hey destinationsky
Haven't been on here in a long time and i've just been reading your post about training in the Florida.
I have just finished my ppl in OBA and firstly, yes what others have said is true definitely budget for a little bit more then the price they quote you.
The one thing I would advise you to do is get as many of the written exams done before you go because believe me you'll be glad of it when you get there. I had all mine done bar the navigation and off course the RT but I watched how other students got so stressed and overworked themselves to get everything done in 3 weeks. Also the staff can harp on to you a bit about doing the exams and then while your stuck in a room doing an exam the weather outside is perfect for flying. When you have most of the exams done 3 weeks (with good weather off course) is enough time to get it all done, i've seen it done
The school it's self does exactly what it says on the tin, nothing more and nothing less. If you want them to give you 100% you gotta put in 100%. Also i'm sure you know but the most important thing is that your happy with your instructor. I witnessed many people not been happy with instructors and left it quite late to say anything which then ended up costing them a lot more money and time. So make sure the instructor is right for you it's vital.
The accommodation isn't the worse thats for sure and to be honest I had a blast when I was there. The good thing about living with the other students is there is a mix of training levels (ppl, cpl, hour building etc) but everyone helps each other out and its great fun. You can walk to the school in about 20 mins. Although when I was there a few of the guys had managed (maybe through prune) to find out they where all arriving and departing the same time so they organised hiring a car together to cut the cost. I personally hired a car because as you said car hire is for nothing and so is gas.
Well the best of luck with your training wherever you decide to go and if I can answer any questions for you about OBA please don't hesitate to contact me. Also if you do decide to go there I can highly recommend 2 or 3 of the instructors and let you know which ones you need to watch out for.
Wingwisher