How close to WDW?

[PatriciaH]

Hi all you Floridians! DH and I are planning a move in March 2004. We were all set for this past March, but then the war broke out and the ecconomy tanked so we decided to wait one year and save some more $$. We had an apartment set up at Centergate in Celebration while we house hunted. What do you all think of Celebration? We loved it but we will be looking at homes in Clermont this August as well. We got a little nervous when we read Disney was selling off the town square and golf course in Celebration. Any more info on this? How are jobs looking in the Central Florida area? It stinks here in MA. I will be so happy to never see snow again and be able to swim in the ocean.

 

[Moosysmom]

Patricia H,
I just sent you an e-mail.

The economy in Central Florida is slowly getting better. I moved down here the beginning of June and just accepted a job to start on Monday so it took about 2 months.

You will love it down here. Good luck.
Lynn

 

[Lcm2108]

Patricia H--

I also sent you an e mail.

Celebration---we love it! After looking at real estate for the past 2 years around the area, we feel Celebration is overpriced. The house we are getting is at least 500 sq. feet bigger and $50,000 cheaper. The association fees are also cheaper where we will be. Celebration is beautiful but there are so many regulations. Read the books on Celebration at your library. The school had me concerned also (after reading the book). If you have children who will go to public school, I can share with you what I found out thus far. I have 3 plastic grocery bags loaded with information we were given at the various communities.
The people on this board are very helpful and give great insight/advise!

Lisa

 

[PatriciaH]

Yes, Celebration is a bit overpriced esp. if Disney is dropping it. It does looks beautiful and the homes we saw were great-no land though. We don't have kids so the school is not a major concern right now. I did like what I read/saw about the school, but I hear a lot of the parents pushed to have it become more traditional (test scores, no more mixed age classrooms, etc..) bummerI did read Celebration Chronicals and Celebration USA. We have a copy of the association rules for Celebration and they are A-ok with us. We looked at Hunters Creek but did not like it. Any other nice areas we should check out in August??

 

[Disneymoon04]

What's the cost of living like in that area? Anyone know how it compares to the Dallas metro?

We're looking to 'plant some roots' and can't decide... Orlando would be neat!

 

[PatriciaH]

Originally posted by Disneymoon04
What's the cost of living like in that area? Anyone know how it compares to the Dallas metro?

We're looking to 'plant some roots' and can't decide... Orlando would be neat!

There is a section on Yahoo where you can compare the cost of living between two cities. Some other pages have it too. I will try and find a link for you. Orlando came out much cheeper for us but we are North of Boston You can also check out how clean/polluted an area is-I will look for that link!

Here is a great page:

http://www.bestplaces.net/

and the pollution one (important!):

http://www.scorecard.org/

 

[Disneymoon04]

Thanks for the links PatriciaH!

 

[movingtoorlando]

their is also a cost of living calculator on the goodyear tire company site very accurate as well. I have found central flordia much cheaper to live in than the north east. don't know how the dallas area compares.


http://www.homefair.com/homefair/calc/salcalc.html?NETSCAPE_LIVEWIRE.src=homestore

 

[Ted and Holly]

We are moving in less than two weeks. We will be living at Champions Gate. Not sure exactly how far it is from WDW but it is definitely CLOSE.

Apparently, the cost of living is supposed to be a but lower there than in the Boston (and North) area. I see it in the real estate prices but I don't really see it in anything else.

Groceries, utilities, insurance... all seem to come out pretty much the same.

The odd thing is that my employer seems to think that there is enough difference that I am being adjusted... down.

Not much though. I will take it. I will be able to work from home and not have to pay non-resident Mass. income tax.

Ted

 

[PatriciaH]

Originally posted by Ted and Holly

The odd thing is that my employer seems to think that there is enough difference that I am being adjusted... down.

Not much though. I will take it. I will be able to work from home and not have to pay non-resident Mass. income tax.

Ted

Not to mention-NO MORE SNOW! NH is beautiful but homes have gone way up- plus 6 lousy months of weather like MA.

 

[Ted and Holly]

Originally posted by PatriciaH
Not to mention-NO MORE SNOW! NH is beautiful but homes have gone way up- plus 6 lousy months of weather like MA.

SOOOO true! I got new tires the other day. They looked at me like I was crazy because I got rain tires, rather than all-season tires.

The same house in the Lakeland, FL area that sells for $140k would go for $250k or more in the MA/NH area.

Ted

 

[Darwineffect]

We live about 20 min. away depending on traffic. My fiance' is a cast member at Blizzard, so we go to the parks often.

 

[mco-missy]

I live about 40 minutes away. My husband and I have Seasonal Annual Passes, we also have annual passes to Sea World and Busch Gardens.
Here's the shockers: My husband had not been to Disney since he was about 6 years old (until we met that is!). Shocker #2: My nieces, ages 10 and 12, have not wanted to go to Disney for about 2 years because they say it is "too much work to get there". They had annual passes and their parents decided to not renew them because the girls are tired of the parks. They got annual passes to Sea World and Wet and Wild this year instead.
I,however, love to go to Disney and I have converted my husband into a Disney "liker" also. We sometimes go and stay on property for a weekend get-away.
Anyway, like I said above, I live about 40 minutes away. I have lived in this area since October 1971 (when I was 2) so I have always had Disney here close by. I work for the FAA at MCO (Orlando International Airport). And I LOVE DISNEY!

 

[DisneyDiver]

To be honest, if I had access to Typhoon or Blizzard, you couldn't pay me to choose "Soggy 'n' Tame" (Wet 'n' Wild) over Disney - it's a vile place. The place is run down, there's no atmosphere, and it's windy because there's no raised areas to shelter the park (important on cool days when you're just out of the water).

Once was enough for me to decide not to return...

Oh, and I'd love to be that close to Disney... mainly because I'm fed up with the UK for various reasons, I'd like to think I'll be leaving sometime in the future. But that's for another day.

 

[Poohbear123]

and WISH I was closer EVERYDAY! Maybe next year, I will be in Ft. Myers area!

 

[movingtoorlando]

Originally posted by Ted and Holly
Apparently, the cost of living is supposed to be a but lower there than in the Boston (and North) area. I see it in the real estate prices but I don't really see it in anything else.
Ted

when i moved down here 2 weeks ago i did pretty well my pay rate at my new job went up, my car insurance got cut in half. I moved into a awesome apt that is 200 sq feet bigger than the condo i owned in CT and it costs me $20 less a month plus it comes with a gym, pool, and a few other little things. So far I love it down here but it may be a little premature


anyhow good luck with your move. are you moving yourself or having a company do it? and if your driving what route are you planing to take I-95 or the backway?

 

[gshoemate]

The cost of living is a little bit more then what we were used to in Michigan. Don't forget the cost of electricity, the winter months it's low but the summer months, it is triple to what we paid in the winter months in Michigan. Not that I am complaining, to not have to deal with snow, I would pay alot more for air conditioning!

 

[FLCherylB]

Hi all! I live in Kissimme, FL (Right near Midevil Times) About 10-15 minutes away from Disney. We moved down here from VA at the end of Feb and left behind 2 feet of snow!) I was swimming in my pool in 2 days after we moved here. And we got Annual Season Passes to Disney within a week of moving here.

I love it! My husband works on Sat so I usually end up taking the kids to Disney by myslef. (6 Year old and 1 year old) We have often just gone for the morning until it gets hot and then head home to go swimming in our pool. I have yet to see alot of things, like illuminations at Epcot, but I have seen Fantasmic at least 5 times (LOVE IT!). It is so nice not having to rush around the parks to do everything in a day. One day, we just went to Epcot and just did all the Kidstop at the World Showcase.

I have just planned my daughters 6 bithday party at the Magic Kingdom and I think that she will have a blast! I dont think we will ever get tired of Disney. There is so much to do and we see something new each and every time we go there.

Cheryl

 

[Ted and Holly]

Our new apartment is larger than the one we have now, but the rent will be a bit more. I don't know what my car/renters insurance is going to be.

I will be getting about a 5% decrease in pay, but that will be compensated by the 5% that I won't have to pay to the State of Massachusetts. I haven't gotten the word from my HR department but I am sure that this is what they used to scale the adjustment.

We are moving our very small amount of stuff via ABF (www.upack.com) and driving our cars (separately). We are taking the I95 route, at night. Stopping at Fayetteville for the night.

Ted

 

[Moosysmom]

Originally posted by Ted and Holly
We are moving in less than two weeks. We will be living at Champions Gate. Not sure exactly how far it is from WDW but it is definitely CLOSE.

Ted

Ted and Holly,
Currently I am about 3 minutes from Champions Gate. When I go to WDW, it takes 15 minutes from my driveway to Main Gate. Then just a few to whatever park you want to be in.

I came from Minnesota so the no snow thing is great for me. I finally found work and I will be looking in Lakeland for a home. Still not that far from the world.

I know that things are cheaper than Minnesota, my car insurance went down $200. About the only thing that is really more expensive for me is Milk, but we had cheap milk because we were right next door to Wisconsin, which is where they base the price on.

Good luck with the move.
Lynn