Howdy all!

looking at relocating to Florida.

The ex is being forced to relocate to Orlando. She works for Disney.

My daughter is almost 12 and wherever she goes I go. I have been all over Florida for work here and there but that just means all I know is hotel rooms and chain restaurants.

I work in the Autobody field as an estimator. Dealing with mainly insurance companies.

I do not need to live in Orlando. My current wife is a RN. And I can't live without being able to ride my motorcycle.

Id say the humidity is about all that concerns me. And there's no avoiding that!

Currently I live about 90 miles from the kiddo. Her mom keeps moving. That said I'm happy being within about a 2 hour drive from Orlando if it means I am located somewhere decent.

Any tips are appreciated.

Oh and no liberal crap from me. Ever

Thank you all!

Two hours from Orlando puts you anywhere from Tampa to Daytona, so you have a lot of choices.

Neither you, or your current wife, should have trouble finding work.

If you like to ride, consider Clermont. It’s about 30-45 minutes west of downtown, in Lake County. There’s lots of those bumpy things that are as close to hills as you're going to find down here in the flatlands. It’s growing at a steady pace (they’re even getting their own Costco soon).  It’s not terribly crowded out there yet, and you should be able to find plenty of places to ride.

Minneola, is just north of Clermont, and they are building new subdivisions like crazy right now.  Fairly rural still, but there will be lots of new homes available over the next year or two, and lots of places to ride. New home prices are hovering in the low-to-mid $300’s for now, but that can vary widely out in Lake County.

The commute into/out of Orlando sucks, but neither of your fields dictate that you would need to do it.

Good luck, and if you narrow down your search options, we can help a little more.

With the end of summer riding season just started down here. Good riding is pretty sparse if you like the twisties and elevation changes in central Fl. Some nice stuff between Hwy 50 and south to Hwy 52 between Brooksville east to Clermont. We're in Ocala NF and have found a few nice routes out here down to Montverde or N to Keystone Heights. To get our fix fall and spring we head north 7 hours drive to N Georgia for a week or so. World class riding up there during the week. If you ride a cruiser TT (tavern to tavern) riding is good everywhere.

I’m in Seminole. 45-1hr from Disney usually. Pretty happy here. Glad to answer specifics.
ETA SHONUFF nailed it RE:riding.

Avoid having a daily commute on interstate 4. Drivers there are congentially retarded and would be scary to be around in a bumpercar ride, much less the interstate.

I can't count the number of times I've been on that road and have everyone come to a screeching halt in front of me for no discernable reason and people behind us stop at the last picosecond because they weren't paying attention.

Ah yes, the I4 surprise parking lot out of nowhere.

I miss “95 on 95” every day.

Awesome info everyone!

I am always amazed at the communal feel here on this forum.

I will look at all the suggested areas and post any questions I may have.

As far as work commuting. I work for the collision repair shops not the Insurance companies directly so I will have a commute for sure.

I may not be the brightest guy but unless it's flooded I'll ride the bike everyday. I don't dawn the Arfcom dreaded pirate costume but I do ride Harleys. Tavern to tavern isn't awful but I know I'll miss the twisties like crazy. Oddly I'm almost looking forward to blasting through the love bugs on 95 I'm sure I won't want to do it after the first time but I'll never forget watching them cover the windshield in between wiper passes and wondering what on earth was going on lol.

I'm laid up with the flu at the moment. If you could believe that! The damn Regular old flu got me! I am asymptotic to Covid and had it over a year ago but this flu is kicking my butt. So in between forced NyQuil doses I will search through all the recommendations.

Thank you all for the hospitality!

There is a magical line from about Crystal River to Ormond Beach.  North of the line is old conservative Florida (other than Alachua county).  South of that line is South Florida.  Habla espanol?

2 hours from Orlando can get you all sorts of decent places....

Orlando proper sucks.
If she works for Disney,  I assume she makes enough to put him in a good school?
Best wishes, bud.

Yeah I've been to Orlando I never liked it.

She has worked for Disney for 23 years. But no she doesn't make enough money to put our daughter in private school. Disney doesn't pay well. At least not for the cost of living here. I was paying for my daughter to go to private school until the idiots shut the world down. I'd like to get her back in a private school ASAP.

I am sure her mother will live in the Orlando area. Although she has previously been willing to commute.

I however have zero desire to live in the Orlando or Kissimmee areas. She can drive an hour to meet me halfway. Hopefully we aren't that far apart from each other but currently she's 80+ miles away. I make the trips to all her school functions and life moments. But I wouldn't want to be any further than we currently are.

I do speak Spanish It trips most people out because I'm somehow really great at it. But I don't need to live in a mix of liberals and communists regardless of language. So I will try to stay above the "Maginot line"

@SHONUFF

I was looking strongly in Lake County because it has higher elevation and is a 2A sanctuary county. I'd like to be able to shoot on my property. Any other tips for where to look?

I found something in Volusia that looks decent. How's that place?

Which city/town in Volusia county?

Coworker's wife is also in the medical field and took a promotion in Orlando. I can't remember if they're in Winter Park or Winter Springs. He said he can get most everywhere w/o dealing with Orlando traffic. He seems very happy with the move.

Winter park is squished between busy roads but pretty nice. Definitely still get a taste of Orlando traffic though. Winter Springs is in Seminole, a bit better but we're getting busy too.

In alachua county you can draw a line that's basically the city limits of gainesville, though the blue is starting to move west of the interstate now as it expands.

If you want older style actually beginning of the south, you need to head north till you hit starke.

It's not really a line. It's more of a stretched out mix of blue and purple.

If you want an idea of where people live by R/D, here ... the only maps I know of that plots out people's *place of residence* instead of where they vote: https://www.ryandenos.com/partisan-segregation-cbsa

I believe you want this one:


Here's the whole shooting match: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/521abb79e4b0ee5879077f61/1503604401162-9DWLDUWD9VG603AC0YA8/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kC2Ou1MO9kamcKms_rlnXOx7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z4YTzHvnKhyp6Da-NYroOW3ZGjoBKy3azqku80C789l0pTKqSDRwmMK43IUI3HojJWvxET3ZsoHLF25q9M0jMXigr6IB5A8OQ1JN_TuoaZPoQ/us_map_2.jpeg?format=2500w

It was Deltona but looks like it's gone ... went into contract the day I looked at it.

Still trying to get a feel for the different FL counties and areas.  I'm trying to avoid New Yorkers and SEFL.

Check out the Space Coast.
I'm near Titusville, an hour from Disney but you'd never know it.
Lots to do, away from the craziness in Orlando.

I'm not exactly local to Lake County (I live in Citrus), but if you're looking to buy a specific home and need buyer's agent representation with a penchant for research and finding solutions to any problem that may arise... let me know. The person selling the home pays the entire sale commission down here anyways, so some people prefer to bring their own representation to the table rather than using the agent that would then be representing both parties. My wife's family lives entirely in Orlando, Winter Park, Ocoee, and Kissimmee so I have more knowledge of that area than the average person who doesn't actually live there.

Maybe it was because of COVID, but I've had a lot of clients doing moves to Citrus or the surrounding counties from anywhere from as close as Tampa, to as far away as Oregon. Everything is handled remotely or digitally as far as paperwork, video showings, etc. and it makes the process pretty simple. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you'd like.

If Lake County area doesn't work out and the drive isn't terrible time-wise to your BM's job, you may look over here on the Gulf coast too. Sumter and Citrus both have easy access to the Orlando metro area via the Turnpike. I can get to south Kissimmee in about 75 minutes from my house without trying, so a 50-60 minute commute on the highway may not be unreasonable if she's able to deal with it. Housing prices are cheaper here than they are in Clermont, Villages, Orlando, etc. too.