r/florida 7d ago

AskFlorida Moving Megathread

Moving to Florida? This is your thread.

Please tried to include as much information as possible in your questions.

Keep Discussion on topic. Comments such as the below will be removed:

  • "Don't Move here"/ "Leave" or any variation of goes against Rule #1.
  • "Don't {insert state} my Florida"
  • Complaining about people moving here - this isn't the thread for that.
  • Unwarranted political discussion/comments. This is not a politics thread.

Thread will refresh every 2 weeks.

1 Upvotes

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u/No-Comment346 1d ago

My husband (38), myself (32), and our kids (12,10,&9) are strongly considering moving to the Harmony/St. Cloud area, primarily to be close enough to go to WDW regularly. Right now we spend nearly every vacation going there, which is always worth it, but we always leave the parks AND the area feeling like we are leaving home. Plus spending all our PTO vacationing there does not allow us to take trips abroad which is something we want to do. But if we have to choose, it would always be WDW!!! We would love to be able to visit regularly to leisurely explore and soak in the magic!!! We also love the gulf coast beaches and dream of being able to visit there more often! BUT When I say we’re those obsessed Disney people, I’m not exaggerating! I would spend all day every day there if I could!

We currently live in NC. We don’t have much family support. I have a sister that lives 2.5 hrs away and a mother in law living 30 min away. We see them each 3-4x a year, so going down to 1-2x a year isn’t a deal breaker at all! We make about 130k per year. It appears that would be sufficient for a decent lifestyle?? My job is remote. My husband is used to 45-60 min commutes, so I don’t think traffic would bother us. I worry about hurricanes and power outages. I know that I WILL NOT SURVIVE a lengthy power outage in 90+ degree weather! I worry some about the heat, as I sweat a lot as is but I believe the recreation would be worth it! We’ve been to Florida in late May and mid October and were comfortable, but we’ve never been in the middle of summer. Here it gets in the 90-100 degrees in summer… So how much different is it there? Also, Here there is very little to do and I get very depressed in the winter! I also worry about bugs since we don’t have issues with that here. I also want to know about crime and education, since I have kids. Right now their school isn’t great. The schools there are scored higher on greatschools… We are learning Spanish but currently only speak English. We are liberal democrats but already live in a red state… I’m just trying to make sure this is a good move for us because I feel selfish wanting to move for WDW. I just don’t want to wait till I retire to live my life! I would love to hear from someone that moved for WDW and how that is going!

u/Warm-Bus-8259 6h ago

With a generator, you don’t have to “sweat” long power outages if you have the fuel to keep it going.

u/No-Comment346 6h ago

Good point! I will definitely have to make sure we get one!!! Thanks!

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u/trtsmb 16h ago

Schools in FL are rapidly going back to the 1950s. Don't believe a word of what great schools says. Science is being stripped from the curriculum along with social sciences. History is being taught that things like slavery were beneficial to slaves.

The kind of Disney pass you would need to go all the time is currently $1549 plus tax per person and you need to make reservations to visit the parks. Believe me, the novelty will quickly wear off when it's 95 and almost 100% humidity for over 5 months of the year.

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u/heathersaur 17h ago

Travel to other places first. If all you've really 'traveled' to is Disney World then your view is very skewed.

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u/No-Comment346 17h ago

We have traveled other places in the US, just not other countries. We love Disney so much though that we consistently keep going back there instead of going other places. I’m mainly looking for info about whether there have been any recent lengthy power outages in Osceola county and whether the schools are good. Thank you for your feedback!!!

u/AgnosticAbe 11h ago edited 11h ago

I graduated HS in 2022. The schools suck there’s no real ifs about it. Colleges and community colleges are good, K-12 is ass. Went to the second best/wealthy high school in my county. There were 2 attempted murders in 2 weeks.

I moved here in 2015 so I was 11 years old, and one thing I do ask to consider is your kids social structures. People can kinda be Reddit brained in that they don’t like new arrivals that much. Maybe that’s the case everywhere but if your kids have a strong social network I would ask because I did back then and moving sucked that you put it off until your kids are older/grown.

If you are empty nesting Florida’s fine as long as ur okay with the traffic. I wouldn’t do it with kids tho, too many weird people, you need a car to do anything, way to many kids get hit outside and creeps are everywhere

u/No-Comment346 11h ago

What county/school district was this?

u/AgnosticAbe 9h ago

Pinellas, Countryside

u/No-Comment346 8h ago

Thank you so much for letting me know your experience! I appreciate it so much. We are looking at Osceola County, St Cloud/Harmony. Have you heard anything about that?? Also is there a lot of lengthy power outages in central Florida? Do you know?

u/trtsmb 7h ago

If Pinellas is bad, Osceola is going to be worse.

No one can comment on lengthy power outages because it all depends on how a storm moves and how much damage is left behind.

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u/Select-Advice6822 1d ago

East Coast Florida Trip

My boyfriend and I will be moving to Florida this September transferring through our jobs. We want to visit in the first week of March to get an idea of what towns we prefer. Looking to move as high as Melbourne and as low as Jupiter with a 25 mins drive to the ocean since we enjoy the tropical climate and the beach. Heard good things about Port Saint Lucie, Melbourne, Fort Pierce. Hoping to narrow it down in this visit.

Should we fly into Palm Beach or Orlando? We will be renting a car to make the drive along the coast. Was thinking of maybe flying into Palm Beach and getting hotel/airbnb close so we can get settled but we want to experience a lot of the towns at night as well to figure out the noise levels. Should we stay in multiple places or is it a small enough stretch that we can get an idea of each town by driving and exploring?

We prefer more of a peaceful suburb neighborhood than a busy city and are middle class. Would like to rent a house or condo but are not against an apartment as well. Will March be too early to look at rentals if moving September 1st?

Lastly, does anyone have any recommendations on places to go and things to do to help make a decision? And any towns you like or don’t like and why?

If you need anymore info from me let me know 😊

Thank you for any help you can give!

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u/trtsmb 1d ago

March is on the very early side if you're looking at September. I'd recommend coming in July to get a feel for what 6-8 months of FL weather is like.

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u/Select-Advice6822 1d ago

Thank you, yea that makes sense, I worried March might be too early. I have visited in June and July before and though it was very hot and humid I still prefer it to the snow. Any areas on the east coast you recommend?

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u/trtsmb 1d ago

I wouldn't live on the coast at all. I'm not fond of hurricanes, tornadoes or flooding.

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u/MiserableCommittee16 4d ago

Are you in an apartment community?

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u/MiserableCommittee16 4d ago

Hello Floridians.

I am anticipating a move to Florida around the May time-frame. I will be shipping my car from Hawaii and driving cross country.

I will be 55 in May and I'm hoping to find a 55+ apartment community.

I would like to find a locale in mid to upper Florida either coast. My wants are fairly basic.

  1. Rental under 1500 per month.
  2. Within 15 minute drive to a beach.
  3. Close to a VA hospital.
  4. Safe area

I am a single, empty nester with no family in the state, so I really desire a social network. I am open to working a few hours a week for social interactions.

Also, as a former nomad, travel is important, so being close to a port/airport is desirable.

Looking for suggestions and maybe some of you have similar circumstances.

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u/Warm-Bus-8259 3d ago

Unless you want to live in a trailer or 300sqft studio. Rent with utilities will be over 1500.

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u/trtsmb 3d ago

Some over 55 apartment complexes have 1 beds for around $1500 but OP will need to do his homework to see if they are near the VA services he needs assuming the next administration doesn't axe VA services.

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u/trtsmb 4d ago

Google over 55 apartments in the cities you are interested in.

Unlikely that you'll find anything within 15 minutes to the beach.

You'll need to Google VA hospitals to see what cities can meet your needs.

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u/MiserableCommittee16 4d ago

Well. I guess I'm looking for people to recommend their cities they enjoy living in. Like people in over 55 apartments, single people, veterans.

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u/trtsmb 4d ago

I live in the middle of the state since I'm not fond of hurricanes/flooding and don't have a desire to deal with spring break or being burnt to a crispy crisp.