OT: Anyone live in or near Orlando

[sarah_n_brian2006]

My DH and I want to move in like 2-3 years to Orlando. I know time will fly, so that's why I am asking now. Does anybody know of an ideal area to live to be by WDW and UCF? I want to go to school of hospitality management, and eventually work at a resort at WDW. We also want to buy, no more renting.

 

[Gina Loves Disney]

DFs cousins live in Orlando and it's VERY expensive where they are, but it's also a gated community so I am sure there are area's not so expensive. One of the cousins has a house in Hunter's Isle which is the gated community and the other cousin has a condo in Celebration, which is also beautiful. The house was in the $750,000 range the condo in the $250,000 range with fees monthly and annually. Both are about 10 mins from Disney and really close to UCF as well. The one who lives in the condo in Celebration attends UCF.

Hope that helps a little, sorry I don't know more. The only thing I know for sure is that that is one of the most expensive areas in FL but not unreasonable when compared with the North East for instance.

 

[sarah_n_brian2006]

I live in Palm Beach county, trust me Orlando is not the most expensive but not far off from here. You can buy 5yr old houses under 200k, here its like for 200k you live in a gang neighborhood in a 25yr old home.

 

[myprincessgirlisa]

my co workers brother lives 5 mins from universal...called "capri" she thinks

She said its mostly townhomes, but its nice & brand new

 

[curiouser]

I just wanted to offer some good vibes - we're trying to move to Central Florida as well if SO gets a transfer through his company. I've been doing some cost of living calculators online and they've been telling me that Orlando isn't that much more expensive to live in than Cleveland (which is pretty cheap, actually) so I'm puzzled after reading Gina's post. I guess I need to do more investigating!

The only thing I really know is that you don't want to live RIGHT near Disney. Multiple people have told me that.

Good luck!!!

 

[Gina Loves Disney]

Sorry I didn't mean to start trouble... I was just going off what I know from them, and what I have seen. If 750K is not expensive then IDK what is.

IDK I know where they live is expensive. And they both work in real estate and say that Orlando is one of the more expensive areas in FL. I mean like I said though the house is in a gated community, and the condo is in Celebration which is expensive.

When I think of moving to FL I think it's supossed to be cheaper than living in Connecticut and I have been in their house in Orlando and it's about the same as what you'd get here for that price. $750,000 is a lot of money IMO.

I wasn't trying to be a know it all or anything. I guess the prices vary if you're not looking for a brand new house in a gated community...

 

[sarah_n_brian2006]

Oh I didnt think that way at all, and I didnt mean for it to have come out the way that it did. Im sorry. I just mean, that yeah, it's not a cheap area, but where I live is afr worse. My mother in law lives in this 600k house thats in a gated community very high-end. But there are houses in her community that are going for 1.5mil. It's insane here, I want to get away from it as soon as possible. It's so frustrating working hard for money that goes out of your hand the next minute. It's hard to save, as the cost of living is higher than the average salary. I am sorry if I sounded like a jerk I didnt mean it.

 

[Gina Loves Disney]

Oh I didnt think that way at all, and I didnt mean for it to have come out the way that it did. Im sorry. I just mean, that yeah, it's not a cheap area, but where I live is afr worse. My mother in law lives in this 600k house thats in a gated community very high-end. But there are houses in her community that are going for 1.5mil. It's insane here, I want to get away from it as soon as possible. It's so frustrating working hard for money that goes out of your hand the next minute. It's hard to save, as the cost of living is higher than the average salary. I am sorry if I sounded like a jerk I didnt mean it.

No no, I just didn't want to come off as a jerk myself LOL

 

[sunsh1ne]

dont worry about it. i live 20 minutes from disney i work at their preschool. but i live towards tampa. it is called davenport it is a up and coming neighborhood. houses are very very resonably priced. i know you wanted to be near ucf but polk county college and lakeland college are about 25 minutes from me maybe this is an option.

 

[dznystar]

DF grew up in Orlando, and unfortunately for me, he doesn't want to live there any more. He went to Valencia CC and UCF. When he moved to Atlanta to be with me, he couldn't believe how inexpensive it is here. The real estate market in Orlando is outrageous for the houses you get. My future MIL moved to Clermont (about 30 min from Disney) a few years ago. They bought when the area was still being developed. If they sold the house today, it would go for 2.5 times what they paid. DF's dad works for Disney, and so does his sister-in-law. They don't mind the drive from there at all. Good luck.

 

[Rustyflwr3]

My DH and I want to move in like 2-3 years to Orlando. I know time will fly, so that's why I am asking now. Does anybody know of an ideal area to live to be by WDW and UCF? I want to go to school of hospitality management, and eventually work at a resort at WDW. We also want to buy, no more renting.

I live close to Downtown Orlando and absolutely love it here!! I have a little commute to work but it's worth it. When I say a commute I mean 30 minutes to and about 45 minutes home because of the traffic coming back into downtown. we are renting and looking to buy within a few years but I can't help you with buying. There are several places around here like Baldwin Park and Winter Park, but they are very expensive. I, of course, don't know your budget but that's a place to look at for beautiful homes!

Where I live, near downtown is great if you want to attend UCF, the main campus. However, the hospitality management school is about 20 minutes away from that. I am going back there for my masters in about a year or so (school of hospitality management) Maybe Ill see you there

A lot of people I work with live in Clermont! I've never been there but they all really like it. Also, hunters creek, I believe is another great place to buy!

 

[DisneyFairy19]

I live in Palm Beach county, trust me Orlando is not the most expensive but not far off from here. You can buy 5yr old houses under 200k, here its like for 200k you live in a gang neighborhood in a 25yr old home.

I know what you mean.. I live in Broward County and my DF and I are trying to find a house to buy... Everything is so expensive...

 

[CivilTwilight]

WOW! You guys can add me to the list of the Rosen School of Hospitality Management. I just ordered my GRE study books and intend on applying for admission for the fall to get my master's degree!

Anyway, I live here in Orlando in a northern suburb. It's actually considered Casselberry but I'm right on the line between Casselberry, Maitland and Winter Park all rolled into one. We rent an apt. and it costs $1046/month (2 bedroom, 2 bath in a complex). We just started looking for a house and it's been hell. For a first time home buyer with no significant down payment, it's almost impossible to buy a single family home that is not in the ghetto. We really can't afford much over $210K and we have not been able to find any townhouse or single family home in Orange county that is worth that to us. We have started looking into the northern/eastern part of Osceola County (Kissimmee) where the housing prices are less and the taxes are also less. The further you can get out of Orange county the less the housing is, BUT if you don't like to commute and sit in traffic, these places are NOT FOR YOU. I would NEVER and I mean NEVER live any further out than Northern Kissimmee to the south and Altamonte Springs to the north...otherwise I would spend 2 hours a day in the car. I don't have that kind of time.

If you can find a place that does NOT require you get onto I-4, you're 10x better off. Florida Turnpike is fine, even the 408 will be ok once it's finished. Some up and coming areas that are an ok commute are the NE areas of Kissimmee, on the east side of Orlando- Avalon Park and Waterford Lakes. If you aren't looking to move for a couple more years though, all of this stuff will most definitely change. My advice is when you are ready to start looking around and scoping out areas, come down and have "plan" for driving around and investigating. I know you are not keen on renting any longer, however when you move to a new area and immeidately buy something, you risk not liking the area or having problems with the area. I would recommend renting for at least a 7 month lease just to have time to look around and get to know the areas.

Good luck!

 

[purplegirl247]

We live in Orlando too (hello, to the other Central Floridians! ). We live in College Park, which is just north of downtown. We're renting a townhouse for $975/month. We LOVE the area but anything around downtown gets really expensive to buy.

I totally TOTALLY agree with what CivilTwilight says. Be very cautious about buying a house in a neighborhood you've only visited a time or two. You really have to live here for awhile to get a good sense of how far places are from each other (and during rush hour especially) AND where the good neighborhoods are in relation to the bad (safety-wise). When we were younger, we rented an apartment in a part of town we THOUGHT was nice; the complex itself was gorgeous but once we moved there, we realized we hadn't done enough driving in all directions. Turns out we were literally two miles east of Orange Blossom Trail, the part of town with hookers, drug dealers, and lots of crime. We got out of there quick, which is something we would not have been able to do if we had bought the house.

I know we could've done more research on the zip code and the amount of crime and all that, but we honestly thought it was a great neighborhood. We were just down the road from the Mall of Millenia, our shmancy "tourist" mall we have in town. Lesson learned.

Orlando is a great town though. I mean, hey, we have Disney (well, sort of). Just make sure you do your research (not like us! )

 

[pooh98378]

I have a question -- how is the area right around WDW? We went to a Waffle House a couple of years ago that was right off property and I thought the place was going to be robbed before we could leave! There was a woman sitting next to us that was saying how her boyfriend had "just gotten out of the slammer!" It was kind of scary!

 

[wendy46001]

I have a question -- how is the area right around WDW? We went to a Waffle House a couple of years ago that was right off property and I thought the place was going to be robbed before we could leave! There was a woman sitting next to us that was saying how her boyfriend had "just gotten out of the slammer!" It was kind of scary!

Your probably talking 192 kissimmee....its one of the higher crime areas...that and Crime (i mean Pine) hills....good ol O'town is having a crime issue lately ...boo...but if you head toward 535 and back towards dr. phillips,winderemere, clearmont and the good side of winter garden you can find some things that are very nice...of course it will cost you ...

In my opinion this is not at all close to UCF...which to me is like driving to the other side of the world....

I currently work in downtown orlando and I have to say the less time you need to spend commuting the better....So in this town find a job and a school and move within 5miles of it...we are officially 15miles out of downtown and it can take us over an hour to get to work....boo traffic

good luck with all your moves...
O'town is growing...and one day we will be real city with a real highway system....they just haven’t built it yet.....

 

[527DiSnEyBelle]

Im curious as to what a previous poster had mentioned....why dont you want to live right near Disney? Is it because it is expensive? I will be looking to move to Florida in a few years as well but Im looking more in the Tampa area. I think Im going to have reverse sticker shock when I go to move....I live right outside of New York City so anything less that $1000 per square foot (which is the price for a typical NYC apartment) is going to seem like a steal!

 

[curiouser]

Im curious as to what a previous poster had mentioned....why dont you want to live right near Disney? Is it because it is expensive? I will be looking to move to Florida in a few years as well but Im looking more in the Tampa area. I think Im going to have reverse sticker shock when I go to move....I live right outside of New York City so anything less that $1000 per square foot (which is the price for a typical NYC apartment) is going to seem like a steal!

I've just heard that from people. I could be wrong. They say immediately ouside of WDW its pretty dirty and tourist trappy. I can't verify this though.

 

[JandJ]

My former roommate goes to UCF for her Master's and lives in Oviedo (about 45 minutes east of Disney). She is about 10 minutes from UCF and great shopping, food, really close to the highway. I love that area but DH wouldn't move that way, which is fine, I love where we are too, in the Tampa Bay area. She's renting a townhome. The townhomes are nice, about 2 years old, most are 2 Br/2 & 1/2 Bath upstairs/downstairs but no yard, a 1-car garage, and a small driveway. There is no additional parking in her neighborhood and they are going for $215k and up re-sale. The apartments where she and I used to live were built in the 1980s and they just refurbished them into condos (they're doing that all over Florida it seems) and have them for sale for $128k for the 1/1 which is insane for something that really is an apartment, not a condo. Another friend just rented a house just outside Orlando, a 3/2 with a 2-car garage and a nice big yard for almost $2k a month. As another poster said, you don't want to be right outside Disney But the Dr. Phillips area can be nice, pricey, but nice. It's funny, when DH was looking for our house (yup - he went house hunting without me - you know I completely trust him!) I would see listings for houses under $200k and knew that was a steal - but it would turn out those houses were in not nice neighborhoods with high crime and unemployment. You have to be careful. I suggest a Buyer's Agent, don't sign a contract, their commission comes out of the sale at closing, it's a safer way to look.

 

[luna99]

From 2000 to 2002 I lived in kissimme.. it took me literally five minutes to drive from my apartment to downtown disney.. it was divine! I lived in an apartment though so I couldn't really tell you how the houses are or the prices .. but I felt fairly safe where I was. I can't remember the name of the apartment complex. It was pretty far from UCF though....

I suggest maybe winter park, florida maybe. It's supposed to be a nice area with lots of shopping and restaurants and I think it's closer to UCF than disney, but it may be too far away from disney for you. According to mapquest it takes 39 minutes to get from winter park to kissimmee... course that's not counting traffic!.. and orlando/kissimme traffic can get pretty bad unless they've done something to fix it since 2002.


good luck!