INNER MOUSE 23 – MOVING TO MICKEY

by JL Knopp (NDM#1) | @jlknopp1 | Published: Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The Disney Driven Life brings you another episode of inner mouse. In this week’s show, Jay Griffith guest hosts with Scott, John, and JL. The topic is moving with the purpose of being closer to Disney. If moving is something your Neurotic Disney mind has entertained, you’ll want to watch. John and JL relay some of the things that they experienced when making the move, Jay shares what steps he is taking to transition from Ohio to FL, and Scott expresses his dreams of one day taking the plunge and transplanting. Listen in for some helpful tips about “moving to Mickey.”

Today’s show notes are brought to you by Bufo Toads: the perfect companion for every Bush Chick.

Show Notes:

Contributed by: JL Knopp (NDM#1) JL is the creator of The Disney Driven Life. She is also a blogger for Savvy Auntie and Touring Plans as well as a contributing writer for The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.

Contributed by JL Knopp (NDM#1) @jlknopp1

For other articles by JL Knopp click here

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http://www.facebook.com/JFitzDela John F DeLancey

Loved it! My DW and I talk a LOT about moving. We’ve got 10 trips to the World between us (fine, 1 was to DL, but we just pretend it was WDW), bought into DVC about two years ago, and generally credit Disney for having saved our marriage and our sanity (had some rocky roads living the Air Force life before moving back home). Suffice it to say the Mouse holds a fairly large portion of our attention….

When we first started planning our exit from the military life, we just sort of joked about the idea of picking up and heading to Florida (we’re from Mississippi, and our ‘skeeters and roaches are bigger and badder, thank-you-very-much. Have no idea what a Bufo toad is, though…).

I work in IT, she works in sales/retail/general-awesomeness (and would take any cast member spot available). I looked half-heartedly at Disney Corporate’s careers page, we giggled about the possibilities, and then we moved home, sure we couldn’t possibly continue to live away from our family and few close friends.

Not to say I don’t love my family and friends, but we’ve discovered we could live anywhere we want….

The job market in our area is pretty stale (I make about a quarter of the national average for my title and years of experience, and there isn’t much more available here), and more and more we find ourselves pining for Disney air — the escape, the sights and sounds, the joy on Moms’ and babies’ faces (and the tired resignation on many of the Dads’).

I suspect we’ll be looking very closely at the idea again some time this year. Between my own company already picking up steam (and being able to work anywhere if it grows to sustain us), her compan-y/ies, and if nothing else the improved technical job availability, I think we could probably live very comfortably ’round the World.

One thing I’m curious about for those that made the move — aside from John’s remarks about losing the excitement of planning, has any other part of the magic dulled? That’s our biggest concern, particularly when considering the idea of working FOR the Mouse…. I think, like I suspect is the case for many of you, that the magic would perhaps evolve, but not diminish…. Any thoughts?
Anonymous

I liked hearing some of the tips. I’ve had to change doctor’s in the past few years, due to a change in insurance but I also used google to find doctors. I found a great pediatric dentist by looking through reviews on google. We are also hoping to move to Florida to be closer to Disney and I’m definitely going to keep the 20-30 min distance in mind while looking at places online. One of my hobbies right now is to look at houses in Florida even though we are no where ready to move right now.
Also this is the first time I’ve watched the vidcast but I think I’ll be keeping an eye out for the next one
http://thedisneydrivenlife.com/ NDM1

Google was definitely what worked for me. I have very specific thing that I look for in doctors and dentists, and if they didn’t have it on their site and it wasn’t confirmed in mulitple reviews online, I wasn’t interested.

I also agree that I wouldn’t want to be further than I already am (30 min. away). Sometimes the traffic can be a little much.

I definitely shared your hobby when I lived out of state. I’d salivate over the short sales.
http://thedisneydrivenlife.com/ NDM1

This comment is awesome. We will answer it next week on the show.
http://www.facebook.com/JFitzDela John F DeLancey

Excellent! I look forward to it (and I apologize for writing a novel as a comment…)

- John
Physicalt104

Though I understand the sentiments surrounding Toontown, my two baby boys cut their teeth (literally) there and at Mickey’s Starland, The lists of “family firsts” : first-ever roller coaster rides, sitting through an entire stage show (Mickey’s Magical TV World) and first photos with Mickey- are engraved in my heart. Though we are all incredibly excited to see the Fantasyland expansion, I selfishly shed a tear or two this week… sniff. It all boils down to your own family attachments and TIMING.
jeff noel

High JL, it’s been a while since I’ve visited your site. A Twitter feed led me here. We moved from Washington Sate to Orlando in 1984. It was a dream we thought was worth any perceived risk. We love it.
http://thedisneydrivenlife.com/ NDM1

It’s so great to have our paths cross again, Jeff. And I agree, living here has been worth the trouble of making it happen. I hope that I run into you in real life at some point since we both are locals.