Need help choosing a neighborhood in East Orlando (Merritt Island, Apopka: real estate, rent)

[ktgrok]

We've lived in Apopka for about 8 years, before that I lived in Palm Beach County. We are looking at moving to be closer to family and a possible job. Job is near the airport, my sister is in Waterford Lakes area, and my parents are on Merritt Island, near the 528 bridge. We are looking to get over onto the east side of town, making it easier to see them and for husband to get to work.

We want a 3 or preferably 4 bedroom, doesn't have to be huge. Preferably NOT zero lot line lots, but doesn't have to be huge. Must be allowed to fence in backyard for kids and dogs. Would love a community pool. And, big thing, easy access to shopping, particularly Publix and a Target. But not the Waterford Lakes area...that's a bit too....something. I don't like it there very much. Too much traffic maybe? Feels too fast paced after Apopka, although I guess most places will.

The problem is we would like this in the 200,000 range. Maybe 225,000ish.

We're looking at Avalon park maybe? I've seen a FEW in the 225,000 range. Any thoughts on that neighborhood? How is it to get to groceries? I like how walkable it is, the idea of being more community centered, etc. we want that.

Oh, and school district doesn't matter much, except for resale value, as we homeschool. Although, my sister is an admin at Timber Creek, so it would be nice to have that if we every changed our minds.

[Crane's Rooster]

I think Avalon park would fit all your needs but I don't think it's very much different than Waterford traffic and busy wise. It'll be a little slower pace because it's further down Alafaya. I don't know much about the pricing there.

One area I would recommend is Conway (south of Michigan). It's close to the airport, you can also hop on 528 and be in Merritt Island in no time. Also jump on the 408 and be in Waterford quickly. Again the traffic and pace of the area will be much more than APK but again it meets all your other criteria.

[ktgrok]

How about the Cypress Lakes area? A few friends mentioned it. It has a community pool, but bigger lots than say, Avalon Park.

[ktgrok]

Originally Posted by Crane's Rooster

I think Avalon park would fit all your needs but I don't think it's very much different than Waterford traffic and busy wise. It'll be a little slower pace because it's further down Alafaya. I don't know much about the pricing there.

One area I would recommend is Conway (south of Michigan). It's close to the airport, you can also hop on 528 and be in Merritt Island in no time. Also jump on the 408 and be in Waterford quickly. Again the traffic and pace of the area will be much more than APK but again it meets all your other criteria.

Thank you! looking now online

[tinytrump]

I dove to alafaya yesterday via leevista to 417. It's pretty new area and very nice . Even east under hill you will find nice homes . I love living 5 mi from downtown and all is within 7 mi - love it. Wrk near airport. Great commute

[ktgrok]

Originally Posted by uberwulu

You should search the forum before posting. This question gets asked almost weekly, and the answers are always the same.

I'd hoped to find specific info on areas that are an easy drive to the airport AND merritt island. Didn't find anything about that when searching. Also, if you search the forums for east orlando it's not as helpful as you might think...I tried today. Lots of stuff pops up about Oviedo which is too far north for us, but searching south east orlando got me very little.

So yeah, I did search the forums, but thank you.

[uberwulu]

Originally Posted by ktgrok

I'd hoped to find specific info on areas that are an easy drive to the airport AND merritt island. Didn't find anything about that when searching. Also, if you search the forums for east orlando it's not as helpful as you might think...I tried today. Lots of stuff pops up about Oviedo which is too far north for us, but searching south east orlando got me very little.

So yeah, I did search the forums, but thank you.

Search results for "rent airport"
http://i.imgur.com/yiyVA3m.png

Search results for "neighborhood airport"
http://i.imgur.com/m11SWWJ.png

Search results for "neighborhood east"
http://i.imgur.com/KiYE5rZ.png

If you didn't find anything that's convenient to both an Orlando airport and Merritt Island, it's probably because of the laws of the universe - they're nowhere near each other.

[sergiodurante]

Originally Posted by ktgrok

We've lived in Apopka for about 8 years, before that I lived in Palm Beach County. We are looking at moving to be closer to family and a possible job. Job is near the airport, my sister is in Waterford Lakes area, and my parents are on Merritt Island, near the 528 bridge. We are looking to get over onto the east side of town, making it easier to see them and for husband to get to work.

We want a 3 or preferably 4 bedroom, doesn't have to be huge. Preferably NOT zero lot line lots, but doesn't have to be huge. Must be allowed to fence in backyard for kids and dogs. Would love a community pool. And, big thing, easy access to shopping, particularly Publix and a Target. But not the Waterford Lakes area...that's a bit too....something. I don't like it there very much. Too much traffic maybe? Feels too fast paced after Apopka, although I guess most places will.

The problem is we would like this in the 200,000 range. Maybe 225,000ish.

We're looking at Avalon park maybe? I've seen a FEW in the 225,000 range. Any thoughts on that neighborhood? How is it to get to groceries? I like how walkable it is, the idea of being more community centered, etc. we want that.

Oh, and school district doesn't matter much, except for resale value, as we homeschool. Although, my sister is an admin at Timber Creek, so it would be nice to have that if we every changed our minds.

I've posted about Avalon Park many times in this forum as I lived there for quite a while. I cut and pasted one of my recent responses below. Just try typing Avalon Park in the search field and you should come up with quite a bit of info.

Although some would describe AP's ambiance as cookie cutter, it is about as nice as cookie cutter gets. I'm still a fan of it's neo-traditional design and town center concept. Some might call AP a low rent version of Celebration or Baldwin Park. When I lived there, it was still relatively well maintained. However, don't be fooled by its polished facade. A lot of residents may brush off its proximity to the Stanton Energy Plant, not many people are aware that the Stanton Energy Plant was once rated as the dirtiest coal plant in the entire nation. Coal ash production/storage and its effects on the environment most certainly have a correlation with adverse health effects which was one of the reasons why we moved. Another reason was the rising property crime, my family and I were victimized multiple times and so were our neighbors. Violent crime was rare, however, car break ins and residential burglaries were a regular occurrence. The congestion coming and going from AP was quite bad when I lived there. I would hope that the widening of Alafaya has relieved this complaint. Other ways to exit the community were not any better, going through Waterford Lakes or East Colonial near Bithlo was just as bad.

I moved to Avalon Park right before the real estate boom and absolutely loved it there. But when the market crashed, AP was the microcosm of everything that went wrong in real estate at the time. And along with the crash came a change in demographics. Investors snapped up cheap homes/townhomes that made the area much more transient among other problems.

Another issue that contributed to Avalon Park's decline that I still find confusing is the decision to extend the street name "Avalon Park Blvd" all the way to the intersection of Colonial/Hwy 50. This is an issue that non AP residents will find difficult to grasp. Maybe it was beyond the developer's control, but what occurred was that AP became synonymous with every single community from where AP ends near Timber Creek High School all the way down to Colonial/Hwy 50. AP was once positioned as a slightly upscale community in the mid 2000s, but the little bit of affluence that was built up was quickly erased by the real estate crash and the accelerated decline that was even more evident in the communities closer to Hwy 50/Colonial. I think if you truly want to get a sense of what Avalon Park is evolving into, then you must take a close look at the adjacent communities and subdivisions.

[tinytrump]

Originally Posted by ktgrok

I'd hoped to find specific info on areas that are an easy drive to the airport AND merritt island. Didn't find anything about that when searching. Also, if you search the forums for east orlando it's not as helpful as you might think...I tried today. Lots of stuff pops up about Oviedo which is too far north for us, but searching south east orlando got me very little.

So yeah, I did search the forums, but thank you.

Did you not find anything in the areas of- LEE VISTA- Lake Underhill RD- Chickasaw Trl ??--right on top of the 528 and airport .

[DCStudent]

Originally Posted by sergiodurante

I've posted about Avalon Park many times in this forum as I lived there for quite a while. I cut and pasted one of my recent responses below. Just try typing Avalon Park in the search field and you should come up with quite a bit of info.

Although some would describe AP's ambiance as cookie cutter, it is about as nice as cookie cutter gets. I'm still a fan of it's neo-traditional design and town center concept. Some might call AP a low rent version of Celebration or Baldwin Park. When I lived there, it was still relatively well maintained. However, don't be fooled by its polished facade. A lot of residents may brush off its proximity to the Stanton Energy Plant, not many people are aware that the Stanton Energy Plant was once rated as the dirtiest coal plant in the entire nation. Coal ash production/storage and its effects on the environment most certainly have a correlation with adverse health effects which was one of the reasons why we moved. Another reason was the rising property crime, my family and I were victimized multiple times and so were our neighbors. Violent crime was rare, however, car break ins and residential burglaries were a regular occurrence. The congestion coming and going from AP was quite bad when I lived there. I would hope that the widening of Alafaya has relieved this complaint. Other ways to exit the community were not any better, going through Waterford Lakes or East Colonial near Bithlo was just as bad.

I moved to Avalon Park right before the real estate boom and absolutely loved it there. But when the market crashed, AP was the microcosm of everything that went wrong in real estate at the time. And along with the crash came a change in demographics. Investors snapped up cheap homes/townhomes that made the area much more transient among other problems.

Another issue that contributed to Avalon Park's decline that I still find confusing is the decision to extend the street name "Avalon Park Blvd" all the way to the intersection of Colonial/Hwy 50. This is an issue that non AP residents will find difficult to grasp. Maybe it was beyond the developer's control, but what occurred was that AP became synonymous with every single community from where AP ends near Timber Creek High School all the way down to Colonial/Hwy 50. AP was once positioned as a slightly upscale community in the mid 2000s, but the little bit of affluence that was built up was quickly erased by the real estate crash and the accelerated decline that was even more evident in the communities closer to Hwy 50/Colonial. I think if you truly want to get a sense of what Avalon Park is evolving into, then you must take a close look at the adjacent communities and subdivisions.

When you moved from Avalon Park, where'd you go? I find it interesting to know where the locals move to, given they know the areas and have seen the underbelly?