Safe family neighborhoods near Disney?

[staceyeileen]

After hearing that the downtown campus is in a high crime area, I think we would rule that out. Thanks!

When people say "UCF area" they're not talking about the downtown campus. They're referring to the main campus. Also, there are a lot of nice areas that are a short drive to UCF.

 

[staceyeileen]

Also, does your daughter even want to make the move with you? By the time I was in college I don't think I'd switch schools just because my parents were moving...

 

[Dgh1973]

I was under the impression the downtown campus was the main campus. I will take another look. Yes, she very much wants to move with us. That is one reason we moved to Alabama from Texas. We needed to take care of my husbands mother and our daughter wanted to live at home during college. The colleges near us in TX would have been a nightmare for commuting. She is very fiscally conscious- Thank goodness!

 

[MickeyMinnie1971]

.

 

[4tigger2]

We've been looking into the Davenport area and were told to stay clear of the area near Haines City due to higher crime rates. Is this accurate? Also, we've heard mixed stories about Clermont as well. Supposedly there is a higher crime rate in Clermont over Davenport. Any thoughts on this? Really looking forward to moving in the area, just not certain where the best place is to buy our new home. Leaning mainly towards Davenport.... but which section of Davenport.

 

[Dgh1973]

I hadn't heard that about Clermont. I will look into it since that is primarily our focus of house searching right now. I've read some lovely things about Clermont. I will do more research into Davenport as well. Will you let me know if you find out any concrete information about the two? We should be going down next month to look in person. We were there last month and drove around through the St. Cloud/Kissimmee area. I wish I'd know about Lake Nona then or we'd have taken a look at that and Oviedo as well. St. Cloud seemed to be older homes and the traffic was moderate. We are looking to be a little further out I think. Happy house hunting!

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

I hadn't heard that about Clermont. I will look into it since that is primarily our focus of house searching right now. I've read some lovely things about Clermont. I will do more research into Davenport as well. Will you let me know if you find out any concrete information about the two? We should be going down next month to look in person. We were there last month and drove around through the St. Cloud/Kissimmee area. I wish I'd know about Lake Nona then or we'd have taken a look at that and Oviedo as well. St. Cloud seemed to be older homes and the traffic was moderate. We are looking to be a little further out I think. Happy house hunting!

We love Davenport, starting looking from Tampa to Daytona in December and bought here in Feb/Mar. but some of the old foreclosure neighborhoods have a lot of rentals etc. We tried some of them and quickly moved on. Never really felt unsafe but they are occasionally more rundown. We didn't buy in those neighborhoods. As for Four Corners/Champions Gate, they just built a brand new public charter school (still building) next to this massive golf community. Calling this fairly ritzy area is far from rundown or unsafe, just not true. Clermont is cool too (we considered it too, but its too far to hit Disney in 15 min like we like and the deals werent really up there.

We can see fireworks from our balcony very well and I can run my dogs at night same as I would at Clermont. We found the locals to be nice but a tad snobby when we were house hunting. ("We train decathlons! We don't do short term rental, they are transient, Davenport does that") so we just fell in love with Davenport more. Its the perfect mix of resort meets rural and convenience. We made friends the first week, and our neighbors are literally animal kingdom safari drivers.

Come and check it out in person. We had the most incredible show last night. Wishes going off to the left, something huge and spectacular going off either at Hollywood or EP (NOT typical illuminations.) I'm still trying to figure out what! But its magical every night and quite affordable...

Anyone who wants to know which community has the fireworks from their balcony that we bought into, just shoot me a PM.

Happy house hunting. But we were SO glad to be moved in. Actually as we speak, we just got back from our Sunday morning service, changed, are grabbing lunch and meeting friends in Magic Kingdom.. Its just what we do!

 

[Dgh1973]

I read this to my family... We want to be eating lunch after church at MK! We will definitely check into Davenport. We homeschool our children so the school district is important for resale value, just not at the top of our list. Do you happen to know if there are any homeschoolers in your community? My oldest dd will be transferring colleges, where we are not 100% until we go look around and finalize where it is we are going. Our house is going on the market this week. I'd love to know the community you bought in if you'd like to on me. Thanks and blessings!

 

[4tigger2]

We went to FL in January to do some house hunting and decided that we liked Davenport a lot. Heard from a few people while we were down there to stay away from Haines City area of Davenport. Of course, the house we liked the most was a mailing address of Haines City. We're trying to avoid the "vacation rental" areas.... too many transients that way. We want a neighborhood. We also want a newer home! If possible. I went on a crime rate of FL website and neighborhood scout to look at the crime rates. Don't know if these are current statistics. Davenport rated better than Clermont. Our house goes on the market next month.... can't wait to move!!! Our daughter will be attending Full Sail, so we need to get our housing in place.

 

[jerseygal]

We are "hoping" to move south, possibly Orlando in about 5 years. INTERESTING reading! ALWAYS GREAT info from local disers such as yourselves!
A neighbor is moving to Lake Mary...supposedly great schools? True? Thanks!

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

We went to FL in January to do some house hunting and decided that we liked Davenport a lot. Heard from a few people while we were down there to stay away from Haines City area of Davenport. Of course, the house we liked the most was a mailing address of Haines City. We're trying to avoid the "vacation rental" areas.... too many transients that way. We want a neighborhood. We also want a newer home! If possible. I went on a crime rate of FL website and neighborhood scout to look at the crime rates. Don't know if these are current statistics. Davenport rated better than Clermont. Our house goes on the market next month.... can't wait to move!!! Our daughter will be attending Full Sail, so we need to get our housing in place.

We have friends in Haines City and the hospital looks huge. Also there is TONs of authentic Mexican food in Haines City!

As for us, we ONLY wanted zoned short term rental because of its tremendous investment potential and in case we just plumb changed our mind. But we have some full timers like us too. We do have a CDD. This needs to be looked into when house hunting here. In the end, we couldn't turn down 4 bed 3.5 granite townhouse with a few of Disney fireworks from our balcony but we do have the CDD for 20 yrs!

To the homeschoolers, I hear advertised an online school, Florida something or other. I was homeschooled myself! Look up Waterstone, plenty of units left! Maintenance free living and 2000 sq ft! Literally Disney neighbors. It's super fun.

 

[Dgh1973]

Can you tell me which of the 4 zip codes in Davenport would be the "good" zip codes to search in?? With three kids, I don't think a townhouse would be suitable for us. We really need a sizable single family home. I can't imagine sharing walls with anyone ha! I will research the CDD's. We are planning on leasing at first to make sure we are where we want to be. I'm seeing plenty of single family homes for lease. That also gives us time to look into the things we are not in the know about, like the CDD's, homeowner's insurance policies that are a must there, etc etc.. The authentic Mexican food sounds wonderful! I've been researching homeschool groups in the Lake County area, so I guess I need to expand my search into Polk County. Congrats on being homeschooled! We've been homeschooling for almost 9 years and going strong! Thank you for all of your information!

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

We love Davenport, starting looking from Tampa to Daytona in December and bought here in Feb/Mar. but some of the old foreclosure neighborhoods have a lot of rentals etc. We tried some of them and quickly moved on. Never really felt unsafe but they are occasionally more rundown. We didn't buy in those neighborhoods. As for Four Corners/Champions Gate, they just built a brand new public charter school (still building) next to this massive golf community. Calling this fairly ritzy area is far from rundown or unsafe, just not true. Clermont is cool too (we considered it too, but its too far to hit Disney in 15 min like we like and the deals werent really up there.

We can see fireworks from our balcony very well and I can run my dogs at night same as I would at Clermont. We found the locals to be nice but a tad snobby when we were house hunting. ("We train decathlons! We don't do short term rental, they are transient, Davenport does that") so we just fell in love with Davenport more. Its the perfect mix of resort meets rural and convenience. We made friends the first week, and our neighbors are literally animal kingdom safari drivers.

Come and check it out in person. We had the most incredible show last night. Wishes going off to the left, something huge and spectacular going off either at Hollywood or EP (NOT typical illuminations.) I'm still trying to figure out what! But its magical every night and quite affordable...

Anyone who wants to know which community has the fireworks from their balcony that we bought into, just shoot me a PM.

Happy house hunting. But we were SO glad to be moved in. Actually as we speak, we just got back from our Sunday morning service, changed, are grabbing lunch and meeting friends in Magic Kingdom.. Its just what we do!

Fireworks were for a Star Wars weekend.

I am loving this thread...so much information!

 

[staceyeileen]

A neighbor is moving to Lake Mary...supposedly great schools? True?

True. Lake Mary is a great area.

 

[Oswin]

Can any locals who know teachers or who might be teachers tell me what the average salary for teachers is in areas surrounding WDW? I am going to graduate next year with a degree in teaching and I would like to teach here in Texas for a couple of years and save money before moving to the Disney area. I've wanted to do this for years and my parents are really supportive of my plans but they want me to start researching now so I have a clear idea of what I'm going to be getting myself into. I'm slowly reading through this thread to find safe, fun areas for a young single woman to live but thought I'd ask about the school situation too!

 

[fla4fun]

We've been looking into the Davenport area and were told to stay clear of the area near Haines City due to higher crime rates. Is this accurate? Also, we've heard mixed stories about Clermont as well. Supposedly there is a higher crime rate in Clermont over Davenport. Any thoughts on this? Really looking forward to moving in the area, just not certain where the best place is to buy our new home. Leaning mainly towards Davenport.... but which section of Davenport.

There are a couple different areas that are both considered "Clermont" - one is Clermont proper, which is at the intersection of Hwy 50 and Hwy 27 and due west of Orlando. The other is down around the 4 Corners area where Hwy 27 and Hwy 192 meet. They are several miles apart. That could account for the mixed messages you've been receiving. To be honest, there's no place in the area that is going to be totally crime free. You will get a feel for the neighborhoods as you look around. You can have a very nice upscale gated neighborhood right down the road from an older, kind of run down neighborhood. I have friends and family in both Davenport (off Hwy 27) and Clermont proper, and they haven't had any complaints regarding crime in their areas.

I would agree with the idea of maybe renting for a little while so you can get a feel for what areas would work best for you in regards to location, job commutes, schools, etc. There are a wide variety of neighborhoods in the greater Orlando area and you won't know which one really suits you until you get here and take a look.

 

[jerseygal]

True. Lake Mary is a great area.

Thanks! HOPE that their family will be happy as it was a job transfer!

 

[Mr.Smee99]

Had to make an account to post my two cents. Talk to enough people you realize there is no good place to live in central Florida if you listen to everyone. There are good and bad areas all over. Since CF is filled with transplants, everybody has a different opinion about what is good and bad. It all depends n where you come from and your situation and expectations out of life down here.

I would stay out of Oviedo. There are nice parts of the area but you are better off going to Winter Garden. Oviedo is on the downswing and getting worse IMO. UCF area is actually pretty nice. Yes some people got hurt somewhat recently, but overall it is a beautiful campus and nice area, good business in the area too for jobs. Clermont proper is nice but feels too far away from things for my taste. Ever hear of Florida Man? Yeah, a lot of Florida men come from Polk County. News of the weird articles you see from Florida, most of them come from Polk County. Osceola County is a mess. They are going broke and the schools are terrible. Irlo Bronson has all these hotels, they are just transient flop houses. Several owners have abandoned them and people still live in them. It gets on the news and nothing is done about it. Too many people move here thinking they can find work, but end up making minimum wage and realize they can't live.

Windemere is about the only place most can agree on, but also mostly expensive. You can still get an affordable house there but you have to look. Winter Garden is a nice place too. Downtown is a vibrant are. Winter Park is really cool if you like urban areas, some beautiful but expensive houses. Does butt up against some run down areas though. Lake Mary is nice but looking at an hour or so drive to Disney. Same as a lot of the cities north of downtown. IDK, if I moved here for Disney, I wouldn't want it to be so far away. A two hour round trip would prevent me from going to the park as much.

Don't forget, I4 just started a 6 year project that will cause major traffic issues for years. Living anywhere that requires travel on the freeway can make for some long commutes. Even on weekends, because of tourists, it doesn't really clear up. If you have to worry about schools, be very careful. Some really bad schools are around. Private schools that are affordable are few and far between. Home schooling might be best as others have said they do.

Again, it all depends on what you are used to or want, but getting out to more rural areas can be a bit rednneckish. Live in a community with an HOA if you worry about home values. I went into a community and the only road in has a group of shacks on cinder blocks with tar paper roofs. It is just the way it is, shacks one block, mansions the next. Good luck to anyone moving here, like it was mentioned, I would seriously rent for a while before making a decision to buy. Unless you have the ability to go to Disney everyday, living here is a lot different than vacationing. And if you have never made it through a summer here, make sure to try that before making a long term commitment. I have seen a lot of people come and go because they hated it. A lot do stay.

 

[Luvchefmic]

Mr. Smee99 What does this even mean ?

" Ever hear of Florida Man? Yeah, a lot of Florida men come from Polk County. News of the weird articles you see from Florida, most of them come from Polk County. "

 

[Mr.Smee99]

Mr. Smee99 What does this even mean ?

" Ever hear of Florida Man? Yeah, a lot of Florida men come from Polk County. News of the weird articles you see from Florida, most of them come from Polk County. "

https://twitter.com/_floridaman

Many new articles start off by saying "Florida man" and then describes some crazy situation from the news. Look at the twitter account. You know how every state/city/area has that one place where all the weird stuff happens with crazy news stories coming out of it seemingly daily? that is Polk County in Central Florida.