Moving to Florida- Orlando Advice

[Westin5Star]

Based on the soon to be approximately 20% (between sales and income tax) CA tax rate, my family and I are most likely moving to Florida. We love the weather (including the humity), warm beach water, and less smog / crime than where we currently live in CA. We have booked a trip to FL which has about 6% tax (income and sales in the areas that we are considering) from January 31-February 9 to investigate new places to live. BTW, the difference in state taxes is about $140,000 less per year based on just $1M in income.

We are looking for a new place to live. We have done demographic (education, crime, cost of living, climate, etc.) studies throughout the state and we have narrowed things down to Jupiter / Palm Beach or Sarasota. We will be staying in Jupiter from January 31- February 3. We then plan to goto Orlando from February 3-7 and visit Disney. Then we will goto Sarasota from February 7-9. I have already contacted realtors in both places and we are seriously considering this change.

We stayed at SVR last April for a week. We got the top floor overlooking the pool right next to the general store; I believe it was in the Courts section. The room location was good but the room was a bit dated. I do not remember seeing SVV or its relation to Disney World. I normally ignore most Orlando posts since we do not own there.

We are looking to either stay at SVV or request a remodeled room in SVR. Since we are 5*, I am assuming that we would get a remodeled room if requested. My question is would you recommend staying at SVV or SVR remodeled? If we request SVR remodeled, is there a certain section that you would recommend?

Thank you in advance for you suggestions. We are also open to any Jupiter / Sarasota advice if you want to PM me.

 

[Transit]

The Key West section at the villages is nice because it's a little secluded from the rest of the resort. Amelia section is brand new so it would be the most up to date.SVV and SVR are not far from each other or Disney SVV is in a less congested area.

 

[clsmit]

We have stayed both SVV and SVR. We like SVV a lot better. We were in Key West in the back. It was quiet except for some construction noise too early in the morning (for us). The location relative to Disney World is maybe 5 mintues longer but in a less congested area, as has been said. It's only 1/2 mile to the Publix (the best grocery store in the area) and a really nice outlet mall (Chelseas's Orlando Premium Outlets).

As for places to live in Florida, in addition to all the things you considered, elevation is also important. Don't live on the beach or below sea level. The higher you are the lower the chances of getting storm surge during a hurricane. Even being 75 feet above sea level is important. Visit the beach, live on a hill. And get homeowner's insurance quotes before buying a house. Insurance prices are crazy in FL right now due to all the storms. It's worse than CA, since the insurance structure in each state is different.

Best of luck with your move!
Carol

 

[amanven]

SVV is the newer resort so I would not be surprised to see most people on this board recommend it over SVR but personally I think SVR has a lot going for it if only because it is not still under construction like SVV. There is so much more room to stretch out in the resort to take long walks or to get the feeling of being removed from the hustle and bustle of Orlando. If you don't like one particular pool for example there are many others to choose from and the dining choices at SVR are more varied than at SVV.

It is true the Courts section at SVR can be off putting as it is the oldest phase of the resort but SVR is currently being refurbished and when it is done I could see it being back on par with SVV in terms of room quality.
If you got a top floor room overlooking the pool near the general store I don't think you were in the Courts section because the Courts is too far from the General Store for you to have that type of view. It sounds like you might have been in the Cascades section.

The remodeled rooms are in the Fountains and Lakes sections. The Cascades,Spas,Falls and Springs are currently in various early stages of the refurbishment so your chances of getting a remodelled room are iffy even if you are 5* but it can't hurt to ask. SVR is also a bit closer to Disney than SVV.

Good luck with your property search, Florida has a wealth of properties to choose from. If our kids were grown and we were closer to retirement age I would be looking there myself for a winter retreat.

 

[Gramma5]

Sarasota

If relocation doesn't depend on you finding a job, Sarasota is a great place to live. Besides the great weather, it has cultural events too. Having lived on both coasts of Fl. I LOVE the west coast because of the Gulf of Mexico. you can swim nearly all year round if you want. The Atlantic is too cold in the winter for most people!
If you need to find employment....Sarasota may not be the right place. The economy has struck very hard here and jobs are few and far between. But housing is down, so for buying it is a great time, esp. coming from CA.
We are retired, and we didn't need to find a job, but some retirees do and they are having difficult times.
The weather in the winter is wonderful...we have just had a cold spell
(about 60+ during the day) and people are wearing jackets! We are from MN. and they just had 2-3 days with -20+ below, so 60 is GREAT for us! I was even out at the pool yesterday for 3 hrs. because the wind was blocked and the sun was very warm! Good luck in your search.

 

[jerseygirl]

My first choice, if relocating to Florida, would be the Naples area.

 

[LisaRex]

My first choice, if relocating to Florida, would be the Naples area.

Ditto. And there are some good bargains to be had now.

 

[capjak]

We really like SVV or SVR and have been to both resorts. We prefer SVV due to the newer rooms and facilities.

 

[stevens397]

I'm still stuck on "just $1 Million in income"!

One of the main advantages of the west coast is that you can drive at more than 5 miles per hour.

 

[CeeWoo]

I'm still stuck on "just $1 Million in income"!
.

Thanks. I was starting to think it was just me

 

[Westin5Star]

I'm still stuck on "just $1 Million in income"!

One of the main advantages of the west coast is that you can drive at more than 5 miles per hour.

From my house in SoCal, LA is about 65 miles but can take about 3 hours during traffic. The beach in OC is 35 miles and it can take 2 hours. The return trips are no better.

I have had some traffic over the years in driving around FL, NYC, etc. but I still am yet to experience traffic as bad as SoCal during commute times and this includes one night in NYC that it took me almost an hour to go about 3 miles.

My house in Tahoe doesn't normally have too much traffic. Holiday week / weekends and summer can be pretty bad though if you are trying to get around the lake.

One of the reason that we are spending some time in FL in cities where we are considering living in is because we want to see how the traffic compares. I have had many a times in SoCal where I wished that I were going 5 MPH though. I cannot imagine FL traffic will be too much worse than what I have experienced in SoCal and the $140k+ a year in state tax savings might help me feel better if it is.

 

[Westin5Star]

Thank you for the suggestions on Naples. I actually had originally narrowed my areas down to Jupiter or Naples. I was encourage on city-data forums to sub Sarasota for Naples. Naples crime rate were much less than Sarasota but I have been told that I will regret moving my 3 & 5 year old there. Many suggested that Naples really isn't too good a place for younger families. I would be happy to reconsider. We could always skip DisneyWorld in Orlando and goto Naples instead???

 

[LisaRex]

Naples is a very nice town, however I look at it from the perspective of an adult with teenage kids. It has everything I'd want but it probably doesn't have a lot of young families.

 

[Twinkstarr]

Naples is a very nice town, however I look at it from the perspective of an adult with teenage kids. It has everything I'd want but it probably doesn't have a lot of young families.

Naples and kids? Do they even let them past the city limits, especially during Snowbird season?

All I know about Naples it's very popular with the I-75 snowbirds and a few of my parents friends retired there. Moved back north a few years ago, got tired of the hurricanes.

 

[craftemp]

Mount Dora

We have stayed both SVV and SVR. We like SVV a lot better. We were in Key West in the back. It was quiet except for some construction noise too early in the morning (for us). The location relative to Disney World is maybe 5 mintues longer but in a less congested area, as has been said. It's only 1/2 mile to the Publix (the best grocery store in the area) and a really nice outlet mall (Chelseas's Orlando Premium Outlets).

As for places to live in Florida, in addition to all the things you considered, elevation is also important. Don't live on the beach or below sea level. The higher you are the lower the chances of getting storm surge during a hurricane. Even being 75 feet above sea level is important. Visit the beach, live on a hill. And get homeowner's insurance quotes before buying a house. Insurance prices are crazy in FL right now due to all the storms. It's worse than CA, since the insurance structure in each state is different.

Best of luck with your move!
Carol

Mt Dora has got to be my favorite town in Florida - it is about 1/2 hour north of Orlando.. I believe the elevation is 10 ft above sea level (hence the name MT Dora - LOL).. it is a great litlte town with lots of activity... it would be worth it to check it out
Good luck with your move

 

[ljwhit]

I'm another one voting for the Sarasota area. We complain about the traffic from Jan thru March, but hey, I live in Venice and travel to Sarasota to work every day - 20 miles each way. Takes me 23 minutes in the summer and 35/45 in the winter when the snow birds are here. Sarasota/Venice/Bradenton have some really beautiful beaches. I live only 7 minutes from the beach. Sarasota has lots of culture also. February is the height of the snowbird season so you'll get a very good look at the traffic patterns.
Sarasota has lots more children than the Naples area. And for the record, historically, has had lots fewer storm/hurricanes than the Naples area. I've been here 25 years and we've had 1 tropical storm come thru Venice. If there were more, they went by unnoticed by me, so couldn't have been too bad.