Plans for moving to FL

[Hammer]

We have hills. Just not in Tampa. Where I live starts the hilly area but the problem is we don't have the same access to major roads as the Tampa and Orlando areas which can add a good 1/2 to your drives when you are stuck on a 2 lane road behind a row of dump trucks. Hernando, Citrus, Sumter, Marion and Lake counties all get you some hills. Not mountains by any means but some nice rolling hills.

For ease if getting to Orlando, the area Melanie lived in was one of the best. Brandon, Town & Country, Carrollwood, New Tampa, Wesley Chapel are all very convenient. My friends in Brandon go to Disney most every weekend in an hour or so.

Traffic wise the Orlando area and Tampa areas are pretty similar except Tampa traffic is more sporadic and commute based. Clearwater traffic (actually a lot of Pinellas country also the Gulf) has ad traffic simply because there are so few access points.

The areas that Cindy listed are great areas. My Mom and the rest of my family live in South Tampa. It is older with beautiful homes, but it is expensive! My Mom lives in a condo on the Bayshore, but the rest of my family have single family homes. Their houses are lovely, but are on little plots of land. The pool area takes up most of the backyard. You can get more house and land for your money in the areas that Cindy mentioned.

Too true on the traffic... we don't have that kind of traffic here, so the idea of adding 30-45 to our commute just for traffic is a mind-bender. We didn't see anything crazy in central FL, just couldn't believe how long it took us to get around Tampa/Clearwater/St Pete. Holy smokes!!

Ditto on the pool/lanei... I figure if I'm going to make the big jump and go somewhere completely new, I want a bit of the fun that comes with it, too, and having a pool to relax in outside my living room is just one thing I so totally look forward to. So we're looking west/northwest of Celebration, too.

And the Spanish moss?? It's my absolute favorite... even more than palm trees. It's what made the SFRTH in MK my favorite "ride" for years... and when we discovered it our last two trips through Georgia, I just fell more in love. Had no idea it was in Florida, too... when we saw it everywhere in Feb that was such a clincher for me!! I'm a total ocean girl, so would LOVE to be closer, but not with the tourist craziness that comes with it.... so, as long as I can get there within an hour or so for the occasional sunset dinner, I'll be good!! Escaping to Disney in 30 min or less is much more necessary for my sanity, I think!!

As was said by others, traffic is relative. Tampa is nothing compared to what I have in the Philly area! If I remember correctly the type of work your husband does, there are many opportunities in the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater area as well. Also, for your work, All Children's Hospital is in downtown St. Petersburg, which is acclaimed for it's NICU as well as its labor and delivery facilities.

[DonLefNY]

T.................

Straight south of Disney is Poinciana - pretty nice place. Only problem is, it's one way in and out of the town, and the two-lane road can get crowded.

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True, but construction has just started on a second access road to the north and I-4. That'll help us a lot.

[Dsnygirl]

Thank you all so much for your replies! We haven't zeroed in on one particular spot right now, but a big focus of ours is the Clermont area. I am guessing that for my DH, the Orlando area is going to be the biggest job draw - he is an engineer by schooling and spent many years on the production side of engineering... now, he is more project controls and finance, so I'm thinking/hoping it will be a good (and large enough) area for him to be searching. Plus, he can look at Disney - they have quite a number of jobs that seem to fit his skill set, so HUGE fingers-crossed on that one!!

We like (no, LOVE) the idea of having lakes and hills... granted, they won't be the hills we are used to in Central NY, but for Florida, it'd be great... the schools seem to be well rated, although it's truly hard to tell, not fully understanding the measuring system Florida uses.

Our older daughter has become more interested in the opportunities an earlier move might offer her, so we're actually starting the job-hunt process for my DH now... and if he finds the right job, then we will consider a move within the next 6-8 mos... if not, if we hit Jan/Feb and there's not been much for him that works, then we'll wait another year, as I just don't think it'd be fair to pull our older daughter just as she finishes her Jr year.

So.... keep the information/advice coming... and if anyone knows of recruiters in the area, or has family who work in an engineering-type of corporation that is growing and looking for people... send the info my way!

[AgentC]

The Clermont area is very pretty. I drive through on almost every trip to WDW.

[RedSoxFan]

Blythe: Good luck with your move. We are moving in July to Johns Creek, GA (DH works out of Atlanta now and has been commuting since January). Kourtney will be a senior but is very excited about the move (she hates her current HS) and going to a much bigger school. She met the softball coach (fall sport there) who is very excited about having her on the team. We went to visit schools in April and she chose Johns Creek HS because of softball and the fact that everyone there went out of their way to make her feel welcomed. We found a rental house for a year in the school district. 6 weeks left!!

She is leaving her BFF, Kennedy, but we've already book Disney for November and flying Kennedy down for the trip. Something for the girls to look forward to.