Maybe moving to Orlando soon... (Miami, Winter Park: apartments, rentals, lofts)

[zero_element]

Hello everyone,

This is my first time posting on this forum. My wife and I live in Miami, I was born here but am of Brazilian descent and my wife was born in Brazil. We've been to Orlando a few times but never with the intention to move there, mainly just parks and stuff.

We are planning a trip in a couple months to get to know the city and hopefully get a good feel for it. We are tired of Miami, it is way too expensive and there's just nothing to do here if you're not into the club scene. My wife especially isn't happy here.

Right now we live in the suburbs of Miami, the kendall area for those who may be familiar and we are looking for something a little more downtown when we go to Orlando, a bit more city feel you know? Anyone have any recommendations for places to check out when we go? I've been doing a bit of research and I believe we can afford rent over there but I'm not sure where to look exactly. From what I've seen downtown Orlando seems really cool and more of the vibe we're going for, and I think relatively safe am I off base?

Anyway I just wanted to introduce myself and hopefully get to know about Orlando on here maybe some suggestions of neighborhoods to check out.

Thanks!

[bmw335xi]

Check out Lake Eola, Thornton Park, College Park, Ivanhoe Village, Winter Park

[doom1001]

Your story sounds like my story,I lived in Miami until a couple months ago and the overpriced housing,hideous traffic just made it unliveable.I'm in Orlando now but in the suburban Windermere/Winter Garden area and I like it as much or more than what I expected.I was pretty knowledgeable of the Orlando area before moving so it was a pretty smooth move,check out the areas near downtown BMW335 suggested I've been to several of them and they have a pretty much completely different feel than Miami with lakes everywhere you look.

[zero_element]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Check out Lake Eola, Thornton Park, College Park, Ivanhoe Village, Winter Park

Thanks! Do those areas have apartment buildings? I tried searching on Trulia and only found one apartment building in Lake Eola, a place called Skyhouse. We live in an old house here in Miami and are definitely looking for something more modern you know.

Originally Posted by doom1001

Your story sounds like my story,I lived in Miami until a couple months ago and the overpriced housing,hideous traffic just made it unliveable.I'm in Orlando now but in the suburban Windermere/Winter Garden area and I like it as much or more than what I expected.I was pretty knowledgeable of the Orlando area before moving so it was a pretty smooth move,check out the areas near downtown BMW335 suggested I've been to several of them and they have a pretty much completely different feel than Miami with lakes everywhere you look.

Wow! I'm so glad you liked your move. Yeah Miami is getting ridiculous, I feel like I'm drowning here due to how expensive the housing is, we want to move from our house but can't afford to go anywhere else in Miami so we're essentially stuck which is when we started talking about moving to Orlando. I'm going to look into those areas while we're there. Thanks!

[OTownKnight]

Originally Posted by zero_element

Thanks! Do those areas have apartment buildings? I tried searching on Trulia and only found one apartment building in Lake Eola, a place called Skyhouse. We live in an old house here in Miami and are definitely looking for something more modern you know.



Wow! I'm so glad you liked your move. Yeah Miami is getting ridiculous, I feel like I'm drowning here due to how expensive the housing is, we want to move from our house but can't afford to go anywhere else in Miami so we're essentially stuck which is when we started talking about moving to Orlando. I'm going to look into those areas while we're there. Thanks!

Unless you and your wife are in your mid-20's and trying to party every night, I would avoid skyhouse. I know some people who live there and tell me stories about that place...

Thornton Park, Mills 50, Milk District, and SoDo would be good to look into. You'll be safe in all of these areas and can find some inexpensive rent prices still if you come across the right deal. Of course the suburbs are going to be way less expensive than all of these places close to downtown, but you get what you pay for. Winter Park is probably the nicest area of Orlando, but also the most expensive. Not as many apartment/condo options either as it's mostly expensive single-family. Great place to live and be if you can afford it though.

[zero_element]

Originally Posted by OTownKnight

Unless you and your wife are in your mid-20's and trying to party every night, I would avoid skyhouse. I know some people who live there and tell me stories about that place...

Thornton Park, Mills 50, Milk District, and SoDo would be good to look into. You'll be safe in all of these areas and can find some inexpensive rent prices still if you come across the right deal. Of course the suburbs are going to be way less expensive than all of these places close to downtown, but you get what you pay for. Winter Park is probably the nicest area of Orlando, but also the most expensive. Not as many apartment/condo options either as it's mostly expensive single-family. Great place to live and be if you can afford it though.

Wow see good to know glad I mentioned it. We are in our 20's but not partiers. We are looking for apartment buildings though, any of those areas fit the bill?

[Arcenal813]

Check out Orange Ave around Colonial. Especially North, going towards Garland. Endless choices.

[OTownKnight]

Originally Posted by zero_element

Wow see good to know glad I mentioned it. We are in our 20's but not partiers. We are looking for apartment buildings though, any of those areas fit the bill?

Thornton Park and Milk District have some individually owned apartments (mostly), but are usually going to be older. The areas I mentioned are the "trendy" areas to be in with all of the new restaurants and "hipster" bars that are cool to go to. Which they are, I travel from SE Orlando on weekends to go out in these areas for drinks with friends.

You might want to try expanding your search to townhomes or duplexes in Thornton Park or Milk District area. Little tenant responsibility, but the amenities of a high rise condo would be harder to find. However, you'd probably get a better deal on rent.

For example, I have a coworker who rents a 1 BR unit in Skyhouse and pays close to $1500 per month! It's a good location with a roof top pool downtown, but that price is crazy high. And he tells me about all of the loud, drunk, and obnoxious people who are in the halls yelling every night or causing problems up at the pool. I'm in my mid-twenties as well but that's not anything I want to deal with anymore since I'm not in college and work a 9-5 job. Same goes for most other downtown highrises.

Then on the other hand, I have two friends that each rent a 1 BR apartment in the Milk District area off Bumby Rd and they pay under $800 per month. They're less than a 5 minute Uber ride to the middle of downtown, and still near lots of bars and restaurants around them in an up and coming area. No lawn maintenance and a community pool.

[zero_element]

Thanks! I've been checking out some rentals in the area you mentioned, I especially liked Lofts at SoDo but they seem to only have 1 bedrooms and really expensive. I also really liked Cornerstone apartments, I forget which area they are located in though, I think SoDo? Yeah these areas just outside of downtown but still close are nice on the wallet and still close to the city which is nice. I'm looking into jobs now as well, I like to do a lot of research before I do anything lol.