Living in Central Florida - Our Experience

Love your channel! FYI, in the past hurricanes have hit the Orlando area pretty hard. For one hurricane I actually left my area since it’s on the coast and the hurricane was heading our way. We went to Orlando to avoid the direct hit, unfortunately, the hurricane missed our area and hit the Orlando area instead as a category 3. This was the case with hurricanes Charley and Irma.

Hey Lady! Shhhhhhh! Don’t tell people about how nice our weather is! Are you nuts! Shhhhhh Were full in Florida! 😂❤

I'm glad you are happy living there. But for my family, it will always be a place to visit once in a while. Born and raised in Connecticut and have to have my 4 seasons! Including winter and snow.😊

Jennifer, glad to hear living in FL has been so much better than you initially expected. That's wonderful! One thing that has always made me worry about Florida (other than the hurricanes and higher insurance rates) are the sinkholes I've heard about over the years. There's a sinkhole map online, and it makes it looks like they are literally all over Florida, with some areas being worse than others. That kinda freaks me out! If you decide to stay in FL long term, be sure to search for the map online so you can avoid any areas that are especially bad.

It’s great to hear that you are so happy in Florida. I am a believer in the blue water thing. Living in Australia I grew up having a swimming pool and the water makes me happy. Now that I live on my own I really miss having one so everywhere I go if there’s a body of water I am in it.

I’ve lived in the suburbs of the Ft. Lauderdale area my whole life. Traffic down here has been so much worse since 2020 and everyone moved here so I can personally attest to that LOL. We are planning to retire to the St. John’s area outside of St. Augustine in a couple of years. My husband is a public safety diver for the sheriff’s office down here and the alligator thing is true. There is almost always one. They removed 3 from the canal behind our house a couple years ago. We are both born and raised here and love Florida, but I feel like the real Florida is definitely not in the Dade/Broward/Palm Beach area anymore. So glad you’re enjoying your time here!

Hi Jennifer! This was such a great video, I’m so glad you’re enjoying your life in Florida for the moment! It was so interesting to hear some of my own notions debunked, if you will, as my job could easily land me right in Orlando (tech, as you say, is growing there) as well! Also, everything you say is exactly how we felt before leaving a very blue western state (which was home and which we just returned to for a quick getaway) and coming to our current central home state (moderately red). And it’s funny because I actually have found that the in your face politics are more prevalent in where we came from than where we moved to. There seems to be more of an understanding perhaps that politics are personal opinions that should remain private. Which I very much enjoy because I think everyone should be free to believe what they want but have the grace to be cordial with and respect someone who may believe something else. Anyway, always enjoy your videos and glad you and Jim are enjoying retirement!!! ❤

Moved to central Florida 20 yeas ago with my job. Got hit by 4 hurricanes the first year. You've been here only one year. Give it time. You'll experience one soon. A whole house generator helps.

We have lived in central FL. For 6 years now , and I love it . We are originally from La. But have lived in Ark,TN,KY. I love it the Best !❤️

Really appreciate your thoughtful analysis of so many aspects of your new home. So refreshing to hear opinions based on personal experiences rather than speculation, rumor, etc. Thanks for sharing.

I think the biggest drawback, the longer you stay, will be the healthcare system. With so many people living there already, and Florida being so popular, the lack of workers (nurses) and the workload placed on Doctors & hospital staff, is going to become more & more apparent. Living outside of Hpuston, Texas for almost 30 years, and moving back to a small town in Wisconsin, we have enjoyed the ease of getting into Doctors / Specialists easily. The traffic in the South was horrific, so we love driving around with no cars & enjoying the scenery!!

Your videos of FL always make me appreciate all the good here. We are still unsure where we will land for retirement, but maybe somewhere further north in FL. Love Windermere and have to get Chris out there to see since he (like me) only really knows the theme parks up there. Will let you know when we finally get up there to explore. Always smiling while watching your videos. Enjoy the rest of spring! ❤

I grew up in Altamonte Springs…traffic has always sucked😊

I love hearing your feelings about living in Florida. It truly is special to be able to have so much sunshine and beauty in every day life. I agree with what you are saying about being near water and feeling better. I live in Gulf Breeze and when I was a court reporter at the courthouse in Pensacola, I had to drive over the bay bridge every day. Work was usually stressful but knowing I was going to see the water again at the end of the day was always a good thing! Thank you for sharing that book title. We are affected by hurricanes more here on the Gulf Coast and the rising insurance prices.

Thank you for a positive video. I get so tired of the negative ones, particularly about the Villages. I visited Ocala many times and find the cost of groceries and real estate cheaper than Virginia.

Sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing. We’ll be deciding on where to go soon. ☺️

I was born downtown Orlando and have been a Windermere resident now for most of my 53 years. I’d never want to leave. ❤

Happy for you that you are enjoying Florida ❤😊

Thank you , I appreciate your insight!

Thank you so much for posting this. I was wondering. How nice that you and Jim had an open mind!