Advice for possible Florida relocation

[hotttsauce]

Hey everyone,

Hoped I might get some advice from the forum on this as vacationing somewhere is far different than living there day in and day out.

My company and I are in discussions about me relocating to Florida and hopefully finalizing things Friday. Would love to live near the beach and enjoy the weather there, It would be a good move both financially and professionally.

I have a few of things I need to consider.

My fiance' and her 11 yr. old daughter would be moving with me too. She is an accountant and would need to find a job and of course we want to a good school area for the 11 year old. So job market and schools are a priority. For me, I either work from home or am on the road meeting customers.

Her sister lives near Orlando, but not so sure that is where I'd like to be (the whole touristy thing). Always been partial to the coasts, esp. Tampa area.

I need to keep in mind my fiance' finding employment, good schools and travel for me. I would be traveling a lot in Florida so would like a good location to get from Jacksonville to Miami and everywhere inbetween. Plus near an airport.

It is a great opportunity and not many get the chance of picking where they want to live, so want to try and make the best informed decision.

Would most likely contact a real estate agent or housing agent about leasing a house for the first year before deciding on where to purchase (ya know feel out the area we decide on).

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Hottt

 

[OUS-Rep]

Look into the Wintersprings area, Nice upper mid class section of seminole county and the schools are all A rated. 45 minutes from the east coast beaches and 20-25 minutes from Orlando Airport.

 

[purelifting]

I would stay clear of Tampa or Orlando schools unless you are putting her in a privite school. I know schools in hernando are pretty good. Hernando is a small town, lots of old people and very good to raise a family. Hernando is not to far from Tampa or Orlando and is pretty much an hour away from everything. Hernando has a small beach called Pine Island.... but it does not compare to clear water which is about 45 to a hour away; depends on traffic. 40 mins away from Tampa air port but also depends on traffic. You have up and down classes but mostly higher middle end and afew high end class areas.

Hope this helps.

 

[pesty4077]

Hey everyone,

Hoped I might get some advice from the forum on this as vacationing somewhere is far different than living there day in and day out.

My company and I are in discussions about me relocating to Florida and hopefully finalizing things Friday. Would love to live near the beach and enjoy the weather there, It would be a good move both financially and professionally.

I have a few of things I need to consider.

My fiance' and her 11 yr. old daughter would be moving with me too. She is an accountant and would need to find a job and of course we want to a good school area for the 11 year old. So job market and schools are a priority. For me, I either work from home or am on the road meeting customers.

Her sister lives near Orlando, but not so sure that is where I'd like to be (the whole touristy thing). Always been partial to the coasts, esp. Tampa area.

I need to keep in mind my fiance' finding employment, good schools and travel for me. I would be traveling a lot in Florida so would like a good location to get from Jacksonville to Miami and everywhere inbetween. Plus near an airport.

It is a great opportunity and not many get the chance of picking where they want to live, so want to try and make the best informed decision.

Would most likely contact a real estate agent or housing agent about leasing a house for the first year before deciding on where to purchase (ya know feel out the area we decide on).

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Hottt

Hey Hott, Marilyn is a real estate agent and she lives in Winter Park, Florida. PM her.

 

[railslave]

Hey Hott, Marilyn is a real estate agent and she lives in Winter Park, Florida. PM her.

i agree with pesty, as i will be ending up around the winter park area when i move down there. i lived in palm beach, and its a rat race down there

 

[marilyn]

Pesty

Hey Hott, Marilyn is a real estate agent and she lives in Winter Park, Florida. PM her.

thanks for what would have been a referral possibly.....but Im no longer in real estate.......

I can refer good agents in the area, if anyone is interested...good agents that care about you, and not themselfs

I do now work in Winter Park..and still live in WP.

 

[marilyn]

Mike

i agree with pesty, as i will be ending up around the winter park area when i move down there. i lived in palm beach, and its a rat race down there

hey didnt know you were moving closer..you will like the area....but its kind of a rat race as well.......

 

[hotttsauce]

Thank you all so much, not being too familiar with the areas, it is of great help. Really appreciate the feedback.

Would rather stay out of the super congested areas if possible. Looking at mostly a suburban place (family oriented), near a gym of course!

 

[hotttsauce]

i agree with pesty, as i will be ending up around the winter park area when i move down there. i lived in palm beach, and its a rat race down there

HAHA Thats ironic, I am in Bel Air (outside Baltimore right now on a business trip)

 

[tflexxin]

I would stay clear of Tampa or Orlando schools unless you are putting her in a privite school. I know schools in hernando are pretty good. Hernando is a small town, lots of old people and very good to raise a family. Hernando is not to far from Tampa or Orlando and is pretty much an hour away from everything. Hernando has a small beach called Pine Island.... but it does not compare to clear water which is about 45 to a hour away; depends on traffic. 40 mins away from Tampa air port but also depends on traffic. You have up and down classes but mostly higher middle end and afew high end class areas.

Hope this helps.

Hernando? You'll love it if you like trailer parks, jacked up 4x4's, and rednecks. Oh, and not a lot of jobs in Hernando, thus the trailer parks.
Tampa and Orlando have lots of good schools, lots of bad schools. It's all about the neighborhoods you choose. Location is everything. Do your research.
Housing market is in the tank, so there are TON'S of great buys around here, which are at the bottom of their price point.
BTW, I don't know where this guy gets his distances, but it takes a hell of a lot longer to get to good beaches AND the Tampa airport than 40-45 mins from Hernando County, in NO traffic, which is NEVER.

 

[bigdiezel407]

Check out a place called Avalon in East Orlando. Pretty nice. Good distance from everything, clean, and prices arent that bad for pretty decent housing. Pm me if your thinking of moving to Orlando and i can give you some pointers of where to look and what you want to avoid.

 

[eroc613]

If you moved to Jacksonville Beach you could probably workout at the same same gym at Dexter, not because of dex but because it's a great gym. Jacksonville is laid back big city, but small town feel. If you moved just south to the next county. St. Johns county schools are very good, she could go to the same high school as Tim Tebow (near the beach), Clay county is very good for schools too, but 45-hour from the beach. Power house gyms all over Jax, if you join one you can go to all of them. I think there's about 7 or 8 throughout the area. Don Long trains at the one on the south side. Lee Banks trains at different ones on the west side.

 

[richiec]

I would stay in the Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Clay county area. Volusia and Clay are going to be close to the beach, but you are going to be paying for that too, land and insurance wise! Orange and Seminole are 45min to the beaches.

You can look at Hillsborough, but once again, prices might be high there also, they are right on the coast. If you can afford to do it, go for it. If you need some homeowners insurance, PM me

 

[e6er]

If you're looking around the Orlando area take a look at Avalon Park/Waterford Lakes area. Very nice, and they are pretty new. I know Orlando Barbell is in the vicinity.

Avalon Park > Home

Check out a place called Avalon in East Orlando. Pretty nice. Good distance from everything, clean, and prices arent that bad for pretty decent housing. Pm me if your thinking of moving to Orlando and i can give you some pointers of where to look and what you want to avoid.

I just saw you posted the same.

 

[thomasfouraker]

If you moved to Jacksonville Beach you could probably workout at the same same gym at Dexter, not because of dex but because it's a great gym. Jacksonville is laid back big city, but small town feel. If you moved just south to the next county. St. Johns county schools are very good, she could go to the same high school as Tim Tebow (near the beach), Clay county is very good for schools too, but 45-hour from the beach. Power house gyms all over Jax, if you join one you can go to all of them. I think there's about 7 or 8 throughout the area. Don Long trains at the one on the south side. Lee Banks trains at different ones on the west side.

Saw Lee Banks at my Gym the other day. By far the biggest man I have ever seen in my life. Just couldn't help but stare. I live in Nassau County, which is a neighboring county to Duval which is all of Jacksonville. In Nassau, Fernadina Beach would be a great area, as would Ameila Island. Plenty of hospitals in NE Florida.

 

[hotttsauce]

Thanks folks! I am doing research on job opportunities, housing markets, school grade cards, crime rates, etc, but it's nice to hear from people in state that know good places to go and bad to avoid.

I had thought about Jacksonville but that is pretty far north and was hoping for something more central located to make it easier for travel. If my old lady hears about Dexter being in Jax I am doomed!!!! She will want to move there for sure!

All the feedback is more than appreciated!! Really helps a great deal, seeing stats on paper is one thing but hearing pro's/con's is much better

 

[Hungry Hungarian]

It sounds like everyone likes where they live...LOL. I live in Tampa, my best friend lives in Lauderdale where he owns a gym and I've traveled all over the state for my job in commercial real estate. I like to think I've seen the best and worst of what we have to offer. My opinion is since you want to be a little more central, Jax is out. However, Jax and its surrounding coummnities can be pretty nice...a lot of great places there. Orlando area has its really nice spots as well but be warned about the traffic and congestion. Where Marylin works is really really nice but you said you wanted to be closer to the beach? Its at least an hour in either direction, but Disney is close by! I would stay away from Lauderdale and Miami...just to crazy. You probably see where I am going with this...Tampa. Voted the best and easiest airport over and over...never overly busy and it has all the major airlines. The highways are busy during the rush hours but otherwise not unbearable. I recently moved to a wonderful area about 8 miles north of the city and we couldnt be happier with our community. We are 30 minutes from the beach, 1 hour form Orlando and the parks, 3.5 to 4 hours from Jax and Lauderdale by car and we are only 15 min from the airport. And believe it or not, Tampa is actually becoming a hot spot for bodybuilding. Besides that my wifes son is in middle school and we really like the teachers and like someone said before there are some good schools and some bad ones you just have to look. if you need any other help my good friend is has his own real estate company in town and he does all my deals for me. Great guy....pm me if you need more info.

 

[gulfcoast]

Have lived in the SE my entire life and have lived and traveled extensively for work n pleasure in FL.

IMO -

Jax area is nice ONLY if u live in the higher end places such as Ponte Vedra or on the beaches.

Orlando area is the hottest, most humid place w the worst traffic u have ever been to in ur life. LOL

Miami/Lauderdale - Unless u have big $ and speak Spanish it isn't all that fun.

So that leaves Tampa - great beaches, great shopping, great dining, pro sports teams, great airport, incredible boating and traffic not too bad except during rush hour or when trying to get out to the beaches at certain times.

If I had to live in a big city environment that was a day drive from anywhere from the FL/GA line down to Key West it would without a doubt be in the Tampa/St. Pete/CWater metro area.

 

[hotttsauce]

It sounds like everyone likes where they live...LOL. I live in Tampa, my best friend lives in Lauderdale where he owns a gym and I've traveled all over the state for my job in commercial real estate. I like to think I've seen the best and worst of what we have to offer. My opinion is since you want to be a little more central, Jax is out. However, Jax and its surrounding coummnities can be pretty nice...a lot of great places there. Orlando area has its really nice spots as well but be warned about the traffic and congestion. Where Marylin works is really really nice but you said you wanted to be closer to the beach? Its at least an hour in either direction, but Disney is close by! I would stay away from Lauderdale and Miami...just to crazy. You probably see where I am going with this...Tampa. Voted the best and easiest airport over and over...never overly busy and it has all the major airlines. The highways are busy during the rush hours but otherwise not unbearable. I recently moved to a wonderful area about 8 miles north of the city and we couldnt be happier with our community. We are 30 minutes from the beach, 1 hour form Orlando and the parks, 3.5 to 4 hours from Jax and Lauderdale by car and we are only 15 min from the airport. And believe it or not, Tampa is actually becoming a hot spot for bodybuilding. Besides that my wifes son is in middle school and we really like the teachers and like someone said before there are some good schools and some bad ones you just have to look. if you need any other help my good friend is has his own real estate company in town and he does all my deals for me. Great guy....pm me if you need more info.

Thanks HH, I sent ya a PM. My thoughts are somewhere like your area (close to city but not on top of it, close to beach and not far from her Sis) or in the outter areas of Orlando, more than likely East or like Lake Mary area. Just a lot of places to choose from.

Miami is just too far south and Jax too far north for easy travel. Would rather be able to drive for the most part than fly around FL. Plus I need to keep in mind my fiance and needing to find an accounting job, or something at least in the beginning til she has more time to look around.

 

[hotttsauce]

Have lived in the SE my entire life and have lived and traveled extensively for work n pleasure in FL.

IMO -

Jax area is nice ONLY if u live in the higher end places such as Ponte Vedra or on the beaches.

Orlando area is the hottest, most humid place w the worst traffic u have ever been to in ur life. LOL

Miami/Lauderdale - Unless u have big $ and speak Spanish it isn't all that fun.

So that leaves Tampa - great beaches, great shopping, great dining, pro sports teams, great airport, incredible boating and traffic not too bad except during rush hour or when trying to get out to the beaches at certain times.

If I had to live in a big city environment that was a day drive from anywhere from the FL/GA line down to Key West it would without a doubt be in the Tampa/St. Pete/CWater metro area.

You pretty much summed it all up!!! LOL a lot of what I thought was pretty correct then.

Everyones information is being really helpful, thank you!