[cfbs2691]

OP there are bugs, snakes, hurricanes, gators, sink holes, tropical storms.. you name it...I'm not saying you see them all the time by any means... but the hurricane warnings alone would put you in an early grave with your anxiety.

As a fellow Midwesterner (I moved from a suburb of Milwaukee in the 90s)... I honestly don't see Florida being a fit for you.

[grad_student200]

Originally Posted by Hatethecoldweather87

Hi everyone! I tried posting this elsewhere but it kept saying it couldn't post, so I'm goimg to try here-

First off, thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this to try and help out

My husband and I are looking to move to the Orlando area later this year but are just looking for some advice.

We are from a suburb of Chicago, and over the last 8 years, have moved back and fourt between Chicago and LA four, (yes, FOUR) times. All of our family is in Chicago, but he was offered a job out of College in LA about 7 years ago so we moved out there. Unforunately, I had a hard time adjusting being so far from family, so we moved back home a couple of times, the last time being this past June. Things were okay being back here but within about 4 months of us being back, my dad ended up being diagnoased with kidney and liver failure and a month after he was diagnoased he passed away. He was in icu, did hospice at home, it was awful. 90% of the reason I wanted to move back to IL was because I am so close with my dad, so this happened and it just destroyed me. The rest of our families are here, but between my dad being gone and having to drive around our town (same town my husband and I grew up in that we live in now and where my dad lived) I am having to constantly drive by places my dad loved here or places we went together and it's just a constant struggle. It may sound crazy but it is what it is. So anyways, I need to get out. I didn't like LA. Too many people, terrified of the risk of earthquakes (which I know is small, but I have really bad anxiety and worry about these things), and it was so crazy expensive. My husband and I don't have kids but are insane Disney freaks. We spent almost every weekend at Disneyland and since I don't like CA that much and Disneyworld is better imo anyways (ha) I thought why not move to Florida. However, I have some questions that will probably sound super dumb.

Again, let me remind you that I have anxiety and just worry about potential things.

I hate snakes. I have been trying to do as much research as I can to see if this move will be right for us, but am just having a hard time getting anything. I don't mind snakes outside. I won't be in ponds, lakes or basically anything other then a pool. But I read online about snakes or the huge palmetto (prob spelled wrong, sorry!) bugs getting into your house? We will be moving to an apartment, preferably on the top floor. I have a cat so I'm just worried about these things like getting in and eating her or something? (i'm sure at this point you think I'm crazy but I warned you I have bad anxiety!) Can snakes like sneak into your apartment through toilets or drains or something? It's not like I would be leaving doors open, but idk if there are other ways for them to get in. Again, I've never really worried about these bugs/animals so idk what to expect! We had snakes in CA but I never saw them. To be honest i'm just more worried about snakes/huge bugs getting into my apt and like eating my cat. (Again. i realize this may sound insane. lol) Is it super stupid to be afraid to move to Florida because I am worried about sinkholes/snakes/huge bugs getting into my apt?

What about sinkholes? We will be most likely living in the Winter Springs area- does that warrant any issues? From what I can tell that area seems to be pretty safe, but again, I'm going off what I'm reading. We are mainly trying to find a safe place not far from Disney.

I realize the weather is hot and humid, but I hate. HATE. The cold and snow and am just done with it!

Thank you to anyone who stuck with me through this post and for any advice you may have.
Sorry if my questions are whack but just needed to get some info before we make this huge move!

You should check out Clermont or Mt. Dora. St. Cloud is also a great place. There are good schools there. Those places are more on the "outer" regions of Metro Orlando which tends to get bad traffic during commute hours. Many people don't like the traffic problems close to I-4, but there are strategic ways to work around it.

I lived in Florida for over ten years and never saw a snake. By contrast, I saw plenty of rattlesnakes and bullsnakes in childhood in rural AZ. I have even seen a rattlesnake swim in the water. I saw a large bullsnake do that too. I never saw snakes like that in FL.

Florida has alligators. You are more likely to see one of those - the rule of thumb is that any open pond, lake, etc. likely has an alligator. The exceptions may be colder springs with some kind of thermal gradient that keeps them out. Florida has excessive beach lovers, but the ocean has a lot of sharks and red tide. I used to run across the bridge to Key Biscayne early in the morning from Miami and was amazed at the number of sharks in the clear blue water. I have seen Manatees near Panama City, FL.

I love Disney World. You are probably aiming for a year-long pass. I have run those races that go through the parks with many thousands of runners. It has more parks than Disneyland in Anaheim. I went to Disneyland many times for summer trips as a child in rural AZ. As an adult I worked in Florida and brought my relatives to Disneyworld a couple of times.

Sinkholes are statistically rare compared to earthquaks in California. There are ways to scientifically scan for them using geological survey equipment. I am a mechanical engineer. Ask around.

You should be fine in FL if you can handle the humid heat and lack of mountains. It has hurricanes though. But local Floridians have learned to live with it. They usually evacuate or take shelters depending on the weather warnings. I moved back to AZ and missed the mountains. Best wishes.

[DaniellaG]

I'm sorry that your dad passed away and the memories are hard there in Chicago.

I am from MI but lived in CA, FL and Chicago. I lived in South FL.

I know no one likes bugs or critters but I really don't. I really freak out. I was OK in FL but monthly pest control is a must. One rental I had at first I didn't have it and had major ant problem. Then I got monthly pest control and it was fine. Another thing is gheckos which are little lizards that do get in but die on their own and I guess eat and spiders or ants. Your cat may get one of those.

I never saw a snake and once an alligator driving. I think the whole snake coming out of the toilet is very rare.

If you were anxious about earthquakes in CA aren't you going to be anxious about hurricanes in FL?

I didn't even know sinkhole's were a concern I guess I'm clueless which sometimes is better when you worry.

I can't imagine going to Disney World in the summer which is more then half the year. It is so humid and hot. You should really visit in the summer cause though winter in Chicago may be ruff but FL long humid summers are too.

I don't know that much about Orlando but did spend some time in Lake Mary which is a suburb near and I heard positive things and it seemed nice.

[Fredesch]

If you get a lawn service that puts down herbacides and pesticides and mows your grass very short, and are not near water, you probably won't ever see wildlife. Having a manicured, vegitatively sterile community will help keep wildlife away.