OT- Moving across (down) country- advice??

[jenrein]

So we are planning a move to Florida in the next year. We know where we want to live and thats about it. The farthest I have ever moved before was a half hour. This time would be NY to FL. We have 3 kids, 2 dogs and a cat. We rent right now and would be renting there as well. We have a 3 bedroom full of furniture and what not. I really have no clue where to begin planning a move that far. Can anyone offer advice, tips...maybe just move my stuff and surprise me

 

[NotUrsula]

Get jobs (or at least one job) first. Don't move the entire family without one.

 

[lcdm]

My mom just moved from NJ to FL (west coast by Tampa). She had several moving companies come in and give her bids to move her stuff. Check with better business to make sure the companies are OK. Transport any important documents yourself. If you have two cars you may want to drive one down and have the other transported. My sister moved to Florida about 4 years ago and loves it.
Good Luck!

 

[sweetpeakaris]

Have you check schools?

 

[momamy]

find an area that you love! check out town websites for school info!

florida really is so big and you would be suprised by how things very from county to county
Amy

 

[perdidochas]

So we are planning a move to Florida in the next year. We know where we want to live and thats about it. The farthest I have ever moved before was a half hour. This time would be NY to FL. We have 3 kids, 2 dogs and a cat. We rent right now and would be renting there as well. We have a 3 bedroom full of furniture and what not. I really have no clue where to begin planning a move that far. Can anyone offer advice, tips...maybe just move my stuff and surprise me

Don't move without a job.

Moving a far distance isn't different from moving a half an hour away. The main difference is that you have to do it all at once. I, personally, think moving far distances is easier. You are forced to do it at once, and don't end up making a dozen small trips.

 

[jenrein]

Don't move without a job.

Moving a far distance isn't different from moving a half an hour away. The main difference is that you have to do it all at once. I, personally, think moving far distances is easier. You are forced to do it at once, and don't end up making a dozen small trips.

There is no way I would consider moving without a job lined up- I wish I could afford to but I still wouldnt


I am trying to gather info on schools but without suburb info around Ocala its kind of hard to nail down the school districts.

 

[AUDramaQueen]

http://www.greatschools.net/ is a great site for comparing schools. You just punch in a city and it will give you all the schools (you can specify elementary, etc). You can also find schools in nearby cities as well.

It will give you the popultaion of the city, the crime rate and the cost of living. It also has reviews from people in the school district so you can really get a feel for the school.

 

[Feralpeg]

When I moved from Kansas City to Orlando, I sold the vast majority of my furniture. It is so expensive to move furniture across country unless you are willing to hire a truck and drive it yourself. We were moving to complete households. My sister also sold most of her furniture. We rented the largest truck we could from U-Haul and packed it with boxes and what such and hired a friend to drive the truck down for us. It was still very expensive.

We also sold our cars. They were both over five years old and we didn't think it worthwhile to drive them that far and keep them. We flew down to Florida and flew 4 cats and 2 dogs. It all worked out (although not cheap), but was very stressful.

Once here, it was fun looking for new cars and furniture for our new homes. It made us get out and learn our way around the city. Moving is a lot of work!

 

[jenrein]

http://www.greatschools.net/ is a great site for comparing schools. You just punch in a city and it will give you all the schools (you can specify elementary, etc). You can also find schools in nearby cities as well.

It will give you the popultaion of the city, the crime rate and the cost of living. It also has reviews from people in the school district so you can really get a feel for the school.

Thank you!!

 

[jenrein]

When I moved from Kansas City to Orlando, I sold the vast majority of my furniture. It is so expensive to move furniture across country unless you are willing to hire a truck and drive it yourself. We were moving to complete households. My sister also sold most of her furniture. We rented the largest truck we could from U-Haul and packed it with boxes and what such and hired a friend to drive the truck down for us. It was still very expensive.

We also sold our cars. They were both over five years old and we didn't think it worthwhile to drive them that far and keep them. We flew down to Florida and flew 4 cats and 2 dogs. It all worked out (although not cheap), but was very stressful.

Once here, it was fun looking for new cars and furniture for our new homes. It made us get out and learn our way around the city. Moving is a lot of work!

I am so scared of thinking about flying my dogs I know theres really not much option there, but it worries me....my cat on the other hand

And I was thinking the same thing about the furniture. But then again I dont want to get there and have nothing either.