Ask Me Monday – Week of 11/18/13

Published November 21, 2013 by Scott Parker

Hi Friends!  The following “Ask Me Monday” questions were sent to me on Monday 11/11/2013 via Facebook, Twitter, Google + and right here on the blog.  Keep the questions coming and you can view past Q&A here.

1.  How are the school systems compared from where you moved? Finding a good school for our 3 elementary aged children was critical for us when deciding where to relocate in the Orlando area.  Our children’s new elementary school is comparable with our past school in Texas.  Both have an A rating score.  The main thing I’ve learned about Seminole County Public Schools is that they LOVE to test the kids to ensure they are on track.  This amount of testing is new for our kids and I can even say that my wife, who teaches in Seminole County, has struggled with giving so many tests.  Now, with all of that said, I can say that my kids are excelling and enjoying going to school.  My 2 oldest are making great grades and retaining the information.  My youngest is part of a Spanish immersion class and she is thriving!  In the end, that is all that is important to me.

2.  Was it hard  leave behind any family and sell your old house to not lose money? When we decided to relocate, we knew that leaving family would be the most difficult part.  I was torn with the fact that my kids would not be able to just go to their Nene’s for the weekend, see Papa Doug at the last minute or go ride horses with Aunt Karlie and Uncle Rich, however even with all of that we knew that the move was something that we wanted for our family.  Leaving family is always hard, but I think showing your kids how to live a dream is more important.

3.  Was it difficult for you to sell your house and not lose money? We were very fortunate to live in a thriving community in North Forth Worth, Texas and our house sold in less than 7 days for asking price.  We knew, based on real estate activity in the area, we would not have an issue selling our house.  Our issue was timing.  We had to drop the For Sale sign in the yard at exactly the right moment.  If we went on the market too early, we would have found ourselves moving twice and we did not want that.  If we put it too late, we may not be able to close on our ideal date for the move.  It was tricky, but it all worked out!

3.  Was it hard to find a job when you relocated? I am a home based employee with my company, so finding a job was not an issue for me.  That doesn’t mean I don’t continue to check Indeed for new jobs in the area.  As for my wife, who teaches middle school, had multiple offers the first week we moved.

4.  Have you found Sunpass to be a good savings? What’s the old saying, Time is Money?  For me and my family, we find the savings of “time” to be most important.  As you know, we both work full time, so when we decide to hit the parks for example, we want our time on the highway to be minimal.  So for my family, yes the expense of paying tolls is well worth the time we save!

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