The first thing to think about is what part of the state to move to. Florida is pretty big, but for us this is a no brainer.
We’ve visited the Orlando theme parks many times. But I didn’t want to live in or around the tourist areas. Even though Central Florida roads are pretty nice compared to the Northeast states those crazy lost tourists are no fun to be driving around.
The east side is where more white collar oriented jobs are, as well as the University of Central Florida and a burgeoning tech corridor. This is the area I settled on, because it is between the theme parks and the space coast (I so want to see a major rocket launch!). Also if our children are still with us after college, we want them to be able to get decent jobs without having a long commute.
The next big decision is the type of property. For me it had to be a single family home, or SFH as it is known in real estate. With my wife and I and two young adults we wanted plenty of space and a yard for our dog to run around in.
I really didn’t want to live in a development where the homes are right on top of one another, which is pretty much the way most moderately priced newer developments are built in Florida these days. I wanted a little space. Because of my knees it had to be a single story. And I was hoping for a water view. Not asking too much right?
So I decided to look for a lot to build the home I wanted. Simple right? Well between when the flights, hotel, and rental car were booked and when we were going to fly there that was when I started to find out about the costs for building on an unimproved lot.
Moving To Florida 