Living near/around Orlando...

Funny you brought this up...I've been wondering the same thing....when I retire would I want to live near Disney and would it change how I viewed the world. I don't have any answers yet but I think I would want to try!

Everytime the Powerball jackpot gets really high I start looking at floor plans at Golden Oak. lol

I don't know. I never thought about whether the magic would die. I guess I'm with Angie, I'd be willing to give it a try.

I have seriously looked at moving to Orlando, because it could possibly be very good for me. It would certainly improve what I do here for the blog. However the more I look into it, the more I'm not so sure it would be for me. I'm not to thrilled with several governmental happenings I've read about in Florida over the past year. I'm not thrilled about the school system there. I'm not thrilled about the in your face christian-ness of some towns my Florida friends live in, or the cliquishness of the Celebration crowd. Over all, and very sadly, I don't think living there is really for me.

To keep the magic alive, I would need to live at Golden Oak inside my safe and happy little Disney Bubble with more money than I knew what to do with. Like JoAnn, that's not going to happen short of me winning the lottery. However, if we ever do have a huge change of circumstance in that direction - I'm so there. I have this whole tri-coastal home purchasing plan to keep my whole family happy.

Being closer to Disney would have its advantages. I have always thought it would be nice to be close enough to drive easily in 8 hours or less (as opposed to the 24 it would take me right now to go straight through) and thus avoid the added cost of plane flights. If I lived close enough to visit in short stays, I would have time to visit other parts of the country.

I think it would be nice to live down there for 2 or 3 months a year in the fall/winter as I don't think I could survive the hot summers. That would give me time enough to make an annual pass useful and allow time for leisurely investigating all the areas that generally get passed over.

You do have to be aware though that it is possible to lose some of the magic and start "seeing the plastic". After all, Disney is a business.

Disneyfanjan

We live a little more than an hour from wdw. Like anywhere there are good and bad things. We have lived in 4 states and moved 16 times, so we have some experience. For us, weather is the determining factor. We both grew up in Erie,PA where the sun doesn't shine that often and it SNOWS. We both love the sunshine and HATE the cold and snow, so Florida works for us. We decided the heat in the summer trumps the snow in the winter. That being said, it is definitely not for everyone. Florida is different and sometimes I do miss things from the north, mostly the culture and education. With us both being teachers, we make sure our kids get a good education no matter where we live, and do what we can to make the system better. I don't think education is stellar anywhere in the US. there's issues everywhere. Florida is very transient, lots of people come and go and not very many people are "from" here. There are also many seniors down here that affect everything from taxes and the economy to traffic. Like the heat, you just have to learn to live with it.

As for WDW we love having annual passes and make very good use of them. For us, it does not take away the magic at all. We still feel the magic every time we drive on property and decide which park we will go to. As we walk through the gate the stress of life melts away and for the time we are there on vacation with no worries. It really is a magic get a way for us. It never gets old and we still occasionally discover things we didn't know were there or they have changed up. We never go for the whole day, we leave when we get hot, tired, crowded,or hungry knowing we will be back soon. Mike loves the concerts and music at EPCOT so we go up a lot in the afternoon just for the shows.
We visit the resorts a lot, especially around the holidays. Boardwalk is my favorite and I fantasize that we can stay there someday. For now I feel happy and blessed that I can visit whenever I want.
We have decided to settle here after moving all over for so long. I am thankful that we are compatible and agree on this. My dad loves FL my mom hates it (they're snowbirds and have the best of both). They will have to make a decision eventually and someone will have to give. We are here for good. My kids can go where they want when they're older, but we're staying here.

Hey Kristen, you can always move to Georgia! I am a little over 7 hours away from the World, we do get seasons here, but not crazy snow, and Atlanta cannot be beat for culture. I am proud of our North Georgia educational offerings (biased).

But every time I talk to Julie and Mike, I want to come south. Sigh. We'll see.

For the sake of everyone on the board, I'm willing to propose an experiment. We'll all pitch in and buy a manor in Golden Oak and then I'll live there and report back on whether WDW loses its magic or not!! Sound like a plan??

I do think it would lose it's magic. I think it would be like living in every major city that is a tourist destination. I don't understand why people get excited about coming to Washington DC. But that's b/c I've lived here forever and the stuff that people want to do on vacation I used to have to do for school assignments, so it's lost its novelty. But drop me in Manhattan and I can't get enough. I think eventually Orlando would be the same. You'd get so caught up in work and life that going to WDW would be just another "thing to do", where you'd have to battle traffic and tourists, instead of it being something as special as it is to all of us.

But again, I'm willing to take one for the team and find out!! Get your downpayments for the grand experiment in TODAY!!

Disney CMs retreat to the utilidors and backstage areas to get away from "the magic" so that should be a hint.

Seriously though, I think anything that you are completely immersed in all the time would lose it's appeal. If every day of the year was sunny and warm, then sunny and warm days would no longer be noticed or appreciated. If you were to eat the exact same food for every single meal, you would get sick of that food fairly quickly.

Same exact thing here, got my ticket for tonight too!

Replied to privately.

I certainly think the fireworks would lose their luster if I could see them every night from my backyard.

My SIL is just outside of Tampa and says that is perfect. Close enough to take advantage of annual passes & to do a daytrip (they go once or twice a month), but far enough away that the "magic" is maintained.
Of course, she also has 1 1/2 year old twins who are really into the magic right now, so that might color her view a bit.

I could get behind this! I think if I were going to move, I'd want to live in one of the neighboring states that makes it easier for me to get to the World (flights can get pricey and Minnesota is a looooooooong drive!) so that I could go a few times a year and justify annual passes. As far as living in Florida, I don't think that's for me....

We live in Pensacola and it's a good 7 hour drive to Orlando/Disney for us. Hints we fly. We're probably as far away from Disney in the state as you can be. Escambia county (where we live) is the last county in Northwest Florida before you cross the state line going into Alabama.

My wife and I are seriously considering moving to Orlando in the near future. She is a hair dresser and there is just better cliental and higher wages for her there. And, I can pretty much do my job from anywhere. Not to mention all the golf courses too

I don't believe the magic would wear off for us if we lived there. It's not like we would be there every day. Though like many people we know that love there. Usually go to the parks a few times a month. Especially for dinner at EPCOT or concerts, etc. We would definitely get our usage of the annual passes even more so than we do now. Would probably add the water parks if we moved there.

As for living in Florida, I happen to like it. We do live in a tourist beach town but you get over that pretty fast. It's cheap to live, no state income tax and it never gets cold. I see what other state's housing markets are like and can't believe they pay that much for houses that in Florida would seriously by 1/3 of what they are paying. I am done with school and we do not have any children, so the education deal is not a big deal to us.

As one of the people who lives closest, only one county away, allow me to give my own view. I am always impressed that the magic lives on for all of you. I think it would be harder to maintain without having such wonderful access. I am often impressed by the many around here.
I find many locals laugh at how they have been there and done that, but when they get a chance to go, they quickly jump at it. Like everything in life, it isn't for everyone. But I find it fun to have an amazing entertainment option not too far away. I like to put different spins on the day trips like focusing on a certain area. Many local pass holders prefer night trips. Some of them claim to overdo it and get tired of it. But I am one the few who really can't get enough.
Overall, I am happy with my life down in the sunshine state. I have no desire to deal with snow. I guess you just get used to it. I am happy here with my nearby Disney home. Actually due to a work relocation, I may be even moving closer. I swear this is only because I need to be closer to work, but this is certainly not a drawback as far as I am concerned.

I have already started scheming tricking conn(vinc)ing my wife that we should move to the Orlando area when we retire. It is more than 20 years away, but I'm afraid it's going to take more than that to persuade her. She doesn't like heat and humidity (a small part of why we moved out of the Kansas City area four years ago) and she loves winter, so I'm afraid I'm doomed.

Earlier this year, Forbes magazine had Orlando in their top 25 places to retire list. The pros were low cost of living, median home price $135,000, no state income tax, good weather, above average air quality, good bicycling. While the cons were crime, low volunteering level. Three other Florida cities made the list, too. The link is below.

I don't think I would ever get tired of WDW and everything it brings. If I lived within an hour, I bet I'd go two to four times a month most of the time. At those rates, I don't see how I could get tired of it.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampbarrett/2013/02/25/the-best-places-to-retire-in-2013/

I just bought a house about 40 minutes from WDW. Partly in preparation for retirement, but also because I'm going to start looking at jobs in, and around the WDW area. I don't think it would lose all it's magic for me. Everyone I've talked to that's worked there said they like their job, and the attitude of the cast members is part of the reason the magic works. Granted I'm sure there's a disgruntled worker here, and there. But as soon as I sell my home up in Jersey, the WDW job hunt begins in earnest.

I live about 3 1/2 miles away from MK. I love it! Of course to get anywhere on property, I go through the back way past all the cm parking for MK. I don't mind it. I could go down CR 535 to SR 535 to I-4 or 536 past the Nick hotel but that's really out of my way. Anytime I want to go to a park, I can be there within 10-15 minutes depending on traffic or DTD. It doesn't ruin the magic for me. I can see Wishes from my apartment complex of course there are houses in my way of seeing the lower fireworks. It is costly to live near the magic but I don't mind it. I practically live in the Disney bubble because 90% of the folks that live in my apartment complex are cms. The only thing that is out of the way is Walmart. The only thing I don't like about being close to the magic is that almost everyone is every where and don't know how to drive. I've had near accidents and I've been in an accident because someone thought they could go through the light before it turned red. Boy were they wrong! Only bad traffic was on 535 and Vineland day after Christmas because of the two outlet malls right there. I've been here almost a year and don't regret it at all. I love living in my Disney bubble. Not concerned about schools because I'm not married yet and children are still a few years away.

I was in Bradford this summer for a memorial service for my aunt. I spent a lot of weekends down there when I was in hs (many yrs ago), my boyfriend's grandparents lived there. It IS a small world!

I moved to Orlando to participate in the DCP and never left.

Yea it is. One of the F&B managers I've met is also from Bradford.