Love Disney so much thinking of moving to FL - anyone from Winter Garden Area

[MermaidJan]

I would love some input on best area to live in FL near Disney.

I have an 8 yr old son and want good schools.

Looking forward to reading everyones reply.

 

[Dizny Dad]

 

[eliza61]

Is this decison already made or are do you want opinions on the viability of moving.

I'm going to answer your question with a question. dontcha hate it when people do that...

Moving for any reason is stressful enough, but for a love of Disney? uhm... so these are the questions I would have to have firm answers to before moving anywhere. .

1) Job. Will you be employable in Florida? Since you have an 8 year old, I asssuming you're not near retirement age, so how are you going to support your family?

2) Have you lived in the area? Visiting a vacation is a lot different than living there. You're not going to be in the "Happy place" 24/7 so what's life like in Central PA. I'm a nyc girl also, it was culture shock for me moving down the turnpike let alone down South.

You may want to post this question on the community forum or the orlando forum. you would probably get a broader range of answers.

As for areas in Orlando, I would probably also post this question on the Orlando chamber of commerce website. Remember you are trying to get a realistic view of what life will be like not a disney sanitized version. You want a majority of answers from locals.

 

[MermaidJan]

@Eliza61

Thanks for the reply.

Yes, my husband and I are still youngish. 43 & 42 but my husband has worked for NYC Sanitation for the last 20 yes so he can retire @ half pay. He has his commercial driver license and would like a job driving. I am a bookkeeper so something clerical would be nice. We have a nice home here with enough equity to put a sizable amount down.

I know that living in FL would be much different than visiting. My parents live in Lake Wales for the last 12 hrs. It would be nice to be closer. We have plans to drive down this April and check out the area.

My biggest concern are the schools. The schools here are excellent.

I am going to look for other forums that was a great suggestion.

 

[RobPickles]

We have also considered the move to Florida because of our love for being in Disney and have come across the same questions Eliza61 has posed.

The reason you love it so much is because you are on vacation when you are there and are stress free with no worries about work or the real world. Once it becomes an everyday thing it becomes "work" and most work tends to be stressful and your love for it will soon possibly gain a bit a resentment, etc... We even considered what it would be like to actually work for Disney, but that also I have been told is not ideal and would taint our view of our dream life.

Don't get me wrong...I still fantasize about moving there and having my "dream" or "magic" life come true, but when I stop and think of the reality of the situation, I tend to be more of a pessimist and think that in reality, it will not be the wonderful life that I had dreamed it would be.

 

[joelnkelly]

I live in Orlando, and love having a family here. Living close to disney is real plus for being able to take quick last minute weekend gett-a-ways to disney. I wouldnt say the schools here are "great", Orange County school systems isnt the best, but it is getting a little better, my wife's a teacher. Some of the better schools are in the Windermere area, we live in East Orlando and they have some really high ranked schools as well, especially where my wife teaches, it was just awarded a Blue Ribbon School, one of the top schools in the nation.

Job market down here is really hit or miss, some sectors havent taken a huge hit, others are really bad. If you really want to still live the "disney life", move to celebration. its right on the doorstep of disney.

 

[arthur06]

DW and I have talked about moving also. However, we are only 31 and 29 with 3 children. We want to "dual" live in the future. We are no where near making a decision on where we would like to be. We have talked about Arizona, Texas, Florida among other places. While we love Disney, not sure if that is the area that we would want to move to. We really enjoy the Gulf side of the state and being only an hour or two or three is a nice option.

We will probably spend the next 20 years looking into this more and then make a decision closer to retirement.

 

[shrpgrl]

Winter Garden is nice. I live in Winter Haven, not that far from there and go to Winter Garden shopping sometimes(I like to drive). We are about 45 minutes to WDW. We moved down here from Indiana almost 3 years ago. Not sure what the cost of living is where you are from but groceries down here are high compared to up north. If you coupon it is not so bad. We had talked about moving down for years to be closer to WDW so if it is what you want...Go for it. If I had to do it over again I think I would rent for a year while checking out all the neighborhoods. Unfortunately we have not been able to sell our house up north. Ended up renting to family (But that is another story).

 

[dbprimeaux]

We have a friend and his wife that moved to Winter Garden a while back, because of their love of WDW. Their kids are grown and in college, and our friends both lost their parents before they moved. The husband went to work for WDW for a while and loved it. He decided to stop working at WDW to be able to travel more on his regular days off (from his 9-5 job). They visit WDW almost every weekend. They don't regret their decision at all!

 

[Bouncin-Tigger]

Dont move your family because of enjoyment of a theme park.

 

[AllyBri]

We made the move and could not be happier and for us the smartest thing we have done.
Watching the news the other night and they are showing all the snow up north, DH says, this is why we live in Florida.

 

[MermaidJan]

After reading a few posts, I want clear something up. A lot of you think that my only motivation to move to FL is Disney. Don't get me wrong, I love Disney. But moving to FL is more than just about visiting the parks.

I know that when my husband retires, we won't be able to pay the taxes here without us both working full time. If we move now, we could have a really small mortgage and lower taxes. Once the house is paid off, we could both afford to work just part time. We could truly be retired by 60. I don't think I want to work at Disney. It would ruin the magic.

I can also be closer to my parents who aren't getting any younger.

@Joenkelly - thanks for the info about Windermere. I am going to do some research about the area. Any more insight would be great?

 

[LSchrow]

@
My parents live in Lake Wales for the last 12 hrs. .

you might want to wait until they've been there at least a day

jk.....but i see you live on LI now. we have talked to quite a few ppl who have moved south. there is a lot to say for no....more....snow , but there are other weather related difficulties to face there.: hot in the summer isn't NY hot - it's brutal. bugs are big part of life (not excluding fire ants, and palmetto bugs).
the one thing i heard a lot is how ppl miss all there is to do on/near LI: top restaurants, b'way and community shows, amazing public parks, etc, as well as the overall friendliness of LIers (many of whom will talk to anyone, anytime - e.g., i spent over 2 hours shopping with a total stranger in macy's yesterday, we just hit it off ). l would seriously consider renting for at least a month, just to get a feel for the area. the employment situation and living expenses greatly vary from up north also.
good luck with your decision

 

[AllyBri]

After reading a few posts, I want clear something up. A lot of you think that my only motivation to move to FL is Disney. Don't get me wrong, I love Disney. But moving to FL is more than just about visiting the parks.

I know that when my husband retires, we won't be able to pay the taxes here without us both working full time. If we move now, we could have a really small mortgage and lower taxes. Once the house is paid off, we could both afford to work just part time. We could truly be retired by 60. I don't think I want to work at Disney. It would ruin the magic.

I can also be closer to my parents who aren't getting any younger.

@Joenkelly - thanks for the info about Windermere. I am going to do some research about the area. Any more insight would be great?

I have to agree about not moving to Florida for the Parks, it was probably 75% of the reason we moved here, but we're strange
and the weather. We have no intention of working for Disney either, I did 11 years at the Disney Store.
I completely understand about the taxes in NY.
Windermere is lovely.

 

[starbox]

Florida has horrible schools compared to NY. (I graduated from one!)
But- there are some good ones. Newsweek ranks 5 FL schools in the top 20 nationwide. I have a friend that graduated from the one in Gainesville and it was very good - but she could not get into NYU. Saint Augustine has a good system too w/a top performing school. There is some prejudice against FL schools from northern college admissions - the perception is that the schools lack rigo and a 4.0 from FL is not equal to a 4.0 from North Carolina.

http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/americas-best-high-schools/list.html

 

[WolfpackFan]

I am finding some of the replies here disappointing. OP wasn't asking people about their opinions on whether to move but information about places where to move to. But folks feel like they have to chime in their 2 cents worth anyway. I was very interested in OP's question also, but know nothing about the various towns around central Florida and was hoping folks would post about that rather than lecturing OP.

I myself would love to move to Celebration. And yes, I'd do it to be next door to WDW, which I'd go to several times a week.

 

[AllyBri]

I am finding some of the replies here disappointing. OP wasn't asking people about their opinions on whether to move but information about places where to move to. But folks feel like they have to chime in their 2 cents worth anyway. I was very interested in OP's question also, but know nothing about the various towns around central Florida and was hoping folks would post about that rather than lecturing OP.

I myself would love to move to Celebration. And yes, I'd do it to be next door to WDW, which I'd go to several times a week.

I'll be waving hi

 

[DVC SSR Owner]

I have lived in indialantic, Orlando, and clermont. I liked clermont. But, understand that living in fl is way different from vacationing there! I think winter garden is a little rough.

 

[dclfun]

We live in Hunter's Creek- check it out! Decent schools and a really nice environment with private parks and services. Of course, you pay for them, but IMO worth it. I would also suggest that you rent before buying. Home prices continue to depreciate and you'll want to be sure you're happy with the area you've chosen.---Kathy

 

[kdzgon]

Florida has horrible schools compared to NY. (I graduated from one!)
But- there are some good ones. Newsweek ranks 5 FL schools in the top 20 nationwide. I have a friend that graduated from the one in Gainesville and it was very good - but she could not get into NYU. Saint Augustine has a good system too w/a top performing school. There is some prejudice against FL schools from northern college admissions - the perception is that the schools lack rigo and a 4.0 from FL is not equal to a 4.0 from North Carolina.

http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/americas-best-high-schools/list.html

Five out of 20? Twenty-five percent is not just "luck" - there have been some serious advancements in education in Fl. BTW, NY has 1 (5%) and NC has none (0%) in that top 20.

Having often heard similar claims, I was surprised to see the standards and levels of learning for my grandsons in Fl are far and above those for my grands in NY, NC, NJ and CA. Test scores were higher, reading skills taught much sooner and math more advanced at an earlier grade. Some recent rankings have put Fl schools at #8 in the nation.

Follow your own link, and you will see three (3) Fl schools in the top ten, and only one (1) NY school (at position #10) and no NC schools until#43 (and that's a charter school). Fl has 18 schools in the top 100 (11 out of the top 50), NY has 11 (3 in the top 50). NC fares worse than either Fl or NY.

Sorry, but your trashing of Fl schools has no basis in fact.

BTW, NYU turns away many of the "best and brightest" - they make a concentrated effort to have "diversity" of all types. They value uniqueness over brains and a "hard luck" past gives you a better chance than being your high school's valedictorian.