Would love to move to Florida!

[vettechick99]

I lived in Gainesville and loooooooved it! Great culture, great shopping, great weather. And only 1h45m from WDW!

If I was moving back, I'd look into Orange Park (south of Jax), the Destin area (we love Seaside), or the Tampa/Clearwater area (never been but friends love it there).

 

[Mishetta]

Hi Michetta Yes, we live in Celebration. We moved from MA in October 2004. Very cute town but lots of changes in the time we have been here (FL in general.) Restaurants seem to do well due to the tourists and Disney Cast Members from the offices in Celebration Place and elsewhere in town (Radio Disney downtown, IT near the golf course, etc.) Other businesses come and go all the time. We used to have a really cute book store, pet food store (don't get me started on what happened to that poor guy), deli, grocery store, etc. All have shut their doors. The hospital nearby is very nice with a nice gym. Publix is close by ($$$$$.) Target and Wal-Mart are close. Whole Foods is not too far. Tons to do and tons of restaurants around. The grade school struggled for years but finally is much better. The high school is still pretty bad from what I hear.

We do not have much crime but it is getting worse due to the economy here. More break ins. An older couple was held at gun point in their home last year. Lots of teens unsupervised and getting into trouble. Since we have so many homes and condos empty due to foreclosure/short sales/people leaving, the teens break in to the homes/condos and have wild parties. Lots of drugs around in the teen set I hear. My friend is a cop.

Many of the homes and condos are nice but not great construction. They really rushed a lot of them. The condos downtown had their decks rotted through and had to be re-done. The townhomes across from the grade school had issues with their roofs only a few years after they were sold. Even those "lovely" estate homes on Eastlawn are built on fill land that was never supposed to be for construction. As some of them were being built we would walk by and see the water line from the lake behind them come up pretty high on the houses! Now Disney has to make good on those homes I the last I heard.

I would say it is a nice vacation place if you can afford 2 homes (can't short term rent it out either.) OK for retired people too. For a family- no way unless you are very wealthy and work from home or can transfer to a well paying job here and send your kids to private school. Then sure Too transient here for us though.

Oh my heavens, what happened to the pet food guy????!!! You know I'll be thinking about that all night now! I was so sad to read all that. I guess no place is perfect. I'm pretty familiar with the area & that's why we love it so much. So close to everything. Each time we come down, we always stop at the (oh poop...I can't remember), is it Town Tavern (?) restaurant for a great meal. When we come at Christmas time, we bring our kids to enjoy the snow on Main Street (even tho we have tons of snow here! LOL) I guess Florida 'snow' is more fun & it's not as cold!

Anyway, thanks for all your info. I will share it with my husband. No, we are not wealthy by any means since we have 2 children & both are in private schools...so we eat a lot of rice & mac n' cheese! I was so dreaming of moving to warmer weather but outside of Celebration, just not interested. Thank for the info! I would have PM'd you but looks like you don't have that option.

 

[Plannin'Shannon]

NOT ME!!!

Me neither! We never want to leave.

 

[solotraveler]

Actually, I've met any number of native Floridians.

Schools in Florida have improved much over the course of the last few years.

Your best bet is to research the entire state (that's what we did) looking at stats and data that describe a given area (population, population mix, crime stats, median income, housing costs, employment/unemployment rates, ect) and go from there.

For example, the Fort Myers area has one of the higher rates of unemployment in the state. The Central Florida area has one of the lowest income ranges (often attributed to Disney's influence).

There are well developed areas like Ocala, that have much to offer, and a more "southern" feel, and well developed areas like Fort Lauderdale, etc. that have more of a city, and diverse feel.

It all depends upon what you actually want. There are some areas of the state that labor under extreme religiosity. I'd not be comfortable there. Politics here can be very challenging, yet we have Kissimmee just now stepping up to the plate and allowing benefits to partners. Can't be that type of progress.

Where do you want to live? On the coast? Which coast? Flood insurance premiums are not for sissies! LOL. Be sure you understand fully the housing costs, hidden costs, ect.

Florida has no state income tax. That means that EVERYTHING else governement related comes with a hefty tax and increasing price tag...

Hurricanes are real threats and you'll need to be prepared to deal with those. Period. No excuses.

Look at the climate factors. Tornados are real too...

All in all, do thorough research and then visit, visit, visit before making your final decision.

I think Florida is a lot like California, in that it can be a very different experience depending on where you are in the state. Even between cities. Fort Lauderdale and Miami are only about 20 miles apart but are VERY different.

AFAIC, Florida in general isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'm moving end of next month (although we're keeping our home here) to a living and breathing state that's more family friendly and not geared exclusively toward tourists and retirees. Who knows, maybe we'll move back in 40 years, when Florida is more age appropriate for us.

As much as I enjoyed the two year I lived in Fort Lauderdale, I kind of agree with this. (Even though I miss it terribly sometimes...)

One BIG thing to understand is that most people will find that their wages will decrease and a LOT of assorted expenses will increase. Rents can be insane. Expensive insurance is a given.

Job hunting in Florida was TOUGH after I was laid off. Since the population tends to be so much older, I was competing for entry/mid-level wages against people with decades more experience. That's just what the market is....

Most importantly though, I think it's important to remember that vacationing in Florida and living in Florida are two different things. When you moved here, you still have to go to work, do the laundry, go grocery shopping, etc, etc, etc. I know it seems obvious, but I think a lot of people go down there with the mindset that it will feel a lot like they did when they vacation down there. It really won't.

OP, I wish you luck on your decision.

 

[jodifla]

I live in Boca and love it. It is really beautiful here and the weather is usually great - this year being an exception. Different strokes I guess.

I love being a short drive to culture in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale or Palm Beach. Day to day - I never get on 95. Also they have made some huge improvements with the toll lanes on 95 in Dade. I work, live and my son goes to school in a 5 mile radius. My son goes to a school with 25 kids in his class and A rated. We live on the water and insurance is high and so are property taxes but we have been here a while (15 years) and have the save our home exemption. We also came from a very high tax area so it didn't seem like a big change. We live in a community full of families and young kids. The mortgage problem could be anywhere right now - I don't think most of FL if not the US is exempt from this, certainly not Orlando. Boca strip malls are pretty much full up. I can't even find parking spots at the ones I go to for lunch.

We really love it here and find other parts of FL too rural or sleepy for us. With the emphasis on "for us." FL is a big diverse state and researching what is important and not imprtant to you and is in or not in the area you are looking. I am sure you will find an area to call home.

Yep. We lived in the Boca/Deerfield area for about 20 years and really liked it. Back then though houses were very affordable and our incomes were in line with the expenses. We paid $91,900 for a 3/2 home in 1991 and $20,000 for a retirement condo in 1999. Both very reasonable prices.

Our home sold for $250,000 in 2005. We had 7 offers in a week. People wanted to pay more, even...there was a bidding war. But the house wouldn't appraise for that.

Florida got out of whack with the real estate boom in 2003 on up, and then it became very difficult to find a house on the typical Florida income. I think it's slowly readjusting now, like the rest of the country.

Other areas I like are Tampa/St. Pete and the Gainesville area. In fact, DH were talking last night, and he was saying he'd like to retire near Gainesville. That's perfect for this Florida Gator!

 

[PatriciaH]

Oh my heavens, what happened to the pet food guy????!!! You know I'll be thinking about that all night now! I was so sad to read all that. I guess no place is perfect. I'm pretty familiar with the area & that's why we love it so much. So close to everything. Each time we come down, we always stop at the (oh poop...I can't remember), is it Town Tavern (?) restaurant for a great meal. When we come at Christmas time, we bring our kids to enjoy the snow on Main Street (even tho we have tons of snow here! LOL) I guess Florida 'snow' is more fun & it's not as cold!

Anyway, thanks for all your info. I will share it with my husband. No, we are not wealthy by any means since we have 2 children & both are in private schools...so we eat a lot of rice & mac n' cheese! I was so dreaming of moving to warmer weather but outside of Celebration, just not interested. Thank for the info! I would have PM'd you but looks like you don't have that option.

Weird. I should be able to get PM's-I have in the past. I will check on that!

I do think Celebration is a nice town for Central Florida although I think Winter Park is my favorite right now. I wish jobs were not an issue and it was not a struggle to find a good one because it would make it much easier to be happy here! We find it very expensive here since we are in the tourist area. Electric, groceries, taxes, insurance are all high here yet we took a huge pay cut moving here. That means more of a struggle. When there are so many fun things to do and see it makes it hard to struggle too. Friends tend to not be able to go out at times because they can't afford it. Sad.

This is what was told on the town message board about the little pet food store. The guy that owned it was a really nice guy and we always got our cat food there (high end brand.) A young man (16/17) that worked for him accused him of giving him liquor and hitting on him. The pet store owner was sent to jail. It came out several months later that this young man was a major trouble maker and one of the teens that got caught breaking and entering a condo his family used to own. (In my condo development by the way.) A huge party was had and cops arrived. Drugs and alcohol were found along with many minors. The cops found out about the party after arresting 2 other teens that had broken into a resident cops house to steal beer! He pulled a gun on them not knowing they were kids. (Could have been a major tragedy-stupid kids.) Anyway-they told the cops they were headed for this party. Well more and more came out and it turns out this young man lied about the whole pet store owner incident after he had been caught drinking! He stole the liquor from the pet store owners pet store while working there. I guess it was bad he had it around this teen-too trusting. So the judge on the case is reviewing it and sent the owner home on house arrest for now. Meanwhile his whole life and business are ruined due to one of Celebrations upstanding teens. Sadly, people have to work so much here (even some work jobs out of state to survive) they let their kids off on their own a lot.

 

[ElliePeters]

1

 

[mhsjax]

Great post...very well thought out!!



You hope it doesn't come across snarky? How else should it come across?? Honestly, I don't mind. However, if you're gonna be snarky, don't apologize, own it, baby!

AFAIC, Florida in general isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'm moving end of next month (although we're keeping our home here) to a living and breathing state that's more family friendly and not geared exclusively toward tourists and retirees. Who knows, maybe we'll move back in 40 years, when Florida is more age appropriate for us.



Can't lie, I'll miss not paying state income taxes to be sure!! My accountant will definitely have his work cut out for him.

Everyone like something different, however, I am in NE Florida, not geared at tourists at all, in fact we are totally geared at the family. With our school system everybody moves here, well before the economy they did. So you can't say that about all of Florida. Just like I can't say that all Northerners are rude. (note sarcasm).

Also I am 46 years old, never been in a hurricane. Also we do have tornadoes but they are very low on the F scale for tornades, maybe and F1. We get more damage from straight line winds and down bursts than tornados.

Anyway, it has some great points, if you pick the right area. I would never live down south or the Orlando area, Also don't care for Tampa area at all. But good thing we don't all like the same area. It would make for extreme over crowding. lol

 

[solotraveler]

Why is the insurance higher in FL?

Well, the stereotype of Florida drivers is pretty true.... Lots of bad drivers out there and then add in the tourists... you get the idea.

Renters and homeowner's insurance has more to do with the risk of weather related claims (e.g. hurricanes). You'll find this this case more of the coasts, obviously, but really all over the state premiums tend to be high.

Using myself as an example, when I moved to Florida from the midwest, my auto insurance quadrupled (!) and my renter's insurance was 10X (!!!) more expensive.

 

[Mishetta]

Weird. I should be able to get PM's-I have in the past. I will check on that!

I do think Celebration is a nice town for Central Florida although I think Winter Park is my favorite right now. I wish jobs were not an issue and it was not a struggle to find a good one because it would make it much easier to be happy here! We find it very expensive here since we are in the tourist area. Electric, groceries, taxes, insurance are all high here yet we took a huge pay cut moving here. That means more of a struggle. When there are so many fun things to do and see it makes it hard to struggle too. Friends tend to not be able to go out at times because they can't afford it. Sad.

This is what was told on the town message board about the little pet food store. The guy that owned it was a really nice guy and we always got our cat food there (high end brand.) A young man (16/17) that worked for him accused him of giving him liquor and hitting on him. The pet store owner was sent to jail. It came out several months later that this young man was a major trouble maker and one of the teens that got caught breaking and entering a condo his family used to own. (In my condo development by the way.) A huge party was had and cops arrived. Drugs and alcohol were found along with many minors. The cops found out about the party after arresting 2 other teens that had broken into a resident cops house to steal beer! He pulled a gun on them not knowing they were kids. (Could have been a major tragedy-stupid kids.) Anyway-they told the cops they were headed for this party. Well more and more came out and it turns out this young man lied about the whole pet store owner incident after he had been caught drinking! He stole the liquor from the pet store owners pet store while working there. I guess it was bad he had it around this teen-too trusting. So the judge on the case is reviewing it and sent the owner home on house arrest for now. Meanwhile his whole life and business are ruined due to one of Celebrations upstanding teens. Sadly, people have to work so much here (even some work jobs out of state to survive) they let their kids off on their own a lot.

That's just horrible! A poor man's life is ruined due to some stupid kid! I've been told that teens need to be watched more than toddlers. Sad but true obviuosly.

Thank you for sharing. I guess what I've just learned is that not all that glitters is gold!

 

[Art 1]

Oh my heavens, what happened to the pet food guy????!!! You know I'll be thinking about that all night now! I was so sad to read all that. I guess no place is perfect. I'm pretty familiar with the area & that's why we love it so much. So close to everything. Each time we come down, we always stop at the (oh poop...I can't remember), is it Town Tavern (?) restaurant for a great meal. When we come at Christmas time, we bring our kids to enjoy the snow on Main Street (even tho we have tons of snow here! LOL) I guess Florida 'snow' is more fun & it's not as cold!

Anyway, thanks for all your info. I will share it with my husband. No, we are not wealthy by any means since we have 2 children & both are in private schools...so we eat a lot of rice & mac n' cheese! I was so dreaming of moving to warmer weather but outside of Celebration, just not interested. Thank for the info! I would have PM'd you but looks like you don't have that option.

Why would you have to be in Celebration? It's built in a swamp and the construction in very very sub-standard. It's not very centrally located. Folks that live in central Fla, Winter Park, Maitland, Alt. Spgs. would not care to live in Celebration. You may want to check some other areas.

 

[ElliePeters]

1

 

[mhsjax]

Why would you have to be in Celebration? It's built in a swamp and the construction in very very sub-standard. It's not very centrally located. Folks that live in central Fla, Winter Park, Maitland, Alt. Spgs. would not care to live in Celebration. You may want to check some other areas.

I need to came back and visit Maitland, I was born in Winterpark and lived in Maitland until I was 6. It was a wide spot in the road then, they had just broken ground for WDW when we moved to Jacksonville.

 

[Feralpeg]

Why is the insurance higher in FL? How close can you live near WDW without getting into the tourist side of it? Thanks!

My car insurance is no higher here than what I paid in Missouri. My homeowner insurance is about a third higher than what I paid in Missouri. Insurance in Central Florida is much cheaper than on the coasts.

As to how far you need to live from WDW to avoid tourists, it all depends on which way you go. If you move toward Kissimmee and Celebration, you'll still be in the midst of tourists. Those areas have a lot of hotels and cater to tourists. I live in Windermere. I am a five minute drive from the back of the Magic Kingdom and a ten minute drive from Downtown Disney. You'd never know it except for the nightly fireworks, hearing the train whistle from the Magic Kingdom and occasionally seeing a CM in costume on their way to or from work. There are no hotels out this way. Tourists just don't venture in this direction, unless they get totally lost.

 

[Mishetta]

Why would you have to be in Celebration? It's built in a swamp and the construction in very very sub-standard. It's not very centrally located. Folks that live in central Fla, Winter Park, Maitland, Alt. Spgs. would not care to live in Celebration. You may want to check some other areas.

Thank you for the other suggestions & if you have more, I'd love to research them. We don't "have" to be in Celebration, we just really fell in love with the town after visiting it several times. It seemed to have a small town atmosphere & it's so picturesque. It seems to be close to everything too. Maybe on our next trip down, we'll check out other areas, but after reading about the low paying jobs & the high insurance premiums, not so sure this is a good time for us to make a big move.

We moved to the N.E. after living in CA & not being able to purchase a home due to how expensive it was (& even with the plummeting housing prices, it's still too expensive for us), but we miss the warmer weather & we miss how we didn't have to shovel snow in the winter! Florida seems to be a better option, thinking it's not as expensive as the West coast.

 

[Mishetta]

My car insurance is no higher here than what I paid in Missouri. My homeowner insurance is about a third higher than what I paid in Missouri. Insurance in Central Florida is much cheaper than on the coasts.

As to how far you need to live from WDW to avoid tourists, it all depends on which way you go. If you move toward Kissimmee and Celebration, you'll still be in the midst of tourists. Those areas have a lot of hotels and cater to tourists. I live in Windermere. I am a five minute drive from the back of the Magic Kingdom and a ten minute drive from Downtown Disney. You'd never know it except for the nightly fireworks, hearing the train whistle from the Magic Kingdom and occasionally seeing a CM in costume on their way to or from work. There are no hotels out this way. Tourists just don't venture in this direction, unless they get totally lost.

Hi Feralpeg ~ been a long time. I remember when you & your daughter moved into your new home in Windermere! How is she doing?

Anyway, we have visited Windermere too & we do like it. There is also a Catholic school we checked into which is just across the big intersection (can't remember street names to save my life), just minutes from Windermere. Do you find that it's difficult to find a good paying job in that area though. I mean, you have to make enough to be able to pay your mortgage & high insurance premiums, right?

Totally unrelated but are you still making those gorgeous baskets you used to make? Nice to see you again!

 

[diznygirl]

Why would you have to be in Celebration? It's built in a swamp and the construction in very very sub-standard. It's not very centrally located. Folks that live in central Fla, Winter Park, Maitland, Alt. Spgs. would not care to live in Celebration. You may want to check some other areas.

Thank you for the other suggestions & if you have more, I'd love to research them. We don't "have" to be in Celebration, we just really fell in love with the town after visiting it several times. It seemed to have a small town atmosphere & it's so picturesque. It seems to be close to everything too. Maybe on our next trip down, we'll check out other areas, but after reading about the low paying jobs & the high insurance premiums, not so sure this is a good time for us to make a big move.

We moved to the N.E. after living in CA & not being able to purchase a home due to how expensive it was (& even with the plummeting housing prices, it's still too expensive for us), but we miss the warmer weather & we miss how we didn't have to shovel snow in the winter! Florida seems to be a better option, thinking it's not as expensive as the West coast.

We moved here from SoCal - it's all a matter of perspective. We love it here. We wouldn't live anywhere else.

 

[Art 1]

Hi Feralpeg ~ been a long time. I remember when you & your daughter moved into your new home in Windermere! How is she doing?

Anyway, we have visited Windermere too & we do like it. There is also a Catholic school we checked into which is just across the big intersection (can't remember street names to save my life), just minutes from Windermere. Do you find that it's difficult to find a good paying job in that area though. I mean, you have to make enough to be able to pay your mortgage & high insurance premiums, right?

Totally unrelated but are you still making those gorgeous baskets you used to make? Nice to see you again!

The RC school is Holy Family in Bay Hill. The high school is Bishop Moore.

 

[Feralpeg]

Hi Feralpeg ~ been a long time. I remember when you & your daughter moved into your new home in Windermere! How is she doing?

Anyway, we have visited Windermere too & we do like it. There is also a Catholic school we checked into which is just across the big intersection (can't remember street names to save my life), just minutes from Windermere. Do you find that it's difficult to find a good paying job in that area though. I mean, you have to make enough to be able to pay your mortgage & high insurance premiums, right?

Totally unrelated but are you still making those gorgeous baskets you used to make? Nice to see you again!

Hi! Hard to believe, but it will be six years at the end of May since we moved to Florida. Time has just flown by. My daughter was just starting her junior year of high school when we moved here. She will graduate from Florida State University on May 1. She is doing great and really hoping to find a teaching job after graduation.

Finding a good paying job in this area is not easy. They hold job fairs here on a regular basis. Way more people always show up than there are available jobs. Due to the low paying nature of many jobs, a lot of people work more than one job to get by. In my opinion, the job market is, by far, the worst aspect of living in Central Florida. I love living here, but I am lucky. I am not dependant on working to survive. Thank goodness my prior employer was good to me.

I no longer do the gift baskets. I loved the creative side of the business, but it was an incredible amount of work and I just couldn't make it pay. People want Disney merchandise in their gift baskets and I had to pay retail prices for everything. Add Florida's regulations against food in gift baskets and it just didn't work. Thanks for asking!

 

[ElliePeters]

1