Oviedo, Tuscawilla -- Bubbleproof and crime proof? cc dues question, too (Orlando: environment, hoa)

[CURT]

Originally Posted by Magnulus

There are few if any good jobs in Oviedo. The research park is pretty much the only source of good employment, and that is not a diverse employer; it's mostly engineering jobs. If you live in Oviedo you will have a long commute, the same as any other part of the Orlando area.

OF course the definition of long commute is up for grabs. 45 minutes is long in some views and not so long in others. Many people in Oviedo come from areas where it is normal for such commutes. most of those who want good paying jobs and want to work down the street should not have gone to Oviedo. I've been driving between 35-45 mins and sometimes 50 from Oviedo to Orlando for 16 years now. it just goes with the territory.Sometimes when you want to live in a good town and have a good job you have to drive. Not a big deal.

[Magnulus]

Originally Posted by CURT

.Sometimes when you want to live in a good town and have a good job you have to drive. Not a big deal.

Do you know what Peak Oil is? Even the middle class will start feeling the pinch if gas prices continue to rise year after year (and make no mistake, Oviedo is decidedly middle class, there aren't that many wealthy people living there- just alot of people who think they are wealthy thanks to home loans). I'm looking at the long term. Winter Park, Maitland, and Orlando have much more local, diverse employment. Oviedo is essentially just a bedroom community with chain restaurants and a token, historic downtown. I'd expect that outlying areas will not appreciate much, if at all, when gas prices climb above the 4-5 dollar mark. On the plus side, it isn't Eustis or Chuluota, but that's only some consolation.

[CURT]

Originally Posted by Magnulus

Do you know what Peak Oil is? Even the middle class will start feeling the pinch if gas prices continue to rise year after year (and make no mistake, Oviedo is decidedly middle class, there aren't that many wealthy people living there- just alot of people who think they are wealthy thanks to home loans). I'm looking at the long term. Winter Park, Maitland, and Orlando have much more local, diverse employment. Oviedo is essentially just a bedroom community with chain restaurants and a token, historic downtown. I'd expect that outlying areas will not appreciate much, if at all, when gas prices climb above the 4-5 dollar mark. On the plus side, it isn't Eustis or Chuluota, but that's only some consolation.

as I stated, If you want to work down the street, don't live in Oviedo.
I don't know how many people are wealthy or how many people are middle class. I know it is a bedroom community and that the average houshold income in oviedo is more than the average household income for the state of fl.
You probably know everyone's incomes to be able to say most just think they are wealthy. Maybe its true. I only know my income.

[Magnulus]

Originally Posted by CURT

You probably know everyone's incomes to be able to say most just think they are wealthy. Maybe its true. I only know my income.

I know enough of them. I know some of them are too poor to pay to fix their cars in their driveway... or maybe just too lazy. I live in a good Oviedo neighborhood, too. Some are well monied, some are not: none are rich.

The original poster would be far better off renting in Oviedo right now, if they want to live here. I don't believe this area is immune to price slides, and the Oviedo area is indeed experiencing all the effects of the housing bubble: most of Florida is.

[oresident]

Originally Posted by Magnulus

There are few if any good jobs in Oviedo. The research park is pretty much the only source of good employment, and that is not a diverse employer; it's mostly engineering jobs. If you live in Oviedo you will have a long commute, the same as any other part of the Orlando area.

You have a habit of selectively ignoring facts. You mention research park but totally ignore the university. For those who don't know, the university borders on Oviedo. Look at the stats for yourself:

http://www.iroffice.ucf.edu/character/current.html

10,000 jobs are being filled at UCF, about half of them high-paying professional jobs literally right at Oviedo's doorstep. The median household income in Oviedo is $64,119, easily covered by these jobs. With about 30,000 people in Oviedo, that is enough jobs to cover more than half the entire city of families, just at UCF. Thousands of people could literally commute to work from Oviedo in under 15 minutes, many under 10. No need to take I4 or 480.

And that doesn't even cover research park and Siemens, which supply thousands more high-paying jobs.

Now, of course all the people who work in these places don't live in Oviedo, but the point is that there is more than enough well-paying local employment to keep the city afloat with happy short-commuting residents (not to mention those who do commute).

And the way you dismiss a lot of these jobs as "mostly engineering jobs" is confusing. What kind of jobs do you expect in an area of upper middle class people? This is exactly the kind of technology-driven economy surrounding a big university that fuels healthy cities and towns. What do you see as lacking? Would you prefer a big service-job wasteland like most of Orlando?

ores

[CURT]

Originally Posted by Magnulus

I know enough of them. I know some of them are too poor to pay to fix their cars in their driveway... or maybe just too lazy. I live in a good Oviedo neighborhood, too. Some are well monied, some are not: none are rich.

The original poster would be far better off renting in Oviedo right now, if they want to live here. I don't believe this area is immune to price slides, and the Oviedo area is indeed experiencing all the effects of the housing bubble: most of Florida is.

I agree the prices will fall in Oviedo also. They are and will fall more everywhere just as you said.
I'm not sure how much money it takes to be declared "wealthy". Im sure out of 30k residents that the enough of them you know allows for a good guess on the populations wealth.
Even according to city data which so many seem to rely on so heavily shows that oviedo average house hold income is over 1.5 times more than florida's average. This doesnt say anything to wealth but it does say it takes more money to live in oviedo than the average florida income. Its the same for all the neighboring areas around here. even chuluota is rising and building up.

If you have problems with your neighbors and cars, etc, call code enforcement. they are very responsive and will correct the situation if there is a situation. broken cars in driveways is against the law in oviedo. having grass 12" tall, should there be a situation, is also against the law. you can fix the problems.

[Magnulus]

Originally Posted by oresident

And the way you dismiss a lot of these jobs as "mostly engineering jobs" is confusing. What kind of jobs do you expect in an area of upper middle class people? This is exactly the kind of technology-driven economy surrounding a big university that fuels healthy cities and towns. What do you see as lacking? Would you prefer a big service-job wasteland like most of Orlando?

ores

There's a derth of jobs where you can just go and get a job with a highschool or two-year degree and earn enough to live a life of dignity. I check the job search sites, and the only jobs I see listed are an engineering job in Research Park, and the McDonald's.

In fairness, this situation probably isn't unique to Oviedo. But think about it on the flip side. You move to Oviedo to raise kids. What if your kids don't go to college, or they drop out? How are they going to afford any kind of lifestyle in Oviedo, or Orlando, when the cost of living is so high it doesn't really track the average wage? It's a terrible town if you don't have some kind of 4-year degree. People move here to raise kids but they obviously don't care about what happens to the kids after they turn 18.

[CURT]

Originally Posted by Magnulus

There's a derth of jobs where you can just go and get a job with a highschool or two-year degree and earn enough to live a life of dignity. I check the job search sites, and the only jobs I see listed are an engineering job in Research Park, and the McDonald's.

In fairness, this situation probably isn't unique to Oviedo. But think about it on the flip side. You move to Oviedo to raise kids. What if your kids don't go to college, or they drop out? How are they going to afford any kind of lifestyle in Oviedo, or Orlando, when the cost of living is so high it doesn't really track the average wage? It's a terrible town if you don't have some kind of 4-year degree. People move here to raise kids but they obviously don't care about what happens to the kids after they turn 18.

so should oviedo become like cassleberry? living in oviedo is not a right. you live where you can afford. If someone doesnt prepare a life to make a good pay, then they live somewhere else. I can't afford to live in heathrow. They should make it so I can afford it.
My kids know that if they do not make a good pay they may not be able to live in Oviedo. They also know what it takes to make the good pay. The choice is theirs.
I personally do not want to live in a place like cassleberry.

[Crane's Rooster]

I lived in the Oviedo area briefly back in 2000. There wasn't much there at the time besides a few grocery stores with fields separating them. Had to go there yesterday for business. I was amazed at the transformation. I had no idea that area developed so much over the past few years. I thought it was still a sleepy rural area. I always wondered what in the world all the buzz was about because the way I remembered the area to be....now I know.

[Magnulus]

Originally Posted by 3lilkeets

Part of the biggest problem, for me, is that everybody thinks they "deserve" their own house by the time they are 24. Instead of saving, waiting, and saving, then buying 1 house and living in it for life, people are mortgaging right of college, and as soon as they have a little equity, upgrading. The whole concept of the "starter home" is ludicrous, in my opinion.

I'm 32 and facing the reality I will probably never live as well as my parents. Part of it is my fault, I had difficult circumstances and dropped out of college a decade ago (UCF), and now have no desire to go back to a traditional school. So I just have a 2-year degree. I know people only a few years younger than me that can't afford a home, either. Orlando is really hellish on young people that don't have advanced degrees.

I am thinking of perhaps going to a non-traditional school such as University of Phoenix, maybe taking online classes. I just want some light at the end of the tunnel, it is hard to get motivated by such a depressing environment and situation. Having a short commute is important for me, I have never been comfortable driving long distances without a break: I didn't get my drivers license until age 27: as a kid I had nystagmus and amblyopia (I was born with a septal defect that affect my eyes, heart, and gave me a hernia) and I didn't find a really good optometrist until a few years ago who offered me prismatic lenses, and that helped my vision alot (just wish I had them as a kid). I grew up with people telling me all the things I would never do: the doctors told my parents I'd be lucky if I wasn't a little taller than a dwarf (I'm 5' 8). Today I ride a motorcycle but I still am not comfortable commuting more than about twenty minutes: the only times I do longer trips is to take a motorcycle in for maintanence (if I don't do it myself), and I always have a stop in between for rest (it's about 25-35 minutes to an hour depending on where I take it, that's a pretty long ride through some heavy traffic).

I have alot of talents, such as being able to assemble computers, I know some mechanical stuff (I have done valve jobs, oil changes, even removed wheels on my bikes). I've applied to places like Palm Tree computers and oil change places but I've had no luck finding a job, so finally I gave up. I'm studying accounting/book-keeping on my own and thinking about maybe going back to school if that interest me, and I have an eBay business where I sell junk for my parents as well as stuff I don't need anymore.

So, that's my experience of Oviedo. It is a nice place with low crime but it is very hard to earn a living here if you don't have a masters in engineering.