What is the best area in Florida for a young couple with physical disabilities to live?
Looking to move down from New York in a couple of years. Both my wife and I use power wheelchairs and we are looking for information from those with first-hand knowledge of the areas which have the best accommodations as far as public transportation, all civil necessities (supermarket, drug store, post office, etc.) being in close proximity, and some general info as far as day to day experiences. Please bear in mind that we do not drive.
Hidey!
My hubby I "rescued" from Buffalo NY. Although the weather was brutal and crime rampant, public transportation was very good and receptive to the disabled community members.
We moved him down here to Texas, where the general mentality is "everyone is healthy" and services for the disabled are hard to change and get applied for (what little public transportation that accomodates wheelchairs that exist!).
I truly can not speak for Florida. All I can do is give you ideas from a couple in Texas and what resources we have found thus far:
I work at a college, and we have what is called an "Access" department. People who work for that department work with students who have special needs. They are usually well versed of the different programs out there and can connect you with key persons who can help.
We live in a city that does NOT have the transportation service that connects us with DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) because our city voted out of DART program over 20 yrs ago. So, my hubby is like a fish out of water and has no way to get about except by me. We applied for DART over 2 yrs ago, and went through the medical requirements and such to meet the "disabled" criteria for discount. We missed our appointment (they cancelled the first one, and we forgot about the rescheduled date), and therefore, they threw our application away and said "tough luck. You will have to resubmit all of the information again". That killed it and we blew it off.
Constantly, I am informing people to NOT park in handicapped restricted only parking spots & the striped ramp areas. For over a year at our apartment complex, I left notes on cars asking people to please not park in the handi spot right in front of our apartment. Over a year, that is all I did – a note to not park, understand that parking is "at a premium", then noted web sites. It worked to no avail.
Finally in frustration, my hubby became angry and asked I take him to the police department to see if they can do anything; we also called out apartment complex (new owners; prior ignored our calls). For 2 wks, citations were done and the apartment called for tow trucks. Then, after a month, it started up again. Someone, in the meantime (haven't checked with the apartment), placed some of those bright pink caution cones under the Handicapped sign. Haven't had anyone park in the spot, nor the striped area next to it since then…but people still block the sidewalk, which, again is not good if quick exit from building is needed. So, it still continues…
So, you may be for a bit of a battle if Florida is anything like Texas. Many new changes are needed, and very slow to come by. Many of the handicapped violations are "grandfathered" in, so therefore, business' don't have to update their sidewalks, doors, or bathrooms to accomodate. Very sad and insensative!
A friend of mine moved his sister down to Houston so that she could be near her kids & grandkids. He had to fight for 6 months to get a handicapped spot placed before her apartment with signage and paint. She died one month after they complied. Just wonderful grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Anyway, I am approachable, as I can be emailed thru my Profile on Yahoo, if you have any further questions or just want to chat. I am my hubby's hero & champion for his rights, as he has said. It took seeing life thru his eyes for a while to begin to comprehend how tough life is for a disabled person.
My heart and prayers go out to you both!!!!
051508 12:00
May 30th, 2009 at 6:39 am
I guess Tampa Bay area they have lots of old people there, they should be handicapped friendly
References :
May 30th, 2009 at 7:11 am
I am not sure. I would maybe try a place like Niceville, Fl or another small town.
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May 30th, 2009 at 7:19 am
prlly Tampa bay its beatiful and there are very nice homes….its also very convinent to get around
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May 30th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Hello Joseph: Lot of things involves to answer your question… as far as; where are you native from (prior to live in NYC=meaning if you're caucasian, hispanic, etc) If you like to live close to a beach environment or close to Disney… which is the exact atmosphere you two are looking to live in. Isn't that good people tell you what is best or not… according to their beliefs or not because is not what you was looking to spend your lives in. There's a lot of assistance for special people w/ needs. The important here is to know what exactly you looking for.. I live in Orlando; Florida and if you try to answer me some/all the question I'll be more than happy to get lot of information for both of you! You can also e~mail me @ evernfervid@yahoo.com
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Enjoy give lot of support & assistance to special friends!
May 30th, 2009 at 8:02 am
All of you should be a shame. where is respect gone to ??
at least one of you all (including myself) should stay in touch with couple to try to help them out.
Panama city or Panama city beach. Plenty of stores. Also a good deal of appartments for seniors. I forget where to apply but you would get transportation (like a mini bus, also for seniors/retired)
Bus wise, there is buses travelling on the hour to the mall and other places within the town but from monday to friday only from 5.30 am to 5.30pm only $1 each way.
The community offers a lot of help
some appartment sites to visit ;
http://www.mynewplace.com
http://www.myflorida.com
http://www.rent.com
http://www.apartmentguide.com
and finally http://pcbsc.com (Panama city beach senior center)
I hopes it helped
References :
http://www.mynewplace.com
http://www.myflorida.com
http://www.rent.com
http://www.apartmentguide.com
http://pcbsc.com
May 30th, 2009 at 8:22 am
Hidey!
My hubby I "rescued" from Buffalo NY. Although the weather was brutal and crime rampant, public transportation was very good and receptive to the disabled community members.
We moved him down here to Texas, where the general mentality is "everyone is healthy" and services for the disabled are hard to change and get applied for (what little public transportation that accomodates wheelchairs that exist!).
I truly can not speak for Florida. All I can do is give you ideas from a couple in Texas and what resources we have found thus far:
I work at a college, and we have what is called an "Access" department. People who work for that department work with students who have special needs. They are usually well versed of the different programs out there and can connect you with key persons who can help.
We live in a city that does NOT have the transportation service that connects us with DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) because our city voted out of DART program over 20 yrs ago. So, my hubby is like a fish out of water and has no way to get about except by me. We applied for DART over 2 yrs ago, and went through the medical requirements and such to meet the "disabled" criteria for discount. We missed our appointment (they cancelled the first one, and we forgot about the rescheduled date), and therefore, they threw our application away and said "tough luck. You will have to resubmit all of the information again". That killed it and we blew it off.
Constantly, I am informing people to NOT park in handicapped restricted only parking spots & the striped ramp areas. For over a year at our apartment complex, I left notes on cars asking people to please not park in the handi spot right in front of our apartment. Over a year, that is all I did – a note to not park, understand that parking is "at a premium", then noted web sites. It worked to no avail.
Finally in frustration, my hubby became angry and asked I take him to the police department to see if they can do anything; we also called out apartment complex (new owners; prior ignored our calls). For 2 wks, citations were done and the apartment called for tow trucks. Then, after a month, it started up again. Someone, in the meantime (haven't checked with the apartment), placed some of those bright pink caution cones under the Handicapped sign. Haven't had anyone park in the spot, nor the striped area next to it since then…but people still block the sidewalk, which, again is not good if quick exit from building is needed. So, it still continues…
So, you may be for a bit of a battle if Florida is anything like Texas. Many new changes are needed, and very slow to come by. Many of the handicapped violations are "grandfathered" in, so therefore, business' don't have to update their sidewalks, doors, or bathrooms to accomodate. Very sad and insensative!
A friend of mine moved his sister down to Houston so that she could be near her kids & grandkids. He had to fight for 6 months to get a handicapped spot placed before her apartment with signage and paint. She died one month after they complied. Just wonderful grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Anyway, I am approachable, as I can be emailed thru my Profile on Yahoo, if you have any further questions or just want to chat. I am my hubby's hero & champion for his rights, as he has said. It took seeing life thru his eyes for a while to begin to comprehend how tough life is for a disabled person.
My heart and prayers go out to you both!!!!
051508 12:00
References :
May 30th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Wow, I can't believe how mean some people are on this board. Well, karma will come around to them…
If you are looking for something similar to New York, where everything is available around a few blocks, you will be seriously disappointed with the Orlando area. You can probably find an urban setting with grocery and other stores in walking distance, but they are also not the nicest areas.
If you have money, there are two places I would recommend, Celebration, FL and Baldwin Park (Winter Park, FL). They are master planned communities with shopping and amenities close by.
There are transportation services available for disabled people in Central Florida (don't have to live on a bus line), but regular public transportation is only good at Disney World. It's very difficult to use the bus system in Orlando!
References :
Orlando resident for 25 years…
May 30th, 2009 at 9:20 am
Avalon Park is a neo-traditional neighborhood in Central Florida that is similar to Baldwin Park and Celebration without the hefty price tag. There is a nice downtown area for shopping and dining, but I don't believe that the public bus system goes out there. It might be a nice place with many things centrally located, but as far as transportation outside of the neighborhood, you might have problems. The public bus system of central Florida is called Lynx and you can look at their schedules and routes at http://www.golynx.com
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