Retiring Soon? Consider Moving to Orlando!

For the majority of people that have made the right decisions, saved money, and carefully planned for their future they will eventually get to a point where they stop going to their “day job” and begin to really start enjoying life and what it has to Orlando Florida Retirement Communitiesoffer.  Retirement is a really good opportunity to start the stuff you have been putting off because you didn’t have enough time.  At this point it is important to plan out your retirement years much like your working years.  A big part of this planning may include downsizing OR even relocating, the following are reasons why living in or relocating to Orlando, Florida would be a really great place to consider for your retirement.

First and foremost Orlando is known for its tropical weather, considering all the northerners have spent many winters shoveling snow, scraping windshields, layering clothing and salting driveways.  All of these things are activities that waste time and energy that would be much better spent playing tennis, golfing, riding bikes, going to movies or anything else you choose to do during retirement.  Of course you don’t have issues with this everywhere in the country but Orlando has other great reasons to be your retirement destination.

Orlando may be known for its weather, but what about our communities designated for 55 years and older?  There are many communities even entire towns that are designed for people that are 55 years and older, these are places designed to have centralized grocery stores, shopping centers, restaurants and other conveniences that enable you to not have to drive around all day wasting time and gas doing your day to day activities.  These communities give you opportunities to be around people with the similar ages that are trying to enjoy life without the hustle and bustle of folks still in their working years.  Many of these communities enable you to even commute in golf carts! Whether you are driving to the grocery store or the ninth green, some of these places you will find it more unusual to see a full size car on the street than a golf cart with a shiatsu riding shotgun.   This leads me to the next point, hobbies.

Even during your working years you probably had hobbies just not enough time to enjoy them as much as you wanted.  One big part of retirement are things like golf, fishing or pleasure boating; this is very convenient considering Orlando is known for its golf courses and waterways.  Orlando has more than 50 golf courses in the greater Orlando area with communities built around them.  The neat thing that most don’t know about the golf course community is that with the course comes the club house, with the club house they typically have tennis courts, restaurants and a pool.  Other options like boating or fishing come to mind with many docks that dump you in fantastic chains of lakes with plenty of site seeing and fishing. With the closeness of communities, weather to support hobbies and outdoor activities, and plenty of parks and recreation you will have no complaints about Orlando being a top spot for your second wind!

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.

Tips on How to prepare for Your Move

There is something exciting about finding a new place to live.  Whether it’s a new apartment, condo, first home or you are relocating to another town there is something thrilling about the search and finding that perfect place.  There really isMoving Advice and Tips “no place like home” no matter where it is, what size or who it’s with.  Your credit has been checked, you have signed so many documents you realize you were just scribbling nonsense instead of your name but finally they hand over the keys!  Now for the bad part, it’s time to pack up and move!  Depending on your situation, where you are moving, how many people are moving with you  and how much stuff you have accumulated over the years will determine on if these items relate to you or not.

The preliminary items that could have already been completed during the house hunt might begin with verifying an address change with the post office along with going to each one of your credit cards, banks, PayPal, Amazon, the power company, water, cable and any other service that mails you bills or is connected to your electronic bill pay and with your future address.  Other items would be such things as contacting lawn services, delivery service, the pool guy or any other service that may come out automatically.  These items are ones that are often put off till you have already moved meanwhile the mail gets returned or services still get provided and you get stuck with the bill or end up having to track down important items ordered from amazon!  Keep in mind this is just the start.

Before you begin to round up all your friends that drive trucks and are willing to work for beer and pizza its always wise to take a good look at all of your belongings.  It would be best to go through closets, junk drawers (yea I have several), underneath beds, garage shelves and even attic space.  These locations hold most of the items you haven’t touched in years or you totally forgot you had.  This is a perfect time to donate, have a garage sale, and pass down to another family member or just pull out the old circular filing cabinet just in time for trash day.

After you have completed a good purge it’s a good idea to start with the big stuff.  After being sure everything is out of the attic it would be time to begin disassembling the beds, mirrors from dressers, sectional couches, tables, entertainment centers, surround sound and anything else that can be taken apart to lighten up and enable it to easy get down stairs and through doors.  Take things like clothing and pack them in suit cases and place things like towels or linen in trash bags, any of these little things makes a huge difference for you AND your friends you blackmailed to help.

When the big day comes the best plan is to have as much packed, boxed, wrapped and marked so when the trucks back up the driveway and the help arrives (or not) it turns into a grab and go.  Items like kitchenware, flatware and glassware are the never ending items that go best in boxes neatly wrapped with clear markings ultimately these items can really be taken care of on your own.  This way the items in the china cabinet and the wine glasses you got for a wedding gift are well cared for and remain unbroken.   It is important during the move that the items are staged in the proper rooms at the new location, this will make things much faster when you are beginning to unpack and you aren’t having to move everything several times.

All in all it is probably safe to say that most really dread moving, but with careful planning and diligent execution it is possible to turn it from total chaos (The Hangover 3) to a strategic transport (Mission Impossible).  Good luck and happy packing!

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.

Should You Worry About Your House Being in a Flood Zone?

Flood zones are land areas identified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Each flood zone describes that land area in terms of its risk of flooding. To identify a community’s flood risk, FEMA conducts a Flood Insurance Should you worry about your house being a in a flood zone?Study. This study includes statistical data for river flow, storm tides, hydrologic/hydraulic analyses, and rainfall and topographic surveys. All of this information is used to create what is known as FIRMs (Flood Insurance Rate Maps). This is used to not only rate areas in terms of flood risk but also to determine the resulting flood insurance rates.

The important thing to remember however is that everyone lives in a flood zone-it’s just a matter of knowing whether you are in a more dangerous zone or a relatively low-risk zone. Another thing to remember is that buying a home in a flood zone (depending on the level) does not necessarily mean that it will flood…it is only a measure of the likelihood of the event.

Now to describe and define the three types of flood zones: In high-risk areas, there is at least a 1 in 4 chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage. In moderate-to-low risk areas, the risk of being flooded is reduced but not completely removed. In these areas, it is not necessary to have flood insurance for your home but it is still recommended. There are also undetermined-risk areas. No flood-hazard analysis has been conducted in these areas, but a flood risk still exists.

So the question remains, should you worry about your home flooding? Floods are reportedly the most common natural disaster in the US and everyone can experience one in their home-owning career. Floods are not just limited to coastal areas or as a result of tropical storms. The unthinkable scenarios such as heavy snows melting, flash floods, Dams/levees (as in New Orleans during Katrina), or construction and development can all lead to flooding. Thus, everyone should think about and consider getting some type of flood insurance, especially if you live in a moderate to high-risk area. It is very important when moving to look up your area’s flood map and to adequately assess whether or not flood insurance is something you want to consider. The answer to the question is yes, you should be concerned enough to do some preliminary research and make an informed decision.

Now having armed you with this knowledge, go forth and learn more about flood zones…but only if you really want to!

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.