newbie (Orlando, Altamonte Springs, Sanford: crime, attorney, house)

[hayleystew]

Hi there my name is Hayley and my family and i have applied to live in the usa(florida) via my father who is an american citizen.
This process is taking a very long time we applied in 2003 and our current status shows that it will be up to another three years until we can take the plunge.
We have twin daugters who are 7 at the moment and by the time we get to go they will be 10.
My question is, have any of you been through this process and is it the norm to wait 6 years to able to come to america?
We have been to florida to visit my father , he lives in mount Dora which is a lovely area . pls can anyone offer any advie as to best place to settle for a family with young kids that has good schools .
This is a big step for us and i need to hear that it would be a good move to make as its not just my life to consider.
Sorry to go on but im sure you get the gist. oh yeah i would like to be max 45 mins away from disney world as im sure we will get plenty of vistors.
thanks hayley

[OC2OC]

Immigrating to the US is a fairly complex process but it's still possible given the sensitivity to the current era we live in. It also depends on where you are from, if your relative is a citizen and what the purpose of your emigration is (reuniting with family, job, etc). There are people who wait a lot longer than 6 years and there are some who get it much quicker. Consult an attorney about this. Before you get to specific areas, I think it's important to know the legal implications first.

[kas1675]

I personally think if your going to move to Florida stay in Mt. Dora. Orlando is awful for kids and the crime is so bad. I am being honest. I have lived here all my life and it wasn't so bad but it is getting worse.

[deckardc]

You probably don't want to live in the city of Orlando. It's not terribly family friendly, the schools aren't great, there's a lot of congestion, and it's really geared more for tourists than anyone else.

I would suggest Seminole County which is just north of Orlando. The suburbs there are nicer, more family friendly, and they have good schools. There are 67 school districts in Florida and Seminole is ranked #7 of 67. Consider towns like Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Geneva, Lake Mary, Longwood, Oviedo, Sanford, or Winter Springs.

Disney World is in Lake Buena Vista which is about 40 miles from Sanford, Mt. Dora is about 25 miles, New Smyrna Beach is about 30 miles. Sanford is about as far north in the county as you can get.

[hayleystew]

thanks for the info, but i must admit after reading the posts on the forum i am having second thoughts about the move to Florida.
I feel as if I will moving to somewhere with the same problems as i have here. (1hr from London). Our gun crime is definatley on the increase especially young kids.

[Floridabrit]

Depending on where you are in Central Florida it can be bad or quite good. We live in Winter Springs which is northeast of Orlando and about 45-50 minutes from Disney. We live in a quiet neighbourhood, my children bike (7 and 9) to their elementary school (less than a mile) and the middle school they would go to is next door to the elementary school. There are plenty of restaurants, shops, amenities 5-10 minutes drive away and you can find British items in the "ethnic" aisle of most of the supermarkets here (PG Tips, Branston Pickle, Maltesers, Ribena etc.). We have a pool which makes the horrendously hot days a lot easier to deal with. In fact if you do decide to move here, see if you can buy a house with a pool! Hope this helps. Also, we have lived a relatively crime free existence in this neighbourhood for eight years.

[hayleystew]

Thanks FloridaBrit,
does anyone have any information on Leesburg ie schools work and crime.
thanks in advance