5 Tips For Relocating To Central Florida

Relocating to Orlando

As transplant’s to the Orlando area Chi-Chi and I know first hand the difficulties in moving to a new state. Learning about a new area, getting to know the environment, best places to eat, travel, and building a new routine can make a stressful process seem impossible. We want to encourage you that with a few tips you can make your transition to the City Beautiful a positive experience!

1. Determine your main objective of the move

We all have many different reasons for transitioning to a new area. It may be due to a job change, a desire to live in Florida, health reasons, changes in circumstances, etc.

Regardless of the reason, it is important to have a clear objective of what you would like to see from your move. We moved from Virginia due to health issues that were exacerbated by the cold weather.

So our objective was to move to an area with a warmer consistent temperature, that had opportunities for families and was easy to travel back up north to see family and friends. Understanding your objectives and keeping them in focus will help in the long run in keeping the most important things in perspective.

 2. Planning the Move

Before moving it is a good idea to get an idea of the environment you are moving into. It is always a good idea to visit the place you plan to move to, determine the employment opportunities or income options if needed, and understand how the transportation system works. If it is challenging to visit the Central Florida area a great site that provides information on various area’s is Niche.com

They have a great list of the top places to live in the Orlando area.

You can also visit our Relocating to Orlando: Locations post that provides information on a variety of amazing areas in Orlando to live.

We also suggest checking out the crime statistics for any areas you are interested in. There are many sites online to review such information as NeighborhoodScout.com or the Florida Dept. Of Law Enforcement are good examples.

3. Determine whether you want to rent or purchase a home

Once you have an idea of the area(s) you are interested in living in then it is important to determine what type of housing are you interested in? Renting vs buying is always a challenging choice for new residents. Renting can provide the opportunity to experience an area prior to making a commitment while purchasing can create stability as you work on learning your new community. We have tools such as our lease with right to purchase program that can help with renting a high-quality single-family home, but we can also help show the market statistics for home sales in the Central Florida area. Check our Market Stats page for information on the latest home sale numbers.

4. Figure out the timing of the move

Timing is an important part of any move. Each region you move in has its own specific time-related events that may play a role in your move. A good example is for families the school year in Central Florida starts in Mid August. This is different than many areas in and around the country. If you are moving with a family then it would be important to take that into account. When we moved to the area our previous school district ended in mid-June and our kids had to then start school 3 weeks earlier here than they would have in our previous city. Needless to say, they were not happy campers! Other things to consider is the home buying season here in Central Florida. The peak buying season tends to be between May- October. This is when home prices are at their highest due to consumer demand.

5. Executing the move

This can oftentimes feel like the most challenging aspect. Packing up one’s life and moving to a new area can be scary. Many pieces need to be in place prior to the move. The cost of the move itself, packing, planning, turning on utilities, etc it can be a lot. A great resource for various moving tools is realtor.moving.com . This site has a lot of tools to help with all of the moving execution plans.

Above all else, we always suggest speaking with us if you are considering moving. We can walk you through the process and provide all of the resources you need to make an informed decision.