Relocating to Lakeland area (Tampa, Orlando: renting, insurance, condo)

thomaskrewe · 09-12-2006, 02:31 PM

Could anyone give me some information on the Lakeland area? What are the best areas of town to live, etc? What about other close towns such as Auburndale, Winter Haven, etc? Am looking for good, safe towns for a young family. Thanks

thomaskrewe · 09-13-2006, 08:24 AM

anyone have any thoughts/comments??

pslOldTimer · 09-13-2006, 09:19 AM

Try telling a little about yourself. Where you are now, maybe why you're thinking of going to the Lakeland area, what size family you have, what your interests are, what type of community you'e like (rural, urban, gated, middle class, upscale, etc. etc. The more information other posters have, the better they can make recommendations. Also, you never know, you might stumble across someone with the same situation or interests as you.

A general question is pretty hard to answer because there are so many answers, and probably many of them wouldn't apply to you.

grammy164 · 09-13-2006, 09:22 AM

I live in Polk County, but I'm afraid I can't be much help. I will tell you that I enjoy going over to Winter Haven to shop. Around the Cypress Gardens area is very nice looking. I've thought of relocating there. We've also been to Lakeland to shop. Lots of nice shopping around, but I really don't know anything about the neighborhoods. I will say it sounds like our taxes are lower than many other places in FL. Do you have kids? Planning on buying or renting? Those things make a difference. I can tell you we're in the perfect location to drive to any of the wonderful activities in FL. We can make it to either coast in about an hour and a half, Orlando in an hour and southern FL in about 2 and a half hours. Then we come home and enjoy the fact we have less traffic here. From what I read in the paper, Lakeland seems to have more crime than WH, Auburndale or other surrounding towns. I'm sure it depends on where you live in Lakeland though. Check out The Ledger website. That's the local newspaper. That might help you decide. Good luck. Where are you coming from? I think you'll enjoy Florida!

ncdc96 · 10-12-2006, 01:45 PM

Hi Thomaskrewe,

Use to live in Lakeland, Fl. We moved to Bartow, Fl. which is about 10 minutes away from Lakeland. This is a small town and not alot of places to shop but I feel it is a nice place to raise a family. Of course there are some really nice place in Lakeland, Winter Haven and there is more shopping. There is one thing that you should know and that is that if you are looking to buy a home the insurance has really gone up in the last 4 years as we had several hurricanes that actually came through this area. Where are you moving from?

thomaskrewe · 10-12-2006, 01:56 PM

Moving from Louisiana... so we know a thing or two about hurricanes!!!

We have heard that the southeastern part of Lakeland (Lakeland Highlands??) is the better area to move to.

Our biggest concern, other than home prices/insurance, etc is safety, family friendly, etc.

pixiewytch · 10-12-2006, 05:25 PM

Hi there, I was born and raised in Lakeland. As others had mentioned, it really all depends on what your lifestyle and interests are. Lakeland/Polk County really has no significant qualities or culture worth mentioning. That isn't necessarily a bad thing if those aren't priorities of yours. It just makes it difficult to say much about the area. You have your typical subdivisions, some new, some old, your strip malls, Walmarts, a couple of Starbucks, etc. Let's put it this way, it isn't exactly metropolitan but it isn't rural either. Over the years Lakeland has developed more housing and shopping. I even saw a sign recently for some new fancy condo homes being built downtown. Otherwise they don't really compete with most cities.

Auburndale is a bit more rural and Winter Haven is much like Lakeland but smaller.

The best thing about Lakeland in my opinion is being an equal distance between Tampa and Orlando.

As for safety and being family friendly, well, it is just typical if you ask me. There is crime but I wouldn't say it is rampant and like any town it depends on the neighborhood and it is pretty obvious if you are driving around which ones to stay away from.

Lakeland Highlands is your usual white upscale neighborhood. There are plenty of others like that in other parts of Lakeland too. Again, you may want to be more specific about where you want to live...in a gated community, brand new home, older home, how much you can spend, etc.

For what it's worth I moved away from Lakeland to Tampa in my early twenties because I lived there all my life and found it boring, no culture, no quirky restaurants, shopping, or nightlife for young people to enjoy. Now that I'm 30 with our second child on the way I don't have the money or leisure to enjoy the things that lured me away from Lakeland and I have considered moving back. My family still lives there. The housing prices are also slightly cheaper than other cities around here. I don't expect it to stay that way though. They seem to be steadily climbing and competing with other places.

Hope that helps and good luck with your search.

ncdc96 · 10-12-2006, 08:16 PM

Lakeland Highlands is a good area and there are many new subdivisions being built on 540A. My daughter lives in Lakeland off of Pipkin Creek Road and it is a nice area. They have just build a large shopping mall about 3 miles from her with many stores and new places to eat. My daughter really likes the school in that area for my two grandsons. Tampa and Orlando are close and good place to live if you are young or really into night life but for a family I feel Lakeland, Winter Haven area is much better.

LongIslander · 11-05-2015, 03:26 PM

Does anyone have any insight to either Wesley Chapel or Lakeland?

We're looking to relocate from Long Island and would like an area that is very safe, has activities (Theatre, biking, golf, tennis etc.) -- and do not to spend more than $350K for a nice 2500 to 3000 sqft home. We are almost empty nesters, our daughter will be out of High School and will look to go to college locally.

Any advise or insight would be VERY helpful.

Thank you!

gypsychic · 11-05-2015, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LongIslander

Does anyone have any insight to either Wesley Chapel or Lakeland?

We're looking to relocate from Long Island and would like an area that is very safe, has activities (Theatre, biking, golf, tennis etc.) -- and do not to spend more than $350K for a nice 2500 to 3000 sqft home. We are almost empty nesters, our daughter will be out of High School and will look to go to college locally.

Any advise or insight would be VERY helpful.

Thank you!

Well, it's apples and oranges you are comparing. Lakeland is a beautiful self-contained city, with a charming vintage downtown and lots of beautiful lakes, parks, festivals etc. Wesley Chapel is really just a sprawling suburbia. So it depends what you are looking for. Personally, I would pick Lakeland. We lived there a couple years and loved it. I don't care for the new, congested cookie-cutter look of WC, but that's just me.