Help with Central Florida City Choices (Orlando, Palm Bay: apartment, violent crime, townhouse)
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WOW, all of this is really great information! I so sincerely thank you all, please, keep it coming ...
I will not have to commute to MCO daily, but at times it could become very frequently.
The job is corporate compliance for a manufacturer who has facilities in 10 states.
I was told the majority of my time will be split among the three plants in Florida, but travel to the out-of-state facilities will be necessary as well. How frequently will be dictated by business need. So, I'm imagining periods where I'm headed to MCO quite regularly, and stretches where I don't need to go at all. I'd like to be within an hour, just in case that changes, and I find myself at the out-of-state facilities more often than originally advertised.
Schools aren't a paramount concern for us. We think good schools are very important for kids, property values, and resale, etc. We just don't use the public school system ourselves. It's not a knock on public schools whatsoever, it's just that our son has special needs. We have one student to worry about, they've got hundreds and sometimes thousands. We just think we're in a better position to cater to his individual needs than they are.
All the areas discussed so far seem "safe enough" to me. The differences appear small. If you consider, "Total Crime" statistics for 2022 (violent+property), Winter Springs is the safest, followed by Tavares, then Maitland, and last Mount Dora. Mount Dora is only in last place because their property crime (theft) is bizarrely high. Maybe tourist towns bring out the thieves? I really don't know.
I've seen pictures of downtown Mount Dora. I thought it was very cute, like a town from the 1950s. I'm perfectly fine with that, as long as there's nearby shopping. If that is the "main" shopping/dining area, I'd feel like I was too far out in the country. Why didn't you like Mount Dora?
I never really considered it much of a "tourist town." Downtown is very small, but is nice, peaceful, and does occasionally hold some neat festivals that invite out-of-towners, usually Floridians from other cities and snowbirds.
Why I didn't like it? I could just never quite get into the vibe of it. It's kind of a very old-Florida small-town mentality, is quite lacking in diversity (as is most of Lake County, barring maybe Clermont -- think American white and black, and little to nothing else) has bizarrely high property crime... There is a noticeable methy and hoodlum presence. I think this generally just comes with Florida small towns. I just didn't care for it.
The public schools are all in rough areas too. But then, I find most of the town to be on the rougher side. I lived in a nicer part South of downtown.
Worth mentioning too that I was commuting daily to my Longwood office at the time, and getting pretty much anywhere, daily, RELIABLY, was a pain. Yes, this is still the case with the 429, as it often gets backed up between Apopka and Winter Garden.
My main gripes are probably all attributed to that "small town-ness" of it. Most people there are FROM there, and I always stuck out for being from some BIG CITY lol...
My retired uncle likes the area. I prefer a bit of a different vibe/lifestyle, which can be found in Seminole County and suburban parts of Orange immediately around Orlando.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steph876
All the areas discussed so far seem "safe enough" to me. The differences appear small. If you consider, "Total Crime" statistics for 2022 (violent+property), Winter Springs is the safest, followed by Tavares, then Maitland, and last Mount Dora. Mount Dora is only in last place because their property crime (theft) is bizarrely high. Maybe tourist towns bring out the thieves? I really don't know.
Nearby Sorrento along 46 has a severe drug issue, and it directly spills over into Mount Dora. Mount Dora is also in the middle of some drug turf wars along with Tavares and Eustis. Mount Dora being by far the busier of the three, and being the gateway to Orlando, attracts the brunt of the crime. The odds of you ever running into any of this stuff are slim to none, unless you frequent seedy bars or certain corner stores most know to avoid. But these factors all affect crime stats.
Last edited by Arcenal813; 06-28-2023 at 11:54 AM..
Well, thank you again. That was incredibly helpful information. Our realtor seems very optimistic about Palm Bay, but I think I'm going to ask to see some houses in Tavares too. Just in case.
Palm Bay? Oh dear no....and why based on your criteria?
The reasoning makes sense. The problem is that the demos, schools, and amenities of all of those places are quite different.
You didn't mention a budget but if you can afford a house in Maitland, you want proximity to the airport, want good schools, and want to avoid HOAs then I would look between I-4 and 436 north of the airport. Due diligence required because not every school is great and not every house is HOA free but generally, yes and the further north you go the truer it gets.
North DeLand is different from regular DeLand because, in addition to being north of DeLand, it's unincorporated Volusia County - at least for now. The City of DeLand has been annexing up there pretty aggressively. DeLand is a cool town but I wouldn't live there if you want to be to within an hour of the airport. Tavares is also very questionable in terms of a reliable 1 hour to the airport. On paper, sure, you can do it in just under an hour but as a practical matter it's unlikely. Especially DeLand because of Lake Monroe and the St. Johns River you have very limited access to points south. When there's a problem on I-4 you're looking at pretty big delays.
Budget:
I think I forgot Florida was a destination state. I should have expected the housing market, but honestly, it was shocking.
My budget is in the neighborhood of $500k with the current interest rates.
I feel comfortable with a mortgage around $3,000 a month, and the best rate I was quoted was 5%. To further complicate matters, a situation just arose with my mother-in-law (77), and it looks like she may need some help in the near future. That means I need 5 bedrooms, or 4 bedrooms and an office. When you're talking 2500+ sq ft for $500k, I've found we're also looking at replacing the roof and HVAC system. When I see houses that already have those major updates, I can move up the price some. Make sense?
So, that's the budget.
LOL, see in the midwest (even post-pandemic), when a roof and furnace are 18+ years old, you can ask the seller to replace them, or to reduce the asking price. It's practically assumed; everyone involved finds it perfectly reasonable. It appears that, in Florida, that's not how anything works.
OH!! ALSO, I learned to watch out for hidden CDD fees! Hiding that fee should be against the law! I missed it because, when I was reviewing the taxes at the county assessor's website, I didn't click the button to download the pdf of the owner's ACTUAL tax bill. Doing that felt ... I don't know ... intrusive and unnecessary.
I didn't think the "Bill Summary" would contain any information not already explained in the assessor's very detailed breakdown. Yet, there it was. The last line item, separate from the county, city and school taxes ... right next to the garbage ...
When I mentioned being surprised by the hidden CDD, I was told, "It's a matter of public record; anyone is free to look it up." Yes, that is technically true; but it assumes people are aware of their need to do so.
I know I'm just one person, and in the grand scheme of things I accept that I count for very little. Still, I find the practice of hiding fees so dishonest, unethical and swarmy, that since then, whenever I find a hidden CDD, or leased solar panels that hadn't been disclosed upfront ... I just move on to the next house. I know someone will happily come along and buy their house and think nothing of it. That's just not going to be me.
Thank you both! Sincerely. That's such great information!
So interesting about the electric bills in Kissimmee. We noticed property taxes and insurance were higher in Osceola county too; so it does seem like cost of living, in general, may be a little higher there.
I don't normally mind bugs and critters. Rats though? I didn't consider that. We saw rats in Davenport, and I assumed it was a one-off. The realtor showed us a house in the Solterra development, and we saw rats by the dumpsters.
Right now, I live in Brunswick, Ohio. I used the "compare cities" tool on AreaVibes hoping to narrow down my list even further. I didn't expect to find an identical city, just one that comes "close-enough". All this extra information is really helping because AreaVibes isn't that great - but it's better than nothing.
Tavares does seem to have a bit of crime for only 20k ppl. Brunswick has almost twice the population, but half the crime. Still, Tavares does better on crime than both Maitland and Mount Dora - and I think comparing Ohio to Florida is a bit 'apples to oranges'.
Maitland and Mount Dora have better schools, but we don't use the public school system, so that would only be a resale consideration down the road.
Tavares blows Mount Dora and Maitland out of the water for "Cost of Living". It even beats Brunswick. The only metric where Tavares is lagging behind is "Employment". I mostly ignore the employment scores because cities with larger populations of retirees have a statistical advantage. Retired persons aren't counted in workforce metrics; but their wealth is included in income metrics. Personally, I like living around retirees. Generally speaking, I think they're more friendly and keep an eye on the neighborhood. So for me, I use that score more like a "retiree detector" rather than an indicator of an area's economic health. I certainly wouldn't hold less retirees against a city though.
Well, thank you again. That was incredibly helpful information. Our realtor seems very optimistic about Palm Bay, but I think I'm going to ask to see some houses in Tavares too. Just in case.
I lived in Orlando, Altamonte Springs and Volusia County for ten years and never saw one rat, lol! When my friend told me about her rat problem I said I didn't even know Florida had rats and she said Florida has everything! Palm Bay is in Brevard County, my friend lived in Viera over there and liked it. When i lived in Florida I think Titusville and Cocoa Beach weren't too good, and I've read Melbourne has a high crime rate. Don't know about Palm Bay, maybe it was developed after I moved.
I agree with kyle, but I'd replace "dear" with a mild expletive.
I can't speak to your budget as I'm out of touch with home prices in Central Florida not having lived there since 2008; but I think Seminole County would probably suit you best in terms of proximity to the airport and suburban amenities. Tavares/Mount Dora would still be preferable to Palm Bay in spite of the potentially nightmarish commute.
I lived in Orlando, Altamonte Springs and Volusia County for ten years and never saw one rat, lol! When my friend told me about her rat problem I said I didn't even know Florida had rats and she said Florida has everything! Palm Bay is in Brevard County, my friend lived in Viera over there and liked it. When i lived in Florida I think Titusville and Cocoa Beach weren't too good, and I've read Melbourne has a high crime rate. Don't know about Palm Bay, maybe it was developed after I moved.
WOW, all of this is really great information! I so sincerely thank you all, please, keep it coming ...
I will not have to commute to MCO daily, but at times it could become very frequently.
The job is corporate compliance for a manufacturer who has facilities in 10 states.
I was told the majority of my time will be split among the three plants in Florida, but travel to the out-of-state facilities will be necessary as well. How frequently will be dictated by business need. So, I'm imagining periods where I'm headed to MCO quite regularly, and stretches where I don't need to go at all. I'd like to be within an hour, just in case that changes, and I find myself at the out-of-state facilities more often than originally advertised.
Schools aren't a paramount concern for us. We think good schools are very important for kids, property values, and resale, etc. We just don't use the public school system ourselves. It's not a knock on public schools whatsoever, it's just that our son has special needs. We have one student to worry about, they've got hundreds and sometimes thousands. We just think we're in a better position to cater to his individual needs than they are.
All the areas discussed so far seem "safe enough" to me. The differences appear small. If you consider, "Total Crime" statistics for 2022 (violent+property), Winter Springs is the safest, followed by Tavares, then Maitland, and last Mount Dora. Mount Dora is only in last place because their property crime (theft) is bizarrely high. Maybe tourist towns bring out the thieves? I really don't know.
I would look at the Conway and Delaney Park areas, zip codes 32812 and 32806. Super convenient to MCO, lovely suburban area that is close to pretty much everything you’d want while still having a community feel.
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