OT: Thinking about Moving to Florida

[soontobewed07]

I know this is way off topic but I was hoping you Disers could give me some help. We are looking to move to Florida and buy a condo/house we would like to live in the Orlando area close to Disney of course. I was wondering if anyone knows of a safe area with good school systems that is close to Disney (within an hours drive) TIA It would really help to know where to begin. Feel free to PM me

 

[jenrein]

The area around Orlando is not the safest and I think the schools arent great either. We moved from NY to Ocala FL this July. We chose Ocala because it is an hour to each coast, and hour to Disney, out of the normal hurricane path and we found affordable housing and a great charter school. I suggest you visit http://www.city-data.com/forum/florida/
you will find a lot of information there. Although beware- there are a lot of floridians that for some reason hate florida, love to complain but never move....?? I would use their site to search out cities as well, they break down everything including crime rates, sexual predators...etc. But I have to say watching news everyday you hear Orange County this and Orlando that...so really beware. I would move to a driving distance but not right there. And dont forget, living in Fl isnt a lifelong vacation! (Although we dropped the kids off at school thursday and spent the day alone at Daytona beach )

 

[mamaminnie]

I'd research your move carefully. We moved from NY City to Palm Beach County 4 years ago. We're a 2 hour drive from WDW and about 15 minutes from the beach.

We've seen many families struggle down here, the expenses are not that much less than the northeast and the jobs tend to pay less.

You could probably find a great deal on a house now, the real estate market is in a slump here.


Good Luck!

 

[Feralpeg]

I live in the Windermere area. I am about five minutes from WDW property. The area is very safe and the schools are fine. In fact, they just completed a new middle school about six blocks from my house and will begin building a new elementary school soon. Some of the homes in my area are very upscale, but there are homes available from the $300k. I love this area.

You might look into Clermont. It is about a 20 minute drive from WDW.

 

[leahlovesdisney]

We live in Lake Mary, FL and have been for the past 12 years. Its a great place and only 35 miles from Disney property! It was rated 4th best place to live in America by Money Magazine and best in the South!

ETA: Wow Feralpeg! 5 minutes from Disney? You're so lucky!

 

[lovinpoohbear]

Hi,
We have friends that live in Palm Coat, Florida and they are really happy there. We have been thinking of relocating there ourselves. They are also really happy with the quality of the schools which are mostly rated A and B.
It is about 90 minutes from Disney and 30 minutes to Daytona Beach and 30 minutes to St Augustine.
Houses are affordable too. Go to www.realtor.com Right now you can get a brand new house for 175-200,000.
For school info, go to www.greatschools.net

 

[OnTheBrink]

We live in Lakeland and LOVE it! It's about 40 minutes or so to Disney. It's an hour the other direction to the beach. We're about half way between Tampa and Orlando. I think housing costs are probably pretty average.

 

[JenEeyore]

We have friends that moved from MN to Celebration FL in '98 and still like living there. It isn't for everyone, but it is safe and very close to the Orlando attractions area:
http://www.celebrationtowncenter.com/ee/
http://www.celebration.fl.us/

 

[grlpwrd]

The area around Orlando is not the safest and I think the schools arent great either. We moved from NY to Ocala FL this July. We chose Ocala because it is an hour to each coast, and hour to Disney, out of the normal hurricane path and we found affordable housing and a great charter school. I suggest you visit http://www.city-data.com/forum/florida/
you will find a lot of information there. Although beware- there are a lot of floridians that for some reason hate florida, love to complain but never move....?? I would use their site to search out cities as well, they break down everything including crime rates, sexual predators...etc. But I have to say watching news everyday you hear Orange County this and Orlando that...so really beware. I would move to a driving distance but not right there. And dont forget, living in Fl isnt a lifelong vacation! (Although we dropped the kids off at school thursday and spent the day alone at Daytona beach )

Thanks for that site. I looked around at the boards for other states... I registered there, too.

 

[soontobewed07]

Thanks for all of your help.

We are taking this move very serious and I am a huge planner. My husband is a Paramedic and I am an EMT so jobs for us are never really hard to find. He has already been offered 3 since we started looking. We are looking for a condo so that we can use it as a fisrt home for now and a second/vacation home later in about a year or 2. Housing prices in MA are out of control right now and our munchkin is only 4 months so I am not sure schools will be a big issue for us. Keep the suggestions coming!