A little introduction (Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa: car insurance, mattresses, vacation home)

[Mr Idealism]

Hello all. I've been a lurker here for a couple years now and finally decided to take the big step and create a username. My wife and I have been wanting to move to Orlando for the past 3 years. She's a teacher and has obviously had a hard time with securing a position. She was offered a job while we were in town over the summer in Winter Park, but it was too much too soon. I have faith something will come through, but I am also trying to be as proactive as possible.

We currently reside in Northern VA and I loathe it. I am originally from North Jersey and want a better quality of life for the both of us. I'm sick of the me-first entitlement that goes with the extreme affluence here. We were just ranked #1 for worst drivers in the country and worst traffic congestion. I'm basically sick and tired of spending 30+ mins sitting at traffic lights because of poor planning and infrastructure, with no end in sight.

We've been AP holders at WDW and Universal for the past 4 years and LOVE it. My parents just bought a retirement/vacation home in Windermere, so now we will have a place to stay until the right house pops up. We are well versed in what central FL is like outside the themeparks as we spend at least 2 months there a year. We have plenty of friends in the area and we also have family a couple hours away in Jax.

I'm sure I have plenty more to fill you in on, but just wanted to give you a brief overview and introduce myself. Thank you for your informative posts and I look forward to sharing as well.

[Alyzza]

Welcome! Glad you came out of lurking! I know what you mean by northern VA, that place is just wicked all the way around. The overall quality of life here is better and people for the most part are a lot friendlier. Where I live there doesn't seem to be the me-first self-important attitude that there is right outside of DC. I used to live up that way too, and after living so many years vertically, it's nice to finally be able to live in a flat house with no stairs or steps. I can get to my bedroom without climbing up 16 steps!

Traffic though, is just different. I'd like to see less speeding and tailgating, but wide flat roads keep it moving. It would be nice if cars here were equipped with signal lights. The huge thing I noticed between driving here and driving up north is that people WILL let you in. Trying to get out of a parking lot and onto the road?? They will give you a break. They even smile after I wave thanks! Just simple things like that contribute greatly to the quality of life!

[Broker Dave]

A quick welcome from me also!

I know when I moved here in the mid 90's I knew of no one but family, that changed quickly after discovering the area finding great people/friends including my wife whose mother is a multi-generation Floridian.

Any time I can answer your questions with knowledge or personal experience I look forward to it.

Hope this helps,

[Parrotrosie]

Welcome! Moved here a little over a year ago myself from the northeast and have found most to be so friendly! We love it here!

[seain dublin]

I'm sorry but I have to laugh on the "me first" attitude, I can't speak for Northern Virginia, but I can compare FL to the western US states.

I have never seen more of "me first" attitude than down here. BTW Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville, and finally Memphis are the worst in the country for deadly hit and runs. In that order.

I have never seen so many tailgaters, reckless drivers, and no turn signals like there is down here.

Deadly crashes on a weekly basis. Many of them due to drunk and reckless drivers.

Then you have the elderly drivers.

Also keep in mind FL leads the nation in uninsured drivers. There are also no state inspections so you see everything and anything on the roads.

There was just a horrific crash outside of Tampa where a reckless driver hit three triplets who were in their yard( 5 yrs old). One child died, one is in the hospital, and the other one is unharmed.

The driver has no car insurance, and fell out of the her 15yr old car as she used a bungee cord to keep the door on.

No charges have been filed as of yet.

[Parrotrosie]

Originally Posted by seain dublin

I'm sorry but I have to laugh on the "me first" attitude, I can't speak for Northern Virginia, but I can compare FL to the western US states.

I have never seen more of "me first" attitude than down here. BTW Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville, and finally Memphis are the worst in the country for deadly hit and runs. In that order.

I have never seen so many tailgaters, reckless drivers, and no turn signals like there is down here.

Deadly crashes on a weekly basis. Many of them due to drunk and reckless drivers.

Then you have the elderly drivers.

Also keep in mind FL leads the nation in uninsured drivers. There are also no state inspections so you see everything and anything on the roads.

There was just a horrific crash outside of Tampa where a reckless driver hit three triplets who were in their yard( 5 yrs old). One child died, one is in the hospital, and the other one is unharmed.

The driver has no car insurance, and fell out of the her 15yr old car as she used a bungee cord to keep the door on.

No charges have been filed as of yet.

Funny, I don't know exactly where you live, nor do I doubt what you say, but I don't really come across any of what you do....

Quite the opposite...drivers in Oviedo are quite polite, often will let me enter traffic waving me in, and smiling. I live a few miles from a GREAT food pantry that offers free help for those who cannot make ends meet offering food, clothes, bus passes, and help for those who have lost their homes.

Yes, there are some horrible accidents around, the young man who died recently in Winter Park was tragic as well. That does, unfortunately happen everywhere....if it is more frequent in Florida...well that is just sad. I don't find that to be the overtone in general however.

There are many more church going folks here than up North (and the non-hypocrytical types as well...they actually live out their faith)

The Police officers and Sherriffs here are super nice (I actually got pulled over by a State officer for speeding, but it was a case of mistaken cars...there was an identical vehicle to mine that was speeding - so OK, I have seen one crazy driver...lol) and I was nice to him and explained my side...I did not get a ticket.

Most of my neighbors are friendly and always offer help if I need it...the rest are not rude...I just don't see them usually.

So, is it a case of exactly where in the Orlando you choose that determines if you will be running into crazy folk all the time or what? Or do you just look for them...

[Mr Idealism]

Originally Posted by seain dublin

I'm sorry but I have to laugh on the "me first" attitude, I can't speak for Northern Virginia, but I can compare FL to the western US states.

I have never seen more of "me first" attitude than down here. BTW Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville, and finally Memphis are the worst in the country for deadly hit and runs. In that order.

I have never seen so many tailgaters, reckless drivers, and no turn signals like there is down here.

Deadly crashes on a weekly basis. Many of them due to drunk and reckless drivers.

Then you have the elderly drivers.

Also keep in mind FL leads the nation in uninsured drivers. There are also no state inspections so you see everything and anything on the roads.

There was just a horrific crash outside of Tampa where a reckless driver hit three triplets who were in their yard( 5 yrs old). One child died, one is in the hospital, and the other one is unharmed.

The driver has no car insurance, and fell out of the her 15yr old car as she used a bungee cord to keep the door on.

No charges have been filed as of yet.

First off, thanks for the welcome everyone! It's much appreciated.

Seain dublin, we can debate all day long as to which area has the worst drivers and self absorbed people, but it's a fact that the county I reside in is the wealthiest in the country, and with that comes unsavory people to say the least. We also have a huge influx of people from all over the world, let alone the country, that bring their awful driving habits with them. In fact, a good portion of the people here have never even driven before. I'm also well aware that I-95 and I-4 are some of the deadliest stretches of road around, and that's why I try to avoid them as much as possible when I'm in town. As for the elderly folk, I am with you 100%. I've spent some time in South FL in and around Miami and that has been some of the worst I have ever seen. All that not withstanding, we look forward to making the trek down as soon a possible.

[Alyzza]

Other than the low paying crap jobs down here, yes, it is a real challenge driving here. Tailgating is horrible. I don't know where these people are trying to go in their blazing hurry but they should consider leaving 15 minutes early sometime. Aside of speeding and tailgating, another major cause of wrecks is drivers on cellphones. They no more know what they're doing than the man in the moon. You also have to watch out for those who don't turn their headlights on after dark.

The thing that scares me good here are the people who drive with loads of furniture or mattresses, or are towing vehicles. Vehicles often become uncoupled and furniture and other stuff either falls or blows off causing chaos. It's not uncommon to see a couch in the middle of I-4.

Amen to un-roadworthy cars here.

Red light runners are a pita everywhere.

I have a lot of patience with senior citizens driving. I feel sorry for them that they have to drive. I have a lot less tolerance for aholes and motorcycle drivers who think they own the road.

But northern VA is another major driving nightmare. Their roads are either eternal construction sites, or pitifully neglected. In the rain, forget about seeing any lines or markings on the roads, you just have to know where they are. Consequently, cars are always drifting into your lane and then the drivers want to kill you for being in their way.

All this is generally compounded by the daily jacknifed tractor-trailer on the beltway or I-95. It can easily take a couple hours to go one mile even without the jacknifed tractor-trailer.

I also could never understand why people from Maryland have to work in Virginia and why people from Virginia can only find work in Maryland.

Those who think that car insurance costs about the same here will have a very rude awakening or get a lot less coverage.

So now I have to go out and drive somewhere. Has anyone noticed that since we went back to standard time there seems to be a whole lot more traffic?

>All that not withstanding, we look forward to making the trek down as soon a possible.

And I look forward to your visit to our lovely state.. come on down and join the fray! Heh...

[FL2MT]

Welcome and glad you came out of lurking! It sounds like you know the area pretty well already but don't hesitate to ask if you want advice or information on anything!

[GABMER]

Originally Posted by Mr Idealism

First off, thanks for the welcome everyone! It's much appreciated.

Seain dublin, we can debate all day long as to which area has the worst drivers and self absorbed people, but it's a fact that the county I reside in is the wealthiest in the country, and with that comes unsavory people to say the least. We also have a huge influx of people from all over the world, let alone the country, that bring their awful driving habits with them. In fact, a good portion of the people here have never even driven before. I'm also well aware that I-95 and I-4 are some of the deadliest stretches of road around, and that's why I try to avoid them as much as possible when I'm in town. As for the elderly folk, I am with you 100%. I've spent some time in South FL in and around Miami and that has been some of the worst I have ever seen. All that not withstanding, we look forward to making the trek down as soon a possible.

Same here, oh and you mentioned not having any infraestructure.....well, same here.