We've decided: We're moving to Florida!

[ethanwa]

Well, we've decided to move to Florida. In fact, we're moving to Windermere this September, which is RIGHT BEHIND the Magic Kingdom! It's a highly desired area with great schools. I am lucky enough to have a work-from-home software job so we can go anywhere we want.

As you can tell from my avatar on the left, we're from Seattle, so this is a HUGE change for us... weather, geography, culture, and just about everything really. We're leaving behind the parents (grandparents) to go on an adventure and see if we like it or not.

Since we're renting a house and not buying, if we hate it, we'll just move back to Seattle. For the curious, here's why we are moving:

- Weather: Depressing and rainy in Seattle 85% of the year. FL has "bad" weather with extreme heat/humidity maybe only 30% of the time.

- Adventure: We don't want to be in our 70's and say we've only just live in Seattle our whole lives. I find that to be boring. I want my life, and my family, to have had journeys and experienced different places. Just the 5 day drive across 10-15 different states to get from WA to FL will be something we remember for the rest of our lives.

- Saves money: It's so much cheaper for us to live in FL. Budgeting it out, I'll be able to save over $20k next year just on cheaper housing and taxes alone.

- Sports: For me personally (not my wife) this is awesome. I love baseball, and FL has the Marlins and the Rays. They also have spring training. I am a diehard Seattle sports fan and always will be, but I'm glad I get to have MORE baseball (and trust me, the Mariners are just as painful to watch as FL baseball sometimes).

- Stuff to do: Being in Seattle for 34 years of my life (my age), I've done it all here. I'm looking forward to Disney, SeaWorld, Legoland, Universal Studios, Space Center, cruises, Miami and other cities, beaches on both sides, and more in Florida! All the time!

We don't have many close friends here, only family, and the toughest part is leaving them. But we'll be flying home in the summer and for Christmas, and it will give them a reason to come and see us and take a nice vacation. Honestly, I think it will make us all closer in some weird way.

Anyway, I am excited. Has anyone else done a long-distance move and can recommend a good mover?

Ethan

 

[JakeJenna]

We moved from Ohio to Denver a few years back. We used abf the prices were reasonable and didn't have any problems(we did pack ourselves and used their relocubes". The adventure of it wore off, we enjoyed our two years there but decided to move home. We do plan on moving somewhere else when the kids get a little older and we hopefully make a little more money. Not sure if you have kids or not but that weighed on us with not having our big family's around.


Edit- I now you have kids, like I said that was the hardest thing for us.

 

[Art 1]

Welcome to the area.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Congratulations on your new beginnings and the journey ahead. Must be a pretty big adjustment going literally about as far from home as you could and still be in the same country. Hope you and your family enjoy it

 

[disd55]

Listen, if I could just pick up and move to FL I would! Sandy destroyed areas just 15 minutes from here. Life in this area ain't so pretty. But I have to say, this part of the country has better schools that anywhere (NY Metro). I would think Washington's schools are better than Florida's, but that's your preference. Good luck!

 

[ethanwa]

The adventure of it wore off, we enjoyed our two years there but decided to move home.

I think this is actually one of the biggest reasons we ARE moving... it's that we want the adventure, and if it wears off and we hate it there (or are just really homesick) we CAN move home. It's nice to know that life is not set in stone!

But right now we are excited (well, my son is worried, but the rest of us are ready to go).

 

[ethanwa]

I would think Washington's schools are better than Florida's, but that's your preference.

Generally that statement is true, but we've picked an area that is the exception in Florida. Schools are really important and if we weren't able to find something at least similar to what we have here, we wouldn't move.

 

[jodifla]

Congrats! I found people either loved the Florida lifestyle or couldn't make the transition. It's a GREAT place to grow up.

Be sure to take advantage of all the fun Florida has to offer. Too many people move down, then sulk and say it's not like where they are from. (Yeah, ain't that the point???)

Beyond Disney and sports, there are a lot of interesting places to explore, like:

St. Augustine: Wonderful history there. Beautiful beaches. Fountain of Youth, and Ripley's Believe it or Not.
Sanibel Island: Go shelling, enjoy the Gulf. Check out The Bubble Room Restaurant!
Jacksonville: Nice downtown area, sports, cruises.
Tampa Bay Area: Busch Gardens, sports, Clearwater Beach, the Dali Museum, St. Pete Beach, Fort DeSoto.
Sarasota: Ringling Museum, Circus Museum. Edison House.
South Florida: Palm Beach, :Lion Country Safari, Fort Lauderdale Children's Museum, Butterfly World, Miami Children's Museum. Viscaya. Go swimming in the Venetia Pool in Coral Gables. And more sports!
The Everglades: Not to be missed. Take an airboat ride through them!
The Florida Keys: Go snorkeling at John Pennecamp State Park.

Also, GO CRUISING! Lots of cheap cruises from Florida, and even deals on DCL cruises. Take advantage of this.

And this is JUST the tip of the iceberg and doesn't count all the tiny little towns and their fun history.

The Florida lifestyle is laid-back. You can dress casually. Great restaurants are everywhere! People are more accepting of new people than in many parts of the country. Get a grill....you can use it every day, practically. Get used to plenty of fresh seafood. Try Stone Crabs -- they are a Florida delicacy.

Enjoy! It's nice you won't have the responsiblities of homeownership right away. Very freeing.

 

[disny_luvr]

Good luck to you and your family.

DH and I talk about what it would be like to live in a different part of the country. Where we live now is about 20 minutes from where I grew up and about an hour from where DH grew up. Our plan now is to move (hopefully south) when we are both retired and our kids are grown up and own their own. I'd have a hard time leaving my family and with my parents getting older I know I should be around to help them if they need it. For now we'll keep on dreaming...

 

[JakeJenna]

I think this is actually one of the biggest reasons we ARE moving... it's that we want the adventure, and if it wears off and we hate it there (or are just really homesick) we CAN move home. It's nice to know that life is not set in stone!

But right now we are excited (well, my son is worried, but the rest of us are ready to go).

I wasn't trying to be a downer at all sorry if I came off that way. We were super excited for the adventure as well. One huge advantage you have is there is so much to do in Florida, Denver was a great city but it felt secluded from the rest of the world. That's the same way we looked at it you don't like it you can always go home.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I wasn't trying to be a downer at all sorry if I came off that way. We were super excited for the adventure as well. One huge advantage you have is there is so much to do in Florida, Denver was a great city but it felt secluded from the rest of the world. That's the same way we looked at it you don't like it you can always go home.

Interesting, I think I'd have more fun in CO than FL

 

[teacherlisa1978]

Exciting! Fellow Seattle-lite here. After a rainy Memorial Day weekend like this one the Florida temptation is certainly there. I'd miss my lifelong friends (also born and raised and here for my 34 years) and family and also those glorious summer days after summer starts on July 5th. But it sounds great, so why not? Good luck to you!

 

[Feralpeg]

Welcome! You're going to love Windermere. I live behind the MK as well. Maybe, we'll be neighbors! I've been here nine years this month and have never regretted moving here from the Midwest!

 

[North of Mouse]

Well, we've decided to move to Florida. In fact, we're moving to Windermere this September, which is RIGHT BEHIND the Magic Kingdom! It's a highly desired area with great schools. I am lucky enough to have a work-from-home software job so we can go anywhere we want.

As you can tell from my avatar on the left, we're from Seattle, so this is a HUGE change for us... weather, geography, culture, and just about everything really. We're leaving behind the parents (grandparents) to go on an adventure and see if we like it or not.

Since we're renting a house and not buying, if we hate it, we'll just move back to Seattle. For the curious, here's why we are moving:

- Weather: Depressing and rainy in Seattle 85% of the year. FL has "bad" weather with extreme heat/humidity maybe only 30% of the time.

- Adventure: We don't want to be in our 70's and say we've only just live in Seattle our whole lives. I find that to be boring. I want my life, and my family, to have had journeys and experienced different places. Just the 5 day drive across 10-15 different states to get from WA to FL will be something we remember for the rest of our lives.

- Saves money: It's so much cheaper for us to live in FL. Budgeting it out, I'll be able to save over $20k next year just on cheaper housing and taxes alone.

- Sports: For me personally (not my wife) this is awesome. I love baseball, and FL has the Marlins and the Rays. They also have spring training. I am a diehard Seattle sports fan and always will be, but I'm glad I get to have MORE baseball (and trust me, the Mariners are just as painful to watch as FL baseball sometimes).

- Stuff to do: Being in Seattle for 34 years of my life (my age), I've done it all here. I'm looking forward to Disney, SeaWorld, Legoland, Universal Studios, Space Center, cruises, Miami and other cities, beaches on both sides, and more in Florida! All the time!

We don't have many close friends here, only family, and the toughest part is leaving them. But we'll be flying home in the summer and for Christmas, and it will give them a reason to come and see us and take a nice vacation. Honestly, I think it will make us all closer in some weird way.

Anyway, I am excited. Has anyone else done a long-distance move and can recommend a good mover?

Ethan

Congratulations on your impending move to the South! It's 'the greatest' place to live LOL. But, you are being VERY conservative in thinking that the heat and humidity is maybe only 30% of the time - try about 70% and you will be more accurate There are always exceptions, but this is basically the rule. I'm a deep south girl and love it, but have no illusions about the heat and humidity

At least, like you said, you will rent and try it out. That's the best way as it will be a huge change in many ways for your family. The move itself will be costly, even so. The best to you in your adventure!

I'm shocked that the living expenses are that much greater in WA.
Just be aware that the insurances are pretty high because of the hurricane threats from 6/1 - 11/30. (This won't affect you as much just renting - not sure about renter's ins.).

 

[canadianjovigirl]

Hope you have a great adventure and Florida is all you dreamed it to be. I will admit i am very jealous stuck here in AB Canada with no warm place to even have the option of moving to in this Country.

 

[Help Please!]

Welcome!

70% crappy weather (heat/humidity) seems about right to me! My least favorite part of living here!

P.S. We live on the Space Coast, come on over and check out Kennedy Space Center (during a rocket launch!), Cocoa Beach, lots of other great things.

 

[Art 1]

Welcome!

70% crappy weather (heat/humidity) seems about right to me! My least favorite part of living here!

P.S. We live on the Space Coast, come on over and check out Kennedy Space Center (during a rocket launch!), Cocoa Beach, lots of other great things.

To me that's 70% good weather.

 

[Keli]

My husband and I did something similar early in our marriage. I very much enjoyed the adventure of it all and the experiences we had and friends we made. After four years I was ready to move back to the area we were both from and we haven't looked back since.
Glad we made the move and glad we made the move back. Don't regret it at all.
Family was probably the thing that drew us towards home the strongest.

 

[Traveliz]

We are behind MK too (part time) in Windermere and love it. The area has the FL feel but not the touristy feel yet that is just a short drive away. SO MUCH to do and explore throughout the entire state.

Liz

 

[TeresaNJ]

Best of luck to you! We did the same thing as you, moved to central Florida 20 miles south of Disney, to a beautiful home community. I'm an RN, so could work anywhere, and DH was able to transfer for his job, so we took the opportunity. After a few months & working as a per diem RN at Osceola Regional Hospital & Celebration Hospital's ERs, I got my dream job at Disney working for the Disney Vacation Club.

It was fun and exciting for a few months, but then severe homesickness set in. My whole family, including my adult children, were back home. I came to hate the community we lived in, only one main road in and out, and took me an hour to get to work, when it should have taken about 20 minutes. While our home community was gorgeous and on Lake Toho, I felt like it just dropped out of the sky, and there were no roots or real "community" where we lived.

After a year I was ready to go back home, and since my mom had some problems after hip surgery and needed help, DH agreed to go back. In retrospect, I think if we had moved to a different "homey" community, I would have adjusted more easily. Windermere is a lovely town, and if we had stayed, we were planning on moving there or another town north of Disney. Best wishes and I hope it all works out for you!