Has anyone moved to Florida from the northeast...

[belle3]

We moved for job relocation from RI to Charlotte, NC in 1996. If I had my way, I would have made the move all the way to FL then! We have since looked in several areas in FLorida for our next move. Price is always a consideration, as is the weather as DH doesn't like too much humidity. We really liked St. Pete, and we even got married on the beach there, but found an area at Citrus Hills that was much better as far as humidity is concerned. It is about 1:15 from Disney which suits us fine. We already bought the land, and will build in 5-7 years. DD will be just off to college, and we think UF@Gainesville will be a good choice for her.

 

[Richyams]

One more big downside here in South Florida.

I just went outside to leave for work this morning, I had to come back in and find a jacket, its in the low 40's outside!!!! It took me fifteen minutes to find a jacket.

Its a nice denim "75 years of Mickey" jacket....but I haven't worn it since we were in WDW last winter and I had to buy it because I didn't have one.

 

[KNWVIKING]

I've had several "snowbirds" tell me that when I relocate to Fl, don't buy a house until at least after the first year. Too many people think they are going to love it there, then find they don't. They get killed trying to sell a house they just purchased.

 

[mamarobin24]

yup. we're going. Unfortunately, we didn't do it soon enough and now we have 5 and a half more years before the youngest one graduates from high school. I am sitting here in another blizzard, with another foot of snow falling, in 28 degree weather wishing it were NOW!!!

I imagine we won't live right in Orlando, as the Love of My Life doesn't like crowds and cities that much. So, farther south than VT, but not sure exactly where. Somewhere where it doesn't snow quite so much and has a least a tolerance for liberal politics.

And I imagine we won't sell our points. We are in the process of buying more, so I think this is a vacation lifestyle we plan to keep.

only 5.5 more years . . .only 5.5. more years. . . only 5.5 more years . . .

 

[lovespugs]

DH and I are planning on relocating to Orlando from the Kansas City area within the next 6 months. We met a fellow Chiefs fan at the ESPN Club in October who had recently moved to Celebration. He and his wife weren't sure which coast of Florida they wanted to settle on, so they moved to the central location of Celebration while they explored the rest of Florida. The eventually picked the West coast and were in the process of building a home there.

That's similar to my and DH's plans. I've wanted to move to Florida for a long time, I just haven't been able to settle on a city. DH is going back to school full time in the fall, so we need proximity to a major university for now. So, we picked Orlando. We can spend the two years he's in school exploring the rest of Florida and decide where we want to live when he graduates. In the meantime, we'll be in a central city with a large university.

We're planning on keeping our points, but don't have any immediate plans to add on, whereas we would be adding on if we stayed in the KC area. I figure we'll take long weekends during food and wine and trips to Vero, as well as using the points to put up guests who come to visit us, since I'm assuming everyone we know will want to come visit us

 

[Jacksmom99]

If anyone has seen my DH's countdown timer (gmboy95) it's 8000 or so days until our retirement to Florida. Dh gets to retire two years before I do and keeps threatening to move down without me We are thinking about the Orlando area so we can work at Disney. DH want to collect golf balls or drive the beverage cart at a golf course. I actually would prefer a beach community. Who knows, we have a long time to think about it I do know that we will never sell our DVC even if we were living right in Orlando. I love being at WDW too much to ever want to give it up. Besides, by then our children will be getting ready to start families of their own (hopefully) and we will be sharing our DVC with them.

 

[Snowgod]

DW and I are planning to move in 5 years. We have already talked to my MIL about the move to be near her in Vero area. As the north wind howls outside my office window and the last 72 hours of Snow, Freezing rain and Snow has almost ended we keep sayin it's only 5 years. DVC is what we look forward to and may add more points.

 

[BWVDenise]

Hey, joeys, can I visit? I am turning green from your description!! It sounds beautiful!

 

[Certifiable WDW Nut]

Hey Snowgod, I see you are from Andover. I grew up in Sunapee. Couldn't wait to out of that god forsaken cold and snow. Only made down to the Washington DC metro area. DH and I keep talking about moving to Florida, but we are not getting far. I keep saying, though, the day I retire will be the last day I will have a chance of seeing snow again.

Anyway, sorry about all the snow and cold up there. I remember it well and will probably never recover from it.

 

[chrissyk]

Originally posted by Certifiable WDW Nut
Hey Snowgod, I see you are from Andover. I grew up in Sunapee.

My parents have a ski cottage on a lake just outside of Newport! We had our season's ski passes at Mt. Sunapee every year...aaah, the ice-cold memories

To answer the original question, my husband and I are in the process of moving from MA to Celebration, FL. We have a townhouse under construction there. We are absolutely keeping our 250 points, and we will likely buy 100 more in the future We chose Celebration because we liked what we saw with regard the schools. We have lived in MA all of our lives, and we hope to never, ever come back here once we leave! People can come visit us in FL

 

[Pig Pen]

We are planning a move to Florida in 2004. No way am I giving up my DVC. We will be about an hour from WDW which would be perfect for overnighters. OR, there are lots of resorts in the area to trade for. I own at Vero so I may try staying there! Or HH.

I cannot wait.

 

[jcodespoti]

Why I won't move to Florida
1)heat
2)heat
3)heat
4)heat
5)heat
6)to slow
7)heat
8)heat
9)heat
10)heat

Since i leave in CT, I know during the summer it gets very hot and Humid here. but only for 2 or maybe 3 months, other than that the weather here is perfect. I like cool and cold weather. I HATE THE HEAT!! (my wife says I'm nuts)

Joe in CT

 

[alexant]

I live in a small community just south of Sarasota. Sarasota is a great town. The school system is one of the best in the state. There's a lot of cultural activities, sport, beaches etc.

Naples is nice in the city itself but once you're out of it you're in the middle of nowhere. Also it is VERY expensive.

As far as your DVC. I'd keep it. My wife and I love it because our family can run over to Disney for a few days when we feel like it and not have to worry about planning a big vacation. We've often said (please don't flame me for this) we probably wouldn't own if we didn't live in Florida.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Originally posted by Richyams

gorgeous women in the supermarket,

Ha, ha, ha...

I know exxactly what you mean. I lived in Miami for 3 years for school after living my whole life in the Big Apple.

Up here, I run to the supermarket in my sweats, hair in a pony tail, sloppy college student look. Btw, I still do that. No one bats an eye.

When I lived in Miami, I WAS SOOOO SELF-CONCIOUS when I went to the supermarket. ALL the women/girls were dressed so nicely in their little tan skin bearing outfits as if they were going to lunch at some chic restaurant. Well, I learned pretty quick that sweats belong only in the privacy of your own home. Had to look groomed and presentable every time I stepped out of my door - even when taking out the garbage!!

 

[SleepyatDVC]

We've been thinking about a permanent move down to Florida for over 7 years now. Don't know when, don't know where. Hopefully some place closer to Miami so as to be near my parents when they are down in Florida.

I took my DH (Jersey boy) before we got married down to South Forida for a friend's wedding and he fell in love with Florida and the perpetual sunshine. He's been badgering me constantly since we got married to make the move to Florida - this is over 7 years ago.

I want to move, I really do. But I run the family business up here for my parents. I'm an only child. I run things while they are in Florida and they cover for me when I go visit the Mouse.

I still haven't found anyone trustworthy to take care of things for me up here. If I do, I can telecommute from Florida and my Mom and I can alternately fly back once a month to check on things.

The move might come sooner then I think because my Dad might be starting another project down in Miami and we might need to spend more time down there.

DH has promised me more frequent trips to WDW if we actually do move. And he has even promoted the abundance of last minute cruises we could potentially take if we were near Miami.

I have friends who live in Coral Gables and PineCrest where the schools are good. But the home prices are almost as high as NY/NJ!

Richyams, I hear that the schools in Weston are pretty good? How do you feel about them?

We might have to rent first before buying because it's too hard to decide where to move.

DH will need to find a job first, but he doesn't want to look if the move is not eminent - afterall, we've been thinking about it for 7 years! Don't know how hard it will be for him. He's an Audio-Visual consultant with an Acoutical Engineering Consulting firm - specializes in commercial projects such as boardrooms, radio and television studios, etc.

Don't think that line of work is big in South Forida (maybe more in Orlando). So, he might have to start his own business - this time specializing in audio-visual consulting in residential high end homes.

Let's hope all the chips fall into place in the next year or two so that my DH stops badgering me!!! It's worse when the weather gets cold.

 

[PamOKW]

Alexant, you mention "running over to WDW for a few days". Do you find it fairly easy to get last minute reservations? I'm thinking that if I lived down there I might get the "urge" with only a week or two notice....does that generally work out? Do you usually go for weekends or mid-week?

Note to Joe -- Your wife is right. You are nuts -- it's getting hotter and more humid here every summer and that's getting balanced out by the colder, snowier, icier winters....and the monsoon like spring. I think we had about 5 really wonderful days this year.

 

[MichellT]

Like Nick@OKW, we toured Bella Lago as well but we didn't like it for the small lots and big association dues. Obviously the dues problem is much worse in Celebration or Reunion. But, those big communities are the places you hear about and they're all pretty well-located.

Does anyone have good ideas on areas (or even cities) to live in that are close enough to commute (30 min. max) to WDW for work and yet not in the middle of nowhere, like Narcoossee?

 

[chrissyk]

Originally posted by MichellT
Like Nick@OKW, we toured Bella Lago as well but we didn't like it for the small lots and big association dues. Obviously the dues problem is much worse in Celebration or Reunion. But, those big communities are the places you hear about and they're all pretty well-located.

Does anyone have good ideas on areas (or even cities) to live in that are close enough to commute (30 min. max) to WDW for work and yet not in the middle of nowhere, like Narcoossee?

One community that would probably fit the bill is "Avalon Park". We LOVED this community. The downside (for us) is that their main street has a dead-on view of 2 smokestacks from a coal plant (in the distance). Otherwise, the location is great and the houses were wonderful (and pretty inexpensive too).

"Baldwin Park" is a development in the Winter Park area, and this would also fit the bill of a 30-minute commute to WDW. We liked this community, but ruled it out because we weren't crazy about the surrounding area. We've also heard that the Windemere and Dr. Phillips areas are nice, and they would be under a 30 minute commute to WDW.

 

[PamOKW]

Originally posted by chrissyk
We've also heard that the Windemere

Well, Tiger likes it.

 

[floridafam]

Does anyone have good ideas on areas (or even cities) to live in

Clermont!

We've looked at Clermont and it seems wonderful. Close to WDW, pleasant and the hills are nice. You don't see that much in Florida.

My DH would be the happiest man in the world if we could transfer to Clermont but he would have to switch companies.

The schools in Vero Beach also seem nice as well as the schools in St. Augustine.

We also passed a town called Harmony on the way to VB from WDW that looked interesting. It looked like they were building all new schools.