Moving to Florida??????????? (Orlando, Gainesville, Daytona Beach: relocate, job, houses)

[RBSX]

Can someone please help me by giving some advice on moving to Florida? I want to relocate towards the middle of the state and need something affrodable, but not ghetto

[logybogy]

Nice areas to consider in the middle of the state are Gainesville, Ocala, and the more rural parts of Volusia, Lake, and Seminole county. Avoid metro Orlando if you can. Traffic and crime are very bad.

[OrlandoMom]

I came to Orlando in 2004 from New England. I was concerned about the crime rate in FL compared to where I am from so I researched first. I looked up different zipcodes on Moderator cut: link removed to get an idea. We settled in 32828. This is one of many safe areas in East Orlando. We love it. We reghret that we have to sell our 6 bedroom house with pool to downsize. We will stay in this area though. We are considering a smaller house in same zip or nearby 32825, etc. There are many nice areas & many not so nice areas in Orlando Metro. The area is soooo spread out so saying that the whole Metro area is GOOD or BAD is misleading. There are houses in the $100,000 range (horrible areas) as well as million$ homes in Windermere, etc. I found low crime areas first, then looked to see what I get for a decent price that offered a nice quality of life. Depending on how many sq. ft. you are looking for you can get nice 3/2 homes in this area for $260,000 and up. Of course the range is great 1400sq ft will be much less than 3400 sq. ft. With pool/jacuzzi, tile, etc will be more, more bedrooms, more $$ of course. So it depends on what you want.

[hiknapster]

According to FBI stats released yesterday, Orlando had a 123 percent jump in murders.

[blueoktober]

Orlando did have a 123% jump in murders. One year was 22 and the next 49. However, the area is so spread out and has over 2 million people. I don't understand how this makes Orlando a horrible place to live. Nashville has about 700k people less in the metro area but has a much higher murder rate. Yet everyone thinks Nashville is some Eden right now.

I agree that crime is bad in Orlando compare to what it used to be. But it's not as bad as people make it out to be. There are MANY areas in Orlando that are nice and safe. I actually hope people keep perpetuating the myth that Orlando (especially downtown) is this out of control crazy place. It seems to keep people away.

I don't wear rose colored glasses - I moved from Orlando because I thought it was as bad as everyone saying. Once I got out and saw what a real city with real problems is like, I ran back here as fast as I could. Half the problem is in people's minds and not reality.

[OrlandoMom]

what type of job will you be looking for? & what is affordable to you?

[RedWingsFan]

I'm in Port Orange (near Daytona Beach). Our news is out of Orlando everyday. I wouldn't live there! There is so much crime in Orlando it's nuts. Put your family somewhere safer than the Orlando area.