Ocoee, Windermere... or East Orlando... (Pine Hills, University: renting, homes, safe area)

[Brasstec]

MaryLou2007 said:
....you know where that pizza place was robbed and that girl rapped...

What - she was assualted by the words of a poorly dressed guy who spoke in rhythm?

[MaryLou2007]

Originally Posted by Brasstec

MaryLou2007 said:
....you know where that pizza place was robbed and that girl rapped...

What - she was assualted by the words of a poorly dressed guy who spoke in rhythm?

No. I cannot remember the name of the street near University blvd that is really bad. There is a pizza place that got robbed there.... can't recall.

No rape. Take off clothes, force sex.

East Orlando is rough (as stated). Very few good areas.

[pianogal]

I have listed large areas with thousands of homes that are in EXCELLENT areas in east Orlando. Try going to realtor dot com and doing a search on homes with 5+ bed. 3+ baths, over 3000 sqaure feet, between 1-5 years old and see what you get. Avalon, Vista Lakes, Stoneybrook East, Lake Nona, Cypress Preserve, Baldwin Park, Windermere, and almost ALL of these are in east Orlando (with the exception of Windermere).

These are verifiable facts not opinion.

[Pigsty333]

Last time I drove - UCF was about 20 minutes from my house in the Lake Nona Area. No, I am not rich either and this is a great community, Goldenrod is not around the corner. I guess you don't have any crime up by you or you live with rose color shades on. There is not one place where crime occurs - so I believe you have some in your neighborhood.

[ericvause]

To say that Metro West or Waterford Lakes is Turning into Crime Hills is ABSOLUTELY REDICULOUS.

The simple, unbiased fact is that Orlando is Spotty. One block or neighborhood could be very nice and well maintained and the next block could be run-down and crime ridden. The two communities mentioned above, are very nice and well maintained, as are many other communities in Orlando, but have crime and/or are run down in areas around them. Crime tends to go for more reward. Very few of my hard-working friends could afford to live in Metrowest or Waterford, because of Rent OR Home Prices - and they are honest people. I doubt MOST of those stealing rims or robbing the pizza shop live here either. They couldn't afford it. They rob and steal to crawl though life. These areas are nice, and crime simply sees opportunity. Would you rather steal an 87 mini-van or a newer-model Mercedes? Would you rather rob a run-down corner store or a successful pizza joint in a nice area? If you needed to force a breif relationship with a woman, would you choose the nasty one that does give a crap about person care but will kick your ass, or would you choose the little sexy one that can't defend herself? (I hope none of you or I ever feel the need to actually make this decision - its simply a philisophical question)

I have lived in MetroWest for 4 years now - and regardless of an occasional crime that occures, it's nothing like Crime Hills. It much better than Goldenrod/436 area of East Orlando, which I happen to think is 100% better than Pine Hills. It's like washing a new red sock with whites cloths - color bleeds.

[FromNJ]

I take exception to your opinion as though it were fact about Ocoee. I moved to Ocoee from NJ in 2001 and love it here and have NEVER had any problems with crime or anything of the sort that I have read in these forums.

I live in a newer part of Ocoee, which is probably closer to Pine Hills than most of Ocoee. Fortunately Pine Hills crime stays pretty much in Pine Hills.

Windermere has its Metro-West as we have our Pine Hills as Winter Garden has its areas that are nicknamed Winter Garbage.

The truth is that there is good and bad no matter where you go, but we have experienced the good. The only bad I've encountered was in the news and in this forum lol.

You get a decent BANG for your buck in Ocoee too as far as the houses go. If my house was in NJ where I am from, it would easily be an over $700,000 home. It's beautiful and for half the price!

Ocoee is great because you have close access to all of the main freeways. 408 (East-West Expressway), Turnpike and I-4 as well as all of the back routes to downtown etc, which being from NJ, I know alot about learning the back routes!

It is a very family oriented place, they have all kinds of community events etc., our own Library, Mall as well as every type of store, salon, restuarants etc., and everything in between. I am 15 minutes from Universal, 25 from Sea World and 40-45 from Disney. 20 Minutes from Wekiva Springs. It's great.

Perception depends on what you allow to reside in the space above your neck and between your ears.

I once heard a story about a man who was moving from the mountains to the valley and stopped along the way to talk to a farmer and he asked him, "Do you know anything about how life is in the valley?" The farmer said, "Let me ask you, what was it like for you in the mountains?" The man replied, "Oh I hated it, my neighbors were unneighborly, my boss was a jerk, every day the you hear stories that little punks were breaking into cars, and people mugging and killing every other day...I am glad to be leaving." The farmer said, "Oh...well I have bad news...it's going to be just like that for you in the valley."

Next day a guy moving from the valley to the mountains stops by along the way to talk to the farmer and inquired of him what he might know about the mountains. The farmer asked him, "well, let me ask you...what was it like for you in the valley where you're from?" The man replied," Oh, I loved it. I got a promotion which is why I'm going to the mountains, but my neighbors were real nice folks, my co-workers were the best and our community was like an extended family. I'm going to miss everyone that's for sure." The farmer replied, "Well, I've got great news! It's going to be just like that for you in the mountains."

Originally Posted by spunky

Oviedo is quite a commute if you are working in downtown Orlando. Ocoee is a bad animal and Winter Garden is iffy in my opinion as well. Windermere is great if you can afford it. Seminole County-Londwood, Lake Mary is nice also but you do have to drive I-4. But I would much rather live there than Ocoee or Winter Garden. The east part of Orlando-well, I just caught the eleven o'clock news and they were talking about an upsurge in gang violence in this area (relatively new to Central Fl). Hope this helps.

[NO1LKME]

Windermere is wonderful! We live in the old downtown area and love the police presense. Yes, property and homes are very high, but you get what you pay for. If you want safety and dedicated police it is worth the money. My son goes to Windermere Elementary and we love it. It is an A school and getting a whole new look. It still has that feel of OLD florida, sand roads, spanish moss trees over the roads. Also, it was voted the number one place to raise a family. It is close enough to everything but still in its own little world. We have fallen in love with the area and hope to live here for the rest of our lives. Good luck on finding your fit for you and your one-day family~~

[spunky1]

Originally Posted by FromNJ

I take exception to your opinion as though it were fact about Ocoee. I moved to Ocoee from NJ in 2001 and love it here and have NEVER had any problems with crime or anything of the sort that I have read in these forums.

I live in a newer part of Ocoee, which is probably closer to Pine Hills than most of Ocoee. Fortunately Pine Hills crime stays pretty much in Pine Hills.

Windermere has its Metro-West as we have our Pine Hills as Winter Garden has its areas that are nicknamed Winter Garbage.

The truth is that there is good and bad no matter where you go, but we have experienced the good. The only bad I've encountered was in the news and in this forum lol.

You get a decent BANG for your buck in Ocoee too as far as the houses go. If my house was in NJ where I am from, it would easily be an over $700,000 home. It's beautiful and for half the price!

Ocoee is great because you have close access to all of the main freeways. 408 (East-West Expressway), Turnpike and I-4 as well as all of the back routes to downtown etc, which being from NJ, I know alot about learning the back routes!

It is a very family oriented place, they have all kinds of community events etc., our own Library, Mall as well as every type of store, salon, restuarants etc., and everything in between. I am 15 minutes from Universal, 25 from Sea World and 40-45 from Disney. 20 Minutes from Wekiva Springs. It's great.

Perception depends on what you allow to reside in the space above your neck and between your ears.

I once heard a story about a man who was moving from the mountains to the valley and stopped along the way to talk to a farmer and he asked him, "Do you know anything about how life is in the valley?" The farmer said, "Let me ask you, what was it like for you in the mountains?" The man replied, "Oh I hated it, my neighbors were unneighborly, my boss was a jerk, every day the you hear stories that little punks were breaking into cars, and people mugging and killing every other day...I am glad to be leaving." The farmer said, "Oh...well I have bad news...it's going to be just like that for you in the valley."

Next day a guy moving from the valley to the mountains stops by along the way to talk to the farmer and inquired of him what he might know about the mountains. The farmer asked him, "well, let me ask you...what was it like for you in the valley where you're from?" The man replied," Oh, I loved it. I got a promotion which is why I'm going to the mountains, but my neighbors were real nice folks, my co-workers were the best and our community was like an extended family. I'm going to miss everyone that's for sure." The farmer replied, "Well, I've got great news! It's going to be just like that for you in the mountains."

Sorry, but I have to respectfully disagree. . . Ocoee has ALOT of problems. And you state "you have a mall". Well, the West Oaks Mall has had shootings outside in broad daylight. They have a police presence 24/7. I went to a movie a while back, which got out about 9pm. My car was parked quite a ways back in the lot and I had a police officer along with a security person escort me to my car. That mall has lost all its majors anchors and is a shadow of what it was 10 years ago. It is a nice building but I would not let my kids go there by themselves. I have never been to a mall before where there were so many police around, in the stores everywhere. I like to feel safe and free to move about and although I applaud the police for the upgraded security, it is a little sad that it is deemed necessary. There are some nice "cookie-cutter" subdivisions located in Ocoee but I prefer a nice safe area, not just a walled-off subdivision. I think a lot of people from out of state do get sucked in to the area because they can purchase a brand new home with all the upgrades for 1/2 the price of up North but most people that know the area do not want to move to this part of West Orlando. Developers see a way to make a quick buck.. . they buy land in a not-so-desirable area for cheap, build cookie-cutter homes and sell them to the uninformed.

[BeenAroundTheBlock]

Not true you cannot pay 300k for a house with a short commute. You can work near the airport and live in Vista Lakes or Lake Nona. You can work in Research Park near UCF and live in all kinds of communities on the East side of town. Waterford Lakes, Eastwood, Stoneybrook & Avalon Park. With the real estate market the way it is right now, you can absolutely find homes in the 300k price range in a very nice part of town.

On a side note, there is crime everywhere and yes it has escalated the past two years. If you're smart you need to be aware of your surroundings. Install a have home security system. Don't forget, the greater Orlando metropolitan area consists of about 2 million people. Crime happens in any area this large.

[spunky1]

I agree, you can get a home for around 300k within 15 minutes or so of downtown Orlando. The Conway area is close to downtown, the airport etc. Granted the homes may be 20 years old but you can find them. Conway has some nice areas and it is centrally located. It is a nice family friendly area, the only downside is there are a lot of apartments in some of the areas around Conway and there has been a recent upsurge in crime, but you can say that now for pretty much any place in Central F..