Catrina

Thankyou very much

Catrina

Thankyou so much to everyone who has given us great idea's, we cant wait to start looking around and investigating in a couple of weeks!!

celticgrid

Just checking, but during the 2 months you are going to be touring Florida, your husband's web business will function without him?

Pulaski

Be prepared for some long and uninteresting drives between pockets of civilization. I was down there a few weeks ago and from a British perspective everything is so spread out. Things that look to be close together on a map can be miles apart, separated by undeveloped land or strip malls and trailer parks - Orlando itself is pretty much the definition of urban sprawl.

Scott33

You know what's coming don't you?

ExBritFL

We live in the Sarasota area which is on the west coast. It's a beautiful city with lovely beaches.
I have to agree with the schooling situation comments - schooling is good in our area for elementary schools but I've heard it can get dicey from middle school onwards. So I wold advise you invest a lot of time into researching the schools. Also the curriculum here is different from the UK, so you should research that also.
Even though Sarasota is beautiful, the fact you have to drive everywhere gets a bit too much sometimes - I drive my daughter to preschool which takes up about an hour of my day just to get her into a good school for three hours.
The lack of any real history, hills, cooler weather (yes it's too hot to even go out the house for 6 months)' decent food, bugs/roaches etc has me homesick for the UK on a regular basis.

Catrina

I guess I don't....

but suffice to say, my husbands business is not a one man operation nor is he a freelancer as someone questioned earlier. He will be able to check in on the progress of the office in London whilst we are in the US.

I am not sure why that person asked... or what it matters to our looking for somewhere to bring up our kids in Orlando.

As for budget, we are looking for a modern development and have a reasonable sized budget that should see us not living in a slum, nor a mansion. We have looked at single family homes 4 bed, with drive/garage etc in a number of spots as a kind of litmus test and are fairly happy we could afford a 'nice' place that should see us happy. We are meeting with a realtor during our stay and will look at some new developments up close for a better understanding of the quality of the finishes etc. Trick is: where to look. We like the idea of Tampa and Sarasota... needs further investigation though. Hence the long trip to try and do our best to 'experience' these places and not just be a tourist.

I know Florida is quite wide open and we have some longer trips planned... which could be a drag.. but we have plenty of time to try and get around whilst maintaining a base near Orlando for the duration of our stay.

Catrina

Hey thanks for the info. Schools are definitely something we need to look at in great detail and take our time over. I appreciate your input on Sarasota. Really 6 months of the year it is too hot?
How long have you been there for?

ExBritFL

Yep - 6 months started a couple of weeks ago. This morning took my daughter to the park early and it was 89f and almost 99% humidity. She was sweaty, miserable and too hot to enjoy her playtime. Like most of her friends.
We spend 6 months trying to look for indoor activities with air con so the kiddos and us can keep cool and avoid the bugs! There is no such thing as "fresh air" during this time. You should perhaps visit during the real summer to get a feel of it.
That being said, the winter months (Dec - early May) are pleasant with low humidity.
Been here for about 8.5 years in total (did spend 6 months in England about 5 years ago)!

Pulaski

People seem to overlook what is pleasant/tolerable/ surprising for a fortnights holiday becomes tiresome after several months, every year.

It was a shock for me when I first experienced the heat of midsummer, when I left the house around 7am and it was already 27°C and heading for 37°C+ by late afternoon. Thankfully we only get such temperatures during July and August, (we are 500 miles north of Orlando) and not every day, but I am always thankful when things start to cool off in September.

MidAtlantic

Are you really fixed on Florida? Georgia and the Carolinas (for example) have many of the advantages of Florida, without the disadvantages.

ExBritFL

Exactly! Which is why I would advise anyone who wants to live in Florida, to come and visit in summer and rent a house away from the beach to get a real insight lol

RainyDays

St. John's County has a very good reputation for schools. we've visited recently to tour the high school and homes in the area. It's not a touristy area. Nice beaches (not overdeveloped), lovely homes and good schools.

We may end up in the Clearwater area (because of my husband's work) and right now Palm Harbor is the only community I can find that has good high schools.

Like some others have said, it depends on what you like. We wanted to be close to the beach, with good schools and low crime. Check out Julington Creek Plantation if you don't mind suburban subdivisons.

Jerseygirl

Hi Catrina and welcome to BE.

I'm sorry you feel you've been given a hard time. In fairness to our members we get dozens of posts similar to yours every week. Most dream of moving to the land of The Mouse. Unfortunately for most a dream is all it will ever be. Many of our members have been answering such questions for years...for some over a decade. So please forgive us if before giving advice about moving to Florida...we wish to establish what visa you will have.

celticgrid

I wondered. But I didn't want to get too specific for fear of using the 'v' word and causing disruption...