I’ve been taking the kiddo to visit her grandparents in the Delmarva area for almost a week now, and I’m profoundly homesick to return back to Cinderella’s back yard. (We moved from the DC-Maryland area to Florida in late April and it really is a coming home experience.)
How many other “living the dream” folks are there who have packed up their lives and moved to their dream happy place (Disney-related or not)? Where’d you move, what do you like, what do you miss, and what advice would you have for others?
For me:
Where’d I move: Windermere-Winter Garden, FL
What do I like: The air quality, the slower pace of life, the lack of traffic and ability to be anywhere in a few minutes, the much lower cost of living and better places to rent/buy, the huge selection of places to eat, the large amount of activities and places to see, and the proximity to Disney
What I don’t like: We do miss our families, I miss shopping at Wegman’s, and right now my husband’s job is a bit meh (a 6-month contract to get his feet wet down here, but it means commuting Orlando to Tampa every day for the first bit of it)
What advice I’d have for others: Figure out a budget early and save 1/2 again as much as you think you need, and of course at some point, just take the plunge and thumb your nose at the naysayers out there!
We are mid move. I have full custody of DS10 but my ex filed a last minute motion over a year ago to stop our move to Celebration. For now, we are living in my parents home in Minneapolis which has worked well. They are long retired and spend summers in northern MN at the lake place and winters in Clearwater FL on the beach.
I decided to make the move during a long cold snap in February. I work from home and can work from anyplace. We have been essentially commuting to WDW, going every or every other month. I realized we could follow the same migration patterns as retired people. And with my parents in Clearwater we can have the best of every world, getting out to the beach on weekends when we want. We will come back to MN in the summer. Dad worked hard and was pretty successful and there are guest cottages at all of his houses. He LOVES being able to spend more time with DS10 and the step mom (my mom passed away 19 years ago) likes our cats (she never had kids).
So - just need to get out of family court. I picked Celebration looking for a good school. I fell in love with the town. I know there are rules, but I value the community design and activities. I want to buy one of those electric cars and sit in the rocking chairs next to the lake drinking my morning coffee.
I vote to just take the plunge! We are downsizing. Moving from a house to a condo. I gave away EVERYTHING. If it doesn’t all fit in the minivan it’s not coming. When DS10 leaves me for college I will be well entrenched in my retirement plan. Why wait until I am old and alone to enjoy life?
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I’m completely with you about downsizing. We got rid of 2/3 to 3/4 of our possessions before we moved, and have bought very little since we moved – we just don’t need more stuff in our lives. When the mover came to give us a quote, he kept looking at the size of our house, looking at the size of the place we were moving into, and asked “So…where’s the rest of your stuff?” We’re not completely a minimalist family, but we do practice “pragmatic minimalism” and it makes for a better quality of life for us!
@Magicmn I’m in St Louis Park and this past winter just about did us in! My 2 DS’s (14 & 16) have vowed to move somewhere warm for college and life. Crossing my fingers it’s Florida so WHEN my DH and I move there, we can see the kids and grandkids. Good for you for making the dream happen!!
@Tinkerbrooke You will understand this: I grew up in Minneapolis near Uptown and Lake of the Isles. I went to Southwest HS. We were living in Edina! I bought the house pre-kid as it was close to work. BUT, Edina turned out to be every stereotype I grew up thinking it was. School was NOT a good fit for us. For now DS10 is way happier at Kenwood with other funky & fun Uptown kids!
This past winter was even more ridiculous than the year before. But enjoy the beautiful weather today - it’s gorgeous outside!
We’re working on it. First step complete. We bought a house in Davenport. I like that it’s West of Disney. It seems a lot less congested there. I love that it’s still only 9 miles to Disney. I could actually leave the house later for rope drop than if I was taking a bus from my resort 
It’s less than half the cost of a similar home in NY. Looking forward to being there full time eventually.
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