Moving to Orlando - help

[Phrank40]

Not sure where I should put this topic but I'll start here and see if anyone can help me.

My wife has received a great job offer from a company in Orlando. They want her to start probably in the next couple of weeks. She would be working near the downtown area but I don't think it is actually downtown, I think a little east of downtown. Anyhow, just wondering if anyone out there lives in Orlando and could maybe give a little help with some questions about the Orlando area. It's one thing to visit for a few days and something else to actually think about moving there. Thanks.

Phrank

 

[PrincessMelissa]

Hi Phrank!
I'll be happy to try any questions you may have. I've lived in Orlando 2 years, one year right beside WDW and now in East Orlando. My husband works downtown and we probably combed every nook and cranny looking for somewhere to live.
I hope I can help!
Melissa
I'll send you a PM

 

[Luv2Roam]

We moved here almost a year a half ago. We live west of Orlando.
PM me if you like.

 

[Grumpy92]

Another O town resident.
If you need more help just let me know.

 

[jante]

Maybe we can start a DIS chapter in Orlando for all the transplants! We're going down in 1 week to visit the mouse and start looking for retirement homes. I want to work at WDW when I retire - 2-3 yrs. Any suggestions for places to live or avoid? Its really hard to tell much from the realty site pictures.

 

[jante]

We did find a house we liked in Davenport...a short distance from Champions Gate...and one of the few developments that were NOT zoned for short term rental. And only 15 mins from WDW! Hurray!

What really struck me about the Orlando area was how close together the houses were! We finally found something on a 1/4 acre so we don't feel right on top of our neighbors, but we had to go up quite a bit in price from our original budget.

My biggest problem now is deciding exactly what I want to do at WDW when we move(3-5 yrs). We'll both get at least p/t jobs.

For those of you who relocated to the Orlando area, how long have you been down there and where did you move from? What was the biggest adjustment factor? What do you love/hate about the area? And where's a good place to look for furniture - in NY its Seaman's, Raymour & Flannigan, Levitz, but I didn't find any of those chains near Orlando.

 

[jfritz]

Well......I don't live in Orlando but my son moved there after his stint in the US Air Force. I can tell you where to go for good, inexpensive flooring (carpet, tile etc) but that's about it!!! He works for Georgia Carpet Outlet (GCO) 12393 Orange Blossom Trail. They have some neat stuff to pick from and great prices!

 

[Ted and Holly]

We bought most of our furniture at Badcock. We did buy our ugly blue monster sectional at Rhodes though.

Head down 27 to Haines City, there is a Badcock on the left past WalMart. Right in the middle of all of the construction.

Ted

 

[umaangel00]

Not to steal your thread but I am trying to convince DH to move there and I was wondering where I can get some ideas for housing.

 

[GalDisney]

I suggest you live as close to her place of emplyment as possible as to avoid the rush hr traffic on I-4.

 

[safetymom]

We live in Davenport and love it. I felt the same way about the houses close together. I have a large corner lot with no one behind us and we love it.

 

[kerrynic78]

I am so jealous of you Safetymom! We are building a house right now and the houses are so close together you can literally outstretch your arms and touch your neighbors house. We wanted a corner lot like you have but the lot itself was $35,000...way out of our range! The only reason we are building here is because we LOVE the development, but boy what I would give to have a corner lot!!

 

[safetymom]

When I came down to look over a long weekend I looked at 30 houses. The house I bought was #25. There were a few I liked out of that 30. The house I bought was a for sale by owner we found as we were driving through this plan to look at some other houses. I didn't want to go in since the owners were home. I am so glad that I did. They were having an open house that weekend and had just dropped the price of the house a great deal. I offered slightly less than their asking price and they went for it.

This house has been perfect and I love our location. I can look out in the back and see cows grazing in the field.

Back home in PA. I had a 1/2 acre and I wanted something a little smaller but not where I could reach out my window and wash the neighbors window.

The house is 10 years old and the landscaping was great. I had looked at building a house but nothing could come close to what I ended up with. I really think this house was a sign that the move to FL was a good idea.

 

[kerrynic78]

That's great that you found the perfect house

We came down in January and saw the prices for homes rising and rising and rising. We almost felt rushed in getting a house while we could still afford it and found Avalon Park in Orlando. We heard great things from people who lived there so we put a deposit down the first day. Sometimes I wished we had looked a little more and found a house with more land but hopefully when we move in (who knows when that will be!!) it will be our dream house!

 

[3DisneyKids]

We are considering moving (DH has the opporunity to transfer)...does being so close ruin the magic? DO the kids, etc. ever get bored with WDW? Hard to imagine anyone getting bored with the World, but when it is in your back yard, you never know.

Thanks!

 

[safetymom]

It hasn't ruined it for us. It only made it better. There is still lots of stuff I haven't done and I went 86 times last year. You can just go for an hour or two, pop in for a Dole Whip, watch a parade or fireworks. You don't have to go all day long.

 

[Dreamer04]

It hasn't ruined it for us. It only made it better. There is still lots of stuff I haven't done and I went 86 times last year. You can just go for an hour or two, pop in for a Dole Whip, watch a parade or fireworks. You don't have to go all day long.

That sounds like a dream come true.

 

[mom2of2]

LOL! Wanna know something funny? A lot of times I4 is a nightmare just around the WDW exits so what I do is get off at Lake Buena Vista and take the back way into DTD and then head out the back exit. I avoid I4 traffic as well as most of 192 traffic. Imagine, cutting through Disney to get home...BLISS!!!