Long Island to Mount Dora - an ex-commuters move journal (Apopka: environment, relocation)

[Nomoresubways]

Hey guys, so a few of you have kept up with my travels and know that I have now officially finished my move to Mount Dora. I figured it would be beneficial for those looking to do a similar move to jot down some of the key points of my entire move experience.

We used Graebel for our move because they had moved us several years ago in a company paid relocation and they had really impressed us. The did not disappoint again this time, as they were on time, courteous, hard working and earned a very nice tip. We had no issues whatsoever. A little tip for anyone moving to Florida from a long distance. MOVE BEFORE MAY 1. I ended up having them pack our stuff too because I work long hours in NYC and I couldn't help my wife pack and the entire move cost us around $8,000 for a 4 bedroom house (including the full pack option). If we had waited until May 2nd, it would have cost almost $20,000. And this was true of the other movers I quoted out, including Allied and United. So offseason is the best time to move.

We drove down and aside from a quick hour nap at a Georgia rest area, we made it down in about 19 hours, including the hour for the daylight savings change. Spent all of Sunday unpacking and getting the house ready for the moving truck on Monday. I had a couple of interviews tossed into the regimen of unpacking, but also found out a few key things for being a newbie in the area. First, you have to go to the Tax Collector for your license plates (or tags down here). It can get expensive, it cost me $450 to transfer reg for my 2 cars. Licenses can be swapped at the motor vehicle branches, but if you can, make an appointment online as we saved a lot of time just going in there and were out in 10 minutes or so. That was only about $20 each I think. Transferring children to school can be a big fiasco. We had to get a Declaration of Domicile form filled out, have her school records sent from her old school and in addition, not only do you need immunization records, they have to be on official Florida forms (which can only be done by a doctor)! That cost our daughter a full day of school. Oh, and good luck getting buses assigned. That took 3 full days before she could actually ride the bus. Now that might have just been her specific school, I don't know. Either way, she loves her teachers, the school is awesome and she has already met a few friends.

I've already rambled so much my fingers have fallen asleep. I'll leave it at that for now. Except to say that everything I heard about Publix is true and we are already loyalists of the store. I've been working in NYC for the week and fly down again tonight. Will keep y'all posted of our progress...

-KJ

[UncleRob]

Congratulations on your (mostly) successful move. I plan on following you to Mt. Dora or Apopka within several months and have encountered similar extreme variances in moving rates. In my case, I'm going to attempt moving myself and have been told that a one-way truck rental will rise from the current rate of about $1400 to around $4000 during the summer! Supply and demand, I suppose.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy your new home.

[Nomoresubways]

Figured I'd post another update since it's been a solid month now. Although I am unfortunately still flying up to NYC during the week for my "old" job, I have had plenty of time to settle in and get to know the area pretty well.

We love our house, it is everything we wanted. Lennar has been spectacular with taking care of any small issues we've had and the neighborhood (Stoneybrook Hills) is very quiet and nice. We've had time to really check out the town of Mount Dora and the downtown area is very nice with a lot of unique shops and restaurants. The rest of the town on the 441 side has anything you could possibly want.

My wife found a job almost immediately at a local pool place. Close to our house and a really good environment. I have had several interviews, but with going back and forth to NYC, haven't had the full effort I intended to put into the job hunt. With my job (finally) winding down this week, I will go full tilt next week. I did however have a 2nd interview with a company in Lake Mary this week and I have a pretty good feeling about it. Lake Mary would be a great commute for me, across route 46 because it will be only 30 or so minutes, which is phenomenal compared to my 2 hour + commute up in NY.

Our daughter really likes Wolf Lake Middle school, and she has met several friends already. She's heard negative things about Apopka High School so I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there. There was a bit of crime in Mount Dora recently with someone robbing the Circle K just down from Stoneybrook Hills. Evidently there were sirens everywhere and they didn't initially get one of the guys who ran away. Guess it pays to have a security system anywhere these days!

Once I am down for good myself, I plan on scoping out the local fishing and boating scene, so any advice on that front would be most appreciated! Also, I plan on scoping out both coasts for beaches, so again, if anyone has any thoughts, I am all ears!

[CindyArlene]

Well congrats, i'll be there may 16 from bronx, ny. thanks for the tips. i got some really high estimates so i will call graeber. i will be in apopka.

[12paws42]

What a great post! Keep the updates coming. We are waiting to hear about hubbys postal transfer to Tavares, so we hope to be down soon. The quotes I have gotten from moving companies get lower after July 14th, and with our house not moving on the market right now (Cleveland Ohio), it looks like we won't have to pay the premium price to move during peak season.

Didn't know it would be so much to transfer registration;good to know on that front for my "moving budget".

If you like flea markets, be sure to check out rennigers. We were down there in February for their antique extravaganza, and LOVED it!

Hope the job hunting goes well for you; keep the posts coming!! Those of us waiting can live vicariously through you and your family

[SouthernBelle3]

nomoresubways
IMO, the closest, nicest beach is New Smyrna Beach. You take HWY44 until it passes over the causeway where if you keep to the right, it merges into
A1A. The 27th St. Pier is my favorite. There is free parking on pavement and you walk to the beach. There is a public bathroom with showers. This stretch of beach has no vehicles except for patrol. Lots of locals go there. It doesn't have the crowds of Daytona.

[Nomoresubways]

Thanks for the beach tip Southernbelle! I really love the beach but hate those overcrowded, beefcake style beaches if you know what I mean!

So I got a job finally! I landed the job in Lake Mary I had interviewed for, so I am completely psyched. The company I worked for in NYC asked me to stick around consulting until the end of May so I am travelling back and forth each week to wrap that job up. At least it pays the bills for now! Now I will be making a considerable chunk less than I was making in NYC, there is no doubt about it. But, I look at it in two ways. First, the cost of living is less down here. Not as dramatic as it was say six years ago, but still less. Second, it's a quality of live decision for me. I was spending 5+ hours a day just commuting, and then add in the minimum 10 hour workday and I was only home for maybe 8-9 hours a day tops. And oh yeah there is something called sleep! So I never got to see my family, nor did I ever get to do the things I enjoy to do. So for me, it is worth making less to have quality time with my family, and to do the things I've wanted to do for a long time now.

I don't have much else to add as far as the relocation goes for now, only because I'm still in NYC all week. But, I will gladly continue to add to the thread as I go along since I'm hoping it's interesting material to somebody!

Happy Mothers Day to all you mothers out there!

[Annie31]

I also live in Mount Dora and that Circle K is not to good. You will see a few prostitutes hanging out on the side of the store, they'll come up to you and ask for money most of the time. The Tangerine Post Office not to far from the Circle K was robbed a few months back also. I wouldn't go into that Circle K at night, I have got gas there a few times but if I really have to, I rather wait and pull into somewhere else. You will see some of the attendents up there talking to the prostitues and guys pulling in with loud music in the cars hanging out. Not a great little store up there, the houses right by it, well there small shacks but awhile back there was a home invasion at one of them, the whole police was out there and the roads were blocked, they had it on news, just stay away from there at night, you should be fine. I gotta agree the Alarm System is a wonderful thing to have, that or a few pitbulls lol!!!

[rholborn]

Welcome New Englanders to Central Florida! I relocated here in 1990, and love to visit in the summer! if you need help or advice, just ask or private message me! by the way, enjoy new smyrna beach you'll love it!

[Nomoresubways]

Yeah I can't wait to go visit New Smyrna Beach. Think we're gonna hit it next weekend, Memorial Day Weekend is probably swamped!

I have learned to steer clear of the Circle K. As Bill & Ted once said, "strange things are afoot at the Circle K"