Moving to Orlando--need opinions

[3DisneyKids]

Hi Fellow Fans--here is my situation: DH and I are definitely fans, and our 3 young children are nothing short of obsessed with all things Disney. We recently found out that we have the opportunity to move to Central Fla with DH's company...so we get the same salary, etc. and can be "right next door."

What do you think? Will moving there "ruin" the magic and make WDW seem ho-hum because we can go all the time?

Also, if anyone lives in the Orlando area, feel free to give me your opnion. Thanks!

 

[tlbwriter]

Where do you live now? You might find that the same salary doesn't take you nearly as far. Friends of ours moved there last year and were shocked at how much more houses cost, for example.

 

[3DisneyKids]

Thanks for your reply. We live in one of the highest housing markets in the country right now, which means we could have an amazing house in Central Fla. for what we pay here, so that is one of the items in our "yes!" column.

In the negative column, we have "unbearably hot and humid summers" LOL. I think being next door to Mickey is worth putting up with the summers, but we still have lots of other research to do...I've been told that you basically have to put your kids in private school because the public schools all over FL are terrible...

 

[HopperFan]

Before I got to your last post I was prepared to write that the most important thing you need to investigate is the school situation to find if you will be comfortable with the move. There are many variables in Florida, and your options in Orlando are probably better than most areas.

Since you say you will be able to get an incredible house, may I suggest you consider this idea.......a friend moved "right across the street from Mickey" into an amazing house that they built, but were very smart....over the garage is a studio type space. Living area with kitchenette, bathroom and a bedroom, all with it's own entrance. So when all those Disney fans come to visit it is no imposition on your now normal family life. It can make a nice "hang out" room for teens on a daily basis, but guest quarters when needed.

 

[Feralpeg]

I live ten minutes from WDW property. I moved her a little over a year ago from Kansas City. I love it here. Yes, it is hot in the summer, but it was hot in Missouri during the summer so I don't mind it. The winters are wonderful!

Does it ruin the Disney magic? I don't think so. I think you will find once you live here that you will not be running to the parks every other day. Unfortunately, real life still gets in the way. You may not get as big a thrill when you see a Disney sign, but the parks are still great! I just got home from spending a couple of hours at Epcot. It is great to be able to run over there when I want, but come home when I'm ready. DD and I often go to a park just to eat, walk around a bit and then come home. We spend a lot of time at DTD. For instance, tomorrow night they are having an Elvis celebration. We will run over there for dinner and then watch the show. It is always fun to watch the tourists!

I'm sure you will like being a central Floridian!

 

[Bellefan66]

I can't EVEN imagine just going to Epcot to eat dinner! I think so many of us here on the DIS,dream about one day making the move to be closer to our "addiction".For those who've done it,I'm sure don't take it for granted. Yes,your heart won't pound as much at the MERE sight of a Disney sign,but that IS where the magic lives,so it's GOTTA be great!!

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

We're contemplating the same thing. My dh also has the chance to transfer with his company as well. We've been looking a housing, we could basically buy similar if not better than what we have here. As far as school goes, we're already paying for private school here, so unless it's unbearably expensive in FL, that won't be too much of a stretch. Can anyone suggest good areas/neighborhoods? We may not be right in Orlando, there are several branches all over FL that we have to choose from, and it depends on who has an opening. There are 4 in Orlando and surrounding areas, also in Tampa, Ocala, Jacksonville (which I hate...used to have to travel there for my former job..too busy for me), West Palm Beach, Daytona, and Miami (which also doesn't appeal to us, housing is too expensive for us there)...sorry to hijack the thread, but we're in the same boat and could use some help too! Good luck with your move!

 

[Feralpeg]

It would be very helpful to know what part of Orlando you/your husband will be working. You really don't want to commute across town if you can help it. If you identify a part of the city, I can try to point out some nice areas.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

The only 2 that are coming to mind right now without looking at the branch listings are Winter Park and there's one branch on W. (? I think?) Orange Blossom Trail.

 

[manhattan]

Just want to give my 2 cents.....we moved here (Pembroke Pines) last June from NJ. I too was transferred down here with my pay from NY and let me tell you I am writing this at my part time job that I had to get to help make ends meet. I have been working 7 days a week since April, and my full time weekday job requires lots of lates night...so I don't know how much longer I can continue to do this. I look forward to the day I can walk into my bosses office and honestly say I just can't afford to live here anymore......Yes it is that expensive.

As you already mentioned, you have taken into consideration schooling. Private schools here are expensive and are about as good as a public school up north. I found out through a research project that all private schools need down here is a business license to open. The state does not have any other requirement, and when I was told how many of them close each year...I was shocked. So please, please, please do your research before coming down here.

Housing is expensive, as are property taxes. If you want to live in a nice area, more than likely you will not live near a "downtown" area, unless you are looking at condos. So now you have to take into consideration your commute. I live 40 minutes from my office, while school is in session it doubles. Think about how much gas you will be spending. I long for the 1 hour door to door commute in NY....sitting back on the bus and relaxing.

My gas and electric bill up north used to be anywhere between $80 -$125 a month. Now I am looking at $200 electric each month. Groceries are expensive down here as well. I went to buy an apple for my DD the other day....$2.48. Not even in NYC did I ever pay that much for an apple. I have heard from many other NYers that they can't believe how expensive lunch is around here. This from the mouths of people who used to pay $7 for a sandwich.....same sandwich down here will go for $9-$10. I laugh when I see oranges....Florida oranges selling for $1 a piece. Yes, our diet has changed dramatically down here, not just because of prices, but because of selection, or lack thereof.

Now back to your original question of will it ruin the magic? Nope, with all the other cuts I had to make, the one I knew I would not cut is our Disney trips. So we bought annual passes and we love going and even DH who is not a big Disney fan always asks when are we going again....

 

[princessdaisy]

we are also curious...we have been thinking of moving to Tampa area from San Diego, CA. Housing is expensive in CA too, so the housing prices in FL are very appealing to us, too

 

[Jotash]

I've lived in South Florida all my life and DH and I are hoping to one day be able to get out!! The schools are bad due to our State's policies, but I won't get into politics right now. The housing prices are completely out of control, then there's the fun of insurance. Most well-known insurance companies will no longer write policies in Florida due to hurricanes and I've only been through three in 37 years!!! Home owner's insurance is twice to three times what relatives of mine who live out of Florida pay, plus there's flood insurance. Crime is very bad, especially the further south you go. I work in the court system so I know this firsthand. It's hot - very hot - almost year round. Might sound nice when you're coming from an area where it snows, but I would like my child to experience seasons, something I never did. My DH works two jobs, one of which would be considered a very well paying job elsewhere, just so that we can make ends meet. If Disney is you're main consideration, it's not worth it. The Orlando area is even more expensive than where I live and we're expensive, so the same salary is not going to get you as far, especially since the tourist trade raises prices even more. Overall, the magic will be there whether you go once a year or every day.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

Our electric bill even with budget billing is over $200 a month, we pay almost $400 a month for school tuition, $200 every other month for water, and over $1000 month for mortgage....am I in the ballpark of what it would cost to move there, or will I be struggling too? I don't want to go back to that, we did that during our first years of marriage and it's nice not to be doing it now.

 

[Jotash]

Deleted.

 

[manhattan]

Kirstin's Mommy - I wish that a mortgage down here was $1000. Unfortunately as my real estate agent put it......you can only live in crackville. Seriously, a nice 3 bedroom 2 bath home on a small lot in a medium income neighborhood will run you close to $400,000. School prices are comparable. Electric and water should be close.....Again, this is down in South Florida.

 

[Feralpeg]

I think you will find a large difference between central Florida and south Florida. I moved to the Orlando area from Kansas City a year ago. I think the housing prices are comparable to what they were in Missouri. I have a 2400 square foot home which I purchased new for $250,000 (and that included a bunch of upgrades).

The utilities here are cheaper than they were in Missouri. I could never have been able to have an inground sprinkler system and water my yard in Missouri the way I do here. In Missouri, it would have cost me at least $100 a month just for the lawn. I pay about $25 a month here for reclaimed water for the yard. In addition to reclaimed water, I pay about $30 a month for regular water.

In Missouri, I paid both natural gas and electric. I was on a level payment plan for both. I payed about $125 a month for electric and about $100 a month for natural gas. Here, I pay only electric. During the winter months, my electric ran about $160. My electric bill for last month here was $220. It has been really hot here.

My taxes and insurance are not much different here than they were in Missouri. The only thing I find to be more expensive here is food. Meat is much higher. Restaurants are much higher. I think part of that may be because it is a tourist area.

Please realize that each state has its expensive areas.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

Peggy, with the added $$$ of no state tax, does that help at all? We live right now in a 3 bedroom 2 bath house w/a double garage and small inground pool on a fairly large lot. When we bought it 5 yrs. ago we paid $105,000, it is now valued at over $150,000. I think it is approx. 1500 sq. ft. or pretty close. Our insurance includes a separate flood policy since we live on an island, so was wondering how that works down there....I think our taxes are around $600+ a year, not sure what the insurance is though.

 

[Feralpeg]

My homeowner's tax is about $1200 a year. My insurance is a little over $600 a year. I have a separate flood policy that is $250 a year. I wouldn't have to have it, but Florida is kind of a swamp. It just makes me feel better.

If I were working where it made a difference, I'm sure not having state income tax would be great. So far, it really doesn't matter in my case.

 

[sleigh]

Just want to give my 2 cents.....we moved here (Pembroke Pines) last June from NJ. I too was transferred down here with my pay from NY and let me tell you I am writing this at my part time job that I had to get to help make ends meet. I have been working 7 days a week since April, and my full time weekday job requires lots of lates night...so I don't know how much longer I can continue to do this. I look forward to the day I can walk into my bosses office and honestly say I just can't afford to live here anymore......Yes it is that expensive.

As you already mentioned, you have taken into consideration schooling. Private schools here are expensive and are about as good as a public school up north. I found out through a research project that all private schools need down here is a business license to open. The state does not have any other requirement, and when I was told how many of them close each year...I was shocked. So please, please, please do your research before coming down here.

Housing is expensive, as are property taxes. If you want to live in a nice area, more than likely you will not live near a "downtown" area, unless you are looking at condos. So now you have to take into consideration your commute. I live 40 minutes from my office, while school is in session it doubles. Think about how much gas you will be spending. I long for the 1 hour door to door commute in NY....sitting back on the bus and relaxing.

My gas and electric bill up north used to be anywhere between $80 -$125 a month. Now I am looking at $200 electric each month. Groceries are expensive down here as well. I went to buy an apple for my DD the other day....$2.48. Not even in NYC did I ever pay that much for an apple. I have heard from many other NYers that they can't believe how expensive lunch is around here. This from the mouths of people who used to pay $7 for a sandwich.....same sandwich down here will go for $9-$10. I laugh when I see oranges....Florida oranges selling for $1 a piece. Yes, our diet has changed dramatically down here, not just because of prices, but because of selection, or lack thereof.

Now back to your original question of will it ruin the magic? Nope, with all the other cuts I had to make, the one I knew I would not cut is our Disney trips. So we bought annual passes and we love going and even DH who is not a big Disney fan always asks when are we going again....

I can sympathize. We moved to PP from Maryland(just outside of DC) the end of last year and we are paying a small fortune for our apartment. We are renting right now while our house is being built and it kills me every month. Everytime we drive by the new communities going up on Flamingo by 595 or the new area off of Hiatus, where the signs say, from the 800's, 900's, etc, I don't know how people do it. My dad still cannot believe how much we are paying for our house and he lives on Long Island, so he is used to the high prices. The schools are so overcrowded. My son is starting kindergarten this year, had he gone to public school he would have had 49 kids in his class, with 2 teachers. We are sending him to private school instead.

Other than the high cost of living, how do you like the area?

 

[manhattan]

Sleigh- we live right off of Pines and 75. I like the location, close to the hospital, malls, and schools. My husband would prefer to move north, up to Palm Beach County, but for now we are happy where we are. Our children actually attend the public school down here, they used to go to catholic school in NJ, but that money now goes towards rent, cause as you mention my rent is higher than my old larger apartment in NJ. We chose our apartment because of the school district, some of my coworkers live closer to the office, near the beach and don't pay anywhere near what we pay, but school was the most important thing for us and I feel that we made the right choice. I saw some school districts that consisted entirely of portables, and although we could be living a little more comfortable, we kept searching. And yes I totally understand the "how can they afford it?" when we see those homes. But as a lot of people tell me down here, they are house poor, every penny they earn goes towards the mortgage...which is not how we want to live. I guess everyone has different priorities.