Nice, safe towns to live around Disney?

[Jeannie in NJ]

I could not find a forum for Florida residents so was not sure which forum to post this in.
We will be moving to the Disney area in 2 or 3 years when my oldest finishes nursing school in Philly. She wants to live with us as does my very personable, outgoing teen son who wants to work at Disney. Dh teaches college online, distance learning classes and I have an online business so we can work from anywhere. My dd and I have been looking online at new 4 bedrooms houses in developments around Disney (we want a neighborhood pool). We can afford around $300,000 for a house. We have been looking online at Independence, Summerlake and Watermark which are all located near the back of MK.
Any opinions of these areas? Or any other nice, safe as close as possible to Disney?
Heat does not bother us, I was born and raised in Texas, with no ac ever and dh went to college near Houston so HUMID. We have been to Disney in August and were fine with it. It is cold that we hate , hence no desire to stay in New Jersey.
Will probably be going to Disney in Jan. so could look at areas then.

 

[OKW Lover]

You are smart to be looking now. Its good to do your homework.

We moved into Summerlake just over a year ago and have been very happy with out decision. Never felt unsafe around here and the amount of new construction is really amazing so you'll have lots of choices. As you've seen on line, Summerlake does have a clubhouse with a neighborhood pool. We've been there and its very nice, but we decided to build our own pool so we don't frequent the community pool. Getting to/from WDW is easy and there is shopping nearby. The only "difficulty" is if you need to head over to the airport or even into Orlando itself frequently as there aren't really any direct east/west roads from this area.

 

[goodgodmrsmolly]

We moved to Hunters Creek which I really like. But a lot of that decision was based on schools, which you don't need to worry about. We usually take the Greenway or Osceola Parkway (toll roads) to get to Disney, but for an extra 15 min each way can skip those. Some of the homes are getting 20 years old, but I think it is a great community with everything you need. Not many sub divisions have a community pool but many houses do. I can hear the fireworks but not see them.

We looked at a lot of places in Windermere and winter garden. Summerport was really nice, but I think we got a better deal in HC. Summerlake was not what we wanted. Independence was nice too. Really high HOA, supposedly includes cable and internet, but I think you have to upgrade to actually get what you want. Some areas of Dr. Phillips are nice. If you are here just drive around. If you want to fix a house up, you can get a good deal, but 300 will get you a nice home, but nothing really special in those areas.

Celebration of course is great. A little out of your price range unless you are happy with a smaller condo. Reunion might be interesting for you but IDK how far away you are willing to look.

 

[Jeannie in NJ]

You are right, Celebration is out of our price range. Dh wants a house, not condo, and min. 4 bedrooms. We have never lived anywhere that has HOA's so that will be a new experience for us but we def. want the neighborhood pool and a nice development so HOA here we come. We live in a fairly new development here in New Jersey but no pool and no HOA.

 

[Postal68]

I thought you couldn't buy in Celebration without a minimum resident requirement

 

[staceyeileen]

I live in Clermont, which is north west of Disney near SR 50 and Highway 27. The area is growing rapidly, housing is still relatively cheap around here IMO. $250-300k gets you a 3,000 sq ft house with 4 or 5 bedrooms in my neighborhood.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

We moved to Hunters Creek which I really like. But a lot of that decision was based on schools, which you don't need to worry about. We usually take the Greenway or Osceola Parkway (toll roads) to get to Disney, but for an extra 15 min each way can skip those. Some of the homes are getting 20 years old, but I think it is a great community with everything you need. Not many sub divisions have a community pool but many houses do. I can hear the fireworks but not see them.

We looked at a lot of places in Windermere and winter garden. Summerport was really nice, but I think we got a better deal in HC. Summerlake was not what we wanted. Independence was nice too. Really high HOA, supposedly includes cable and internet, but I think you have to upgrade to actually get what you want. Some areas of Dr. Phillips are nice. If you are here just drive around. If you want to fix a house up, you can get a good deal, but 300 will get you a nice home, but nothing really special in those areas.

Celebration of course is great. A little out of your price range unless you are happy with a smaller condo. Reunion might be interesting for you but IDK how far away you are willing to look.

where is Hunter's Creek? Is that the name of the town or a subdivision? We're also looking at moving down in 3 years.

OP there's a fairly extensive thread here.... http://www.disboards.com/threads/safe-family-neighborhoods-near-disney.3283155/

 

[DrivenByDisney]

We live in Dr. Phillips and are less than four miles from Disney property. It is a nice area and has a lot of gated/private communities near the center of the area (restaurant row). The houses around here are very nice, though I would not know what they go for as we just moved here in November.

We live in a gated condo area in Dr. Phillips and love it. I know you are not wanting a condo, just letting you know about this area as well.

 

[SeilerBird]

I moved to Saint Cloud two years ago and could not be happier. I am 25 miles from the mouse basically out in the country. I live in an RV park that feels like an animal reserve. Sand Hill Cranes own the place.

 

[goodgodmrsmolly]

where is Hunter's Creek? Is that the name of the town or a subdivision? We're also looking at moving down in 3 years.

OP there's a fairly extensive thread here.... http://www.disboards.com/threads/safe-family-neighborhoods-near-disney.3283155/

https://www.google.com/maps/place/H...1s0x88dd80d550dd270b:0x1fe931c26a5b04c0?hl=en

http://www.hunterscreek.net/

Hunters Creek is a planned community on the south side or Orlando. We are just at the county line with Osceola County. The address is Orlando, but runs like an unincorporated town with its own board and town hall. It is a nice community that has plenty of shopping, parks, and good schools. I can walk out my door and pull into a Disney parking lot in 15 minutes, taking to toll roads. I don't mind, but if I worked at Disney and did the drive there and back each day, it might add up each month but tolls are just part of living here.

There are a good mix of places to live, from apartments, to condos, to homes from the mid 200's to 600k. There currently is some new construction going on in the community with homes in the 200-400 range.

 

[Figment43]

I can't speak for the housing aspect, but, as an RN, I have to warn you and your daughter that finding a nursing job straight out of school in Florida is tough. If she has any acute care experience, she might - MIGHT - find something sooner than I did, but it's not easy. It took me about 6 months to find a job after filling out hundreds of applications and wasting my time at one nursing career fair.

If she doesn't have at least one year experience, she is stuck applying mostly to graduate nurse programs, which only open up every 3-12 months (depending on the hospital system) and are VERY competitive. Florida Hospital and other Orlando area hospitals are very hard to get into because many nurses want to live there in addition to the new nurses pumped out by local colleges. Connections won't help her either, unless you know someone directly involved in selecting applications.

My advice to her (and you) is to look into to rural and small town hospitals, including Southwest Florida. Don't let the fact that a job is not part of a new nurse program deter her from applying to small town jobs because they often don't have those programs. They usually have a general orientation followed by several weeks with a preceptor, which is similar to grad programs, but they aren't advertised as such and the length of time with a preceptor is determined by how quickly she is able to learn and adapt to the unit rather than a set number of weeks. The job I have now is at what is considered a small town hospital. I got onto a cardiac unit with no experience, but they train very well and they continue to help me and answer any questions I have. Also, apply in January, because that is when almost every hospital is hiring. And make sure to have at least one (preferably two) reference letter from her professor(s). Finally, stay away from HCA-owned hospitals and West Palm Beach area hospitals. They are known death traps.

 

[ELSA711]

https://www.google.com/maps/place/H...1s0x88dd80d550dd270b:0x1fe931c26a5b04c0?hl=en

http://www.hunterscreek.net/

Hunters Creek is a planned community on the south side or Orlando. We are just at the county line with Osceola County. The address is Orlando, but runs like an unincorporated town with its own board and town hall. It is a nice community that has plenty of shopping, parks, and good schools. I can walk out my door and pull into a Disney parking lot in 15 minutes, taking to toll roads. I don't mind, but if I worked at Disney and did the drive there and back each day, it might add up each month but tolls are just part of living here.

There are a good mix of places to live, from apartments, to condos, to homes from the mid 200's to 600k. There currently is some new construction going on in the community with homes in the 200-400 range.

Do you know the local public school for this area. My DH may be transferred and I'm starting to panic about schools and comparing them to what we have now.

 

[goodgodmrsmolly]

Do you know the local public school for this area. My DH may be transferred and I'm starting to panic about schools and comparing them to what we have now.

Hunters Creek is part of Orange County Schools. Since it is such a large and populous county, the ratings vary wildly from area to area. Also, remember ratings are often based in large part on test scores. Some areas in... well all of Florida really.... have larger percentage of students whose first language is not English, so some very nice schools have mid range rating. But I made sure to look for a better rated school when we moved. HC schools (3 elementary and 1 middle) are all 9 and 10's. Freedom HS is an 8 last I looked, so it is still pretty good. HS's in the area cover a great amount of area and are quite diverse so IDK too many that are a 9 or 10 consistently. I have been extremely happy with the schools so far. Lake and Seminole counties may have better schools overall in ratings but I do not think they are any better than Orange county schools if you choose the right area. Plus those counties can be a little "ways out" depending on what you are looking for.

Osceola County has issues (not just with the schools) and I would stay out of living there. Celebration schools are good but they do do some busing in of students as I understand it. Most of the other schools are pretty bad down there. Though the HS of the Arts is considered a top 5 in the state somehow.

Hunters Creek is actually a pretty small area overall. I find that it feels like a small town in the middle of a City with everything close by. There are quite a few parks but you are not going to feel like you are in the country either, just standard suburban.

 

[ELSA711]

Hunters Creek is part of Orange County Schools. Since it is such a large and populous county, the ratings vary wildly from area to area. Also, remember ratings are often based in large part on test scores. Some areas in... well all of Florida really.... have larger percentage of students whose first language is not English, so some very nice schools have mid range rating. But I made sure to look for a better rated school when we moved. HC schools (3 elementary and 1 middle) are all 9 and 10's. Freedom HS is an 8 last I looked, so it is still pretty good. HS's in the area cover a great amount of area and are quite diverse so IDK too many that are a 9 or 10 consistently. I have been extremely happy with the schools so far. Lake and Seminole counties may have better schools overall in ratings but I do not think they are any better than Orange county schools if you choose the right area. Plus those counties can be a little "ways out" depending on what you are looking for.

Osceola County has issues (not just with the schools) and I would stay out of living there. Celebration schools are good but they do do some busing in of students as I understand it. Most of the other schools are pretty bad down there. Though the HS of the Arts is considered a top 5 in the state somehow.

Hunters Creek is actually a pretty small area overall. I find that it feels like a small town in the middle of a City with everything close by. There are quite a few parks but you are not going to feel like you are in the country either, just standard suburban.

Thanks, would you mind telling the names of the 3 elementary schools? I loved to take a look at them.
Having a hard time pinpointing as you said Orange School district is huge, definitely not what we are used to in hillbilly land up here! LOL

 

[goodgodmrsmolly]

Hunters Creek elementary
West Creek elementary
Endeavor Elementary

Hunters Creek Middle

Freedom High

School maps
https://www.ocps.net/es/legislative/pupil/Pages/SchoolAttendanceZoneMaps.aspx

 

[Feralpeg]

I haven't launched it yet, but I am working on a website to answer many of the questions I see concerning life in Central Florida. I have seen the same questions posted so many times over the years. I thought it might help if, as a resident, I answered some of those questions.

I am breaking the site down by cities in the greater Orlando area. If you have specific questions you'd like answered concerning an area, please let me know. I'll try to answer. I don't know everything about everyplace in greater Orlando. It is a big city, but I have a general idea concerning each area and I can research.

I should be launching the site in the next couple of days. It will be a work in progress. I am getting anything from doing this, so please keep in mind that your opinions on certain things may be different than mine.

I will post as soon as I launch.

 

[ELSA711]

Thanks all! This is stressful to think I have to move 3 elementary aged children.

 

[Feralpeg]

I decided to go ahead and launch. Please remember this is a work in progress. Let me know if you have constructive suggestions!

Here it is:

http://pkellogg1.wix.com/livingincentralfl

 

[loveysbydesign]

I've been using this website to help research schools as we may be moving to FL in July. We're looking in the Clermont, Ocoee, Winter park and a few others.
http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/default.asp

 

[vicki_c]

I decided to go ahead and launch. Please remember this is a work in progress. Let me know if you have constructive suggestions!

Here it is:

http://pkellogg1.wix.com/livingincentralfl

Peg, nice job! I forgot that you and I had talked on here before about moving to FL in 2004, although I became a "halfback" 2 years later, moving partway back north! 2004 was certainly an interesting summer to move to central Florida though, right Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne?