I am happy to answer any and all questions
I will give you some background on what we did, then how we moved. I have to say first its the best thing we ever did, and I wished we moved sooner. Not that everything has been easy, but its been well worth it.
We have been planning the move for over 5 years. We started by scouting out areas when we went on vacation. We we just pick a few towns, and during our off days we would drive through the towns and neighborhoods to get a feel for the area. We did this for several trips then would come home to research the crime and schools. This led us, as it seems you to Seminole County. We focused a few trips in this area and really liked the area. We focused on the Ovideo/Winter Springs area. Its not right on top of the parks and for us is a perfectly placed between the parks and the beach. If we take I4 we can get to Disney in about 40min, 417 in about 1 hour, and the airport in about 20min. So for us its perfectly situated. It has low crime and great schools. We listed our house on the market and waited, and waited. In the meantime we contacted a local realtor down in this area so on future trips we could look at houses, let me know if you want her contact information, so when we came down we could be productive in finding a place to live.
Before our house was listed we took a multi-year approach to cleaning out, packing, and fixing up the house. We share the house with my in-laws. My wife and in-laws have lived in it since the 80's and they/we had/have way tooo much stuff
We started backing and placing items in storage so we could make the house show ready. During this time I notified my current employer at that time of my move and discussed me working remotely. My job allows me to work remotely from home, which has really helped this process. He was on board with it, for about 6 months then balked on our agreement. So I went out looking for work in FL and NJ area. I used recruiters in both areas, and got a job in NJ that would allow me after 6M to work remotely. We set up the move for that 6M date. The house still wasn't sold, and at that point we had no place to go in FL. We figured it would be best to get an apartment, if the house didn't sell in time we could still move. I have to say that is the hardest thing with the move, was the timing of everything. Its very hard to coordinate when the house will sell and when you can move down. We just pushed the issue. I found an apartment in Casselberry, after much searching and researching. There plenty of apartments down in this area, but not many that will take 2 100lbs+ labs.
The wife and I, moved July 7th into the apartment that we rented sight unseen. We flew down and stayed at Disney for a few days our stuff could be shipped down. We we pleasantly surprised with the apartment. Its a great fit. it's quiet, clean, and very dog friendly. We shipped our stuff down using ABF. You load the tractor trailer and they drive it down, then you unload it. We found this easier and cheaper then a Uhaul. A few weeks later the in-laws came down, then I flew back to drive the pups down.
We all have adjusted well. Its a bit cramped in the apartment, but its manageable. We have a 2 level apartment so we do get some separation. The house in NJ still hasn't sold. We were lucky that we could float the mortgage and the apartment, and storage units. Then Sandy hit. We were lucky our house didn't have any damage. Since so many people lost their homes we decided to rent the house to a nice couple with dogs who lost everything. We had planned to just be in the apartment a few months, but it looks like we will be here a bit longer. Once the NJ house sells then we will resume the FL house search. Right now Seminole County is a sellers market. There is very little volume, so its best we wait a bit anyway.
I think that covers the move.. well most of it. If you have specific questions regarding moving costs, jobs, utility bills, cost of living down here, etc please feel free to ask. If there is anything I can do to help let me know. I can always drive around and take pics for you, etc.
Rich