A Few More Questions... (Miami, Orlando: relocate, apartments, jobs)

[gypsystar]

My husband and I have been wanting to relocate from LA for a while, but I was just offered a writing position at a magazine here so we decided to stay until the end of the summer. We will be moving to Mt. Dora around Sept. 1 (yay, right during hurricane season ) and I wanted to see if there were any other young couples living in that area. I am 31 and keep reading about how that area is for retirees, but we are seeking a slower pace of life after living in Miami and LA for years, and are hoping that we won't be too bored! Does everything close by 5 pm? If we want coffee at say, 8 pm, will we have to trek into Orlando? We are looking at renting at Bristol Lakes Apartments or a small house.

Also, my husband is a union carpenter and we are hoping there is some work for him. The Orlando union is currently working on roads and at Disney, thankfully they don't build houses! Do you guys see a lot of road and commercial construction going on still?

Thanks for any insight - this may be somewhat of a repeat of my previous posts, but I am just so excited to move!! I would move this weekend but we want to save a decent amount of money before taking the plunge.

[Wilshire81182]

Mt Dora is very nice, but quaint. There is not a lot of coffee places in town other than Starbucks, and the closest ones will be in Lake Mary or Apopka. Mt Dora has some great little restaurants and mom and pop shops. I am assuming, but have visited a variety of times to base my assumption, that the demographic of Mt Dora is older than younger. You will find younger people in the Altamonte area and in neighborhoods close to downtown, Metrowest, and UCF. I have noticed that there is still a lot of commercial planning going on and new development. I do not know if it is because it was in the works and just now coming to fruition but there are new SuperTargets coming in 2 locations, development behind and around the Mall at Millenia, and Lake Nona, etc. I think roads will always be developing over town because of traffic. Congratulations on your move, it is definitely a slower pace in Mt Dora than Orlando, which is slower than Miami.

[cfIfan]

I live in Winter Garden and as a realtor i will tell you Mt Dora is gorgeous, very pretty, quaint shops and just a fantastic place to visit. we love to take a drive up there on a Saturday or Sunday to visit for the afternoon, have some lunch etc. On the other side though, the average is higher. I cant tell you what it is of hand, but it i believe it is quite a bit higher that your age. There are some other very nice places around the area, but there is no escaping how nice Mt Dora is. If you can deal with it being an older sort of area in terms of age of inhabitants, then i would recommend it.

[Alphaman]

Tons of road construction! thats all you see is construction! your husband should not have much of a problem finding work.

[gypsystar]

Thanks, guys! I think I would rather live with an older population than some of the young "plastics" here in Los Angeles!

I really can't wait to move - this is going to be the longest summer! I would move now but my husband wants to wait to save up some money since we both have good jobs at the moment. I have lived in several places but have realized that I will always be a Florida girl!

[Magnulus]

The town is full of old farts, retirees. It is going to be really slow compared to LA. Also, it's about 27 miles from Orlando. If you or your husband plan on commuting, I hope you like paying alot for gas because there are very few real jobs in Mt. Dora.

[gypsystar]

Originally Posted by Magnulus

The town is full of old farts, retirees. It is going to be really slow compared to LA. Also, it's about 27 miles from Orlando. If you or your husband plan on commuting, I hope you like paying alot for gas because there are very few real jobs in Mt. Dora.

Oh, I'm not worried about the mileage and the gas prices. I live in the San Fernando Valley and work in Pacific Palisades right now, which is about a 22 mile commute everyday - and it can take up to 1.5 hours to get to work in the morning! Everything is extremely spread out here in L.A. and 20 miles can easily take 2 hours to get through. And gas costs over $4 a gallon near where I work, too.

[gypsystar]

I have question regarding food and produce prices in FL. I moved to L.A. from Miami and was absolutely shocked at how much more food costs here. Do you think prices are still lower in FL, or have they gone way up with everything else?

For example, the price of ONE lemon here is $1, which I can't believe because the darn things grow on trees everywhere in this area. Tomatoes are usually about $3.99/pound and bananas are about $.70/pound - does that sound comparable? Also, a gallon of organic milk is $6.99 and a loaf of decent wheat bread is about $3.50. I get a lot of our food at Target because the prices in regular grocery stores (like Publix) are astronomical.

I miss all of the fruit stands and u-picks in FL - we used to get tomatoes and strawberries for about $1 a pound at them. Will I still be able to get a good deal? I know things have changed a lot in the past 4 years, but these CA prices are killing us.

[Magnulus]

Originally Posted by gypsystar

I
For example, the price of ONE lemon here is $1, which I can't believe because the darn things grow on trees everywhere in this area. Tomatoes are usually about $3.99/pound and bananas are about $.70/pound - does that sound comparable? Also, a gallon of organic milk is $6.99 and a loaf of decent wheat bread is about $3.50. I get a lot of our food at Target because the prices in regular grocery stores (like Publix) are astronomical.

Organic milk? Well, of course it costs more. Those prices aren't too far off from what a person would pay in Orlando. Food is expensive anywhere now days. I don't buy alot of bread or fresh food, but the last time I bought milk it was about $3 a quart.

[bdpop]

I went to Publix the other day. I almost went into sticker shock at the way the prices have gone up in just the past couple of weeks.