Relocating to WDW?

[dickyrader]

So...... It's been over 3 years since the last comment on this thread.

I guess I will pull it out of retirement and comment.

It's just been a thought for my wife and I to move to Central Florida for a little while now. Not only for WDW, but as an adventure before we have kids. We are in our late 20's, no kids, no house to sell (we live in an apartment), no family living around us, nothing holding us back except jobs. We thought we could move down for two years or so, if we like it stay, if we don't move back to Tennessee.

I guess my question is for the people who commented oh so long ago who took the plunge and moved. Are you still there? Do you still love it? Have things changed in recent years? Do you still have the same love for WDW you once had?

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

I saw a blog - Relocated Tourist - about one family & their move to be near WDW. It is very real & very interesting.

 

[4 Ears]

Ask again in a year and 3 to 5 days. We are now DINKS (duel income no kids as they are now adults) We leave Sunday and will take 3 days to drive down with our RV.
We are moving to Winter Haven, DH is transfering down. We have been planning/saving for this move for a while. Yes we have gone on "scouting" trips.
I second Amy's site (Therelocatedtourist), she is more than happy to answer questions as well.

Have a magical day

 

[sunkissed4]

DH and I were in the same situation as you, we rented and decided if we don't like it we can always move back, but we had a baby with us lol. Anyway, we moved from seriously upstate NY to an hour from the world almost 3 years ago and never looked back. But, you have to love the heat and not mind the gigantic bugs! And I wouldn't move without having jobs already lined up because the job market isn't the best right now. My DH spent months online searching before we moved and finally got a great opportunity and after a few months here an ever better job popped up so we got lucky! Living expenses are about the same as they were for us up North so that's not a problem, just have to budget extra money for all those Disney trips, but it's so worth it!

Like you said, you can always go back. No harm in trying!

 

[thedonduck]

We just moved here at the beginning of the month. It is a hard adjustment from WI, so we are renting for a year to get our bearings. We currently live just south of the airport in a very nice subdivision. We chose this area because my husband works at MCO so its perfect for him to get to work.

 

[CatesRDisneyFans]

We would not be opposed to moving to WDW!

 

[Couchy]

I would if I could but it would not make financial or long term job security sense for me to do so

 

[Julie711]

Dh and I always get clinically depressed (or at least it feels that way!) when we have to leave WDW! Our dd is 5 and she'll be at WDW for the 5th time in 23 days! Woohoo!! People think we're crazy and say there are so many other places to see and other things to spend $$ on, but we just LOVE it!

We hate to leave and we always talk about moving. The only thing stopping is is the kids. I worry sick about taking them away from their family. We are extremely close to my family and I want the kids to grow up with close grandparents. Now if we could just talk my parents in to coming with us!! Then we'd be set!

This is the same way myself and DH think! We have a 4 yr old DD and this Nov will be her 4th trip. We also have a new DS that is 5 mnths old so he will be 12 mnths when we are there and cant wait to start the magic with him! We are extremley close with our families as well, I live 2 min from my sister &10 min from my parents, but if we won the lottery we would def be buying a second home down there!! We to get the same response " Your going to Disney again?", but the people saying this to me have either never been there or its been years so I tell them until you have been there and seen the MAGIC keep your thoughts to yourself.

 

[HMGar]

DH just retired from the military after 22 years. My step son has two more years of school here in Illinois. After he graduates, DH and I are selling our home and heading to Florida.

It's been a dream of mine to work for Disney all of my life. I intend to get a job there once we move and we will live out our retirement years closest to our favorite place on earth. I can't wait!

 

[Bonniec]

But, you have to love the heat and not mind the gigantic bugs!

Understatement!

WDW opened the year I was born. I lived an hour and a half away in Melbourne, FL and always loved it. 9 years ago we moved to Boise, ID. While Boise was nice, I felt truely homesick and missed FL...heat, bugs, and all! DH got a job here so we moved back to Orlando in the Davenport area. I just feel like I'm home.

I wonder if local Disers ever meet up.

 

[Feralpeg]

In May, it will be 8 years since my daughter and I moved from the Midwest to Central Florida. I love it here and have no desire to move anywhere else.

While my opinion of Disney as a corporation has changed, my love of the parks has not diminished. After living in the area, meeting so many people who work for Disney and having worked for Disney myself, I don't look at the Disney corporation through rose colored glasses as I used to. Now, I see Disney as a large company whose biggest concern is making money. That involves keeping guests happy...fortunately. But, underneath it all, the happiness of the employees is not a high priority. That has not taken away from my love of the parks. I still love going. I don't go with the same commando approach I did before moving here. Now, I take a leisurely approach to my park time. It's great.

My situation is different than many because I am retired. I worked a few jobs since moving here. It is very difficult for a person who has worked their entire adult life to just stop working. Seems strange, but it's true. But, I am retired AGAIN and I hope to stay that way. I adore the weather...even the heat. I think the people in Central Florida are great. The bugs are not a problem. They stay outside. I adore the other wildlife.

If I were to name anything that I really dislike about Central Florida it would be the drivers. Too many people are in such a hurry and lack all road courtesy. Too many drivers are distracted by other things. Fortunately, I don't spend much time on the highways. I also am not crazy about the easy gun laws here. Every day, I here of someone shooting someone else. Most of the shootings take place in areas of the city that I would not visit anyway, but I hate hearing about it and knowing that any crazy on the road could be packing. Sadly, Florida is not alone in these issues.

Unless something terrible happens, Central Florida will be my home for the rest of my days.

 

[dickyrader]

Please DO NOT follow this link unless you want very realistic opinions about life in FLA...

http://www.city-data.com/forum/florida/

I found this site in my ongoing search for info about relocating...it contains forums for the state, major cities and within each locale, you can search certain counties or towns (ie...Lake, Osceola, Clermont or Davenport).

While there is ALOT of great info here and MANY love living in FLA, there also seem to be ALOT of VERY unhappy & disillusioned Floridians for MANY reasons.

All the DISers here have been VERY helpful but the above link accesses a HUGE number of threads/posts on this topic...

I hesitated before sharing the link here as I know many DISers may not want their pixiedust scattered to the winds...but so many here have helped me in the past so if you REALLY want to hear what SOME folks are saying about life in FLA today (weather, schools, colleges, employment, salaries, insurance, taxes, traffic, crime, real estate values, etc...) -the good, the bad, & the ugly- I hope this helps some fellow DISers. It helped me find GREAT info on Active Adult communities, for example.

I have also done a lot of reading over at the City Data Forums and got a really bad view of Central Florida. Then I read this thread, and now I'm a little confused.

I'm not sure who to believe..... It seems like a lot of people over at City Data Forums Hate living in Orlando, while almost everyone here seems to love it.

I get this reaction from a lot of people too. Either they Love living in Orlando, or they Hate it. Not many people are in the middle. Not really sure what kind of judgment to make with these two conflicting opinions.

 

[thedonduck]

I wonder if local Disers ever meet up.

I'm all for it! We have no family/friends here yet...trying to talk my MIL to move down.

 

[CouchTater]

We're in the process of getting our home ready to put on the market and hopefully moving to the land of the mouse in the next 6 months or so. Have been looking at homes and areas but have not narrowed it down. Because we will be unable to buy until this house sells we will probably have to rent when we get down for a few months.Hoping to find someplace that will rent month to month while we look and accepts our two cats. Will also have to put our belongings into storage. I've never done a long distance move and am looking at it with trepidation. We love Florida and are looking forward to everything the area has to offer. I am recently retired from law enforcement but will probably be looking for part time work. My wife has a background in the call center industry and will be looking for work in that area. Crossing our fingers that we can sell here at an acceptable price. Like most places housing prices have taken a beaten. Hope to meet up with some fellow Diser's when we get down and get settled.

 

[dmband]

Living there would prob be cool at first but after a little time I would get use to it nd pob end up not going or enjoying it as much because it would be taken for granted

 

[PoohsFan1]

We haven't relocated to Disney yet, but plan to when DH and I retire someday. We would love to own a house in Golden Oaks (don't think that could happen though unless we win the lottery ), but if not then we definitely want to move to Celebration FL. Funny thing, on Friday night just before the Mega millions lotto was being drawn, I asked DH what he was going to do with all of that money if he won. Without even thinking about it he said that we will buy 2 houses in Golden Oaks (1 for our family and 1 for anyone who wants to visit us) .

 

[ElliePeters]

We moved 5 minutes from WDW last June and have a blog written all about the before, during, and after. It was our dream, and we made it happen.
PM me if you are interested in reading it.

 

[ElliePeters]

I also want to put out there that you REALLY have to have a years worth of salary if you are moving down WITHOUT jobs. MANY have come and left because they ran out of money fast, thinking they could land a job down here with no problem. HAVE A PLAN in mind before you ever leave your current home, and research everything LIKE CRAZY before making the final step.

 

[ElliePeters]

I have also done a lot of reading over at the City Data Forums and got a really bad view of Central Florida. Then I read this thread, and now I'm a little confused.

I'm not sure who to believe..... It seems like a lot of people over at City Data Forums Hate living in Orlando, while almost everyone here seems to love it.

I get this reaction from a lot of people too. Either they Love living in Orlando, or they Hate it. Not many people are in the middle. Not really sure what kind of judgment to make with these two conflicting opinions.

Depends on where they are living... there are MANY areas here in Orlando I wouldnt go near in the middle of the day. We live in a safe suburb and love the area- was our dream to move here and I tell everyone who asks me that you have to live it, to know it.

 

[ElliePeters]

I also cannot stress enough that if your child cannot live without their current school, especially if they have special needs, I would wait until they graduate High School to move anywhere. The schools here just aren't the best, but again, everyone will compare it to what they came from.