Looking to move near Disney questions

[monica9]

Hi. I’m not sure where to post this so please move it wherever you see fit.
we are looking to move to Orlando area as my husband’s company, Lockheed Martin, has an office in Orlando. I currently work at a hospital but would love to work at Disney if we move there. We are looking in the Oviedo area. Does anyone have any info about that area and if it’s close enough to commute? We have two children and good schools and low crime are a must but we know nothing about central Florida. We currently live in Connecticut.
thanks for the help!

 

[BlondieinFL]

I don't know much about Oviedo, but it seems kind of far from Disney. I think you would need to take a toll road to get to Disney within a reasonable amount of time. We live in the Southwest Orlando area, and that's what I'd recommend - Dr. Phillips, Windermere, Winter Garden, Horizon West. Maybe even Clermont, though it's farther west. These areas are all close to Disney (and Universal, SeaWorld), have good schools, low crime (relatively), and are close to Lockheed. Dr. Phillips and Windermere are closest to Lockheed. Then there are a couple of smaller cities within those areas - Gotha and Ocoee, which may be more affordable for housing.

 

[HopperFan]

Hi. I’m not sure where to post this so please move it wherever you see fit.
we are looking to move to Orlando area as my husband’s company, Lockheed Martin, has an office in Orlando. I currently work at a hospital but would love to work at Disney if we move there. We are looking in the Oviedo area. Does anyone have any info about that area and if it’s close enough to commute? We have two children and good schools and low crime are a must but we know nothing about central Florida. We currently live in Connecticut.
thanks for the help!

Which Lockheed location will he be at, they have several? Traffic in Orlando is bad. And the commute from Oviedo to WDW would be a deal breaker for me. I had a friend who worked at Disney and moved over that way but closer to WDW and she HATED the commute. She moved back over closer to WDW. Location is everything there so start with his work location, schools and housing in your price point.

 

[monica9]

Thank you. This is so hard! I’m having a hard time finding a town similar to where we are. I believe the Lockheed is on Global innovation. I don’t necessarily want to be too close to the touristy area and willing to drive up to 45 minutes especially if I only did it part time. It’s showing from Oviedo to Lockheed is only 20 min no tolls or 17 with tolls. I’m assuming there may more to it than that. Traffic?
the other towns we are looking in seem so expensive eg. winter park, celebration, Windermere. We are looking for houses 550 or less

 

[fla4fun]

Any time you see an estimate of driving time in Orlando, double it for rush hour at a minimum. My last job was just over an hour commute at 5:00am, but over an hour and a half at 4:00pm. Same streets both ways, and avoiding the interstate (don’t plan on taking I-4 as your primary route, especially not until the construction is complete). If one person is working full time and the other part time, I would look at neighborhoods about 1/3 distance from the full time and 2/3 distance from the part time position. On the surface streets, traffic moves, but there is a lot of it, especially if you are anywhere close to the tourist areas. Northeast Orlando, including Oviedo, is a nice place to live, but it’s a bad commute to downtown and I wouldn’t commute any farther than that from there. Living reasonably close to work is a good piece of advice for the Orlando area, which continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

 

[HopperFan]

Thank you. This is so hard! I’m having a hard time finding a town similar to where we are. I believe the Lockheed is on Global innovation. I don’t necessarily want to be too close to the touristy area and willing to drive up to 45 minutes especially if I only did it part time. It’s showing from Oviedo to Lockheed is only 20 min no tolls or 17 with tolls. I’m assuming there may more to it than that. Traffic?
the other towns we are looking in seem so expensive eg. winter park, celebration, Windermere. We are looking for houses 550 or less

Then yes his commute would likely be fine from there but if you want to work at Disney, not reasonable at all. Traffic, time involved, gas (AC running is year round).

Perhaps look south of Global Location ..... with all the news of Disney looking to put a campus at Lake Nona, and it having a development plan out there perhaps explore that area and schools. Just at a glance schools have a good rating. It puts you much closer to Disney with still being a non-tourist newly developed area. Commute for DH would be slightly more than Oviedo but avoids hot spots. Easy to all parks, Cocoa Beach, airport and turnpike. You can def get a fairly new, upgraded home in that area for that price point and less. Even with a pool. There are amenities all around.

PS I'm from NJ. Just put CT out of your head, it's a whole new world.

Samples of Lake Nona ...

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/12075-Autumn-Fern-Ln-Orlando-FL-32827/119086766_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9652-Sweetleaf-St-Orlando-FL-32827/54434006_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10041-Lake-District-Ln-Orlando-FL-32832/71057231_zpid/

 

[BlondieinFL]

Winter Park and Celebration are expensive. And, they are not close to Lockheed. Winter Park is not close to Disney. Southwest Orlando is the best area, IMO for proximity to Lockheed and Disney. The traffic is ok, the schools are good. Housing is pretty expensive at the moment, but better prices can be found in Winter Garden and Ocoee. I don't notice tourists unless I specifically go to the tourist destinations.

 

[HopperFan]

Winter Park and Celebration are expensive. And, they are not close to Lockheed. Winter Park is not close to Disney. Southwest Orlando is the best area, IMO for proximity to Lockheed and Disney. The traffic is ok, the schools are good. Housing is pretty expensive at the moment, but better prices can be found in Winter Garden and Ocoee. I don't notice tourists unless I specifically go to the tourist destinations.

She said he will be at Global Innovation which I would consider substantially east of Orlando. Not bad from Winter Garden but SW Orlando seems far.

What do you consider SW Orlando? For people not from the area it's hard to know "local" description. Which cities or communities would that be?

We did shop for housing in Orlando but opted to buy on the beach .... and continue to do hotels etc when going to Disney/Universal etc. I'm comfortable driving around there but keenly aware of the traffic issues, especially I-4 corridor. I couldn't imagine having to travel through the heaviest areas going from home to work.

 

[monica9]

Then yes his commute would likely be fine from there but if you want to work at Disney, not reasonable at all. Traffic, time involved, gas (AC running is year round).

Perhaps look south of Global Location ..... with all the news of Disney looking to put a campus at Lake Nona, and it having a development plan out there perhaps explore that area and schools. Just at a glance schools have a good rating. It puts you much closer to Disney with still being a non-tourist newly developed area. Commute for DH would be slightly more than Oviedo but avoids hot spots. Easy to all parks, Cocoa Beach, airport and turnpike. You can def get a fairly new, upgraded home in that area for that price point and less. Even with a pool. There are amenities all around.

PS I'm from NJ. Just put CT out of your head, it's a whole new world.

Samples of Lake Nona ...

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/12075-Autumn-Fern-Ln-Orlando-FL-32827/119086766_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9652-Sweetleaf-St-Orlando-FL-32827/54434006_zpid/

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/10041-Lake-District-Ln-Orlando-FL-32832/71057231_zpid/

Haha when you say a whole new world, is that a good thing??? I’m happy at what you get for that price range!

 

[White Cat]

The toll roads from Oviedo dump right into Disney and it’s a.very easy commute.

 

[monica9]

Oh and I’m about to get even pickier here but my oldest daughter has a liver condition and I’d like to be within 20 minutes of a hospital if anyone has more suggestions!
I was also curious about the southwest Orlando area. Which towns are there?
When researching, I took interest in gotha florida. Does anyone have info on that town?

 

[monica9]

The toll roads from Oviedo dump right into Disney and it’s a.very easy commute.

Sarcastic or is it actually an easy commute? I don’t mind paying for tolls. I want easiest and least congested and Oviedo just all around looks like the best town for what we want

 

[White Cat]

Any time you see an estimate of driving time in Orlando, double it for rush hour at a minimum. My last job was just over an hour commute at 5:00am, but over an hour and a half at 4:00pm. Same streets both ways, and avoiding the interstate (don’t plan on taking I-4 as your primary route, especially not until the construction is complete). If one person is working full time and the other part time, I would look at neighborhoods about 1/3 distance from the full time and 2/3 distance from the part time position. On the surface streets, traffic moves, but there is a lot of it, especially if you are anywhere close to the tourist areas. Northeast Orlando, including Oviedo, is a nice place to live, but it’s a bad commute to downtown and I wouldn’t commute any farther than that from there. Living reasonably close to work is a good piece of advice for the Orlando area, which continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

The drive to down town from Oviedo is simple and easy. And fast.

 

[JimMIA]

The area you are talking about is very near the University of Central Florida main campus, and in a rapidly developing research complex. It's well NE of downtown Orlando and WDW is way SW.

We do the drive from UCF to Celebration on most visits (to dine at Columbia) and it's about 40-45 minutes. But that's early evening, and going contra the rush hour traffic.

There is a major medical complex, including UCF's medical school, about 2/3 of the way between Lockheed's Global Innovation location and WDW. That's the Lake Nona area HopperFan was talking about above.

 

[White Cat]

Sarcastic or is it actually an easy commute? I don’t mind paying for tolls. I want easiest and least congested and Oviedo just all around looks like the best town for what we want

It’s eaay and not congested. Takes a little over half an hour depending where the drive originates from. The most congested part could be in Oviedo depending on the time.

 

[White Cat]

All kinds of new housing being built in Lk Nona. I drive through it often. That could be a place to check out.

 

[HopperFan]

Haha when you say a whole new world, is that a good thing??? I’m happy at what you get for that price range!

Not good or bad, just different. Fairly flat, fairly treeless, much much newer in most places than the original colonies.

Orlando is fairly season free, air conditioning is year round, shorts are year round, people from all over the world live here. They have football but you won't need a blanket or beanie! You will be able to watch the sunrise on the east coast and set on the west coast ... the same day.

You will be way happier price wise. The house we left in NJ had 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, no AC, over 100 years old and taxes are around $25,000 a year. What you will get for the fraction of the taxes will be incredible. Most important to me is schools and commute for location. You'll find nice homes everywhere.

Oh and I’m about to get even pickier here but my oldest daughter has a liver condition and I’d like to be within 20 minutes of a hospital if anyone has more suggestions!
I was also curious about the southwest Orlando area. Which towns are there?
When researching, I took interest in gotha florida. Does anyone have info on that town?

Florida is a sea of hospitals, so many, everywhere. EVERYWHERE!

That Lake Nona area I mentioned is considered a "medical community". I saw this description ....

"Today, Lake Nona is known for its golf course and its hub of medical services, along with the University of Florida's Health Sciences Campus. Lake Nona is one of the most scenic places to raise a family in Florida. It's safe, has great schools, and plenty of social amenities."

 

[JimMIA]

To give you some WDW/Oviedo perspective -- Oviedo is a little less than halfway between WDW and Daytona Beach.

Depending on the route you take, it's between 35 to 45 miles. The shortest route (mostly I-4) is often, in fact, the slowest route with traffic.

 

[monica9]

Ok so one more question, my sister is looking to live within 30 minutes of Tampa but wants to be somewhat within an hour or so of us. What would be a good 30 minute point from Tampa but on the side closest to central Florida? Sorry, we are clueless about Florida’s geography

 

[HopperFan]

Ok so one more question, my sister is looking to live within 30 minutes of Tampa but wants to be somewhat within an hour or so of us. What would be a good 30 minute point from Tampa but on the side closest to central Florida? Sorry, we are clueless about Florida’s geography

Well I'll let others speak to those areas but between Disney and Tampa is pretty rural in places, and not an area I would live in without careful inquiry. If you look at no traffic Oviedo to Tampa is 2+ hours so for you to be within an hour, you need to move closer to her and she might have to be willing to drive more.

Have her look at Plant City, right around 30 minutes from Tampa. Online brief "Plant City is in Hillsborough County and is one of the best places to live in Florida. Living in Plant City offers residents a sparse suburban feel and most residents own their homes. ... The public schools in Plant City are above average." ~ https://www.plantcity.org/