Considering a move to Orlando

[snarlingcoyote]

The sun does a lot of damage to your skin. No dry skin in the winter is a plus though.

And here that was one of the best thing for moving OUT of MA for me. The weather aged my skin when I was in MA. Sun I can deal with - that's why you wear sunblock every day, own hats with big brims and know when and how to wear all those wonderful, baggy, sunblocked clothes when you'll be in the sun all day. But that dry skin was murder on my skin. Couldn't escape it, even with humidifiers in every room.

Isn't it funny how we all develop different preferences and strategies for our climates?

 

[Metro West]

What do you mean by Urban raised if chosing Winter Park?

Winter Park is a nice area but lots of stuff around...there's no rural feeling at all...it's very busy all of the time. Rollins College is located there in the Park Avenue district...which is the most expensive area...you have lots of college kids to deal with. I grew up in a college town so it doesn't bother me much when I venture over.

 

[DreaGirl]

Thanks everyone for your honest opinions.

We live in Metro Detroit right on the edge of Detroit. So, we live an urban life and we like it. My DH grew up in Chicago, so that is all he knows. I grew up in a small town, and I don't miss it.

The feeling on the crime rate is that it is a large city. Chicago has a high murder rate, but that wouldn't stop us from moving there. As for the theft, with tourists comes theft.

Prices are so inflated in this area, it is crazy. So, we are used to that. We were looking at taxes and we pay more than the better parts of Orlando! It must be all that snow removal....

We won't be moving until late Summer 2010, so we have a lot of time ahead of us. It is nice to hear from people who live there. The thing about the city message boards is they tend to be so negative. We are thinking about Austin, TX as well and that board is even more negative than Orlando. Yet when I talk to friends or friends of friends who live there, they love it.

Anyone else out there in the Orlando area?

 

[gottaluvPluto]

The city forums are a good link to check out. Lots of honest people on there. You might do OK if your husband works from home. I like the weather from October-May but the summers stink. DH and I love heat- but it is disgusting here in the summer and keeps getting hotter every year. The sun does a lot of damage to your skin. No dry skin in the winter is a plus though. Schools stink unless you go private. Very expensive electric, taxes, groceries, insurance, etc. Everything was cheaper for us in MA even rent. We wound up buying here and I wish we had kept renting so we could go back north sooner. I would still vacation here Celebration and Winter Park are very nice but you are on the edge of crime ridden, transient areas and it is staring to move in.

I think MA and all of New England are more expensive than Florida. We lived in New England for several years and could not make it on our salary. We moved to Florida and we are able to have a savings and have a vacation. We also have friends that move to MA and they want to move back to Orlando Florida due to high expenses in MA. Home insurance can be expensive, but overall I find everything cheaper. We also keep our AC at 72 degrees and our home is well insulated - I guess everyone has their own experiences.

 

[SydneyBristow]

I'm 25 miles west of Orlando, in South Lake County. I grew up in NJ, made a short stop in PA before moving down here in 2005. We bounced around a bit, lived in Ocala & Kissimmee before settling here. I love our town, wouldn't want to live anywhere else.

Best advice I can give you is take the time ti come down and see the different areas yourself, they're so diverse. Don't take other people opinions as fact, one persons paradise can be another's nightmare and vice-versa. Good luck!

 

[PatriciaH]

I think MA and all of New England are more expensive than Florida. We lived in New England for several years and could not make it on our salary. We moved to Florida and we are able to have a savings and have a vacation. We also have friends that move to MA and they want to move back to Orlando Florida due to high expenses in MA. Home insurance can be expensive, but overall I find everything cheaper. We also keep our AC at 72 degrees and our home is well insulated - I guess everyone has their own experiences.

When we moved, our rent in MA was $790/month and we lived right on the train line into Boston in a beautiful building. Our rent here was $950/month for the same size place. Nice area too.

My parents paid $3,500/year in taxes for a bigger house with a bigger lot in Queens, NY. Beautiful area-Forest Hills. Here they pay $7,000/year!

Our electric doubled. Our groceries doubled. Right now ground beef is close to $6/pound. It is still $1.99/pound in NH (my MIL still sends the papers so I can compare.) Milk is $4/gallon. Bread most loafs are $3.89+.

Not to mention we made $30K a year more in MA I'll take the cold and several nice vacations during it over debt, crappy salaries, transient neighbors, and major CRIME.

I do like Celebration although the crime is getting scary (several home break ins during the day-with the people in their home, hold up at the bank machine 2 weeks ago, lots of car break ins, etc.)

 

[sarasotamom]

I live in Sarasota and our prices for food are way lower than in Orlando. When we are at Disney we always notice that gas is 15 cents less a gallon there. Our ground sirloin is not even 6.00 a pound.

It takes us an 1 1/2 hour to 1 3/4 hour to get to Disney. We are on the west coast of Florida - 50 miles south of Tampa. Our real estate taxes are $2900 and I pay $2200 for hazard insurance. Our crime rate is very low.

Wonderful school system with the ability to school choice. I will say that it does not get as hot here in the summers because of the ocean breeze. When we go to Disney we think it is hot and I have lived here all my life.

Friends of ours moved to Orlando. They stayed there for 2 years and moved back due to all the tourists. Everyone has different preferences of what they like. Check out different areas but don't limit yourself to the Orlando area. Coastal areas are now very much more affordable and will someday go back up in price. If Disney is what brings you to Florida, many areas are a very short drive.

We take many weekend trips. We leave after work and get to Disney in time to always go to a park Friday night.

 

[Colleen27]

Thanks everyone for your honest opinions.

We live in Metro Detroit right on the edge of Detroit. So, we live an urban life and we like it. My DH grew up in Chicago, so that is all he knows. I grew up in a small town, and I don't miss it.

The feeling on the crime rate is that it is a large city. Chicago has a high murder rate, but that wouldn't stop us from moving there. As for the theft, with tourists comes theft.

Prices are so inflated in this area, it is crazy. So, we are used to that. We were looking at taxes and we pay more than the better parts of Orlando! It must be all that snow removal....

We won't be moving until late Summer 2010, so we have a lot of time ahead of us. It is nice to hear from people who live there. The thing about the city message boards is they tend to be so negative. We are thinking about Austin, TX as well and that board is even more negative than Orlando. Yet when I talk to friends or friends of friends who live there, they love it.

We're Detroiters (outer suburbs, now) too and when we were considering relocating, TX beat FL hands-down in almost every area. Better schools, more reasonable housing, better job market (though anywhere in hurricane country would be fine for DH, since he's a contractor with most of his experience in roofing and siding). We were looking at Houston initially because we have family there, but I liked the "vibe" of Austin better. I love college towns. It is the schools that really concerned me about the Orlando area. I didn't see any that come close to the quality of my kids' school, and from talking to friends who live in the area, few people seem to be very happy with the quality of education their kids are getting in public school.

We ultimately decided to stay put when the bottom fell out of housing in our area. We're closing in a week on a 4 bedroom house for 19K, and a poor job market without a mortgage looks better than a okay job market with a house payment! Once we're empty nesters and don't have to worry about schools, we'll do what good Michigan folk do and buy us a second home down around Lakeland so we can spend our winters in the sun and never miss Tigers spring training.

 

[Bay Hill]

How about Apoka or Ovido?

Just a few exits from Disney...

 

[Feralpeg]

Thanks for all the input. My DH works from home, so employment isn't a big issue for us. I am a SAHM.

We weren't looking to move right in Orlando, but more in the Winter Garden, Winter Park, Windermere area.

Does anyone know about West Orange High? We have found some reasonably priced homes (for us) and that is the high school. Thanks!

We live in Windermere. When we moved here about five years ago, DD was a junior. She attended West Orange High for her junior year. I moved her to a private school for her senior year. I found that the level of education she was getting was not up to par with what she had gotten in Kansas City. The school was rough. She was literally knocked down in the hall one day and walked on by some kids. Several times, when I was at the school to pick her up, I saw the police there in the process of handcuffing a student. Her history class had over 50 kids. It cost me a lot, but I was very happy that she did not attend West Orange for her senior year. On the upside, West Orange does have a beautiful new building.

 

[lucas]

How about Apoka or Ovido?

Just a few exits from Disney...

I've never heard of these areas but I am going to check them out.

I think I am beginning to rule out Celebration. Anybody else have other suggestions for areas to check out?

 

[diznygirl]

Los Angeles is a Mayberry compared to Orlando.

Orlando has the worst crime rates in Florida, one of the worst crime rates in the United States, one of the country's highest murder rates and is consistently ranked as one of America's ten most dangerous cities.

In 2006, Orlando's murder rate went up more than 100%. In 2008, when southern neighbor Miami recorded its lowest murder rate since 1963, Orlando's murder rate broke even the record set in 2006.

Orlando's violent crime rate is the fourth worse in the country - after St. Louis, Detroit and Baltimore.

Orlando's murder rate - 22.6 per 100,000 people - is significantly better than, say, Detroit (47.8) but worse than Bogota, (18), Moscow (11.8) or Los Angeles (12).

Orlando's theft rate is 269% higher than Los Angeles; 302% higher than New York City; and 186% higher than Miami.

Nice to know I traded up from Mayberry!

I'd need to see a link to prove those stats. Orlando has it's faults, but I didn't even find it in the top ten in 2008:

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/11/new_orleans_has_highest_crime.html#


There are good and bad spots all over the United States. This spot just happens to be warmer than most and right next door to the Mouse.

 

[Parkers_girl]

Seminole county is great, Winter Springs, Oviedo, etc are really nice towns with good schools. However, the economy is very bad here too so I wouldn't make that the basis of your move. Jobs are scarce, as I think they are everywhere.

 

[NTDreams]

I want to move to Fl so badly but My husband is one year from tenure so it would be foolish. For some reason I think teachers don't get paid as much down there we do in MA.

 

[lucas]

South Florida has it problems, too. I've always wanted to move up to the Orlando area, so when dh retires (maybe 3 years) I really want to do it. Just don't know where to begin as far as areas/neighborhoods.

 

[DreaGirl]

Are there any good high schools in Orange County?

We have expanded our search area. My DD is only 2.5, so we are many years away from high school, but still a concern.

How are the elementary schools?

 

[ChristmasElf]

What do you mean by Urban raised if chosing Winter Park?

What schools do they go to in Celebration? I'm having such a hard time finding out info for areas. Here, the cities are all zones and that info is on the web. Makes it very simple to find out what address goes to what school.

If you live in Celebration, your children would be part of the Osceola county schools. (serious drawback)
Orange county has pockets where the schools are good and others where the schools are just okay.
West Orange High school was just rebuilt. The old school was 30 years old and completely demolished last summer and the new school opened this past fall all completely new. Very nice.

Located on Beulah Rd in Winter Garden. If you would like more info about the school and the surrounding area of Winter Garden/Windermere feel free to PM. I have a child that is a Senior at West Orange.

There are some real deals on houses in Winter Garden/Windermere. We have great shopping nearby and the parks are less than 10 minutes.

 

[ChristmasElf]

Are there any good high schools in Orange County?

We have expanded our search area. My DD is only 2.5, so we are many years away from high school, but still a concern.

How are the elementary schools?

Hunters Creek, and area in South unicorporated Orange county has A rated schools. Dr Phillips is a great area as well as Windermere and Winter Garden.

West Orange High school and Dr. Phillips High schools are both great schools.

 

[ChristmasElf]

How about Apoka or Ovido?

Just a few exits from Disney...

Apopka and Oveido

 

[diznygirl]

DreaGirl - the Celebration K-8 school is really good. The high school not so much, but it only been open a few years and I've got a few years before I have to worry about it. It will be getting an IB program next year, so that's good.