Celebration or The Villages for a vacation home

[Tiffany]

Do keep in mind that there are other areas in greater Orlando that are great places to live. My area is very close to WDW. I am only 5 minutes from Magic Kingdom and 10 minutes from Downtown Disney. I have seen no evidence of rampant crime in my area. I walk alone at night in my neighborhood and am never concerned. I've not had any vandalism nor have I seen any in the neighborhood. I think my area is quieter than Celebration. Of course, we don't have a quaint downtown area like Celebration, but I am so closed to Downtown Disney that it doesn't bother me. A good feature is that we don't get tourists. People treat Celebration like another tourist attraction. I wouldn't like that.

Give a look to other neighborhoods in Orlando. You might find that you like them better.

Thanks for the feedback we will be looking at many area before we actually buy anything.

 

[GeorgeG]

Thanks for the feedback. The Villages do look great but our only concern is that they are all single family homes so the grounds would need to be taken care of when we are back north as well as checking for damage after any bad storms etc. We were thinking that a condo complex might be the better way to go so that when we head back north all we have to do is lock the door behind us. Any places in the Villages were you can do that?

There are a lot of residents here who are snowbirds or just use their homes for vacations. Most residents have landscapers to mow and trim (it's not a fun thing to do during the summer months) and they are usually very affordable. There is also a service you can use that checks on your house when you're away, but most of the time it's neighbors keeping an eye on things. We have keys to a half dozen houses since we're here all year.

There are also villas that can be landscaped for low or no maintenance, whether you are here or away. For what it's worth, many snowbirds get spoiled with the lifestyle and decide to spend more time here after a handful of years.

 

[Tiffany]

There are a lot of residents here who are snowbirds or just use their homes for vacations. Most residents have landscapers to mow and trim (it's not a fun thing to do during the summer months) and they are usually very affordable. There is also a service you can use that checks on your house when you're away, but most of the time it's neighbors keeping an eye on things. We have keys to a half dozen houses since we're here all year.

There are also villas that can be landscaped for low or no maintenance, whether you are here or away. For what it's worth, many snowbirds get spoiled with the lifestyle and decide to spend more time here after a handful of years.

Thanks for the info. We would just need to figure in the cost of property maintenance and security while we are up north into our budget of monthly expenses related to this second home. We would like to be close to Lake Sumter Landing are there any areas with Villas that you would recommend?

 

[GeorgeG]

Thanks for the info. We would just need to figure in the cost of property maintenance and security while we are up north into our budget of monthly expenses related to this second home. We would like to be close to Lake Sumter Landing are there any areas with Villas that you would recommend?

There are villa sections in just about every "village" in the Lake Sumter Landing area. They are popular with some because they have smaller yards while still maintaining privacy.

We have a ranch and our monthly cost for mowing, edging and blowing is $45. We still pay during the winter when the lawn goes dormant, but they will still check on it periodically and during the warmer months they come every week.

There is little need for security here other than locking your doors, but there is a service available to check your house on a regular basis. Most people rely on friends and neighbors to keep an eye on their house while they're gone. Crime is almost non-existant. A lot of residents are retired law enforcement and military. We have a community watch that patrols around the clock and the sheriff's dept. maintains a presence and headquarters on Villages property.

Some who are here mostly for vacations will rent their homes to others for a week or a month at a time and there are also services who will take care of all that for you. The service arranges for the rentals and come in and clean after each rental. We have friends who do that to essentially pay for their homes and/or upkeep until they're ready to retire and live here full-time.

 

[Tiffany]

There are villa sections in just about every "village" in the Lake Sumter Landing area. They are popular with some because they have smaller yards while still maintaining privacy.

We have a ranch and our monthly cost for mowing, edging and blowing is $45. We still pay during the winter when the lawn goes dormant, but they will still check on it periodically and during the warmer months they come every week.

There is little need for security here other than locking your doors, but there is a service available to check your house on a regular basis. Most people rely on friends and neighbors to keep an eye on their house while they're gone. Crime is almost non-existant. A lot of residents are retired law enforcement and military. We have a community watch that patrols around the clock and the sheriff's dept. maintains a presence and headquarters on Villages property.

Some who are here mostly for vacations will rent their homes to others for a week or a month at a time and there are also services who will take care of all that for you. The service arranges for the rentals and come in and clean after each rental. We have friends who do that to essentially pay for their homes and/or upkeep until they're ready to retire and live here full-time.

Thanks for all of the additional information. We are probally going to check things out in January.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

Bumping up! What do you all think of the Rt 27 area? Doesn't necessarily have to be a retirement community, but over 55 area is of interest. TIA Grammy

There is High Vista & now DEL WEBB ORLANDO in Ridgewood Lakes (?) off of RT 27...both are 55+.

Anyone have thoughts on these??

 

[Melissa Emerson]

I don't know, the condos in Celebration make me nervous. We own one we are trying to sell. Do your research. When we left in April Mirasol was for sale. Mona Lisa was bankrupt. Georgetown lost its management company and was being sued by them and the landscaping company. Not sure where that stands now (that was going on for a while.) Lots of empty units there and they have a problem with teens breaking in and having wild parties. Same with the townhomes downtown Very $$$ (more than a nice home) so several are empty or rented to whoever they can get to rent them. Siena is probably the worst of the lot. Nice complex but right near the high school and out of the way of most of town so crime issues there. Lots of problems with the pool and cars being vandalized. Many call Siena "the ghetto of Celebration." Nice. People also say that about North Village though too (where Georgetown is) and some of the nicest homes are there on the golf course. Artisan park has many empty homes still. The condos look like the projects to me but inside they are beautiful. I heard they have issues with trash pickup and vandalism in the stair ways now. This all comes from the town message board and friends that live in these units.

We still like Celebration a lot-my parents have a house there. I hope Florida bounces back and Celebration can come back to what it used to be. Right now you can get a bargain but I would always look at a small house over a condo. The electric and taxes are way too much for a large home. It is also becoming a vacation/second home type of place and I do not think that is good for the community. It is not a great area right outside the gates and with so many poor and desperate now they come to Celebration thinking people there have a lot. You never heard about crime before and now there are cars and homes being broken into all the time.

Hello! How are your concerns doing 10 years later! We are considering a second home in Celebration. Your post was so honest, I wondered if your parents still own there and what your thoughts on the area are now? I also welcome anyone else's thoughts on the different villages and why you would or would't live there.