Celbration, FL

[dwaldron]

Hello, Although we are DVC Members, my wife has recently become intrigued with the idea of moving to Celebration. I am sure that this was in part fueled by the brutal New England winter we just had.

I was unable to find any forums for discussion of Celebration, adn the website is informative, but obviously one-sided. I also can not get any real-estate information from them because they are not a licensed real-estate agency in my state.

Does anyone have any personal expirences of Celebration? Does anyone know of any "open" forums discussing Celebration? Or, does anyone know of any websites with Celebration information besides www.celebrationfl.com?

Thanks,
Don Waldron

Feb 04 - DCL-Magic
Aug 03 - BCV/BWV
Apr 03 - VB
May 02 - BWV
May 01 - OKW
Oct 00 - BWV
Oct 97 - GF
May 93 - CarrB
Aug 91 - CarrB
Aug 82 - WDW - Off Site
Aug 79 - Disney Land

 

[luv34747]

check out:

http://www.34747.org/

you can also check out the front porch, but you won't be able to read the forums:

http://www.celebration.fl.us/

 

[CarolMN]

You might be interested in one or both of these two books:

The Celebration Chronicles: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Property Value in Disney's New Town
by Andrew Ross

and

Celebration, U.S.A.: Living in Disney's Brave New Town
by Douglas Frantz, Catherine Collins


If you do a search for them on amazon.com, you will find info on their contents as well as some reviews.

 

[Merilyn]

We have visited there several times and have a friend that lives there. It is certainly quaint and almost story book. It would be a beautiful place to live, but very expensive.

 

[FLeisure]

If you want to PM me , I can send you a real estate package that includes information on homes in Celebration.

 

[chrissyk]

We are also considering moving to Celebration (from MA), also fueled by one too many brutal winters. We looked at a bunch of houses in Celebration on our last trip to FL in Feb. Celebration is so pretty and picturesque, but I'm not totally sold on it. My take on Celebration is that it is overpriced and the current school is not of the caliber that I'd expect for the high property taxes. I don't think that the property costs there are outrageous, but then again, I'm from MA so my frame of reference is messed up on that subject. The houses ARE overpriced for that area, though. luv34747 (my husband ) and I are broadening our horizons to include other planned communities in FL. It's nice to know that we're not the only New Englanders looking to move to this area

 

[dwaldron]

chrissyk,

What did you find out about the schools? Based on my wife read (which of course is what they want to tell you) she was very impressed with what they were doing there.

Also, were you able to determine how much the property taxes would be down there?

Thanks,
Don

 

[chrissyk]

Originally posted by dwaldron
chrissyk,

What did you find out about the schools? Based on my wife read (which of course is what they want to tell you) she was very impressed with what they were doing there.

Also, were you able to determine how much the property taxes would be down there?

Thanks,
Don

We checked on their school system scores against the scores of FL as a whole on www.greatschools.net . Their scores didn't impress us, which is surprizing given the way that they tout their school I know that there is more to a school than scores, but it would be nice to see this school system in the upper strata of scores nonetheless. What we DO like about the school system is the focus on technology and the availability of computers to the students. This is a big plus in our book.

We found out about property taxes from the listing sheets that the realtor gave us on the houses we saw in Feb. They were high, but then again, so are NH property taxes I don't inherently have a problem with high property taxes (especially in a state w/no income or state cap. gains tax like FL), but I do have a problem with high property taxes that aren't paying for an absolutely stellar school, KWIM? Also, there are some sort of community fees on top of the property taxes that are rather high. All in all, it seemed like a lot to pay for a community that didn't have exactly the kind of top-shelf public schools that we are looking for. If they could create those kind of schools, we'd move there in a heartbeat and happily pay the higher property taxes and community fees As it is now, we're expanding our search to include other planned communities in the Tampa area

 

[FLeisure]

Property taxes in Celebration are extremely high...3 or 4 times the amount that residents in other sub divisions pay. For example , a 2,000 sq.ft property on most subdivisions costs around $2,500 in property taxes....Celebration is nearer $ 10,000.

As far as the school is concerned, I wasn't impressed either. OK, so they get computers but frankly I'd prefer my kids to have the knowledge of how things work before they start getting lazy and plugging figures into computers. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I'd rather they knew how to do math without a calculator, go to the library to research topics and generally get a better understanding for life rather than rely on a computer. Of course, they are getting trained on a computer at school anyway but the school my kids go to doesn't have it's focus on computers and high tech devices. Just good solid teaching.

Now this is beginning to sound like I'm knocking Celebration and to a degree I am. However, to counter balance this you have to consider what it offers and it does offer a different lifestyle to most others. I enjoy going to Celebration. They have some good restaurants, an excellent hospital, a suberb health club,a nice cinema,a decent golf course, a good hotel and plenty of other areas of interest.

I know many people who are quite happy living in Celebration and good luck to them. Yes, you pay a price....but like everything in life, you pay for what you get.

 

[BCVOwner2002]

We took a tour of Celebration several years ago prior to purchasing our home in MA. We decided against it for a few reasons: housing costs and school system were the major ones. When we were in FL last year we took another tour. Our DS is graduating next year so (grade) school systems don't matter to us.

We have decided when we move to FL we will look on the west coast rather than in the Orlando area. We live in an ocean community now and would love to do the same in a place where we would be able to enjoy the area more than a few months out of the year!!! This winter was brutal!! I'll bet many New Englanders are rethinking their living options.

Annmarie

 

[DisOrBust]

Are you serious 10,000 for a 2000 sq ft house. I thought mine were bad at 4200. I guess you weight it out againnst income tax. I was to;ld there is a real ED crisis in Fl. that is why Celebration look intriguing to me?

 

[FLeisure]

I was a little out on my figures it appears but it all depends on the lot and where the house is situated. A quick review of the MLS shows one house of 2,000 sq. ft actually coming in at $ 5,352 - House price $ 319,000.

A 3,000 sq. ft home ....price $ 449,000 - taxes $ 5,299 !
Another 3,000 at $ 489,000 - taxes $ 6,159.

Whist most 4,000 sq. ft homes costing in the region of $ 580,000 do indeed have taxes of $ 10,000. I think that's where my mistake was as I have a 4,000 sq. ft home (not costing anywhere near that figure !) and my taxes are half that of Celebration...and I live about 5 mins from there !

And here's some interesting figures for you; the cheapest property available in Celebration is a 1297 sq. ft 2 bed 2 bath condo priced at $ 176,000. The most expensive is a 6 bed 6 bath home with 7,700 sq. ft at $ 1,950,000. Property taxes..nearly $ 25,000.

 

[colleen costello]

Do visit and walk around and "hang out" to see if you even like the place... We visited last month and the place gave us the willies. It was storybook cute, and I love the idea of living in Florida, but despite the beautiful houses (jammed close together) it didn't seem like a neighborhood. We had been to MGM the day before and we realized the "fake" street on the backlot tour looked more like a real neighborhood than the one in Celebration! There were no bikes out and no "Little Tikes" junk in yards, no swing sets. It's very bright and very tightly packed -- the lots are TEENY -- kind of "technicolor sterile."

Bottom line is you need to visit to see how it feels to you. I suspect this is a "love it or hate it" type of place. The articles mentioned above are fascinating but deal more with the philosophy of the place than what it is like to live there on a daily basis. The weirdest thing I recall reading was that if your pet is annoying the neighbors, after appropriate warnings "the management" can remove the animal. I could just imagine Mickey Mouse sneaking in at night to steal your dog!

 

[chrissyk]

Originally posted by BCVOwner2002
We have decided when we move to FL we will look on the west coast rather than in the Orlando area. We live in an ocean community now and would love to do the same in a place where we would be able to enjoy the area more than a few months out of the year!!! This winter was brutal!! I'll bet many New Englanders are rethinking their living options.

Annmarie

I totally agree with you that a lot of New Englanders are probably looking to move after this brutal winter! A lot of the time, I feel like we only really get to live life for 3 or 4 months a year here Also, it is SO expensive to live here now that we can't afford to get a bigger house in a better town. FL is looking like a good option to us all around...I'm just not sure that we're sold on Celebration. We're broadening our search radius to include Tampa and some other areas of FL. I hope that we can find a town with good public schools! When are you thinking of moving out of MA? We're hoping to be in FL for good by the middle of the summer of 2004

 

[FLeisure]

Why the hang up with good public schools ?

There are some excellent private schools and if you are thinking of living in Celebration you can surely afford it. The best public schools are in the Dr. Phillips/Windermere area which encompasses Bay Hill, Phillips Landing, Isleworth and some of the most affluent areas of Orlando.

 

[DisOrBust]

I have been told that it is an act of Congress to get children into private schools. Huge waiting lists...is this wrong?

 

[FLeisure]

Absolutely wrong. Who told you that ?

 

[PatriciaH]

DH and I looked at houses in November 02 at Celebration, Hunters Creek and Poinciana. We loved Celebration but it is very expensive compared to other areas of Florida. We were all set to rent an apartment in Centergate/Celebration this March while looking for a home/jobs. Then the talks of war broke out and the economy got even worse. We decided to wait until next spring. I am thinking of working at Disney and they had just put the hiring freeze on.

Hopefully spring 04 the economy will be better! Even if is not we have had it with the winters here in MA. We get 5 good months-that STINKS! Plus the homes here are holding at outrageous prices. DH and I have no debt and good savings and both have good jobs but to afford a home here we would have to struggle. That is just not right. We would like to have children soon and what if one of us wants to go to part time or stay home with the kids? We could not pay a mortgage in MA on one salary.

So we pay $350,000 for a home in MA with bad weather 6 months of the year or $200,000 for a beautiful home in Florida with great weather most of the year and close to the beaches and WDW!

 

[colleen costello]

Patricia, you are so smart! So many people I know bought a HUGE house with an accompanying huge mortage before kids. When baby comes, priorites change. We have a nice but modest house in a lovely neighborhood and I am home with the kids. It's close every month, but we can totally "make it" on my husband's salary. Such peace of mind to be with the kids -- even though on some days I feel like I am losing my marbles!

I also agree with you on the weather issue. Here in southern Indiana the winters are fairly mild and not too long. THIS winter, of course, was different! I feel like I wasted so many months just stuck inside -- everything is dead and gray and cold in the winter. Some of my friends here say if they moved to Florida they'd miss the "seasons." NOT ME! I would not miss ice, snow, gray clouds 24/7 and boots and sliding all over the highway on "freezing rain." NO WAY!

 

[PatriciaH]

Thanks Colleen We tend to plan ahead. We like it here a lot and it is familiar but the house prices-wow. My parents are probably selling their home in NY and moving to FL this year and we have some family there already so that will be nice. It is a big decision though. We just feel we will not be able to have a home here and give a lot to future children too. We both make pretty good money too-I don't know how other people do it!! I refuse to have us working 60 hours a week and have children in day care though-what is the point

Of course we love being outdoors and keep saying won't it be nice to be able to be outside all the time. To BBQ/grill whenever we want, to actually be able to swim in the ocean.