Those who have relocated to Florida... any tips?

[jezebella]

If you have specific questions about closing on homes in FL, feel free to PM me. I am a title agent and have been doing closings for over 7 years.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

I would NOT live along the coast....very HIGH homeowners insurance sue to hurricanes ( several have come close to Melbourne area!)

Homeowners is sometimes hard to get (depending on how old your house is)and expensive down here...due to hurricanes of 2004

Pay is definitely lower accross the board in all industries ( I was a teacher when I moved here and pay was about 10,000 lower)

real estate taxes vary tremendously among communities...a thing to check before buying

I would also strongly suggest renting first to determine where you feel most comfortable

bawstngrl/Marianna

WOW thanks for all the tips. My husband is a die hard surfer boy and insists on living near Sebastian Inlet. However the further I go inland the lower the insurance gets. Are the homes in the Clermont area alot lower priced than the East coast? A close friend just moved to the ValRico area and she said it is very nice over there too. I think we are gonna do an apartment for about 6 months. We come down in 1 week to look at new homes and existing homes. I cant wait!!!

 

[pklein09]

Enjoy planning your move and finding a new town!!!

My dream is Celebration. Any thought on this town??? Thanks!!!

--Michelle

 

[jacstangler]

Give a look at the new area of Viera which is north of Melbourne. We are
10 miles from the ocean and less than 1 hour to Disney. We are in the area
west of I95 so the insurance is lower. The insurance is slightly more than
St. Louis. Since this is a new community taxes do seem high but not out of
sight. There is lots going on here and the area appears to be very safe.
Being close to I95 we go a short distance to the B line Toll road and straight
to Disney. They are building new schools, churches and yes there is golf, and
minor league baseball in the summer and Washington Capital's spring training.
We looked hard at Celebration and truly love that area but for us the prices were just too high. What ever decision you make will be right for you. Good
luck.

John

 

[lovethecastle]

How are the schools in florida. Does anyone know anything about the special education schools. My older ds goes to special ed. On Long island the schools(general ed & special ed) are pretty good. That may be the only thing keeping us from moving to Fla.
___________________________
Sandy

 

[jennz]

I recently read an article in the Orlando Sentinel ranking their schools as #49th out of the states...not too good! Actually I was kind of surprised because then in the Forbes report of the top 1300 high schools I'm pretty sure I saw University High (east Orlando) in there and a few others. Now being a product of the Orlando schools I can tell you they weren't good at all when I was there. I guess you just have to check around. FL also has an excellent reputation for homeschooling, if that interests you...

 

[lovethecastle]

Thanks Jennz for responding to my question. as for home schooling I have to figure out how going to disney world would work into the lesson plan.
____________________
sandy

 

[HunnyBunny]

Thanks Jennz for responding to my question. as for home schooling I have to figure out how going to disney world would work into the lesson plan.
____________________
sandy

Ok, in all seriousness... I do use Disney to homeschool!!!
Yes, Disney is a lot of fun, but I do lesson plans based on ocean life (trip to Living Seas,) food groups (Behind the Seeds tour,) cultures around the world (Epcot pavilions,) animal lesson plans (ride on the safari.) Epcot and Animal Kingdom are a wealth of information when you can slow down and not have to rush from attraction to attraction. And it never hurts to finish a "lesson plan" with a Mickey bar!

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

Give a look at the new area of Viera which is north of Melbourne. We are
10 miles from the ocean and less than 1 hour to Disney. We are in the area
west of I95 so the insurance is lower. The insurance is slightly more than
St. Louis. Since this is a new community taxes do seem high but not out of
sight. There is lots going on here and the area appears to be very safe.
Being close to I95 we go a short distance to the B line Toll road and straight
to Disney. They are building new schools, churches and yes there is golf, and
minor league baseball in the summer and Washington Capital's spring training.
We looked hard at Celebration and truly love that area but for us the prices were just too high. What ever decision you make will be right for you. Good
luck.

John

We are actually looking at some homes in the Viera (Rockledge) area. So that makes me feel good. We are also looking at Bayside lakes area of Palm Bay. I like the planned community thing not the random lot type of building. I cant wait to see the homes down there next week.

How are the schools in florida. Does anyone know anything about the special education schools. My older ds goes to special ed. On Long island the schools(general ed & special ed) are pretty good. That may be the only thing keeping us from moving to Fla.
___________________________
Sandy

I actually did alot of reasearch on the greatschools.com site. It has alot of information and the realtors can give you alot of information.

 

[MM32830]

Clermont is essentially located at the intersection of Hwy 50 & US27. You can take 27 to 192 and head east to Disney. That is the fastest way from my location. And yes, I do sneak in some back roads once I hit 192 that brings me right to AK Lodge. From Montverde, you are closer to the turnpike. You can take the turnpike to 429 south, which also hits 192 a bit closer to Disney than 27 does. And again, you'd just head east on 192. If you'd like I can give you even more backroad ways to get there (just send me a pm)

I also live in Clermont (at least 3 of the 4 seasons). The route I use to go to Disney depends where in Disney I am going. If I am going to the west side of property (like Animal Kingdom), then 27 south to 192 east is the best way (taking the Black Lake Road shortcut at 7-11).

If going to the Magic Kingdom or Downtown Disney, then I take Hartwood Marsh Road to 535 south.

Either way takes about 30 minutes from Clermont, depending on traffic. 192 can have LOTS of traffic at certain times (especially in the morning when the parks open) whereas route via 535 rarely has any traffic problem (even though it is currently under construction for widening).

If you do take the 429, you don't have to take it all the way to 192. Exit 8 off the 429 exits right into Disney, between Coronado Springs and Animal Kingdom.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to PM me.

Armand

 

[MM32830]

Enjoy planning your move and finding a new town!!!

My dream is Celebration. Any thought on this town??? Thanks!!!

--Michelle

Celebration is nice if you have the $$$$. We almost bought there but we were able to afford a LOT more home for much less money.

Also, the Covenants (all the rules of living at Celebration) filled TWO fairly large 3 ring binders. Where we ended up buying, the covenants are only about 30 pages.

Armand

 

[pklein09]

Celebration is nice if you have the $$$$. We almost bought there but we were able to afford a LOT more home for much less money.

Also, the Covenants (all the rules of living at Celebration) filled TWO fairly large 3 ring binders. Where we ended up buying, the covenants are only about 30 pages.

Armand

Thanks for the info. The prices don't scare me (I live outside Princeton, NJ!), but I've never lived in a place with Covenants. At this point, we're no where close to relocating, unless DH lands an job with Disney corporate.

 

[MM32830]

Thanks for the info. The prices don't scare me (I live outside Princeton, NJ!), but I've never lived in a place with Covenants. At this point, we're no where close to relocating, unless DH lands an job with Disney corporate.

I have a nephew that lives in Princeton (works for TRC) so I am mildly aware of the prices in your area. Celebration is right up there.

Nothing to fear about living in a community with covenants. I truly believe that when you start living in a really nice area (like Celebration), you need rules that everyone needs to live by. It keeps the community looking nice. Yes, sometimes covenants can go overboard (like my area has a restrictions on lawn ornaments can't be taller than 6 inches, so if I wanted to put something in my lawn that was a few inches taller, too bad). The best thing you can do is get a copy of the covenants for the area you are interested in before buying.

Armand

 

[BigTiggerGuy]

I'm actually in the process of relocating to Orlando myself. Have an interview tomorrow I too would love any information about areas in Orlando that would be reasonably priced as well as safe. My job would have me working on International Drive but I'm not opposed to a commute.
I did some preliminary research and found a couple of promising apartments. Anyone familiar with "Heritage on Millenia" on Millenia Blvd. in Orlando? From the website it sounds great but you never know.
Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[MM32830]

I'm actually in the process of relocating to Orlando myself. Have an interview tomorrow I too would love any information about areas in Orlando that would be reasonably priced as well as safe. My job would have me working on International Drive but I'm not opposed to a commute.
I did some preliminary research and found a couple of promising apartments. Anyone familiar with "Heritage on Millenia" on Millenia Blvd. in Orlando? From the website it sounds great but you never know.
Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks!

Sorry, I don't know anything about Heritage on Millenia. You will find that apartments are very scarce in Orlando but that is changing. With the housing boom a few years ago, many apartment buildings were being converted to condos. At one time, Orlando had less than 1500 apartment UNITS, not buildings. That's in a city of over a 250,000 people. Some of those converted condos are being coverted back to apartments (actually the condo owners are renting them out).

The Mall of Millenia area is a very easy drive from I-Drive. I-Drive is centers on Exit 74 of I-4 and the Mall of Millenia is at Exit 78 (only 4 miles up the road). Universal is just a few miles away and Disney is only 10 miles from the Millenia area. Nice location.

Armand