Anyone ever move to Orlando just to be closer to Disney?

[DisMN]

My husband and I are hoping to relocate to the central Florida area (ok I'll say it, yes, near WDW) in about 5 years or so. You aren't alone...........and we're starting to get excited about the idea of being warm in the winter! LOL

Are any of you looking at apartment living though? We don't want to do home/condo ownership any longer at this point in our lives but I'm not finding many people who are going the apartment route.

To the op and others on this path....best of luck on your research and possible relocations!

 

[daniele_ut]

Nope...went to LCCC and Cedar Crest although Kutztown is where I plan to go if I do go back to school here in PA!

Muhlenberg grad here! I love the Lehigh Valley.

I grew up in NJ and we live out west now and have cold, snowy winters. My company does have 2 offices in FL and I wouldn't mind moving to FL, but I would need to live close to the beach if we did. Dh has a very stable, non-transferable job here, though, so we're not going anywhere!

 

[GeorgiaDawg7]

As much as I love Disney... I couldn't bare the thought of being located near Gainesville,FLA and the University located there!

 

[Feralpeg]

As much as I love Disney... I couldn't bare the thought of being located near Gainesville,FLA and the University located there!

Good news! When I moved to this area seven years ago, I saw Gator license plates everywhere. Not anymore. The Seminoles plates vastly out number the Gators! Go NOLES!

 

[cinderella73]

We moved here 6 months ago from Pennsylvania (DH worked at Lehigh Valley Hospital, OP), and we couldn't be happier. We live in Windermere and are literally 2 minutes behind Magic Kingdom. We love our town, the community, neighbors. The schools my kids attend are excellent. We don't mind the heat, because as someone mentioned, you can go out and enjoy it and when it gets too hot, you go back in the house. The weather and sunshine has done wonders for our moods and has allowed us to get out and do more outside activities as a family. We researched, saved, and planned everything so we would be prepared if things came up. For our family, it has been a great thing.

We are also in Lehigh Valley area and looking at Windermere. So far we have looked at Lake Reams townhomes and The Preserve of Windermere . So close to WDDW and a bit quiet also.

Do you mind if I ask where it is you go for shopping ? Do you find you go north to Winter Garden or is there enough in Windermere ? I think someone told me you have to go to WG for stuff like Target , etc. . I know in Orlando you gotta stay in a bit of a bubble . I am trying to figure out what areas we will have to access to function daily.

 

[cinderella73]

I forgot to add that I saw online somewhere the other day ( I will go look for the link) that Winter Springs was rated one of the safest place in Florida . Does anyone have any opinions on that ?

 

[SouthernExplorer]

I've never been caught up in all the "magic" at WDW...sorry...I just haven't. I enjoyed coming to Disney when I was a kid but I wasn't a huge Disney fan. Now...I enjoy going and spending a few hours at Epcot doing nothing more than walking around...it's a great way to exercise.

You don't need to apologize for your feelings. They are perfectly valid, and I tend to share them I'm glad you found a great way to exercise around Epcot.

My DH, who doesn't want to live in FLA, surprised me by telling me last week that perhaps we should consider moving to Orlando in the future. I hate being up north and I am extremely uncomfortable living up here. My DH hates the winters, and we live in a world class tourist destination, and being surrounded by tourists is not much fun.

We will probably end up in Texas where we are both from. Who am I kidding? We will be moving back to Texas at some point even though we dislike the heat and I especially hate the large black crickets. Give me rattlers over those disgusting little insects any day of the week. There are also some pretty good theme and water parks in Texas. Six Flags Over Texas, in my opinion, is the best theme park in the world, and Schlitterbahn is regulary named the top water park in the United States. Then there is Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. We are also closer to DH's version of Disneyland, Las Vegas

While I sympathize Georgiadawg and being surrounded by Gators, well, no Cows or Aggies will keep me from moving back to Texas. At least they're not Sooners

 

[Feralpeg]

We are also in Lehigh Valley area and looking at Windermere. So far we have looked at Lake Reams townhomes and The Preserve of Windermere . So close to WDDW and a bit quiet also.

Do you mind if I ask where it is you go for shopping ? Do you find you go north to Winter Garden or is there enough in Windermere ? I think someone told me you have to go to WG for stuff like Target , etc. . I know in Orlando you gotta stay in a bit of a bubble . I am trying to figure out what areas we will have to access to function daily.

I live in Windermere. I am at Chase Road and CR535.

I shop at the Publix at Summerport. For everthing else, I go to Winter Garden Village. It is about a ten minute drive from my house. It has a Target, Lowes, JoAnns, Best Buy, etc. It is a good size shopping center.

They are building Lakeside Village Shopping Center on CR535 between Reams Road and Chase Road. It will have a Publix, Fifth Third Bank, McDonalds and a Hess station. It will have a bunch of other stores, but those have yet to be announced.

When I first moved it, shopping was difficult. I had a 20 minute drive to get to anything. Now, it is much better.

In regard to Winter Springs, it is a very nice area. I go there each year for the Scottish Festival. The only problem is that it is a long way from many of the things I enjoy. It is a good 45 minute drive to WDW.

Try not to stress over the safety thing. You see so much in the news, but I never feel unsafe in my area. Things happen when you live in a large urban area. You just need to be aware and you'll be fine. I walk alone at night in my area with no problem.

 

[Mikes:)Mom]

I WANT TO BUT MY MOM SAYS THAT IM CRAZY.

My mom is one of the main reason I'm moving to Florida. It's nice & far away from her.

Are any of you looking at apartment living though? We don't want to do home/condo ownership any longer at this point in our lives but I'm not finding many people who are going the apartment route.

To the op and others on this path....best of luck on your research and possible relocations!

I'm looking to rent too. I've looked at rent.com type sites. There's some really nice places, they look like resorts. We don't have apartments like that here. They are cheaper in Orlando too.

 

[szymcl]

I am planning a trial move, working remotely from an apartment in the Windermere area for a year. I have flexibility in my job and will commute once a month to my job for meetings and special projects that can't be done remotely. This plan is my way of testing the waters of snowbirding as I am about 3 years away from retiring from my current job. I do want to have another job at some point, could be at Disney...
I have a wonderful home and a lake house in the north, I am not in a hurry to buy another house or condo, pay property taxes in two states and complicate my estate planning, but I imagine I will buy something at some point, possibly a shared house with some cousins. I am calling this my sabbatical, I am really getting to hate the winters in Indiana!!!
Sounds a bit crazy sometimes, but it is the right time for me to try something new!
Full disclosure, my daughter lived and worked at Walt Disney World for three years, so I am familiar with some apartments and I have a pretty good idea of what I want in a complex, workout area, pool, walking trails etc.

 

[NH-to-FL]

I am planning a trial move, working remotely from an apartment in the Windermere area for a year. I have flexibility in my job and will commute once a month to my job for meetings and special projects that can't be done remotely. This plan is my way of testing the waters of snowbirding as I am about 3 years away from retiring from my current job. I do want to have another job at some point, could be at Disney...
I have a wonderful home and a lake house in the north, I am not in a hurry to buy another house or condo, pay property taxes in two states and complicate my estate planning, but I imagine I will buy something at some point, possibly a shared house with some cousins. I am calling this my sabbatical, I am really getting to hate the winters in Indiana!!!
Sounds a bit crazy sometimes, but it is the right time for me to try something new!
Full disclosure, my daughter lived and worked at Walt Disney World for three years, so I am familiar with some apartments and I have a pretty good idea of what I want in a complex, workout area, pool, walking trails etc.

Good luck with your trial! I have heard only good things about the Windermere area.

We recently finished our third snowbird winter near Disney. We love it! We took a chance and bought (more like stole) a vacation villa back at the bottom of the recession with an eye towards retirement. It has turned out to be one of the best things we have done. We were so tired of the New Hampshire winters. But for as much as we like the Florida winters, the summer is just too hot for us. So we will stay snowbirds for a while.

 

[MickeyBalloons]

We did it! we live 5 minutes from the MK. We watch the fireworks from our front porch. I often hear the MK train whistle in the morning. It feels like a dream. We love the area, the heat and humid weather. We can finally attend special events like parties, festivals or new openings. Birthdays, anniversaries and holidays can all be celebrated in the parks. We love it here. Orlando is beautiful.

Our COL isn't much different. We live our day to day life the same way we did before, only now we have Disney next door. I wondered for so many years what that must be like. I read every post. Yes, there is weather, yes, there is bad traffic and tourists. However, it is easier to tolerate these daily annoyances if you live beside the happiest place on earth. If you have the opportunity, do it!

 

[ekball]

Good news! When I moved to this area seven years ago, I saw Gator license plates everywhere. Not anymore. The Seminoles plates vastly out number the Gators! Go NOLES!

Those are what you call "bandwagon fans".