Moving to Orlando: Need help!!

[baby1disney]

Hello everyone! I haven't been on here in awhile, but I know I can come here and get answers that I need. I'm planning on moving to Orlando within the next three months and I don't know where to move to. Money is tight right now, so no more than $650/month can I spend on rent. I also have a 10 year old son, so I want a safe neighborhood as well as a good/great school district.

I work in the medical field (I'm a Certified Medical Assistant), so I don't think I'd have a problem finding a job as I'm already looking. This is coming upon me faster than I thought, but I'm ready to start a new life with myself and my son. So any tips, hints, anything I will be grateful for!!!

Thank You all!!!

Terrie

 

[baby1disney]

Also, what areas are good too?? I'm not prone to be in Orlando only, but I'd like to be within 30-60mins of Orlando if need be. Thanks again everyone!!

 

[AndyPok1]

That isn't an easy question to answer because Orlando is so spread out. What is attracting you to Orlando? Disney? Because Disney is 25 minutes from Downtown Orlando, and 40-50 minutes from the Northern suburbs on a good day.

Starting from the south:

Farthest south is Davenport, Kissimmee, and St Cloud. I have friends in these various locales, and like all places there are safe and less safe areas. Know absolutely zero about the schools.

Dr Phillips / Windermere are two neighborhoods on the southwest edge of Orlando between Disney and Universal that I know are highly recommended, and I believe the schools are good as well. Hunter's Creek is southeast and is a nice neighborhood. However, those are all somewhat pricey.

Metrowest is north of Universal, not super-great but more moderately priced, unsure how good the schools are though. On the opposite side of I-4 is the Millenia area, which is good in narrow strips because of the giant mall and surrounding developments all built last decade. It quickly goes downtown the farther you get from the highway.

Next notable area is downtown, but that and the surrounding good areas are outside of your price range.

Northwest of downtown is College Park which is nice, but its southern border gets sketchy quickly. Northwest of downtown is Winter Park and Baldwin Park. Both of which are very nice, but again pricey and I'm unsure of the schools.

Farther north than that are places I know nothing about.. Altamonte Springs and Maitland.

That basically covers wide swatch surrounding I-4 that goes for about 30 miles. However, there's plenty of other places around the various tolled beltways (Winter Garden, Clermont, Apopka, Ocoee, Sanford, etc. ... but I know even less than nothing about them.

 

[OKW Lover]

Val & I have been scouting various Orlando neighborhoods in preparation for moving there. Our criteria is a bit different than the OP's though since we are retired and will be buying a house. Some things we are considering:

• We want to be "close" to Disney, but not too close. Too close means too much congestion and a proliferation of tourist-trap kind of places. We want to be able to have a "normal" life as well as enjoying Disney. Our target is no more than a 30 minute drive to WDW. Oh, and we prefer not to have to drive through Orlando on I-4 to do it.
• We don't want new neighbors every week. Some areas are heavy in weekly rentals. We want to establish a nice relationship with the community.
• We do want to have convenient shopping within a 10 minute drive. This is actually pretty easy from what we've seen.

So far we're focusing on Clermont and Davenport. The far end of St. Cloud is nice too but a bit longer of a drive.

 

[AndyPok1]

a proliferation of tourist-trap kind of places

Oh, you mean like the fact that my local Pizza Hut doesn't do the $10 any pizza deal, so I have to drive 8 miles up the road to get pizza? That kind of tourist trap?

 

[OKW Lover]

Oh, you mean like the fact that my local Pizza Hut doesn't do the $10 any pizza deal, so I have to drive 8 miles up the road to get pizza? That kind of tourist trap?

Yes that too. Although I was really thinking of the ones that sell the cheap (as in poor quality) souvenirs. You know, the kind of places that have a sign outside advertising 4 t-shirts for $10.

 

[Kristina]

Hi Terrie, have you looked at the website Relocated Tourist? That is written by a woman who moved to Orlando with her family and it has lots of great tips. Good luck with your move .

http://therelocatedtourist.com/

 

[PryncessLace]

My sister has been in the Orlando area for about 4 years and has moved all over the area. She is currently in Poinciana and loves it. It is a very nice area and is safe. We saw some nice looking schools when we were just down there. They don't plan on leaving that area anytime soon.

The worst place she lived was MetroWest, when she first arrived in Orlando and didn't know the area or any friends. This place was really awful. She had to have neighbors check on her apartment ever 6 to 12 hours when she was out of town. She had some homeless (we assume) pretty much stalk her and would come and bang on her door and windows at night. The police response was less than desirable (1 hour). The complex she lived in eventually stopped closing the gate because it was hendering the police from being able to quickly respond to various types of crime. It was horrific and traumatizing. This was literally right across from the street from the Valencia main campus

After that she went to Winter Garden (Not Winter Park) and that is a nice area as well. Much safer.

Those are our experiences with the area.

 

[baby1disney]

Thanks everyone for the tips. I'm moving to get a fresh start in my life. Where I live now, I've had some very bad relationships and there's nothing left here for me anymore. I've loved Florida since my grandparents lived there years ago and I always said that if I get the chance to go, I would.

Thank you to the pp who posted that site!! I will be checking it out. Also, does anyone know how to look up school ratings and how they are? My son is 10 and I don't want a bad school for him.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

Good luck to you Baby1! Moving a great distance is a major life change for you AND your son. I certainly do not know you but would caution anyone to think long and hard about moving to "get away" from previous life choices; especially when there is a child in the mix. Children need stability more than anything else. Forgive the motherly advice - just hoping you have thought things through compeletely.

 

[baby1disney]

Stacy-

As a mother, my son is first and foremost on my list of priorities!! As far as getting away from a previous life, I also stated that I've been wanting to move to Florida for yeaars..since I was a little girl! Florida is/feels like home to me everytime I'm there and I love the feeling I get when I'm there!! I have read a lot of your posts on other threads and while I'm sure you think you're helping people see things, you can come across a completely different way. I'm not saying that is what you did with me, but I just felt like you were questioning my parenting skills. No biggie/no harm done but thank you for your input as well as everyone else!!

 

[jewjubean]

I am in the Winter Garden area and LOVE IT! I am about five minutes from the world... But it's a bit higher, the price for a two bedroom is around 800-900. I know friends who live in a couple apartment complexes around the area... Alexandria/Parc View, Cagen Crossing, and Discovery Palms are the ones that I know they give good reviews. Not sure about schools... But I would make sure you understand how your cost of living is going to go up... This is a tourist town.. With tourist prices! I pay 800 for a one bedroom apt. It's a bit fancier than the other ones.. But I enjoy it! Good luck and pm if you have any questions!

 

[dsnyfan608]

Thanks everyone for the tips. I'm moving to get a fresh start in my life. Where I live now, I've had some very bad relationships and there's nothing left here for me anymore. I've loved Florida since my grandparents lived there years ago and I always said that if I get the chance to go, I would.

Thank you to the pp who posted that site!! I will be checking it out. Also, does anyone know how to look up school ratings and how they are? My son is 10 and I don't want a bad school for him.

I could be completely wrong but would the Chamber of Commerce have this info.? Just a thought....

 

[baby1disney]

I could be completely wrong but would the Chamber of Commerce have this info.? Just a thought....

You know..I didn't think about that!! Lol

 

[baby1disney]

I am in the Winter Garden area and LOVE IT! I am about five minutes from the world... But it's a bit higher, the price for a two bedroom is around 800-900. I know friends who live in a couple apartment complexes around the area... Alexandria/Parc View, Cagen Crossing, and Discovery Palms are the ones that I know they give good reviews. Not sure about schools... But I would make sure you understand how your cost of living is going to go up... This is a tourist town.. With tourist prices! I pay 800 for a one bedroom apt. It's a bit fancier than the other ones.. But I enjoy it! Good luck and pm if you have any questions!

Thank you for your response! I know things are gonna be higher down there..I plan on making a visit soon to check out some places and get an idea of what it be like.

 

[LilGMom]

We are moving to the Cocoa area this month so while I wasn't looking in Orange County this is what I did for Brevard County. What I did with when we were looking at houses since I want my boys to go to a good school is get on the county school board site and see if they have a link where you can input a street address and get the name of the school. Then put the school's name into www.greatschools.org to get ratings, past FCAT test scores and parent reviews. You can also check out www.schooldigger.com to look for housing based on the school that is in that area. www.trulia.com is a good site to search for rental and when it lists a house it will often give information about the schools towards the bottom of the page. We found a wonderful realtor to help us find a rental house in the area that we wanted, the price range, the amenities, etc. You might want to look into going that route. Good luck!

Have you considered a little farther from WDW than Orlando? Palm Bay, Rockledge, Viera, etc. are all about 45 minutes east.

 

[baby1disney]

We are moving to the Cocoa area this month so while I wasn't looking in Orange County this is what I did for Brevard County. What I did with when we were looking at houses since I want my boys to go to a good school is get on the county school board site and see if they have a link where you can input a street address and get the name of the school. Then put the school's name into www.greatschools.org to get ratings, past FCAT test scores and parent reviews. You can also check out www.schooldigger.com to look for housing based on the school that is in that area. www.trulia.com is a good site to search for rental and when it lists a house it will often give information about the schools towards the bottom of the page. We found a wonderful realtor to help us find a rental house in the area that we wanted, the price range, the amenities, etc. You might want to look into going that route. Good luck!

Have you considered a little farther from WDW than Orlando? Palm Bay, Rockledge, Viera, etc. are all about 45 minutes east.

Yes I've considered that. I wouldn't wanna be no more than an hour out of Orlando, but if I was to find something elsewhere, I'd consider it highly!! Thanks for the tips!!

 

[jewjubean]

I'd also point out to anyone moving to Orlando to be closer to Disney. It's amazing, the best decision I've ever made. But it's also a COSTLY decision. I love the area and love the people in the area. But my expenses have doubled. A lot of folks move down thinking FL is fun and games, the area is very competitive with positions, apartments/rentals are pricy and they know what someone is willing to pay.

 

[baby1disney]

I'd also point out to anyone moving to Orlando to be closer to Disney. It's amazing, the best decision I've ever made. But it's also a COSTLY decision. I love the area and love the people in the area. But my expenses have doubled. A lot of folks move down thinking FL is fun and games, the area is very competitive with positions, apartments/rentals are pricy and they know what someone is willing to pay.

Thank you. I didn't think of that all the way through. I know things are gonna be a lot more pricer than where I live and I understand that. I think that's why I'm going to go down here within the next two months to see exactly where and what and how.

 

[AndyPok1]

I don't know if I agree that Orlando is more expensive than any other major city. In the past 5 years, I've lived in Ohio, Oklahoma, and Florida, and there hasn't been any substantial difference, with the exception of housing costs.

Specifics I've noticed in Orlando recently.

• Gas is cheaper than in Ohio, but more expensive than Oklahoma.
• Groceries are largely the same, although the dominant store (Publix) doesn't have a rewards program, rather they offer tons of BOGO, so prices may seem higher.
• Tacos are cheaper here than in Oklahoma.