Advice for moving to Florida from NH

[ktm434]

Hey guys Im advertising my house for sale soon and when it sells I am moving my family to Florida. I was planning on moving near Daytona beach since thats really the only area I know of with surf riding. My wife and I were looking at places in Deltona and were impressed with prices compared to NH. Im looking for any advice you have for good areas to live and good surf riding. Im an auto technician and have experience with BMW and Honda. Id like to live in a more private area within 1 hour driving distance to good surf and about 30 minutes to a car dealership in a busy area with some population and money. I dont want to be stuck in a highly touristed area with huge traffic issues during commuting/rush hour (this may be impossible to ask in Florida) I really dont know much about Florida honestly, Ive been there twice in my life and I was a kid. My wife has her heart set on Florida and Im just so sick of winter dragging on for 6 months out of the year. I raced harescrambles for years and loved racing in the woods with the rocks/mud/roots that is only available in New England but I have kinda moved away from that since I discovered jetskis a year ago. Ive been riding Hampton Beach and became good friends with Pete Jacobs (maybe you know the area and have heard of him?). Anyways any type of advice would be truly appreciated. I have kids too so school systems make a difference as well as crime and privacy within driving distance of good surf and busy car dealerships.
Thanks guys... any advice is very appreciated!!
Jamie

[Jr_]

Re: Advice for moving to Florida from NH

Considered the West Palm Beach/Jupiter area, or do you want to stay further north?
I live in Ft Lauderdale and can tell you first hand, if you are coming from NH, you probably wont like Ft Laud. It has gotten wayyyy too congested over the last few years and is ridiculously expensive.
Jupiter/Abacoa area is gorgeous and very family oriented. Same with the surrounding areas in the Palm Beaches. Plenty of car dealerships and people with money to keep them going.
As fer as Deltona goes....I went there a few months ago to pick up a ski and that place might as well be middle earth to me, but hey, I'm a city boy what can I say.
Feel free to PM me if you want some more insight on SFL and I will shoot you my #

[ktm434]

Re: Advice for moving to Florida from NH

Define middle earth...

[Gator88]

Re: Advice for moving to Florida from NH

Deltona is located in Volusia county (if you want to research it), the same county as Daytona Beach. Deltona has new homes, and old homes... some neighborhoods are manicured with cookie cutter houses and others have a hodgpodge of old houses right next to large modern houses. Deltona, and Deland which is next to it, are decidely middle income areas... some wealthy, some poor... but on average your typcial blue color type area.

Go across the St John's and you run into Lake Mary, which is a white color city... many computer engineers, lawyers, etc live in Lake Mary. It is upper middle class on average. Between Lake Mary and Deland/Deltona is Sanford, which is on the low end of middle class. It has more poverty/crime in general, but there are some very nice communities which have the Sanford mailing address but are many miles away from any "bad" area. South of Lake Mary by a few miles is Longwood. Longwood is older than Lake Mary, but has established (older) homes that are cheaper. Longwood is a mix of blue/white color as well as young professionals and old retirees.

As for schools, Volusia county (Daytona Beach/Deltona/Deland) is ranked lower than Seminole county (Lake Mary/Sanford/Longwood) I don't think Volusia is ranked bad, Seminole county just happens to be fairly well regarded in the state. Seminole High School in Sanford is the worst of the schools however and tends to be the one with higher crime. Lake Mary HS and Lyman (Longwood) are low crime schools. I cannot account for specific schools in Volusia as I live in Seminole.

Jobs: Sanford/Lake Mary has many dealerships... Many just built in Sanford after moving from other parts of the county and Orlando area and they are now clustered near the Seminole Town Center (mall) in Sanford on Rinehart road (a block from Lake Mary border). Other clusters of dealerships in Seminole County are in the city of Casselberry and Winter Springs on a road called 17-92. Casselberry is more congested, lots of apartments, etc. Winter Springs is older neighborhoods, more suburban like but pricier.

Hope this helps.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

Re: Advice for moving to Florida from NH

X 2 on what Gator said.

As far as south Fla...IMO anything south of Port St Lucie is trouble.

[Jr_]

Re: Advice for moving to Florida from NH

Define middle earth...

Ha! I was kidding. As in the middle of nowhere... Problem with my opinion on that is I have lived in major cities all my life... FTL, MIA, NY, DENVER and I have a huge issue having to drive more than 5 min to get to the store, bank etc. Its a great place for a family!
Not sure if you are into sports, but if you want to see a professional game, you will have to drive to either Jax, Tampa or Miami.
The upside is that Orlando is a busy place in FL for the automotive industry. A LOT of name brand and independent dealerships in that area + Manheim is there. They are the largest re-marketer of reposessed, trade ins and buy backs in the country.
Should be pretty easy for you to find work, or start a business in that field.

[ktm434]

Re: Advice for moving to Florida from NH

Yeah that's a huge help! I really wasn't looking to live in southern Florida just for the fact of being further away from everywhere else, I hear it's more expensive, and I wanna say I've heard that southern Florida is where all the retired people flock to. I think Deltona seems like a good area from what I've read and researched. Sounds like a big town with it's good spots and bad spots, lighter and darker areas (if you catch my drift), newer housing and older housing, and they have many schools so I'm sure these areas are somewhat separated as far as my kids having to deal with the people of the worse areas. I've read Deltona had gang activity and crime and certain areas are prone to flooding in Deland and Deltona but alot of the things I've read seem to be exaggerated and that's why I seek advice from fellow jetski riders.

[SxiPro]

Re: Advice for moving to Florida from NH

I'd make a few more visits during different times of the year before finalizing your decision. I am from New England as well, and was looking into doing just what you are. But after visiting a few times, it is just too damn unbearably hot down there. I am gonna grab a cheap place near New Smyrna as a part time home for when I get tired of winter up here and need to escape for a couple weeks at a time. I could never live down there full time. Maybe when I am of retirement age and I need the warmth more, but right now I could not survive that kind of heat all the time.

[ktm434]

Re: Advice for moving to Florida from NH

I'm not much of a city person, I lived in cities going to school and that was fine but I'd like to raise a family out of the city and be able to relax and have some privacy when I come home. I'd like to be able to leave things outside without it getting stollen annone able to leave my car doors unlocked at night without it getting stollen or broken into but still be a few minutes to shopping centers.

[ktm434]

Re: Advice for moving to Florida from NH

Wow! This thread sat idle for so long and now all this action! Thanks guys all the advice is very appreciated! Keep it coming

[Gator88]

Re: Advice for moving to Florida from NH

Central and North Florida are "country" in some areas... Deltona doesn't have a mall for instance, you would drive to Daytona or Sanford for that... It has been developing recently though and the main strips have more restaurants then they did a few years back as people move from more expensive areas to cheaper ones.

I have a friend who lives in Deltona and was recently told he is now in a flood zone by FEMA maps, and thus higher insurance. However, it is the 100 year flood zone and there has never been a flood in many decades in his area. I've lived in Seminole county since 1997 and I do not recall ever hearing of a flood anywhere in this area outside of the St John's river getting to the top of it's bank so to speak. When that happened, they made the river a no wake zone for a month, but it never actually flooded houses like you see along the Missisippi or any other river you might see on CNN. Not saying it won't happen, but back in 2004 when we had 3 hurricanes in two weeks, we did not flood. Take that for what's it's worth and what would need to happen to actually flood here. Within minutes of a rainstorm, it is dry... one good thing about Florida. Just buy a home that is higher than your neighbors!

If you want more country type living, even in a neighborhood, then Volusia is a good area. Seminole county is more developed but features all of the creature amenities you might want within a few minutes drive. From Deltona to Longwood is about a 15-20 minute drive, so you have plenty of different lifestyles to choose from if you come down and look within that distance. Longwood is about 40 minutes from Ponce Inlet (the best waves) which is a few miles south of Daytona Beach.

[Grumpy Old Guy]

Re: Advice for moving to Florida from NH

I'd make a few more visits during different times of the year before finalizing your decision. I am from New England as well, and was looking into doing just what you are. But after visiting a few times, it is just too damn unbearably hot down there. I am gonna grab a cheap place near New Smyrna as a part time home for when I get tired of winter up here and need to escape for a couple weeks at a time. I could never live down there full time. Maybe when I am of retirement age and I need the warmth more, but right now I could not survive that kind of heat all the time.

When people complain about the heat,I tell them thats what air conditioning is for. LOL

Right now its 80 here.

[Gator88]

Re: Advice for moving to Florida from NH

Yes, there are no seasons in Florida other than "bikini weather" and "not bikini weather". Call it anything else, but that is what it boils down to here.

[SxiPro]

Re: Advice for moving to Florida from NH

When people complain about the heat,I tell them thats what air conditioning is for. LOLRight now its 80 here.

Well, that's the thing. I HATE to be inside.

[ktm434]

Re: Advice for moving to Florida from NH

Me too, unless it's in the garage working on the skis