OMG...we are moving to Orlando!

[BeccaGrace]

UPDATE POST #77

It's really happening...DH will be transferring down to FL in August! So scared, nervous, excited and overwhelmed. We are sad to leave our friends in NJ but so excited for the fresh, new start. I've started researching towns and have narrowed my search (I think) to Lake Mary, Winter Park or Oviedo but I am open to other areas as long as they are safe and have good schools. I am looking for any and all advice about selling our house, moving far away, about finding a house, finding a good school and a good area for our family. I am thankful that my kids are very happy and excited about the move. We've discussed how it's an adventure our family is taking together and we are going to be fine since we have each other
Please give me all your best tips and advice...I do well when smothered with information to sift through I know how much planning I put into a one-week trip to Disney, I can imagine what the next few months are going to be like! Please -- if you have moved let me know what advice helped you in the process. If you live in the Orlano area, let me know about the towns I mentioned or others I should consider (unfortunately, we don't know specifically where his store is going to be yet but should know soon!). Oh, and any websites you think I should check out too! I am already on city-data.com (which has been good as a reality check because they are very giving with the bad info even more than the good!) and a bunch of real estate ones.

Here is a little more info about us:

DH -- Has a secure wonderful job and is excited to start fresh and leave NJ

Me -- I will continue working part time remotely with my current job (thanks to my wonderful boss) and am most concerned with getting the kids settled but also excited to be near Disney and moving somewhere that our friends will want to visit so we can still see them! As you can tell, I research stuff to death and I love making lists. My goal is to make this transition as stress-free and easy as possible.

DD1- Grace is 11 and very excited about the move. She is very involved in musical theater and is currently represented by an agent in NY -- she is not upset about leaving but is hopeful she can continue to audition for stuff in Orlando. She will be starting 6th grade and makes friends easily but wants a good school with lots of activities

DD2- Becca is 9 and is excited but nervous about the move. She has special needs (epilepsy and developmental delays) and has an IEP in school (she is currently in resource for her academic subjects and mainstreamed with an aide for the others). Her only request so far has been for a pool (either our own or in the community) and maybe a citrus tree in the yard

I've been looking online and have seen many houses in our price range (under $150K)...we are able to take 1-2 short house hunting trips through Joey's company, but I want to make them count Ideally, I'd like a 3-4 bedroom, 2 bath single family home with a fenced yard and I've seen many beautiful homes that fit the bill already (it's amazing how different the housing market is there in comparison to NJ where we would be laughed at with our budget!). We are very plain and simple and don't want or need a McMansion

I am so proud of my dh for getting selected and know that this is going to be good for our family...we have had a rough few years and this is exactly what we needed to add some hope and positivity back into our lives Add in the fact that Disney is my happy place an my obsession and I just feel like God has been really good to us It's just a matter of making it happen in a short period of time! Thanks for any help you can offer -- I know I can count on the Disboards for lots of advice

 

[Micca]

Be sure to tell us when you get settled in your home. We don't want to barge in on you before you're ready for us Congratulations!

 

[look1angel]

It's really happening...DH will be transferring down to FL in August! So scared, nervous, excited and overwhelmed. We are sad to leave our friends in NJ but so excited for the fresh, new start. I've started researching towns and have narrowed my search (I think) to Lake Mary, Winter Park or Oviedo but I am open to other areas as long as they are safe and have good schools. I am looking for any and all advice about selling our house, moving far away, about finding a house, finding a good school and a good area for our family. I am thankful that my kids are very happy and excited about the move. We've discussed how it's an adventure our family is taking together and we are going to be fine since we have each other
Please give me all your best tips and advice...I do well when smothered with information to sift through I know how much planning I put into a one-week trip to Disney, I can imagine what the next few months are going to be like! Please -- if you have moved let me know what advice helped you in the process. If you live in the Orlano area, let me know about the towns I mentioned or others I should consider (unfortunately, we don't know specifically where his store is going to be yet but should know soon!). Oh, and any websites you think I should check out too! I am already on city-data.com (which has been good as a reality check because they are very giving with the bad info even more than the good!) and a bunch of real estate ones.

Here is a little more info about us:

DH -- Has a secure wonderful job and is excited to start fresh and leave NJ

Me -- I will continue working part time remotely with my current job (thanks to my wonderful boss) and am most concerned with getting the kids settled but also excited to be near Disney and moving somewhere that our friends will want to visit so we can still see them! As you can tell, I research stuff to death and I love making lists. My goal is to make this transition as stress-free and easy as possible.

DD1- Grace is 11 and very excited about the move. She is very involved in musical theater and is currently represented by an agent in NY -- she is not upset about leaving but is hopeful she can continue to audition for stuff in Orlando. She will be starting 6th grade and makes friends easily but wants a good school with lots of activities

DD2- Becca is 9 and is excited but nervous about the move. She has special needs (epilepsy and developmental delays) and has an IEP in school (she is currently in resource for her academic subjects and mainstreamed with an aide for the others). Her only request so far has been for a pool (either our own or in the community) and maybe a citrus tree in the yard

I've been looking online and have seen many houses in our price range (under $150K)...we are able to take 1-2 short house hunting trips through Joey's company, but I want to make them count Ideally, I'd like a 3-4 bedroom, 2 bath single family home with a fenced yard and I've seen many beautiful homes that fit the bill already (it's amazing how different the housing market is there in comparison to NJ where we would be laughed at with our budget!). We are very plain and simple and don't want or need a McMansion

I am so proud of my dh for getting selected and know that this is going to be good for our family...we have had a rough few years and this is exactly what we needed to add some hope and positivity back into our lives Add in the fact that Disney is my happy place an my obsession and I just feel like God has been really good to us It's just a matter of making it happen in a short period of time! Thanks for any help you can offer -- I know I can count on the Disboards for lots of advice

Congratulations, no more digging out of the snow I'm originally from Jersey myself, living in Georgia (X was transferred years back) but will be moving near Orlando with-in the next 3-4 years. My brother lives in FL & warned me not to move there but he's not a huge Disney Fan like me. Nothing bad about the area he just felt it was too busy & hot for him.

I wish you many blessings, success & days filled with magic!

 

[Greyhound22]

Congratulations. I hope everything happens semi-stress free for your family!!! At least you have time to plan and won't be too rushed.

 

[BeccaGrace]

Thanks everyone! And yay, no more snow! Yes, am glad we have a little time to get things done (he was originally told May but they gave us more time!).
We are having the world's biggest yard sale in April...time to declutter!
PS--If I ramble here it's because I haven't told a lot of people yet and I can't keep it all inside!!!! Thanks for listening to my insane rantings!

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I just wanted to say that I am jealous! I wish I could get DH to transfer to anywhere in Florida but he refuses.

Congratulations to you and your family!!

 

[FINFAN]

Congrat's! You kids look like just the perfect age for the move . Care to share your DH line of work?and are they hiring others?

 

[BeccaGrace]

Congrat's! You kids look like just the perfect age for the move . Care to share your DH line of work?and are they hiring others?

Thanks! Not sure I can name the company but can say that it's a well-known chain of convenience store that originated up here and is now moving down to FL for the first time this summer And yes, they will be hiring

 

[Feralpeg]

Welcome to Orlando! I hope you love it as much as I do!

Once you get moved, if you need info on agents in the area for your daughter, PM me. There are some really good ones and some not so good ones.

Winter Park is considered the artsy area of Orlando. It is at the opposite side of the city from me, but we used to go out there often for my daughter to take her acting classes. It has some good areas and some not that great areas. Just be sure to check around.

Winter Springs seems very nice. I've only been out that way a few times, but it seemed nice. The same with Oveido.

Do be aware that you will have a good half hour to an hour drive to WDW from those locations. Although, I think you'll find that you won't go as often as you might think now. Real life stuff tends to get in the way even when you live in the area.

Congratulations!

 

[BeccaGrace]

Thanks Peggy...I will definitely PM you!

 

[PirateFairy8]

Tell your DD she really doesn't want a citrus tree in the yard. We moved here when I was 9 and it was my least favorite thing! The fruit would fall off and would rot quickly and it was SO disgusting to pick up. I hated it. Even with gloves on it was just gross! I do have a texture issue, but even my parents and sister hated it (that's why I always got stuck with the job as the baby haha!). The squirrels would bite the fruit while it was still on the tree, which is why it fell off so quickly. I don't think we ever actually got any oranges off of this tree!

ETA: I wouldn't really consider Winter Park to be artsy beyond the downtown area. When we first moved here, I lived in Winter Park and attended all Winter Park schools. Then, I moved to the far Northeast side of East Orlando, right next to Seminole County and Oviedo. Very familiar with that area as well. I just got married and am WAY on the other side now, closer to Feralpeg. You are welcome to PM me as well, I'm very familiar with many of the schools in the area due to my career!

 

[Parkers_girl]

We lived in the winter springs/oviedo area..on red bug lake road to be exact and it was a great area. Very family-oriented, clean and safe. They always had some type of festival or event going on. That being said, Winter Park is gorgeous and seemed higher class. We used to go on the weekends for the farmer's market or to the big outdoor shopping plaza to see a movie. I would definitely recommend somewhere in Seminole county as opposed to orange county.

 

[dallastxcpa]

If you do wind up purchasing a home in an hoa please make sure you take a look at their financials and ask them what the foreclosure rate in their community is.

Some hoa's have had to assess home owners additional fees to cover the fact that many homes are in foreclosure and are not paying their share of the dues, so it gets passed on or things start falling into disrepair.

I believe fl is one of the top five states right now for foreclosure.

On a happy note, congrats on the transfer.

 

[SideshowBob]

First of all ... congrats! Best of luck with the house selling and more.

Also like Winter Park and other areas mentioned as well and especially Windermere (among the lakes)

 

[Feralpeg]

First of all ... congrats! Best of luck with the house selling and more.

and especially Windermere (among the lakes)

A little slice of heaven!

 

[Art 1]

Welcome. I live in Winter Park and really like it here.

 

[acejka]

I'd move close to where your husband works because tolls, time and gas add up quick.

Also, we decided to build new after checking out the resale market- we were told my a few realtors to stay away from homes built during the peak of the boom which narrowed a lot down, and we didn't want a really old house because of lack of energy efficiency so that left a lot that were short sale/foreclosures or didn't meet our needs (I don't know what these florida people have against a decent backyard!!) and a lot of people were overpriced because they were trying so hard not to lose anymore money. I've toured just about every new home builder in within an hour of our apartment in east orlando if you want any opinions.

Our experience is that we can't wait to get back up north when our daughter is school aged and we don't enjoy disney as much as when it was a vacation-we've had a few great trips over and seen really cool things (4th of july, christmas) but otherwise we get annoyed with the lines and crowds and find it to be a pain in the butt and a hassle to go. Cutting back our trips did help with those feelings though.

 

[Feralpeg]

I don't know what these florida people have against a decent backyard.

Wait until you've had to mow the yard when the temperature is in the 90s and the humidity puts the heat index over 100. Then, you'll realize why not having a huge yard is a plus!

 

[ChristmasElf]

Wait until you've had to mow the yard when the temperature is in the 90s and the humidity puts the heat index over 100. Then, you'll realize why not having a huge yard is a plus!

Not to mention having your water bill through the roof due to your sprinkler system!

 

[acejka]

Wait until you've had to mow the yard when the temperature is in the 90s and the humidity puts the heat index over 100. Then, you'll realize why not having a huge yard is a plus!

Meh... had to do it in the summer in VA, I don't find the temps much different, other than the heat lasts longer here. The humidity up there feels worse when I go up there in the summer now though... can't figure that one out.