Moving to Florida for many reasons

[Fashionista007]

DF and I are seriously thinking about moving to Florida after our last trip to WDW. We passed by a really nice residential neighborhood on our way back to MCO and it said the houses were in the low $100s?? We're from Baltimore and the cost of living here is very high. We are thinking we would like to move within 1 - 2 hours of WDW, we do not want to live in Orlando because it is too congested. Luckily I work from home so I can live anywhere I want. DF is a meat cutter so we would need to find an area that would have jobs available for him. We want something quiet in the suburbs. From reading these forums, I know that we should rent before we buy but I'd like to get some opinions on what areas we should look into?

 

[Disney4aLifetim]

research

I'm doing my research, too.. Will be moving to the Orlando area in early 2013.

 

[KanineKrunchies]

I think anywhere between Tampa/St. Pete south to Fort Myers would be great for you and your DF based on your post. I live in South Fort Myers and I love it!! Sarasota is a beautiful community as well that is about 2 hours from Disney. From Fort Myers it takes us a little under 3 hours to get to WDW. A couple other communities are Venice and Bradenton. All of these are on the Florida west coast.

 

[Alektronic]

DF and I are seriously thinking about moving to Florida after our last trip to WDW. We passed by a really nice residential neighborhood on our way back to MCO and it said the houses were in the low $100s?? We're from Baltimore and the cost of living here is very high. We are thinking we would like to move within 1 - 2 hours of WDW, we do not want to live in Orlando because it is too congested. Luckily I work from home so I can live anywhere I want. DF is a meat cutter so we would need to find an area that would have jobs available for him. We want something quiet in the suburbs. From reading these forums, I know that we should rent before we buy but I'd like to get some opinions on what areas we should look into?

If you want a really nice area that is not too crowded right now which still has a lot open space is the Lake Nona area. It is southeast of MCO and business will be booming there in the next 5-10 years with the new medical city there, new hospitals, medical research companies, and new UCF medical university.

 

[Fashionista007]

Thanks to everyone for your replies! I will be looking into all of these areas. Hopefully we will be moving in May 2012! I always knew one day I would go to WDW and just not come back

What are the sales and income taxes like in FL? We're currently in MD and the income tax is killing me!

 

[mkt]

In Orlando it's considerably cheaper to buy than it is to rent. Furthermore, you need to factor in the lower wages and high unemployment in Florida as to how they'll affect your fiance's chances of earning. The lower wages can be (somewhat) offset by the fact that Florida has no state income tax, lower property taxes, and much cheaper vehicle registration than other states ($35/yr as opposed to the $200 I pay now).

 

[Fashionista007]

In Orlando it's considerably cheaper to buy than it is to rent. Furthermore, you need to factor in the lower wages and high unemployment in Florida as to how they'll affect your fiance's chances of earning. The lower wages can be (somewhat) offset by the fact that Florida has no state income tax, lower property taxes, and much cheaper vehicle registration than other states ($35/yr as opposed to the $200 I pay now).

Thanks for all the good info The cost of living in FL is WAY cheaper than in MD - $35/yr for vehicle registration? It's about $65 in MD but you pay every 2 years.

High unemployment rate huh? We'll have to do some research on that before we move down I guess. Luckily my salary can sustain us for awhile but not forever. He said he might want to become a CM but I'm willing to bet those jobs are hard to get. My sister tried once and she never heard back.

 

[kangaand2roos]

We almost moved to the Orlando area due to my husband's job a year and a half ago. We loved the prospect of a lower cost of living than VA but were not happy with the crime rate in and around Orlando. Schools were also important to us and they also weren't that great in general. I too wanted to live in a suburban area. We worked with an agent and he showed us two great family friendly areas around Orlando, Oviedo and Winter Springs. Low crime rates, great schools and family oriented. If we had moved to FL, I think we would have gone with Oviedo. However, as life goes FL wasn't meant to be, so instead if buying extra swimsuits for the kids, we ended up having to buy extra snowsuits instead.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

My sister and I live waaaaay up in Maine and we're strongly looking into moving to Florida as well. We have nothing tying us here and figure "why not?" Neither of us like snow and we love warm weather! More specifically, we love Florida! We rent a house from our father right now so our cost of living isn't THAT bad but it's EXPENSIVE up here. A 2 bedroom apartment in the city is around $1000-1200 not including any heat or hot water and heat up here in the winter months is a killer!! At least a couple hundred more a month from November to April! Plus car registration here depends what kind of car you have... I have a '00 Toyota and it costs me about $70 every year.
We visited Tampa last fall and saw some of the surrounding communities and they looked very nice. We will rent first and then hopefully buy. The Tampa area is a little over an hour from Orlando and WDW. There's so much more to do there than up here in Maine. I think anyplace in Florida would be great!! :sohappy:

 

[DocMcHulk]

I'm doing my research, too.. Will be moving to the Orlando area in early 2013.

Mid 2013, maybe a little earlier for me

 

[siberian57]

I loved Tampa when I lived there and really wanted to stay, but it was very tough finding a decent job so that was a big reason I moved back up north.

 

[golden redhead]

i live in Oviedo and like it. It's close to my F/T job and I feel safe there (even before living in the gated community I bought into in March. I am 30 miles to my p/t job at Downtown Disney.

I have to disagree with the DVM fees previously quoted. We don't have state inspections here (which can be a positive, can be a negative), but the regestration fees aren't as cheap as quoted. They are based on your car:
http://www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/faqmotor.html#5
I have a G6 and it was in the 2nd or 3rd class listed here. I really feel Ipaid $70 last year, and my car is just a mid-size. It's going to cost me $5 when I get around to changing the address. I need to change my DL first which leads me to this rant:
http://www.dmvflorida.org/drivers-license-fees.shtml
yes, as I just mentioned, I bought a house an moved from Winter Springs to the next town over, oviedo. It's costing me $25 to get them to change my address. last time (2008) it was $10.

unemployment is at least 9% if not higher here.

 

[OurDailyGruel]

I can't take the bugs, the gators and the unavoidable sun damage. Why are there so many Japanese businesses in Tampa?

 

[mkt]

i live in Oviedo and like it. It's close to my F/T job and I feel safe there (even before living in the gated community I bought into in March. I am 30 miles to my p/t job at Downtown Disney.

I have to disagree with the DVM fees previously quoted. We don't have state inspections here (which can be a positive, can be a negative), but the regestration fees aren't as cheap as quoted. They are based on your car:
http://www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/faqmotor.html#5
I have a G6 and it was in the 2nd or 3rd class listed here. I really feel Ipaid $70 last year, and my car is just a mid-size. It's going to cost me $5 when I get around to changing the address. I need to change my DL first which leads me to this rant:
http://www.dmvflorida.org/drivers-license-fees.shtml
yes, as I just mentioned, I bought a house an moved from Winter Springs to the next town over, oviedo. It's costing me $25 to get them to change my address. last time (2008) it was $10.

unemployment is at least 9% if not higher here.

If I remember correctly, it's based on the weight of the car. I paid $35/yr for my Nissan 240, and about $50 for my Montero. Granted this was several years ago, when Florida wasn't in financial dire straits like it is now, where they might have raised the tax rate there.

It's still cheaper than most other states. I'm paying a hair over $200/yr now on a Jetta.

 

[awalkinthepark]

We moved here from MA and those first few cheaper grocery trips were great! Then you acclimate to the lower prices. Car insurance was double what we paid in MA, but we don't get excise taxes on the vehicles year after year. We rented in MA so I have no idea what taxes or insurance added to the mortgage every year up north...but property insurance is very expensive and hard to find in FL....ours is cheap at $2400 per year...but our area has been plagued with sinkholes over the last few years and the insurance companies are throwing hissy fits about needing to raise rates..so we'll see if State Farm keeps us on another year.

We haven't had an electric bill fall below $250 in 2 years and we don't run heat in the winter....when we run A/C in the summer $650 a month is standard...but I live in Lakeland which has notoriously high electric rates through the city owned utility...my mother in Lake Wales(45 minutes away) complains about her super high $160 electric bill in the summer. My inlaws used to complain about $180 summer bills in Titusville.

Bugs! Budget about $200 a year for bug control...cockroaches, termites and fire ants.

Everything is far away here..lol. You will put more mileage on your vehicles to go anywhere...my MIL put 100k miles on her car in less than 3 years...it took me 5 years to hit 100k. Up north it took me 11 years to hit 85k miles.

Tolls? Lots more here than in RI/MA...you can usually get around them if you are willing to spend the time.

Definitely rent before you buy....things are different here....run down/crime ridden areas are not isolated to certain towns and cities like up north...neighborhoods can change within a few blocks(sometimes a few houses)...my neighborhood is considered 'urban fringe' ...and the local elementary school is within walking distance of multi-million dollar homes and run down 2 room shacks and everything in between.

 

[BelleofDE]

I've been tossing around the idea of moving to FL too. My DH is on board with the idea. The thing that concerns me is the schools. We have a 2 y/o and I want the best education for her, so it is important to learn about the school districts. But, I find it hard to research that stuff online so if anyone has any suggestions I'd appreciate it!

 

[Fashionista007]

I've been tossing around the idea of moving to FL too. My DH is on board with the idea. The thing that concerns me is the schools. We have a 2 y/o and I want the best education for her, so it is important to learn about the school districts. But, I find it hard to research that stuff online so if anyone has any suggestions I'd appreciate it!

Check out ConnectionsAcademy.com. It's a virtual school for kids K-12. I used to work for them and although my job did not work out, I am planning to send my children there (when I have them)! It's very popular in FL and I saw a bunch of backpacks with the logo the last time I was in WDW. They have won many awards and have a high satisfaction rating. I do understand if you want to send your kids to a regular brick and mortar school. Connections Academy is only for families where 1 parent is home all day with the child, they call you the "Learning Coach". It is not home schooling though, they have teachers and online classes where they interact with other students. There are also field trips so that the children do not become desocialized. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions! While you're looking at the website, think of me! I was a web developer there

 

[MnDisneyFan]

We "send" our youngest daughter there. We pulled her from an Osceola County school due to overcrowding. Her school was 2 yrs old and already short of class room space. They had to bring in portable class rooms.
We are so please with Conx that our youngest son who is going to be a Junior at Celebration High School, is transferring to Conx. Our youngest daughter loves the school. She gets her work done sooner, as she does not have to wait for a teacher to answer her questions. You can call any teacher anytime.When they are not doing a "live" lesson. We hear back in under an hr. Mostly the teacher answers the phone. Online learning is the best way to go.

 

[Fashionista007]

We "send" our youngest daughter there. We pulled her from an Osceola County school due to overcrowding. Her school was 2 yrs old and already short of class room space. They had to bring in portable class rooms.
We are so please with Conx that our youngest son who is going to be a Junior at Celebration High School, is transferring to Conx. Our youngest daughter loves the school. She gets her work done sooner, as she does not have to wait for a teacher to answer her questions. You can call any teacher anytime.When they are not doing a "live" lesson. We hear back in under an hr. Mostly the teacher answers the phone. Online learning is the best way to go.

I'm really glad to hear you have been pleased with Connections Academy. I really wish I could have stayed there, they have such a good program. But they didn't really have a job that fit my needs right now. I'll pass along the good review though! :wave:

 

[Fashionista007]

DF and I have talked about this at length and our tentative plan is to move next September or October 2012. We're booked for a Disney cruise in Nov 2012 and we want to move before then. We're getting married on 9/27/2011 so we'll need a year to recoup the funds we spent on the Disney Fairytale Wedding

I've been following the blog of a family that recently moved to Kissimmee: http://www.therelocatedtourist.com. The articles from when they moved are very helpful and have given us some good ideas such as selling all our furniture and starting fresh when we get to Orlando. Our plan is to rent the largest UHaul trailer that will fit our little Chevy Cobalt and pack it with just the necessities. We'll have a few ads on Craigslist for our furniture and some yard sales to sell our miscellaneous junk.

Thank you all for your input, we are definitely looking at Oviedo and Winter Springs. It seems there are more houses for rent in Winter Springs but we'll see what it looks like next year. We're planning to make a trip down next summer and rent a car to look at the different neighborhoods and possibly sign a lease! I would seriously move tomorrow if I could I'm sad that we have to wait a whole year!

Question

We recently acquired 2 kittens so they'll be about a year and a half when we move. How do you move pets over such a long distance? It's about an 18hr drive from Baltimore to Orlando and we don't want to traumatize them!