Moving from UK to Davenport, Florida (attorney, real estate, zoned)

[Karengroup]

Hello, we are looking at moving from Scotland to Davenport. We have a villa under construction, which we originally bought as an investment to rent out, however we are now seriously looking at moving over permanently.

Our plan is to keep our business and house in the UK, rent out our house (that is what we do). So, if it does not work out we still have our home to come back to.

My main concern is the schooling? I do not have a clue where to start....I read another thread and seen that the schooling in Davenport is bad???

I have 4 children, aged 11, 9, 7, and 6.

Can anyone give me advice on this? Or any other advice on moving, perhaps from other UK families that have done this already?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Karen

[cfIfan]

Well i always like to hear of people taking the plunge. I do have to ask, and i hope you wont take offence to this as i am a brit living here also, but have you checked out the Visa situation and do you have all of that in place first. If you havent then i would suggest speaking with an immigration attorney first simply because its not like going to Europe, getting on a plane with the family and staying here. There are all manner of hurdles to clear.

If you have gone through that, then i would suggest that Davenport is a great area to buy property to rent out (for investment purposes), but it isnt the sort of area i wouls want to raise my family, simply because as you know it is mostly zoned short term rental and the majority of the area is owned by investors renting out their properties so yoru neighbours would never stay the same.

If you have any specific questions i would be more than happy to offer specific advice.

Best of luck

[Karengroup]

Thank you for your response.

We are looking into EVERYTHING, including the obvious - Visa's. I am very keen, however my most important concern is the kid's schooling.

Is there an area in Florida you would recommend, that is friendly and has the best schooling? I see you are in real estate........

Thank you

[HauntedHouse]

I'm not sure what the policy is here on this board for recommending other sites, so I hope it's ok. I highly recommend you go to GreatSchools.net and look for schools in Davenport, FL. They will give you the information you're looking for regarding the schools' grades on the "FCAT" which is our state's standardized testing for public schools. All schools are graded on an A-F basis. It will also give you info on the qualifications of the teachers, racial diversity of the student body, etc.

If the villa you're building has already been assigned a street address, you can plug it into the Polk County website and find out exactly which schools your children will be going to. Most counties have a "school choice" program, so, if you don't like the region you live in, you can apply to have your child go to one of the other schools in the county.

Unfortunately, our state residents do not value public education as much as our northern counterparts do. Public education as whole is underfunded, and parents, especially in poorer districts, are not as involved as they should be. But you can find some good schools if you do your homework so to speak. And your concern and involvement in your child's school life is going to be the biggest factor in his or her quality of education.

If you can afford it, I would also check to see if there are any private schools in the area. They can vary in quality, but one of the main advantages is you don't have near the discipline problem you encounter in public schools. I went to private school through 8th grade and public 9th-12th. The major difference was not so much in the academics, because the honors curriculum in public school was about on par with the private school curriculum. It was the amount of time teachers and administrators have to spend disciplining kids who don't want to be there. In private schools, for the most part, your parents are paying for the privilege of sending you there. If you become disruptive and disrespectful, you get kicked out. So you don't get the kids who don't want to be in school and whose parents don't care either.

Ok, I could go on-and-on about education in our state. But I'll step off my soap box now. I'm a Florida native who's gone to several private and public schools, and have strong opinions accordingly. If you need any more info, DM me. Good luck, and welcome to Florida!

Kimberly