family of 4 brits moving to orlando advice needed (Winter Park, Holiday: sale, apartments)

[johnsonfamilyrelocate]

Hi Yes another one!! We are in the process of selling everything up in UK and making the move, we are speaking with a visa specialist and realise the best thing is to come in on E2 we are financially sound and can support ourselves well during the transition, like many we are looking at Lawn Care/ Property Maintenance as a business to buy in order to secure the visa. The problem - where to live, we have 2 boys 11 and 13 and where we buy a home depends on the education in that area, we cannot afford Private but want the best Public Schools (don't all mums!) Any advice on great areas with good schools is greatly appreciated, the websites designed to advise on these things really just cause more confusion, ideally personnal experiences are the best advice and if you can offer any it would be much appreciated - on schools, residential areas, do's and don'ts for business and anything else you think you would have liked to know when or if you moved there. thanks

[annerk]

Just an FYI--lawn care and property maintenance are not the best fields right now. With the downturn in the economy, many people are now taking care of their own where they used to hire someone.

Also, even owning a busines is not a guarantee of visa renewal. I personally know of six British nationals who owned three profitable brick and mortar businesses that employed US citizens between them who were denied renewals last year.

[jintygirl]

There are so many great deals now in 32836 area, on 535 very close to Disney. Schools are good too. We are from london and have lived here for 12 years now. We started out in Davenport and now in Windermere.
Look on realtor.com put in 32836 and you will see the homes. Arington Bay has some great deals now. If you need anything else, please let me know,I will be more than happy to help.
Good luck

[jintygirl]

That was supposed to be Arlington Bay

[extrainfo4you]

Originally Posted by johnsonfamilyrelocate

Hi Yes another one!! We are in the process of selling everything up in UK and making the move, we are speaking with a visa specialist and realise the best thing is to come in on E2 we are financially sound and can support ourselves well during the transition, like many we are looking at Lawn Care/ Property Maintenance as a business to buy in order to secure the visa. The problem - where to live, we have 2 boys 11 and 13 and where we buy a home depends on the education in that area, we cannot afford Private but want the best Public Schools (don't all mums!) Any advice on great areas with good schools is greatly appreciated, the websites designed to advise on these things really just cause more confusion, ideally personal experiences are the best advice and if you can offer any it would be much appreciated - on schools, residential areas, do's and don'ts for business and anything else you think you would have liked to know when or if you moved there. thanks

[url]http://www.orlandosentinel2.com/data/crime/[/url] Orlando Crime Map - Orlando Sentinel
Realtors in the usa are NOT allow to tell you the demographics or crime for an area - so if someone is selling you a home or offers to help you find a place find out if they are making money off of you - they will NOT be truthful because they are not legally allowed

The area that someone mention 32836 is considered one of the better areas but the crime rate is high - no not as high as pine hills, or OBT (orange blossom trail, or tangelo park, or parramore - Orlando had 123 murders last year - there are a lot of people at low paying jobs and the expense of apartments requires multiple people living in a small apartment.

Now that 32836 area - there are constantly people looking for roommates because they are renting out rooms in houses because they need to pay the high price mortgage - so you could be in a McMansion neighborhood where the people are living 6 to 10 people to a house or growing drugs.

There are no safe areas in Orlando - there might be a street - or a corner - but there is a lot of people with nothing to do but get in trouble - they come here looking for rich people to 'earn' their money off of by breaking in houses or cars - they prey on people - they will kill for nothing even a guy who pulls in his driveway after getting groceries for his family was shot in his driveway because they like his car and wanted it (a simple family car).

There is a Realtor who does homes for davenport that is from England - she and her husband own the business and she is like no other Realtor I have met - I have nothing to do with their business - their company is called [url=http://www.bardellrealestate.com/]Florida Villa Sale, Buy and Rental Investment Property - Orlando Florida Holiday Villas -Rental Vacation Home Florida[/url] - maybe she can tell you the truth - but she is still probably legally bound to not direct you to a specific area.
I believe she said she lived in Clermont

[johnsonfamilyrelocate]

Thanks for the information, EXTRAINFO4YOU, is it really that bad, the crime in Orlando? Does everyone else have the same thoughts as EXTRAINFO4YOU - surely there are bad areas like anywhere in the world but surely there are some fantastic areas too. The schools in some areas on greatschools.net look really good so are these areas as bad for crime, is there anyway I can find out which areas are the best and which are the worst -this is all getting a little scary it sounds like a warzone from what you are telling me!!

thanks

Alison

[johnsonfamilyrelocate]

Jintygirl, I will have a good look at that area, any ideas on crime there?? Annerk the business info is greatly appreciated.


thanks

[Scrunchie]

Hi Alison,

We moved to Clermont from the UK almost 3 years ago and love it... when we moved our kids were 11 and 13, so same age as yours. We picked the area based on what we wanted for our kids and the lifestyle we wanted to achieve and it has worked really well for us, we are still happy with our decision and don't see us moving from Clermont in the near future. If you want to email me or send me a message I can give you any specifics you might need.

A little advice from someone who has been down the E2 route....I would not go for lawn/pool/property management of any description Clermont/Davenport is overrun with brits doing that very thing and the embassy know that these are the top business of choice and are subsequently very tough on these types of business when giving visas. Think out of the box in terms of business ideas...but make sure you have enough money to survive without earning a penny for at least a year and I am being conservative here, and not overexaggerating, your money will just disappear and fast...so make sure you can afford it. I have seen many brits come and go within their first year simply because they underestimated the costs of set up and living whilst trying to make it happen.

If you want any help or guidance let me know..I am happy pass on the benefits of what we have learned, I am not saying we are experts by any stretch but we are certainly wiser than when we arrived.

Good luck, its worth the stress but certainly not for the fainthearted.... and if anyone in your family is not totally committed to making this work, think again, its a tough journey but I wouldn't do anything differently if I had my time again. The sun shines every morning (well almost P) and I know for sure the UK holds nothing for us anyone.

Scrunch
x

[UKmartin]

Hello Johnsonfamily,
This is some info I have put on this site a few times but it may help you as a few people are a little unsure of the E2 visa. It is not meant to put you off only to help you prepare for what will be a very hard few months if you go for it. I wish you well.

I have a good friend at the US Embassy and he said that the criteria is very strict now. Dont forget if you go bust or sell you MUST leave the USA.
The E-2 investor visa used to represent a realistic option to live and work in the U.S. for many years. An active, profitable business that employed several U.S. workers was basically sure to be approved for E-2 registration.

While it is still possible to obtain an E-2 investor visa, the adjudication criteria for first-time visa applications as well as for renewals have drastically changed (even though there was no change in the E-2 regulations).

While two to three years ago a $100,000 investment, or even less, in an active U.S. business that employed 2-3 workers easily passed the "marginality" test, this is no longer so, not even if the business is quite profitable. Today, the investment should be in the $200,000+ range, the business should employ at least 5 workers, and the applicant must be able to prove "non-immigrant intent". (While the E-2 visa regulations do not require that investors maintain a residence in the home country, the consulate may well consider the sale of your home a proof of "immigrant intent"). Moreover, any indication that the investor is retired, looking to retire, or will not play an active role in the daily management of the U.S. business may well result in denial.

Repeat visa renewals face ever increasing scrutiny, not only because the consulate expects the investor to train a U.S. replacement for him-/herself, but also because the investor's wish to continue to direct the U.S. business may be misinterpreted as "immigrant intent". For many investors, the E-2 visa route remains the most accessible opportunity to live and work in the U.S., however, applicants should be aware of and knowledgeable about the possibilities and limitations of this visa.
So Please check it out in great detail first.
Very best wishes and good luck, I hope you get in. Also remember your children will need to LEAVE the U.S. at the age of 21 OR get married OR start their own E2 visa business.
Lawn care etc is NOT the way to go every Brit and his dog is trying it!! Plus with the massive downturn in the economy and the dire rental Home situation in the Orlando area, I would stay well away from that sort of thing. Dr Philips is a great area Very good schools. Winter Park is also good and it has Rollins College a really good place to learn.
Regards Martin

[johnsonfamilyrelocate]

Hi Martin, many thanks for the info there, we are not too sure how things will pan out or when, we have a lot of things to sort out in the UK and a lot to give up before we actually get there, our kids are very bright and the thought of bringing them to US educating them there then having to have them come back to the UK at 21 and find work is a great concern, I understand the US education system is way behind that in the UK and I don't want to hold them back by bringing them to the US and eventually them having to come back here anyway. I have had some great advise over the last few days from this forum and really appreciate it, now we are more stuck than ever! We have nothing holding us back in the UK, no family ties no financial commitments and we just want to make a better family life for all of us, the education thing and the 21 thing for the kids is a worry, also the route to getting there is not as easy as last time we looked into it. What we are going to do is come over for 6 weeks in the summer and spend some serious time making our mind up for all of us, in the meantime simplifying our life here in the UK and at least being in a better position to get on with it once we have made a definate decision.

I know people say that if you aren't all 100% then you should forget it, but we are looking at making a lifelong commitment to leaving the UK and that is for all of us not just until the kids are adults! We owe our kids the best opportunity and we just need to work out if we are affecting that by living out OUR dream. Maybe i'm just looking for a bit of inspiration, hopefully that will come from our visit in the summer. Or maybe it's because I don't know where we will be living or what we will be doing or even if the kids will take to the changes even though they are 100% up for it now.
Any thoughts are appreciated.

Alison