Looking for a small town close to Orlando (Tampa, Lakeland: insurance, vacation)

[juls1442]

Hi. I am looking to move to Florida. I have an opp. to work for Disney and I now live in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I am a huge Disneyworld fan and have been there multiple times on vacations but do not like the the size of orlando. I have small children and have their safety in mind. I am willing to have an hour comute, not a problem for me. I would like any advice as to any small communities out side of Orlando, that are not extremely expensive. I am looking just to rent for a while. I need a 3 bed 1,000 or under. I am not familiar with cost of living, if anyone has any suggestion I greatly appriciate it. Thank You!

[Kali's Grandma]

You might want to go south of Disney when looking.

There are a number of small communities...Polk City, Auburndale. Lakeland might be the right size for you coming from Colorado Springs.
It falls right between Orlando and Tampa. Easy access to I-75 too.

[DailyJournalist]

Originally Posted by captnemo62

You might want to go south of Disney when looking.

There are a number of small communities...Polk City, Auburndale. Lakeland might be the right size for you coming from Colorado Springs.
It falls right between Orlando and Tampa. Easy access to I-75 too.

I would suggest Oviedo. It has a small town feel with excellent schools.

[cmj_fla]

I agree with the other posters and would add some parts of Lake County: Clermont, Eustis, Mt. Dora, Leesburg.... all smaller communities and within an hour of Disney. Davenport in just south of Disney in Polk County and is a nice little town. Congrats on the job! I worked for Disney for a few years and enjoyed it. Just make sure you get things lined up down here before coming and I would highly suggest doing it in person. Good Luck!

[Wilshire81182]

I would suggest Lake or Polk Counties. I like Oviedo, but it is a suburb of Orlando as opposed to an outlying town. You would deal with more traffic getting to Disney each day from there than another outlying area west or south of the city.

[juls1442]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Which would you suggest as the safest place to live I have heard about a lot of crime down there and I am used to little or no crime. I would rather fell safe and have a harder commute. I also have an aunt & uncle in Melbourne so would like to be more toward the east so I can make day trips to visit.

[DailyJournalist]

Originally Posted by juls1442

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Which would you suggest as the safest place to live I have heard about a lot of crime down there and I am used to little or no crime. I would rather fell safe and have a harder commute. I also have an aunt & uncle in Melbourne so would like to be more toward the east so I can make day trips to visit.

Then Oviedo would be the obvious choice if you want to be on the east side. Good schools and lower crime than Orlando.

[Kali's Grandma]

I brought up my map and looked for any possibilities for something between Disney and Melbourne but just couldn't come up with just the right place....

I have to agree with DailyJournalist...while in MY opinion, it's just another suburb of Orlando, Oviedo or Winter Springs would be the best choices..

[sandcranelady]

Definately get in Polk County, avoid high taxes and insurance rates. We moved to lakeland from Hillsborough county to get best rates. We love it here. My husband works
in Winter Garden area. I became a addict to The beautiful Sandhill Cranes we have in Polk county.

[marypoppins]

Originally Posted by sandcranelady

Definately get in Polk County, avoid high taxes and insurance rates. We moved to lakeland from Hillsborough county to get best rates. We love it here.

Hi, I saw your comment about Polk County. We are moving from Lake County to Polk County and someone warned me the taxes and utilities are very high.
I was told the average monthly water bill in Polk is $100 a month, but for the same size home and useage in Lake it's $60.

Is it true?