minimum of once every 2 years.

His new job has a hub in Orlando so the transfer will be easy. DH really enjoyed the summer he worked in Miami. DS19 moved to the west coast of Florida. DfosterS's mom and grandmother live in Florida. And now that we have gone and stayed off site, we have a good idea of which neighborhoods/towns we would like to be in.

 

[GoingtoWDWagain]

We live upstate NY and the winters are long, cold and plenty of snow that keeps us indoors The warm weather doesn't last long and I'm still waiting for a nice hot summer day (compared to Florida heat its not hot here at all). We end up counting down the days to every visit we can make to Florida. Thanks for sharing your stories, I think its time to plan for that final visit to Florida and make it our home