Where to move to in Florida!!!

[Poohnatic]

We were looking into Clermont, based on what we'd heard from others. Actually put a year's research into schools (special ed for older son), neighborhoods, etc. My husband looked into a transfer there (he can go pretty much anywhere he wants)

Work threw a small curve ball into my plans and I will be working in Tampa. Now we are looking at Lakeland or Plant City. Spoke to Autism coordinators for both counties and was very impressed. I found two areas of Plant City I liked, and Sherwood Forest in Lakeland seemed very nice. I go back in a month to do more research. My family will rent for 6 months or a year, then buy a home. Plant City is 45 minutes to either Tampa or WDW. Lakeland is 30-40 minutes to WDW property, an hour to Tampa. Several WDW cast members I spoke to last week gave me lots of great info about Lakeland and why they liked it.

My mom is in St. Pete Beach, a half hour south of Tampa. We love the quiet pace of her town, especially in the off season.

Lots of people have told me Plant City is 'quiet', but I didn't find it that way or think it will be for very long. After living by myself on top of a mountain outside a town of 2,000, not much is quiet too me, lol! The smell of strawberries and oranges last week was very inviting, though!

House prices are a pleasant surprise after the insanity of the Washington, DC region housing market.

If you need schools, you can look at their report cards at each county's board of education website.

I was going to post a thread to find other DIS'ers in either town to see what they find to be the pros and cons of their respective towns. Seems you found some Lakelanders ! I had a great time in both places last week, meeting people and asking lots of questions--and enjoyed my first Sonic Cherry Limeade, too!

Suzanne

 

[LuvN~Travel]

We lived in Plant City when I was in my mid teens, back in the '70s and I remember really enjoying the town. The people were very friendly, and as well as being near enough to everything, but not being in the center of too much traffic. Of course I loved the Strawberry Festival too!
Good luck on your search.
Kim

 

[Poorman]

I am getting a lot of info. Poohnatic how did you find the schools as compared to the north?

How are the beaches in the Hudson, New Port Richey area? When I went to the Hudson web site the water looked like New England beaches.

Again thanks for all the info. Any one else?

Rich

PS I forgot to add I found this site that tells a lot about the towns.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Florida.html

 

[gottaluvPluto]

I live in Pensacola, it's a big military town. We don't have a lot to offer in jobs. Anyway, I like the Ft. Walton area and it is growing.

If you need info on schools you can go to the web page and look up the grade, but some A schools I wouldn't send my child to. You can also interview the principal at the school. I interviewed one principal and did not care too much for her. So, we didn't move in that area and later I was thankful. I know principals can move around, but it is rare that they do move to a different school.

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

We are doing the same in 3 years. We like the Vero-Sebastian area on the east coast. It is only 2 hrs from WDW and my sister lives in West Palm Beach(1 hr away). It is a very quiet and residential area with no traffic problems. Vero is only1 hr from WPB airport and 96 miles form MCO airport.

Here is a link for home prices in the VB area by Engle Homes....

http://www.englehomes.com/index.cfm?method=Division_communities&divCode=036&communityCode=501

My wifes parents used to live in Tarpon Springs and liked it very much also. Good luck in whatever area you choose.

 

[msdis]

We have been looking and researching too. First, we wanted Clermont because of it's close proximity to WDW and the crime and price of housing seemed to be low but everything current says the trend is changing a lot. We also looked at the east coast and found a lot of recommendations of Palm Coast and Sebastian. Close to WDW, low housing costs, close to the beach, lower crime. We have some friends that are moving to Englewood area. That is a really nice area, older population, low crime, but the housing is more expensive, older, and supply is not real high. DH would have better luck with a job in the St Pete, Tampa, Sarasota, Bradenton area but the housing there is so far out of our budget with the way it has climbed in the last 3 years. For us the Orlando area seems to fit the best and in 2 weeks we will be driving around again to see what we think. We are finding a lot of employers who will not even look at your resume unless you are local. How does anyone ever get a job anymore from away? We can swing the move and buy a reasonably priced house but finding a job seems to be the hard part.

 

[Poorman]

I want to thank everyone that gave me some ideas about areas. When we go down in July we will have a list of places we want to check out. Our May trip is just for fun with the grandkids.

Thanks again,

Rich