Nice neighborhood near WDW + job

[Merriwind]

Not sure what board to post this on.

My very dear friend has had a very rough few years. She was widowed four years ago, has had injury and money problems. She has just sold her house, which had quite a bit of equity in it, so should be back in the black very soon. She lives on Long Island and has since she was about 10 years old. She is 42, single with a 22 year old son in the Air Force.

She wants very much to start a new life for herself and wants to move to Florida. She is thinking of the Orlando area because her son may wind up there for a year, its housing market is still reasonably priced and she wants to work at Disney. (She has worked in a nursing home for the last 16 years and desperately wants a happier workplace.)

I am hoping that there are some locals who read this board who can help me help her. She would be looking for a condo or townhome community; as a single woman with neck trouble, she really wants maintenance-free. She would like to be close to Disney and keep her purchase price under $200K. She wants a nice community, preferably not too old and not adult-only. A community with nice singles would be a super plus! I was thinking the Davenport area might be good. Island Club West keeps popping up on Realtor.com and looks ideal, but I don't really know...

Also, any hints/tips/ideas for getting a job at Disney. She would be looking for FT hourly work. She's got the perfect personality for working with people (a lifetime in a nursing home either makes you perky or kills you, she went perky). I can easily see her greeting guests at a front desk or the turnstiles, loading people onto rides, being a character handler, etc. Other than calling the Disney job hotline, is there something else she can/should do? She knows the WDW doesn't pay great, but she should have a small mortgage and not need a lot. She is hoping for good benefits, as they make up for a small salary.

Sorry if I am rambling. If anyone can advise me (and her), I'd be very grateful.

Moderators, please feel free to move my post if I've missed a more appropriate board.

Thanks in advance,

 

[horseshowmom]

You might try the Community board too. I know there are some Orlando area folks on it.

 

[Merriwind]

You might try the Community board too. I know there are some Orlando area folks on it.

Thanks sbclifton, I just posted there.

 

[ducklite]

There are certainly plenty of condo's in this area. As far as getting hired in a non-professional or entertainment position, unless you've got prior experience with teh company you need to call teh jobline. There are plenty of openings, although she might not get f/t immediately. They are currently advertising some p/t CM's will gte benefits. WDW's benefits aren't all that, but not bad for f/t.

Generally they won't even talk to her until she's living here, too many people on vacation waste their time, so they pretty much want a local address before tey talk to you. When I was looking to move here I already had a home built, furnished and clothes in the closet, but because I wasn't here f/t yet, WDW wouldn't talk to me about the jobs I was interested in (I could have gotten an hourly cast interview but wasn't interested in that).

There are plenty of hourly jobs around here, and she should have no problem landing one.

What she really needs to do is put herself on a plane and come down for a few days of househunting and walk-in to central casting. I know a good Realtor who handles Clermont and Davenport, PM me if you want his name.

Anne

 

[Merriwind]

Thanks, Anne. You were one of the people I had hoped would find this post and respond. I agree with you about getting her down to FL for a few days and am working on that. It looks like she'll close in the next week or two, so once that's done she'll probably hop on a plane.

I will pass your WDW job seeking advice on to her. And I may well be PMing you for that Realtor's name in the near future.

Thanks!