Anyone move to FL because of WDW?

[CosmicRay]

I know DH and I are not the only ones that have had that thought. But I know there's a smaller number of people that have actually packed up and moved to Florida.

DH and I have had enough around here. Enough of the church job, enough of work, enough of the area that we've lived in for 8 years. DH said today that he's seriously wanting a change and he's thinking of looking for a computer job in the Orlando area.

Something that should be known, I am the one that comes up with the crazy ideas ( I sawed off the arm of our love seat to make it a sectional with our couch!) And also, DH has never wanted to move to FL in the past, He's always wanted to move to Colorado and be in the cold and snow. But now he is seriously considering FL and is going to start looking for jobs and we are looking into rental houses and laws on homeschooling in Florida.

For those that HAVE moved out to Florida or are native Floridians, what are some of the pros and cons to living out there?

BTW, WDW is not our biggest reason for moving. I think it's just a perk to be out there :) We would be moving to try something new and be closer to good beaches and just be adventurous.

[Daisy'sMom]

Just go for it. You don't want to look back and say '"should have". There is nothing like going over to Epcot for dinner, or spending the afternoon at the marketplace for fun. Good Luck!:mickey:

[CosmicRay]

Thank you! We have talked about this for 15 years, I think sooner or later we should just take the plunge and see what happens.

[Christine]

It took us five years but we did it in '09. Picked uo and left from a town in east Texas to Celebration, Florida -"the town that Disney built". We have been here over 3 years now and LOVE it! It is.

It may not be for everyone, but it has worked for us! :thumbsup:

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

[Lindsey310]

It took us five years but we did it in '09. Picked uo and left from a town in east Texas to Celebration, Florida -"the town that Disney built". We have been here over 3 years now and LOVE it! It is.

It may not be for everyone, but it has worked for us! :thumbsup:

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
Was it hard to find jobs? What do you and your husband do? I love to read your posts because you are always doing something Disney related! Right up my ally!!!
My husband and I have talked about it a lot but he has a landscaping business here in RI (which is seasonal) and I am a xray and MRI technologist, I know I could probably find a job quick but Im not sure about him. He has so much stress from his business maybe it would be good for him. Just not sure he would take the leap. A girl can keep dreaming!!! :mickey:

Only 11 days to go!!!!! :joy:

[kakn7294]

It's something that's a strong possiblity for the future. We've also talked about it for years but we just can't go now for a number of reasons. I have a friend who did just that 12 or 13 years ago. She has worked for Disney ever since.

[Christine]

My husband had just shot résumés out online for a while. One bit and he got the job ! He's a HESRQ district manager for a chemical company. But he started from the ground up. That's why we made sure we were completely debt free before we moved - you rarely start all over at the rate of pay you left your job of 20± years :)
So then I started job searching and found a job with a physician office a block from my house in downtown celebration. LUCKY!!!

The important thing IMHO is to come down ready for the cut -then it can only be better from there!!

[Melanie]

My husband and I have talked about it a lot but he has a landscaping business here in RI (which is seasonal) and I am a xray and MRI technologist, I know I could probably find a job quick but Im not sure about him. He has so much stress from his business maybe it would be good for him. Just not sure he would take the leap.

IMO, after living in central FL, I would think landscaping would be a great area to be in living in Florida. And it would be year-round.

You talk about your hubby wanting to move west for mountain living, so I just wanted to relay to you the worst part of living in Florida to me - the heat! I grew up with heat and humidity during summer months in NC, but it's brutal in Florida. Yes, it can get cold, but not often and in fact, this past "winter" was extremely mild.

So yes, we loved our time in Florida, and hey, in the long run when we retire we might just find ourselves back down there. But ideally, we'd be snowbirds. ;)

ETA: OOPS!!! Just realized I addressed my post to questions from 2 different members. My apologies. :)

[AgentC]

My husband and I have talked about it a lot but he has a landscaping business here in RI (which is seasonal) and I am a xray and MRI technologist, I know I could probably find a job quick but Im not sure about him. He has so much stress from his business maybe it would be good for him. Just not sure he would take the leap. A girl can keep dreaming!!! :mickey:

Only 11 days to go!!!!! :joy:

We hit 10 years in FL this July. Boy does time go fast! We did not move specifically because of WDW. I have family who had moved here. After a couple of years of visiting, my husband really liked the FL weather (and fishing) so we decided to move. WDW is just a bonus.I don't live as close as Christine but close enough that we can go over for an easy day trip.

Job wise it just depends. I was lucky because my company had an office in Tampa and I was able to transfer. My husband had a tougher time finding something. Over the years, he has done carpet sales and landscaping before settling down to do pest control sales and service. Medical fields always tend to need help. Pay scale is pretty low here compared to a lot of other areas (particularly the northeast) so you do need to plan for it.

CosmicRay-was there anything particular you needed to know about homeschooling in FL? I do not do it myself but have friends who homeschool their elementary age children and another who homeschooled her daughter through middle school.

I'll have to think on pros and cons. Sitting here in August I can say I am ready for some cooler weather. Summer lasts a looong time! :D

FL isn't for everyone, but we have been very happy here.

[Lindsey310]

My husband had just shot résumés out online for a while. One bit and he got the job ! He's a HESRQ district manager for a chemical company. But he started from the ground up. That's why we made sure we were completely debt free before we moved - you rarely start all over at the rate of pay you left your job of 20± years :)
So then I started job searching and found a job with a physician office a block from my house in downtown celebration. LUCKY!!!

The important thing IMHO is to come down ready for the cut -then it can only be better from there!!

Excellent advice!!:thumbsup: we are working as we speak to be completely debt free!

Only 10 days left! Whoo hoo!!!!!!!!!!! :mickey:

[Lindsey310]

Thanks CIndy!!! I appreciate it:thumbsup:

[CosmicRay]

You talk about your hubby wanting to move west for mountain living, so I just wanted to relay to you the worst part of living in Florida to me - the heat! I grew up with heat and humidity during summer months in NC, but it's brutal in Florida. Yes, it can get cold, but not often and in fact, this past "winter" was extremely mild.

Melanie, we haven't lived any place really cold. I grew up in Texas and DH grew up in Kansas, but then moved to Texas when we got married. For the last 16 years he's been used to the warmer climate. I am getting tired of the cooler weather we have here and that's not really all that bad compared to the N/E states.

[CosmicRay]

CosmicRay-was there anything particular you needed to know about homeschooling in FL? I do not do it myself but have friends who homeschool their elementary age children and another who home schooled her daughter through middle school.

Texas is considered one of the best states to home school in. They don't have any required curriculum, no requirements on the parents (they have to have an education degree to teach their child) or make you jump through hoops to homeschool.

I have looked into the Florida laws and they have three different options. But one option is to contact your city's superintendent and notify them that you are home schooling and show proof of paper work, records, and a list of curriculum you are using. I would assume this would be the route we would choose.

But I appreciate your help to ask your friend. I could always use some extra advice :)

[CosmicRay]

We discussed this idea of moving with our two older kids (ages 10 and 11). DD was all for it, DS is our worrier and looked concerned. He told us he's worried about hurricanes. DH was going to Oklahoma University to get his meteorology degree before we got pregnant with our first child, where he didn't want to be busy putting in lab hours when we have a baby at home he wanted to be there for. So, he then switched to computers and it has served him well. But anyway, he is our weather man and he is fascinated by storms and all that. But we reassured DS if we (we meaning me and the kids while DH stays at home) needed to head out of town, we would do so if a hurricane was coming.

[AgentC]

But I appreciate your help to ask your friend. I could always use some extra advice :)

I sent her a note. I will let you know what she says.

[BrerGnat]

We just got back from a trip to Florida. We drove for the first time, and having our own car and exploring the Orlando area really made me like it a lot more. It felt very similar to our old home in Southern CA. While we would, ideally, like to live in So. Cal again, I'd take Central Florida as a close second any day.

The only thing that would give me pause would be the heat, humidity, and the BUGS. I H-A-T-E bugs. :blush:

[AgentC]

The only thing that would give me pause would be the heat, humidity, and the BUGS. I H-A-T-E bugs. :blush:

I SO understand the bug thing. I hate them too. Luckily for me, my husband is in pest control so I almost never seen them around my house. Now if he could only keep the Love Bugs away . . . :D

[DizHawk]

But we reassured DS if we (we meaning me and the kids while DH stays at home) needed to head out of town, we would do so if a hurricane was coming.

Dadgum right I'm staying there. I'm anxious to experience a hurricane.

As to the heat, I grew up on a farm in southern Kansas, so I'm no stranger to warm weather. It's not my favorite thing in the world, but Texas isn't exactly anyone's winter playground.

[Melanie]

Oh, but it does snow in Dallas. ;) It's a rare, rare day in Florida when it snows. Again, my opinion is coming off of a very mild winter in Florida when we got almost zero break from the heat. I'm now going on over 500 or so days straight in some type of sandal or flip flop. I'm kinda over it. ;) I've discovered that swimming in our pool on Christmas day just isn't my thing,

[joanna71985]

I did! After getting hooked on WDW thanks to my parents, and multiple College Programs, I moved to Orlando in Aug 2009. I do not regret the decision at all. I love living in Orlando, and being able to go to WDW (as well as Universal) whenever I want

[DizHawk]

Oh, but it does snow in Dallas. ;) It's a rare, rare day in Florida when it snows.
In the 10 years we've lived here, it's snowed four or five times. Granted, we had a deep freeze the week before the Super Bowl a couple years ago, where it dropped below 32F on Monday, snowed 7-8 inches, then didn't rise above 32F until Friday, thus throwing all the Super Bowl preparations into disarray. It was great to watch.

We've been in FL before when it has been chilly, and I know it doesn't happen often.

[Gator]

I've got some pretty deep roots here in CA. That said, I've thought and even looked into real estate in FL. And there is no other reason than WDW being right in the middle of it. Sad, huh?

[Dsnygirl]

My husband and I are SERIOUSLY considering it, after our girls graduate from HS (6 1/2 yrs 'til our youngest is done).... a lot depends on where they decide to go to college, as I don't want to jet off to FL and have them decide to go to school right here... ;) ... but we are at least looking into it. I will have 18 yrs in at my current hospital, so could "retire" and work in Florida for another 10-15 years... easy for me, but it also depends on my DH's job. He enjoys what he does up here, but thinks he will be ready for a change, and is finally in a position up here that would be something he could look for down there.

So, a lot is up in the air, but it's fun to think about, and gives us something to work towards!! :thumbsup:

[Tekneek]

We have thought about it. Not just because of WDW, but it is definitely one of the considerations.

[Donald A]

I moved my family to Winter Haven from Pittsburgh for my job. WDW is certainly a nice perk. I love it here. We survived our first summer but it does get very hot. My wife does miss our family up North. Other than the very warm temps, it is still just another place to live and work with the exception of a lot to do on the weekends.