[makingamove09]

My family and I are planning to move to Florida next Summer. We want to be in an area that isn't very high paced (Tampa-Orlando) so Lakeland might not be a bad choice since it central between the two and fairly close to both as well. I have been looking into some of the websites for the city(Lakeland) and it seems like it may not be a bad move. Just wanting some opinions on the area and which communities would be best for a family of four with two boys ages 10 and 12. Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[fallingpants]

South Lakeland is the best, just be sure to check out the areas a lot before you go. There are a lot of bad areas in lakeland. North and Central are not where you want to be.

[Nomadicus]

Check the Oakbridge area. Nice family community and close to great shopping. It's SW Lakeland and near the Polk Parkway that connects with I-4.

[markhunt]

I live in Auburndale, but have a question on the areas of Lakeland. Is the south end really the only nice section? I thought the Northside (past the mall, unincorporated?), was a nice newer area? How about the more rural north west area by the Polk Parkway (kind of by the borders of Polk City and Auburndale (unincorporated - by RTE 33 and I-4)? Also in the general area of where they will start building the new USF campus and the Polk commerce center?

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by markhunt

I live in Auburndale, but have a question on the areas of Lakeland. Is the south end really the only nice section? I thought the Northside (past the mall, unincorporated?), was a nice newer area? How about the more rural north west area by the Polk Parkway (kind of by the borders of Polk City and Auburndale (unincorporated - by RTE 33 and I-4)? Also in the general area of where they will start building the new USF campus and the Polk commerce center?

Lakeland is overall one of the nicest, cleanest most beautiful cities in Florida that I have seen. We have lived here for a year now, and it is not true that Lakeland has "a lot of bad areas." Like any city of some size, this one has a couple not-so-nice areas, but as I said, it's a small part of this town. The worst area is just north of downtown, near the hospital and stadium, and radiating a little east and west of there.

I live (and prefer) the downtown southside area, which is still the "urban core" so to speak. It's one of the oldest areas of town, and near everything, very walkable to shopping restaurants and the nice lakes. But there are beautiful and fantastic areas as you go further south, and both east and west - old neighborhoods like Cleveland Heights and many subdivisions in the "Lakeland Highlands" area. Even further south you will come to the large area known as "Christina" - if you want really clean and safe, this is it. I have to say I don't know much about the northside, but it's my understanding that there are a lot of nice areas up that way, also.

The area called Oakbridge, over near Harden and the Polk Parkway, as well as Grasslands is a beautiful upscale area right near our wonderful new open-air mall, Lakeside Village.

Anyway, to the OP - I hope this info helps, I think Lakeland is a great choice for your family and have no hesitation in recommending it as a wonderful alternative to the larger and more crime ridden cities of Tampa and Orlando.

[markhunt]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

Lakeland is overall one of the nicest, cleanest most beautiful cities in Florida that I have seen. We have lived here for a year now, and it is not true that Lakeland has "a lot of bad areas." Like any city of some size, this one has a couple not-so-nice areas, but as I said, it's a small part of this town. The worst area is just north of downtown, near the hospital and stadium, and radiating a little east and west of there.

I live (and prefer) the downtown southside area, which is still the "urban core" so to speak. It's one of the oldest areas of town, and near everything, very walkable to shopping restaurants and the nice lakes. But there are beautiful and fantastic areas as you go further south, and both east and west - old neighborhoods like Cleveland Heights and many subdivisions in the "Lakeland Highlands" area. Even further south you will come to the large area known as "Christina" - if you want really clean and safe, this is it. I have to say I don't know much about the northside, but it's my understanding that there are a lot of nice areas up that way, also.

The area called Oakbridge, over near Harden and the Polk Parkway, as well as Grasslands is a beautiful upscale area right near our wonderful new open-air mall, Lakeside Village.

Anyway, to the OP - I hope this info helps, I think Lakeland is a great choice for your family and have no hesitation in recommending it as a wonderful alternative to the larger and more crime ridden cities of Tampa and Orlando.

Gypsychic, I appreciate the info. We don't travel much into Lakeland except for doctors and such, and this is all concentrated by the Hospital area. So I can tell just by looking around this area that it is "Undesireable".

When we go to the north end for the mall and such, I have seen new subdivisions and don't see anything wrong with this side of town. I could be wrong though, but that is why I was asking.

We have been to Lakeside village a few times and bar none this has been one of the niceest areas we have seen so far.

The south YMCA is awesome as well and the small older homes in the neighborhoods surrounding the YMCA were nice. This may be the clevlend heights area you spoke of??

I am looking forward to when the Polk Commerce center is built because it is supposed to be a mixed bag of residential, retail, and business. It will be 5 minutes from me. Living where I am now for shopping within a 15 minute drive, my choices are the Lakland mall or the new Posner Commons. For upscale and adding a few more minutes of drive time we have Lakeside Village and Mall of Millenia.

Things will be popping around here in the next year to come though. Dont know if you saw this in yesterday's news:

Officials Kick off $14.2 Million Sports Complex | theledger.com | The Ledger | Lakeland, FL

[gypsychic]

Mark, I hadn't seen the article yesterday - thanks for posting it. I did read about that a while back when it was first mentioned in the Ledger - it's a great asset to the area for sure. I personally think the whole Lakeland/Auburndale/Winter Haven area is going to boom over the next few years, especially if they build that new CSX facility in Winter Haven. And now with this new complex in Auburndale and the new USF Polytechnic campus in Lakeland, the whole area is open to all kinds of possibilities. Even now in this economic downturn, Polk County is doing better overall than a lot of places.

Anyway, as I said earlier, I don't know much about the subdivisions in north Lakeland, I know there are some nice ones there but just never really venture up that way too much. The mall area and Lowe's is about as far up as I go, because everything I need and like is southside. Yes, the YMCA is in the "Cleveland Heights" area - there is an awesome public golf course here with a gorgeous restored 1920's clubhouse, also the public tennis courts are in the area and they look like a country club. Honestly, people just haven't a clue how nice this town is and when they come here they are just blown away.

It will be interesting to see how our area develops over the next 5 years with everything that is happening, and when we pull out of the recession a bit.