techtony
Geektator
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2015
Back when I was a kid and went to Disney for the first time, I will never forget two things...
1. When we crossed the Eastern Time Zone on the road to Disney from our house in Pensacola, FL. I watched the clock and my mickey mouse watch intensely waiting for the hour hand to jump forward an hour. When it didn't - laughter ensued when my parents realized what I was thinking - that magically the clocks would know to spring forward one hour LOL. Oh to be young and naive again
2. The moment we arrived in Kissimmee, Florida to get to our hotel (Larson's Lodge), I realized that people actually lived close to Disney and I hoped that one day I would be there - that close to the happiest place on earth.
So fast forward to last year. Me and my partner (now husband) decided to take a vacation to Disney World. Yes - we stayed at the Caribbean Beach resort and it was fabulous! We stayed for 4 days in the parks. I will never forget the absolute, overwhelming depression I felt on the drive home. I was leaving the happiest place on earth! So to get our minds off of the looming depression, we talked about what it would be like to actually move there. Of course, it was all light hearted banter at the time, nothing serious. That was April 21st, 2015. One year ago. Remember that date - it is important (mark it down on your calendar)
In October 2015, we decided that we were going to seriously try to move down to Orlando within the next year. By March 2016 (yes two months ago) I decided to put in an application to a job in Orlando (I work in I.T., so finding a job should not be difficult right?). That company never called or acknowledged my existence. We feel on some pretty tough financial times at the same time, so we decided not to rush our potential move and like other things in our life, we decided to put it off until next year.
At the end of March, I got a phone call out of nowhere. It was the one and only place I put my application in to and had given up hope on. Well within a week of that call and four skype interviews later, I was offered the job making WAY more than I had ever imagined. Of course, I accepted. And the adventure of getting to the happiest place on earth began.
We were in a pickle financially due to the poor pay in Pensacola, FL. So with a $3500 loan from my parents - our dream of moving close to Disney began, and we only had two weeks to fins an apartment, pack up all of our stuff and move. Sounds simple until you realize we both worked up until the day we moved out - it was stressful and exhausting.
The first thing I want to tell you is that Pensacola, FL is NOWHERE near Disney. We were 8 hours away. Yes - Florida is a huge state length wise.
I will spare you the moving story because that is a full length novel of a comedy of errors that included movers that were literally deaf and mute - we had to write down where things went, another company did not even show up and getting an apartment was almost an emotionally detrimental event.
So, we moved here and there a few pointers I would like to give those that want to move down here. Firstly, the websites that say that the cost of living is only "4%" higher than our current location are full of crap. We were paying $550 for a 2 bedroom apartment that was about 1000sqft. We now live in an apartment that costs almost $1200 and is 950sqft. Don;t get me wrong - our apartment is gorgeous and sits right on one of the many lakes here. And by HERE, I mean we decided to live as close to Disney as we could - Kissimmee, FL. Yes, the same place I dreamed of living at as a kid. We timed the drive - we are exactly 16 minutes to the front gate of Disney World, so we are very happy with this location.
The second pointer for moving to this area is - expect traffic problems. I had heard from everyone "Oh the traffic is bad - really bad". I thought it cannot be worse than Atlanta or New Orleans traffic, both of which I have braved over the years from time to time. Well, they were right! Traffic is unlike anything I have ever encountered in my life. A simple trip up the road may take you 30 - 45 minutes. Getting to work everyday takes me an hour, and I am only 15 - 20 miles from one of my work sites. Traffic MUST be considered. If I had my choice, I would have picked an apartment closer to work than closer to Disney.
Lastly, if you are considering living down here - be prepared to be amazed. Kissimmee is a great area. Everything is close by and the shopping centers they are currently opening up are amazing and have every store imaginable in them. We have even found a new "go to" restaurant - Teriyaki Madness They have parks everywhere down here. They have gorgeous parks that are designed specifically for horses, or kayaking, or hiking or bird watching or even snake watching. And you all know about the most popular park here - DISNEY WORLD!!!
So, there you have it, my tale of our journey to the happiest place on earth. Remember that date - April 21st, 2015 I told you to mark on your calendars? That is the day we left Disney last year in a stupor of depression. Do you know what I was doing on April 21st, 2016 (just 7 days ago)? We went to Disney Springs for dinner! Two days later - we went to the Magic Kingdom. Do you want to guess what we do every weekend now? You guessed it - we go to the happiest place on earth - smiling the whole time.
It has been so worth it!
1. When we crossed the Eastern Time Zone on the road to Disney from our house in Pensacola, FL. I watched the clock and my mickey mouse watch intensely waiting for the hour hand to jump forward an hour. When it didn't - laughter ensued when my parents realized what I was thinking - that magically the clocks would know to spring forward one hour LOL. Oh to be young and naive again
2. The moment we arrived in Kissimmee, Florida to get to our hotel (Larson's Lodge), I realized that people actually lived close to Disney and I hoped that one day I would be there - that close to the happiest place on earth.
So fast forward to last year. Me and my partner (now husband) decided to take a vacation to Disney World. Yes - we stayed at the Caribbean Beach resort and it was fabulous! We stayed for 4 days in the parks. I will never forget the absolute, overwhelming depression I felt on the drive home. I was leaving the happiest place on earth! So to get our minds off of the looming depression, we talked about what it would be like to actually move there. Of course, it was all light hearted banter at the time, nothing serious. That was April 21st, 2015. One year ago. Remember that date - it is important (mark it down on your calendar)
In October 2015, we decided that we were going to seriously try to move down to Orlando within the next year. By March 2016 (yes two months ago) I decided to put in an application to a job in Orlando (I work in I.T., so finding a job should not be difficult right?). That company never called or acknowledged my existence. We feel on some pretty tough financial times at the same time, so we decided not to rush our potential move and like other things in our life, we decided to put it off until next year.
At the end of March, I got a phone call out of nowhere. It was the one and only place I put my application in to and had given up hope on. Well within a week of that call and four skype interviews later, I was offered the job making WAY more than I had ever imagined. Of course, I accepted. And the adventure of getting to the happiest place on earth began.
We were in a pickle financially due to the poor pay in Pensacola, FL. So with a $3500 loan from my parents - our dream of moving close to Disney began, and we only had two weeks to fins an apartment, pack up all of our stuff and move. Sounds simple until you realize we both worked up until the day we moved out - it was stressful and exhausting.
The first thing I want to tell you is that Pensacola, FL is NOWHERE near Disney. We were 8 hours away. Yes - Florida is a huge state length wise.
I will spare you the moving story because that is a full length novel of a comedy of errors that included movers that were literally deaf and mute - we had to write down where things went, another company did not even show up and getting an apartment was almost an emotionally detrimental event.
So, we moved here and there a few pointers I would like to give those that want to move down here. Firstly, the websites that say that the cost of living is only "4%" higher than our current location are full of crap. We were paying $550 for a 2 bedroom apartment that was about 1000sqft. We now live in an apartment that costs almost $1200 and is 950sqft. Don;t get me wrong - our apartment is gorgeous and sits right on one of the many lakes here. And by HERE, I mean we decided to live as close to Disney as we could - Kissimmee, FL. Yes, the same place I dreamed of living at as a kid. We timed the drive - we are exactly 16 minutes to the front gate of Disney World, so we are very happy with this location.
The second pointer for moving to this area is - expect traffic problems. I had heard from everyone "Oh the traffic is bad - really bad". I thought it cannot be worse than Atlanta or New Orleans traffic, both of which I have braved over the years from time to time. Well, they were right! Traffic is unlike anything I have ever encountered in my life. A simple trip up the road may take you 30 - 45 minutes. Getting to work everyday takes me an hour, and I am only 15 - 20 miles from one of my work sites. Traffic MUST be considered. If I had my choice, I would have picked an apartment closer to work than closer to Disney.
Lastly, if you are considering living down here - be prepared to be amazed. Kissimmee is a great area. Everything is close by and the shopping centers they are currently opening up are amazing and have every store imaginable in them. We have even found a new "go to" restaurant - Teriyaki Madness
They have parks everywhere down here. They have gorgeous parks that are designed specifically for horses, or kayaking, or hiking or bird watching or even snake watching. And you all know about the most popular park here - DISNEY WORLD!!!So, there you have it, my tale of our journey to the happiest place on earth. Remember that date - April 21st, 2015 I told you to mark on your calendars? That is the day we left Disney last year in a stupor of depression. Do you know what I was doing on April 21st, 2016 (just 7 days ago)? We went to Disney Springs for dinner! Two days later - we went to the Magic Kingdom. Do you want to guess what we do every weekend now? You guessed it - we go to the happiest place on earth - smiling the whole time.
It has been so worth it!
