Hubby is stating new job Downtown/Need a home (Orlando: foreclosure, for sale)

[jules24]

my hubby is starting a new job in downtown Orlando and since we
are coming from cold country we need to know where to live.

Schools are not a consideration. But safety is.

He will be working off of Church Street and South Orange Ave.

Any recommendations for houseing developements or zip
code areas to live in ? ? ?
Are there nice housing developments within a 10 min. drive.

I have just gotten a job offer from Disney , so maybe something
in the middle ,,

We really don't know the area. but have read so much about
the crime on here , that I don't know where to begin.

Please HELP us.

NO townhomes or apts , as we have 3 small dogs , so we want a
house with a yard of some type.

[msaRick]

Need to know more.

How much can you spend on housing per month.

How old are you?

Describe the community you want to live in. (quite active, nightlife, resteraunts, etc.)

Location wise, MetroWest, College Park, and the Sandlake Area could be possibilites, as well as Winter Garden.

[jules24]

Originally Posted by msaRick

Need to know more.

How much can you spend on housing per month.

How old are you?

Describe the community you want to live in. (quite active, nightlife, resteraunts, etc.)

Location wise, MetroWest, College Park, and the Sandlake Area could be possibilites, as well as Winter Garden.

We were thinking somehwere between the two Jobs, But having
never been anywhere there except to Kissimmee , not sure where
to start looking.


We would like a quiet , safe neighborhood.
We would not want to live downtown in a condo.


Are middle aged so our kids are out of high school.

Money wise ,, in developements priced 300 grand and up.

Renting first would be an option. But still we need to know
what areas to look in and will have to be looking within
the next 3 weeks.

[ko1212]

Hi Jules, if you enjoy older historic homes there are some area's downtown that are wonderful ( Lake Eola Heights or Thornton Park) and you can expect to pay closer to $400K range, although there are some homes priced in the $300K's. I'm not a fan of Metro West area but would recommend Lake Nona (new home developments everywhere and easy drive to both your work). The Windermere area is lovely but $300K is not going to buy you much (Summerport home community may have some homes in this price range). I hope this helps.

[GregTraub]

Without knowing the upper price range there are ton's of developments to look at. Within a 10 minute commute to downtown however will be tricky. To be Smack in the middle of Disney and Downtown, Dr. Phillips is the area for you, you won't find much under 300K there. Windermere is just north of Dr. Phillips and would be a good option as well.

Thornton park is right in downtown with single familiy homes and is relatively safe for being downtown.

You may enjoy Baldwin Park about 15 minutes away in traffic. Very newly developed neo-urbanistic theme.

Winter Park is always a good option as well.

College Park may be your best bet, within 10 minutes of downtown, safer area, older style homes with larger lots.

[Crane's Rooster]

There are some really good deals going on single family homes for rent in some of the nicer central neighborhoods. College Park, Delaney Park, Thornton Park, South Eola, Colonial Town, Baldwin Park and the Orlando/Winter Park border (I think its formally known as Florida Hospital/Lochhaven Park) are all nice older neighborhoods with homes renting from as low as $1200 for a 2 or 3 bedroom. With the rental prices being what they are you should consider renting first until you get the know the area and decide where you really want to live. As far as something in the middle, Metrowest/Sand Lake/Windermere area seems to be the only places that fit your criteria.

[pirate girl]

I second the Dr. Phillips area suggestion. It's perfect for both of your jobs and is a very nice part of town.

I know Winter Park is hyped as nice but it's not convenient for your commute to Disney.

[Pigsty333]

I live in Lake Nona - great quiet neighborhood and we are about 20 mins from both downtown and Disney. We are on Exit 22 (417) and Exit 13 (Beachline 528), 7 miles from the airport.

THere are plenty of homes for sale here, some in pre-foreclosure and are short sale. One of my neighbors had listed his 2500 sq. ft. home for $347 and dropped it to $299 and I heard he is now looking at $265. It is a 2-story on a corner lot. So that tells you how the prices are.

THis is a great area with a new high school, middle school being built set to open in 2009, a VA Hospital, Nemours Children's Hospital, Burnham Institute, UCF Medical School and more. You can search any of the above names on the web or search Lake Nona to get up to the last minute details of all the projects. There is not a lot of crime, we are unincorporated Orange County, so we don't pay City of Orlando taxes, therefore our tax bill is lower. It is a great area and convenient to all.

You read about crime - it is for the entire Orange County - not just one area. That is over 4 million residents plus 35-45 million tourist a year that pass through here.

If you need any info - let me know. I am a retired police officer from NY with 25+ yrs. of experience in law enforcement and I won't move from where I am as I feel pretty safe. Stay away from MetroWest, though.

[GregTraub]

Lake Nona certainly is very nice and I recommend the area to many, but it is definetly not a 10 minute commute to downtown, more like 20-30 with traffic. It would be pretty convenient to Disney though as you can jump on hwy 417 (a low traffic toll road).

[EasyCheeze]

Aside from the driving to disney part(30 min), I would say college park (32804) would be a good choice.