Updates from people that Moved (Miami, Orlando: real estate, 2013, to rent)

[FRANKTHETANK315]

i would like to know who just got up and left from else where , maybe north and said im moving to Florida, in last year or 2. How fast did you find a job, house, friends ,and are you happy? Any down falls with your life now?

We plan on moving in July and im leaving my own Auto body Shop that i make decent money and we are just not happy here anymore in Syracuse.NY. we have no family really so just want input from others that have done it.

[Lamigra1200]

Merry Christmas,
just turned over 16 months O'Town. This city and State does have its pros and cons but unfortunately too many cons. Especially the extreme year round hot weather . The list goes on. Cost of living is much less compared with south florida and you cant beat No State income tax. However you get exactly what you pay here in Florida. Such as poor schools and a cadre of mediocre trained and educated customer service merchants in all major realms of society. IMO what can any one expect living near Mickey Mouse!

[FRANKTHETANK315]

Originally Posted by Lamigra1200

Merry Christmas,
just turned over 16 months O'Town. This city and State does have its pros and cons but unfortunately too many cons. Especially the extreme year round hot weather . The list goes on. Cost of living is much less compared with south florida and you cant beat No State income tax. However you get exactly what you pay here in Florida. Such as poor schools and a cadre of mediocre trained and educated customer service merchants in all major realms of society. IMO what can any one expect living near Mickey Mouse!

thanks for response and merry xmas, what area are you in that you think schools arent great, im planning on few areas to move to, avalon park. lake mary, lake nona, because i heard schools where good there.

[EditorJul]

Moved in April from the Maryland side of metro DC to Windermere. My husband was able to find a job in IT paying comparable to DC-area-rates within 6 weeks of arriving. We decided to rent for a while to get our feet under us, and have opted to build. We signed a contract on the house in October, and it will be done this spring. We had a few friends when we moved down and have made some more since we got here. Neither my husband nor I are incredibly social butterflies, but there's enough meet ups in the area that we could fill almost every day with socialization if we wanted to with people of like minds.

Moving has been incredibly beneficial for us. Because I own my own freelance editing business, I was getting eaten alive by Maryland's state income tax, and my husband's salary meant that he was also paying out the nose to the state. Coming down here was like getting an instant raise for both of us. Add to that, the cost of living is a lot less. Gas is about 20-30 cents per gallon cheaper compared with where we used to live. Our power bill dropped from an average of $500/month to $100/month. Food is cheaper, fresher, and higher quality, with the exception of meats (where we haven't yet found a good butcher). The weather is better, so we're able to focus more on our fitness goals, and the air quality is far better, meaning fewer days when we are not able to go outside because of pollution alerts. For most of the summer, it was the same or cooler down here than it was in Maryland, and of course we haven't seen any show down here.

One of the first things we noticed when we got down here was that they started repaving a road near our house that, we thought, was in good condition -- it seems that this area has much better public utilities, services, roads, police, and fire response than up north. On the other hand, we do miss our FiOS…Brighthouse internet/TV/phone is pretty mediocre at best.

Our daughter started Pre-K this fall, and we love the idea that the state pays for private Pre-K as the local public Pre-K was already filled. What we were paying $800/month for up north we get for free down here, and the school quality is at least as good as it was up north.

But the thing that shocked us over and over again was how friendly people are down here. People actually stop and say hi and have conversations with you. And for the huge amount of diversity in this area, people seem to get along with one another without stepping on metaphorical toes.

If we had this to do all over again, we certainly would. It has been a positive life-changing experience for our whole family.

[FRANKTHETANK315]

Originally Posted by EditorJul

Moved in April from the Maryland side of metro DC to Windermere. My husband was able to find a job in IT paying comparable to DC-area-rates within 6 weeks of arriving. We decided to rent for a while to get our feet under us, and have opted to build. We signed a contract on the house in October, and it will be done this spring. We had a few friends when we moved down and have made some more since we got here. Neither my husband nor I are incredibly social butterflies, but there's enough meet ups in the area that we could fill almost every day with socialization if we wanted to with people of like minds.

Moving has been incredibly beneficial for us. Because I own my own freelance editing business, I was getting eaten alive by Maryland's state income tax, and my husband's salary meant that he was also paying out the nose to the state. Coming down here was like getting an instant raise for both of us. Add to that, the cost of living is a lot less. Gas is about 20-30 cents per gallon cheaper compared with where we used to live. Our power bill dropped from an average of $500/month to $100/month. Food is cheaper, fresher, and higher quality, with the exception of meats (where we haven't yet found a good butcher). The weather is better, so we're able to focus more on our fitness goals, and the air quality is far better, meaning fewer days when we are not able to go outside because of pollution alerts. For most of the summer, it was the same or cooler down here than it was in Maryland, and of course we haven't seen any show down here.

One of the first things we noticed when we got down here was that they started repaving a road near our house that, we thought, was in good condition -- it seems that this area has much better public utilities, services, roads, police, and fire response than up north. On the other hand, we do miss our FiOS…Brighthouse internet/TV/phone is pretty mediocre at best.

Our daughter started Pre-K this fall, and we love the idea that the state pays for private Pre-K as the local public Pre-K was already filled. What we were paying $800/month for up north we get for free down here, and the school quality is at least as good as it was up north.

But the thing that shocked us over and over again was how friendly people are down here. People actually stop and say hi and have conversations with you. And for the huge amount of diversity in this area, people seem to get along with one another without stepping on metaphorical toes.

If we had this to do all over again, we certainly would. It has been a positive life-changing experience for our whole family.

Your story is what im looking for as we are a couple with 2 girls 8 and 11 years old , so glad to hear it worked out for you guys , im pretty sure my wife will transfer her job and i can find one easy as a auto painter as i see many jobs posted daily on craigslist. we just want to make sure we get good area and schools for sure

[MovingtoFL2014]

Hi, we just got up and left from North Jersey and we couldn't be happier!

The weather, low taxes, newer beautiful homes, and the people are so nice!

The weather, the theme parks, the wildlife, the restaurants and things to do!

We have three boys and the schools so far have been great! Way better than up North and we were in one of those good school districts! We live in Heathrow and our kids go to Heathrow Elementary and Markham Woods Middle.

We absolutely love it here ... and oh the weather ... oh man the weather! 😃

Good luck!

[Lamigra1200]

Happy Holidays,
considering Orange county public schools rankings are over all dismal in comparison to Seminole county. Even the good zoned schools in orange are going down hill and ever a changing so plan accordingly unless you want to be another statistic the near future.

If you can afford private schools that would be an option but it still does'nt compensate for the increasing local tax rates and its incompetent city management.

[tzais01]

We up and left my hometown Orlando/Longwood/Lake Mary after 50 years and moved to Lakewood Ranch near Sarasota in Fall of 2013. We didn't know anyone there but knew there must be a reason so many people from all over flock there. We absolutely love it here!

Cost of living is comparable, but people are sooooooo much friendlier than in Central Florida. Neighbors actually become your friends instead of people who may or may not wave in the Orlando area. Traffic is a breeze and lifestyle is very laid back. We cringe when we do have to travel back to Orlando because of I-4 traffic which stops for no apparent reason.

Up and moving was the best thing we ever did!

[Lamigra1200]

Very happy for you. Couldn't agree with you more. Don't understand why so many neighborhoods have been going down hill so fast these past few years? Used to love near Lake Mary and South Florida. Its getting so bad that O'Town is now being turned in to Miami North without the better appraised schools, real estate and Architecture.

[FRANKTHETANK315]

Lake Mary isn't a great area anymore? i read on this forums that it was still a good area.