Need advice...thinking about moving to Florida/Orlando area?

Question

I've lived in Ohio all of my life and I am in the aviation field. My wife has a degree in education. We are really interested in moving to Florida..more specifically the Orlando area. I would like to get on with Airtran Airlines, and we have heard that Florida is a great state for teachers....Ohio currently has no need for teachers at all! Actually, it's tough to find a job in Ohio, period! Can anyone tell me about living in Orlando? I have read many comments about horrible drivers, crime, high home costs, etc. etc., but it's my opinion that anyone will find these problems in just about any city. I live in Cleveland, and believe me I'm under the impression that WE have the worst drivers, and the home prices are ridiculous for what you get. All opinions are welcome, but I'd especially like to hear from the people that have moved to Florida from other parts of the country, just to get an outsider's perspective. Thanks!

Answer 1

if you like the fast life then move here i have lived here for 16 years and I'm moving out its way over crowed they are building so much houses and not building no roads i work as a construction superintendent and build a lot of schools as soon as we finish them they are already putting in portables and they are overcrowded i loved it here until the big boom now I'm outta here!!! the housing prices skyrocketed my house i bought 6 years ago for 137500 now i can get 269000 for it take the profit move to alabama and pay cash for a home

Answer 2

I moved to central FL about 3 1/2 years ago from PA, so the weather is a definite plus, although it is brutally hot during the summer. Winter is awesome. My brother is a teacher with a master's degree and his pay is embarrassingly low. Nothing like PA. The need for teachers is real, though. There are at least 3 int'l airports in the area: Orlando, Sanford and Daytona Beach. Rush hour commuting in & out of the city of Orlando is a horror, so I would seriously consider where you live in relation to where you work to avoid that stress. I agree with some of the others here that there are folks with questionable driving skills! So you have to be on your toes when traveling Interstate 4 in particular. There are areas where the housing is not so expensive and right now it's a buyer's market. I live in Volusia County in a nice neighborhood and there are 2 homes on my street that have been for sale for at least 6 months and the prices have been reduced twice. So you may be able to find something somewhat affordable. The costs for consumer goods is comparable to PA and maybe even a little lower. I would suggest you do your homework, and if you haven't already, make a visit in July or August. Best of luck to you!

Answer 3

Florida is growing at an incredible rate, mainly from people moving from out-of-state. It used to be that the vast majority of new residents were retirees. This may still be the case but not at the percentage it once was.

Having just left Florida (now in Texas), I can tell you that living there was great. You can't beat the weather and depending on where you go, it's beautiful! There are no state income taxes, which will save you money on your paycheck. The drawback is the insane cost of living. Unless you make a healthy income (i.e. $150,000/year combined minimum), you can forget buying a nice, new home, unless you have money saved up for a healthy down payment. Renting is a terrible option because you don't get your money's worth. I had a small 3 BR condo rented for $1350 per month. The rooms were tiny and the building standards were crap. Not structurally, but other stuff like the trim work and insulation were just low level. Houses are done with better care depending on who built them. The problem is affording them.

Texas, on the other hand, also has no state income tax and also has nice weather (at least South of I-10). The house I bought just outside Houston would have cost three times as much in Sarasota, FL.

Do the math on that! It was a no-brainer, so we bolted.

Answer 4

Having once lived in Orlando, I can tell you that some areas are expensive to live in, not everyone is a horrible driver and some areas have problems with crime. However, that can be true of any city, including Cleveland. I took my road test in Orlando and having learned on Canadian roads, Orlando wasn't all that bad. The one thing that I truly hated about living in Orlando is that they have very few sidewalks and they'll just randomly end before you get to a destination. When I lived there, it felt like every morning, there was something on the news about a kid that got run over by a car while walking to school - not much wonder when there weren't sidewalks.

I'm not sure how the job market is in Orlando anymore so I can't help you there but I can tell you that I loved the time I lived in Orlando - just don't move in the summer down there.

Answer 5

I Moved to Orlando about 4 years ago from Rhode Island. The traffic was worse elesewhere but many road projects cleared up that problem (at least in south Orlando west of the airport) Yes there are teachers needed and their paid based on years of education and experience. Areas such as Hunters Creek are nice with many school and less then 30 minute drive to the airport. The crime is a problem in North Orlando not South.

Answer 6

I live 45 minutes from Orlando. I would check into moving towards the coast more maybe Viera or Melbourne. Orlando's traffic is horrible you will hate it and it only gets worse every year. Crime in Orlando has also been really bad this year. The murder rate has already broken its record. Florida is a nice place to live. Cheaper property taxes over most places up north, homes are still relatively affordable, no state income tax.
http://www.city-data.com/city/Melbourne-Florida.html
They don't have a link for Viera yet but its a very nice area lots of shopping and more businesses coming to that area. Nice homes, nice schools and you can commute to Orlando from there in about 40 minutes (if you lived in Orlando it would take you that long to get to work alone on I4)

Answer 7

I dont know who told you that Orlando is a great place for teachers... the pay isn't good and you are usually dealing with bad kids!! I tried to get a teaching job in FL, and the pay was sad!!

I currently live outside of Orlando. I love it here. The crime rate is high, but just stay away from the bad areas and you are ok! Housing costs are high, but not going up anymore, hopefully! You can find nice houses, but they tend to be expensive.

Definitely look into the cost of livig and what you can expect to make before you move here.

Answer 8

It's so crowded. Everywhere. All the time. Traffic is a nightmare.
Florida schools are terrible so your wife can look forward to slacking off and doing very little while still getting paid. We actually had to pass a law demanding that all kids learn to read by 4th grade! HAhahahahaha, how pitiful is that? They also no longer learn, they study all year for the FCAT. Check out how many F schools we have in Orange county, it's a hoot!
The crime is not that high, the housing is ridiculous. We're wanting to move but, sheesh, $400,000 for a 3 bedroom house? I'm not sure if we could afford the dinky house we're in right now if we had to buy it today.
Yeah, you don't spend money on oil in the winter but your ac better work and it's not free. It'll also be on from April to November.

Answer 9

Oh, gosh! All these comments are so awful! I grew up in Orlando, and now I am in Miami- I MISS IT! The drivers are worse in Miami, I think. There is always something to do in Orlando, I love it. Of course, I know nothing about the home prices or job market since I only grew up there, but I do know about crime- it depends on where you live. Where I grew up (Winter Park/Baldwin Park area), crime was non existant. UCF area is a differant story. I love Orlando! I am moving back the first chance I get!

Answer 10

I live in West Palm Beach. Look at the Sunday paper under JOBS. It is about 6 pages long. Look in Orlando news on Sunday under jobs and it is about 20 pages long! With many full-page advertising begging people to come to work for them. Never in West Palm Beach have I see full page jobs advertising. If looking for work, Orlando would be DEFINITELY a place to check-out.

Answer 11

I have lived in Orlando nearly my entire life. It is not as bad as they say, as long as you don't travel major roads like I-4 during rush hour, it's fine. I live Northeast of Orlando, and home prices are not too bad, around $150,000-200,000. There is a high need for teachers because of No Child Left Behind. At the beginning of each school year there are hirings for hundreds of teachers in each county. As long as you don't mind the heat, it's not too bad.