OT Does any one on actually live

[zalansky]

We live in Tampa and I love being a Floridian. Yes, its hot and humid in the summer months but we get our reward from mother nature right about now through May! Today was 70 and sunny in Tampa We went back to NY for Thanksgiving, I grew up there but moved 17 years ago to Florida. I love NY but I can say with certainty that when I got off the plane and it was 68 degrees with the palm trees swaying, I was so happy to be home! We live an hour from WDW and go several times throughout the year. We are also DVC members - and take Disney cruises. I am always careful to try and not over-do it because I don't want it to lose its magic for me. It never does! We get to experience all the different times of year, F&G Festival, Halloween party, Food & Wine festival and our annual Candlelight Processional Christmas trip. It never gets old. Sometimes I do wish we lived in other places but like a PP mentioned the grass is always greener. For me the pros far outweigh the cons!

 

[tlmdisney]

We live in Bradenton Fl, it is about an 1hr and 40min to Disney World. We do not go once a month but pretty close. After next week we will have gone 9 times this year. I am not sure that we are going to get annual passes for next year though, we are thinking of skipping a year.

 

[mhsjax]

47 years old. Never lived anywhere but Florida. I like it pretty well. We are in a great school district. No sate tax, no personal property tax. I realize that a lot of people don't like it, but really I think it is pretty good. I sometimes want to live where it is cold, I really don't want snow though.

It is getting cold where I live. 2.5 hours from WDW, it will be in the 20's at night and then the 50's during that day.

Also our annual passes just expired yesterday, we are really so done with WDW at this time in our life, kids have had enough of it. Another poster said it never gets old, but for us it totally has. We will probably renew in a couple of years but that is it. Well we will go to the water parks in the summer.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Hi neighbor - we are in Pace. We also considered a move to Orlando, my DH actually taught for Orange County Schools from Jan-May of last year. The schools couldn't compare to here so when he was offered Navarre we jumped on it and took the house off the market!

Holy cow...we are in Pace!

 

[dclfun]

I live in Hunter's Creek (Orlando) exactly 10 minutes from the entrance of any WDW theme park and a similar distance to Sea World, Aquatica, and Universal. I do like it here but am not a fan of the heat at all and esp. the choking humidity we get have from mid-May to November. I tend to hibernate during June, July, and August at least, lol. What I do like is that there is sun year-round even when it's cold. I'm not a fan of grey or dreary days, let alone snow. The schools here are NOT rated highly even though our area schools in Hunter's Creek are rated a bit better than the norm. It's helpful if you speak Spanish as many jobs require it. There are areas in Orlando and other parts of Florida where if you speak only English you are the definite minority which is a challenge if you can't converse with other people. As to visiting Disney, I rarely go anymore unless I'm staying at a resort but we do so often being DVC members. If I'm going to visit, I need/want total immersion in the "magic". It does get old- we have seen and done everything in the parks over and over again since we moved here in 1996. It's still fun though, just not as special. I really can't imagine not living here though and having access to so much year-round entertainment and also proximity to so many cruise ports.---Kathy

 

[shrpgrl]

We moved to Winter Haven about 2 1/2 yrs ago from South Bend In. Love the weather here. Yes it gets hot and humid for several months but I would not trade it for several months freezing weather.
We go to WDW several times a month at least and occasionally stay there.
I am a RN and the pay is a lot less but I do have a job. My DH transferred his Best Buy job so he is working. I really do love it here.
The only thing that I hate is we have not been able to sell our house up north. Right now I am renting it out but I am not sure how long that will last.

 

[fall08CP]

Howdy!

I live 7 minutes from the Welcome to WDW sign

Honestly, I'm only at the parks maybe once a month. Living here is very different than being a guest here. I work 5-6 days/week and run errands on my day off. I the weather (though it's a bit cold this week- highs in the low 60s brrr). The worst thing about living here? Tourist drivers There are near car wrecks literally every single day going to and from work. But I wouldn't trade it for the world

 

[holycow]

We did for about 8 yrs.

Yes, we did go to WDW just about once a month too.

I had mixed feelings. It was hotter than........ well fill in the dots. BUT now that we live where there is winter I'd like a hot day! lol

Never happy!


I'll tell a story. A few years back I took my kids to the Disney's water park.
It was 85 that day and probably only 100 people in the whole place! I floated around the lazy river knowing the rest of the country was buried in snow and here I was soaking up the sun. It was such a great day.

 

[WheelCEO]

south florida here.. born and raised.. 2 1/2 hrs from the mouse

 

[rparmfamily]

Used to live in Clay County and loved the schools. That's where we'll probably head back to when our time in Hawaii is done! We really love FL, love the whole beach/coastal lifestyle.

Clay county is one county inland, so the hurricane thing isn't too bad. It's southwest of Jax. St John's County is great and is known for great schools. St Augustine is the cutest city!

It's all about 2 hrs north of the Mouse.

 

[disneymom2one]

Hi neighbor - we are in Pace. We also considered a move to Orlando, my DH actually taught for Orange County Schools from Jan-May of last year. The schools couldn't compare to here so when he was offered Navarre we jumped on it and took the house off the market!

Small world - we're in Pace a lot as my cousin and her family live there. We love this area.

 

[Swimalie]

My parents have a condo in FL (Boca area) that they would live in full-tine if it were slightly larger. They love having access to the beach, ocean, warmer weather, pool year round, being able to bike ride and run year round (my dad's a triathlete at 70!), etc. I'm still hoping they will give up the warmer weather dreams and move closer to me and their only grandchild but so far the cold weather in VA is losing to FL

 

[ChiCat]

We live in Tampa. Other than missing my parents, I absolutely love it here. We are out all the time- just came in from playing tennis. I would never be playing tennis on Dec. 5 in Chicago.

Cost of living is less, and entertainment is definitely less. No state income tax helps as well.

We have season passes to Universal, Busch Gardens and Sea World. We don't for the mouse because DD is seasonal there and can get us in for free. We go to the parks once every 6 weeks or so.

We took a pay cut to come here, but Dh was going to lose his job anyway. If I lose my job, I would work 2 jobs before I would go back to the snow and cold in Chicago. I really hate the endless grey days in February and March. Here in Florida, February and March are the best months.

I used to live in Tampa and no way would I live there again or anywhere in Florida for that matter for many reasons.

Chicago not only has the snow but since it's right on the lake it is very, very cold but still I can't imagine living anywhere else.

 

[TmlndSpdwy03]

I live in Orlando (have most of my life). I don't live as close as I did to Disney as I did growing up (I got my first job at Epcot) but I still am in Orlando and go to the parks 4-5 times a month. With working, the kids in school, etc - we pretty much have only the weekends and then we have normal life things too - bday parties, other events. It really doesn't leave a whole lot of extra days to go all the time.

Coeincidentally, since others have mentioned it, I happen to be employed as a software engineer. Where I work was hiring, but with all the layoff from the Space Coast, we just hired a lot of people so now I don't think we have any more opening. I think thats going to be a trend in most technical/engineering fields in the next few months (jobs being filled by people leaving the Space Program).

 

[Virgderon]

I used to live in Tampa and no way would I live there again or anywhere in Florida for that matter for many reasons.

Chicago not only has the snow but since it's right on the lake it is very, very cold but still I can't imagine living anywhere else.

I do think Chicago is wonderful- it has so many fabulous things like Navy Pier, broadway shows and entertainment, amazing food, great sports traditions, etc.

I see that you are much younger than we are, so maybe that is why you can handle the snow and cold much better than we can. DH is 55. He used to drive to the train station, walk to the train, ride the train downtown, walk 8 blocks to his job, repeat the whole thing on the way home, and then have to help me clear off the driveway from the snow in the winter.

We were so tired by Friday that we did not feel like going out to face the weather some more.

It gets to you the older you get , I think. We miss people from Chicago, and good pizza. But that is not enough to make up for the truely horrible weather 5 months a year.

Also, since I lived in the Chicago area my whole life, Tampa feels like an adventure. Want to go to the beach? 20 minute drive. Want to go to Disney? An hour and 15 minutes . Want to go to an outdoor concert in March? Busch Gardens has a concert series that is free with your admission to the park. There are more art fairs and outdoor things to do than I can count.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

I live in Orlando (have most of my life). I don't live as close as I did to Disney as I did growing up (I got my first job at Epcot) but I still am in Orlando and go to the parks 4-5 times a month. With working, the kids in school, etc - we pretty much have only the weekends and then we have normal life things too - bday parties, other events. It really doesn't leave a whole lot of extra days to go all the time.

Coeincidentally, since others have mentioned it, I happen to be employed as a software engineer. Where I work was hiring, but with all the layoff from the Space Coast, we just hired a lot of people so now I don't think we have any more opening. I think thats going to be a trend in most technical/engineering fields in the next few months (jobs being filled by people leaving the Space Program).

It's good to hear that there are companies in Orlando hiring the engineers from the Space Center It's not the engineers who have to worry, though. It's the others who had really high paying, specialized jobs that required no degree and that don't exist elsewhere. They're in big trouble IMHO.

 

[Dax]

I am gonna be the flipside of the coin...I hate it here...

DH and I moved here over 11yrs ago. This was JUST before the tech job market dried up. We left S. Jersey to come here. We moved in the month of Sept, and our first winter here was pretty mild. By the time summer arrived..I was over it..LOL..but we held on..

Fast forward to 2010...I miss the closeness of family. They are all still in NJ. I have had enough of the weather. The job market, has NOT been kind to us. I was out of work for over a year last year due to the economy tanking. DH has a job he hates, we cannot afford for him to go to school to get something better, so he is stuck.

If I could pick up and move, I would. I will not move without a job offer somewhere, and moving costs $$, something I dont have a surplus of due to my job loss from last year.

DO I love the parks..of course..some of the magic is harder to come by sometimes, but I do enjoy going to the parks on a regular basis, though I miss being able to vacation here.

So there ya go..a different opinion..

 

[lakelandgal70]

Have lived here for 35yrs. And can't wait to get out to the mountains of TN or NC. But DH job is here and he is fast approaching 50 so getting a job elsewhere is kinda out of the question. I would really love to be a winter visitor and get the best of both worlds. So we are kinda stuck here till he retires. His job is way too good and also he will get a pension when he retires. I will miss Disney when we leave but thats what vacations are for

 

[DawnM]

I am not sure living in FL would be for me. I like the option of skiing and I love mountains. Even NC mountains are not big enough.

But living in Southern California.....that is a whole different story.....I miss it terribly. Warm skiing in the winter just 2 hours away, Disneyland 45 min. away, and beaches to be visited year round.

Shoot, now I am homesick.

Dawn

 

[kritter]

Would love to live in FL. and leave cold icky CT!! But we can not go since he works for a large insurance company. If we wanted to live down there then he would have to go into sales/commission job. Which in todays economy is not a good thing. So we are stuck here. I wish that there were some large life insurance companies down in Florida!! Hence, we will just have to keep visiting 4-5 times a year!!