moving to florida...couple ?'s

[Tinkerbelloncapecod]

Hi,

We are moving to Florida and I am wondering....will I get tired of Disney? Will I be able to drive around Orlando instead of a small little town? What towns are nice to live in around Orlando area. We are hoping to move down in two months but have no jobs and no living quarters yet. My husband is unemployed HR Director and I was an administrative assistant.

Are we crazy to move from the Northeast to Orlando area? How long does it take for you to adjust to the heat vs. cold?

Thanks.
Ron and Rose Boucher
rorobou@netzero.net

 

[floridafam]

What town are you moving to?

I don't think you'll get tired of Disney.

We are also thinking about moving to Florida and it will be nice to be able to go to Disney or the Vero Beach Resort for a weekend.

Good luck with the move.

 

[Tinkerbelloncapecod]

Hi,
We have no idea which town/city we will be moving to. We are planning on renting for a while so my husband can find employment somewhere first then we will move closer to his employment. We are hoping that he will find something close to the Orlando area so we can enjoy Disney/Universal/Seaworld, etc.

It would be nice to stay in a surround town/city or Orlando.

We first have to sell our home here on the Cape.

 

[amid chaos]

leaving the cape? The bridge traffic getting to you? or maybe it's that stupid possible flyover construction?

Umm, can I come too?

I'm in Falmouth, by the way!

 

[Tinkerbelloncapecod]

The kids are gone now so it's the two of us. We were planning on retiring in about 10-13 years to FL doing the 6 month thing. Unfortunately my husband job was intregrated into the main company and he has been laid off for 7 months now. We use to commute daily to Boston so I don't want another LONG commute again. So we have decided to just do the move now and live permanently there.....BIG DECISION in selling our lovely home but it's time. Ron is a hard worker so he figures he will have to work nights while looking for a job in his field by day.

 

[JustHolly]

We have been in Florida for almost a year!

We moved to the Orlando area from New Hampshire last August. I don't suggest moving to Fl so that you can be closer to Disney. It is very different to move to a place you vacation often. It was very hard for me to get out of the "We're on vacation" mindset and adjust to an entirely different way of life.

As for getting tired of Disney, nope! Disney still has its magic. I will say though, that at first, we went every day, and then it was 3-4 times per week, and then it was 3-4 times per month. We haven't been to a park since May 13th even though we live 10 minutes away. (We had dinner at California Grill last week though) Are we sick of it? NO WAY! But it just becomes less of a priority as time goes on.

We are having a blast exploring the lakes of Polk County and the Gulf Coast from Tampa to Naples. There is so much to see and do that there just isn't time to do it all, even when you live there.

As for the traffic, I think I4 is a lot like 495 or 93 in Mass. If you can handle that, then driving around Orlando isn't too bad. I4 is miserable, don't get me wrong, but I've gotten used to it. Being from New England, I have always been a very aggressive driver, even driving in the woods of NH. I have had to completely change my ways in Florida and now I have to drive very defensively.

As for the heat, it is HOT! I guess it's like winter in New England. You stay inside (in the AC) and don't open your windows, and there are thunderstorms every afternoon, so don't plan on being outside after 3pm.

 

[floridafam]

We lived in Holiday at one time. We enjoyed it because it seemed like a small town. It was North of Tampa and Clearwater.

We have also looked at Clermont but my Dh would have to switch companies. We really liked the looks of Clermont and the location.

Right now, he's hoping for a transfer to Vero Beach and we will probably look to buy a home in Sebastian.

The Panhandle areas are also nice but a bit further from Disney.

St. Augustine also has a certain charm to it.

I could pretty much live anywhere in Florida. Some of the areas areound Miami seem pretty hectic so I'm not sure I would be happy there.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[gshoemate]

We have been here for a year and nine months and still love it. And we are not even close to getting tired of Disney. It is a bit differant compared to coming down on vacation. We will go to a park for maybe 3 or 4 hours, do a few things then head home instead of trying to do everything in one day. We can really take everything in and enjoy it. Right now because of the heat, our favorite thing to do is the Water parks.

We live in Altamonte Springs which is about 45 minutes north of WDW. I found our apartment while we were still in Michigan so I didn't really have a chance to get the lay of the land. If I had it to do all over again, I would of moved closer to WDW. I would like to eventually work there and right now it is to far to drive. But the area here is great. We have any resturant you can think of right down the road, a huge mall with a brand new theatre. When we do eventually buy a house we would like it to be new and in this area, there isn't much room for growth, so we will probably have to leave this area. I do know by looking at rental houses, the cost of rent seems to be cheaper down towards the WDW area.

As far as driving around, it shouldn't be a problem. My DH works downtown Orlando and it's very easy to get around. I do agree that I4 is a nightmare, but you get used to it. It is 7 miles from home to DH's work and when we first moved here, it could take him up to an hour to get to work. But they have done some construction and opened up some new lanes so that has made things better. But no matter how many lanes they open, I4 will always be a mess. The way it was explained to us was that I4 was put here when Orlando was still small. Orlando has grown alot, but I4 has not. Not sure if I4 will ever catch up to the size of Orlando.

We love it here. Of course there is a few things to get used to, the heat, Palmetto bugs, lizards (they grow on you after a while) but it is such a great tropical place to live.

Have you been looking online for any type of job openings? It is possible to find work before moving here, if you know what your looking for and know an approximate time that you will be moving. We found Dh's job on Hotjobs.com.

Good luck!

 

[floridafam]

gshoemate,

May I ask where in Michigan you moved from?



Tinkerbelloncapecod,

We look at apartments each time we go to VB in hopes of an eventual move. We check out the schools, find where the grocery stores are (Publix are my favorite and I miss being able to shop at them). We talk to the locals and tend to get very helpful information.

We've found that most towns in Florida tend to be very welcoming and a lot of people you meet have also moved there from somewhere else.

When we lived in Holiday, 90% of the people on our street were from Michigan.

 

[gshoemate]

Originally posted by floridafam
gshoemate,

May I ask where in Michigan you moved from?



Tinkerbelloncapecod,

We look at apartments each time we go to VB in hopes of an eventual move. We check out the schools, find where the grocery stores are (Publix are my favorite and I miss being able to shop at them). We talk to the locals and tend to get very helpful information.

We've found that most towns in Florida tend to be very welcoming and a lot of people you meet have also moved there from somewhere else.

When we lived in Holiday, 90% of the people on our street were from Michigan.

When we moved we were in Ludington, over on Lake Michigan. But I lived in your neck of the woods for 3 1/2 years . We lived on Jolly road. My DD was born in Lansing...oh that seems like so long ago