The Kuzminsky Family Took the Florida Plunge
Scott: Who took the plunge? Daphne: Myself, my husband John and our 11 year old daughter at the time (now 12) Julianna.
Scott: When did you take the plunge? Daphne: We moved to Florida in August 2012.
Scott: Where did you move from? Daphne: Our family relocated from Newark, Delaware.
Scott: What area of Florida did you move to? Daphne: We original moved to Metro West, an area of Orlando. We recently moved to Altamonte Springs.
Scott: Why did you choose that area? Daphne: John was transferred with work and we had to pick an area fast. He got a discount on the security deposit at the apartments we originally moved into. We knew right away that it was NOT the area that we wanted to be in. We broke our lease and moved 6 months after we got here. We chose Altamonte Springs because we wanted to have our daughter in a better school district, and it is a very family friendly area.
Scott: Did you choose to buy or rent when you took the plunge and why? Daphne: We chose to rent because we wanted to check out the different areas. We wanted to find the one that fits our families needs the best before buying. We did try to rent a house, but chose to go with apartment living. We will hopefully purchase a home within the next year.
Scott: Why did you relocate to Florida? Daphne: In 1999 we came to visit my father in law who lives in Clearwater. We fell in love with the Gulf. After that visit, it became a dream of ours to move to Clearwater. In 2009 we took our first family vacation to Walt Disney World. At the beginning of that vacation, we started discussing making our dream of moving to Florida a reality. Over the next 3 years we talked about moving, and when would be the right time…but the right time never seemed to come. We were torn between moving to Clearwater and moving closer to Disney. Our decision was chosen for us when Johns work transferred him to Orlando…. Disney it was!
Scott: Did you have any problem finding a job when you relocated to Davenport? Daphne: Since John was transferred with the company he worked finding a job for him was not a concern. As for myself, at the time I was working for a medical billing company. When I gave my notice and advised my company that my family was moving to Florida, they asked if I would be willing to work remotely from my home in Orlando. We were both very blessed not to have to look for jobs.
Scott: What was the most difficult part of moving for you family? Daphne: We had 6 weeks from the time we decided to take the transfer and the time we had to actually be here. It was VERY stressful trying to decide what area to live in. We were mostly concerned about our daughters education. We wanted to make sure that we were in a nice area, but we didn’t have the time to come here and actually check it out, not to mention we have 2 dogs and 2 cats. Having multiple pets made it very difficult to find a place that would accept all us along with all of our animals.
Scott: Now that you’ve taken the plunge, what are your 3 favorite things about living in Florida? Daphne: Our number 1 favorite thing is we LOVE being able to go to Disney whenever we want is the first. It is a true blessing to be able to go after school/work for a few hours. We can leave Disney and not have to be sad that it will be another year until we are back. We are able to experience Disney in a different way; we can take our time and not rush to get every ride/show done in a week. We can chose to not wait in a 2 hour line for Space Mountain because we know that we can go back at slower times and only wait 20 minutes.
Our second favorite thing is the sun and warmth. We dislike cold and snow. In Florida, we can wear shorts while picking out our Christmas tree.
Our third favorite thing is that there is so much to explore in Florida. Delaware is a small state and there is not much to do, so it is so nice to be able to experience new things together. Every weekend is a new adventure.
Scott: What advice would you offer to anyone considering “Taking the Florida Plunge”? Daphne: Take time to find a good area, even if you have to stay in an extended stay hotel. It would have saved me a lot of stress. We wouldn’t have had to move again after 6 months.
Save as much money as you can, if you think you need $5000, then you will need at least a $1000 more. It is amazing how expensive it is to move.
Don’t expect things to go smoothly because there will be many hiccups in the road to your new life.
Enjoy the journey… I was so stressed about every little thing because our move was so fast, I didn’t enjoy the actual experience of moving to the state that I had fallen in love with so many years before… It is all a blur.
The last piece of advice I can offer is to try not to stress, because stressing won’t change anything, and everything will work out.
Scott: How far do you live from Walt Disney World? Daphne: We live about 40 minutes from the parks, depending on I-4 traffic.
Scott: What is your families FAVORITE Disney Park? Daphne: Our favorite Disney Park is Magic Kingdom!
Scott: What is your families FAVORITE Disney attraction? Daphne: Each of us has our own favorite. My favorite is Rock’n Roller Coaster, John’s favorite is Space Mountain and Julianna’s favorite is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Yes, we LOVE our roller coasters!
Scott: What is your families FAVORITE Disney restaurant? Daphne: Our family loves to dine at La Cellier in EPCOTs Canada Pavilion.
Scott: Who is your families FAVORITE Disney character? Daphne: Again, we each seem to have our favorites. Mine is Ariel, John’s is Sorcerer Mickey and Julianna’s is Pluto.
Scott: Is there anything else you would like to share with the readers? Daphne: Through all the stress and all the tears… missing family and friends… sometimes feeling alone because we didn’t know anyone else in the area… It is SO worth it. If your dream is to “live in Disney” (or at least near it) then start the process. It is the hardest thing we have done, but it is the best decision we have ever made. We heard a lot of “you are crazy” and “you’ll be back”… But we knew that it was meant to be. We are Delawareans by birth, but we are Floridians at heart. So, you can live your dream too.
Scott: Thanks so much Daphne for sharing your families experiences and we look forward to seeing all of you in the parks very soon!