Moving to Orlando. Where is the best place to live? (Winter Park: real estate, condo)

[pdxleclerc]

Hi all,

My wife and I are coming down in the next 2 weeks to Orlando to look at real estate. We both have opportunities to transfer with our companies. We have searched online at all the different areas of Orlando and a few of them peaked our interest. I'm wondering if some of you seasoned Orlando residents wouldn't mind explaining the pros and cons about the areas we are looking at. First of all, I'm in the hotel business, we have no kids, we are more interested in a condo or town home or even a hotel condo where we can live year-round. We are looking at either mixed use or a new urbanism kind of area. Our thoughts:

1. Lake Nona
2. Celebration
3. Metro west
4. Winter Garden
5. Tradition Towers
6. Village of Imagine
7. Mona Lisa at Celebration
8. Veranda Park
9. Copley Square
10. Reunion
11. Windermere
12. Avalon Park
13. The Blue Rose
14. Lake Buena Vista Place
15. Baldwin Park


Thanks in advance

Darren

[spunky]

Well, to start, cross Metro West off the list. See previous posts concerning the increasing crime wave in the Metro West Area. Windermere, Baldwin Park, and Celebration would be the top of my list of those choices. Lake Nona is nice but also read previous posts concerning distance/driving factors. Also consider Winter Park and Thornton park. Good luck.

[marybs]

I have lived in Celebration; it is very picturesque, but what a lot of residents complain about is the lack of ammenities for people who live there, as opposed to tourists. The downtown area is cute, but most of the shops are geared to tourists. You have to travel "outside of the bubble" to go to a grocery store, Target, etc., and the best mall (Milennia) is about 20 minutes away. If you want to be in an area that has better access to shops, restaurants, and the culture that downtown Orlando has to offer, Baldwin Park might be a better choice. It's a lot like Celebration, but has more close by.

[Nomoresubways]

Windermere is fairly expensive, but a very nice area. I really liked Avalon Park, but the biggest negative (and reason why I chose not to buy there) was the traffic. There is only one entrance/exit and from what I have heard, in the morning, the traffic getting out of that place is mind numbing. I have heard a lot of good things about Baldwin Park.

[pianogal]

Baldwin Park is very centrally located and would be a great place to live if you want to be close in to the city.

[Prichard]

If you're in the Hotel business and need to be close to work, the best thing you have on your list is Celebration, for what you've described. I won't go through why I wouldn't choose the others, just going by what your stated desires and requirements are.