Does anyone like living in Orlando? (Altamonte Springs, Winter Park: landscaping, apartment complex, hotels)

[thelanddepot]

Orlando sucks.

Do not move there. My Uncle & Aunt moved there and I do not visit them. Why? Traffic is terrible. Lots of crime. Lots of illegals. Lots of gangs.

Orlando - A nice place to visit, if you can stay in a nice hotel. But, you have to watch your back at all times.

If you wanna live someplace cool, move to Old Town, Florida, a friendly area with springs, camping, parks, bordered by the Suwannee River.

[4luvofk9s]

We moved here 5 yrs ago and love our community - Tuscawilla in Winter Springs. Sidewalks, streetlights. I don't have children but this is a very kid friendly area. There are many subidivisions and priced homes to choose from. I've felt very safe over the years here.

[nrg2brn]

I live in casselberry (seminole county) and I love it. small town feel next to the city. I would NOT live in Orlando again after moving up to seminole. But, then again, I prefer the burb life. I find people here generally more rude than most, and I dont know what to attrubute that to. I travel a lot, so I notice things like that. Actually, Im planning on moving to North Carolina.

[shoppingmaventoo]

Hi - just saw this post, we are looking to relocate from NY to Stoneybrook or Eastwood (gated area). Do you still like it? Anything you don't like? Do you feel safe living in Stoneybrook? Would love as much info as possible...

Originally Posted by amax41

Orlando is great, yes it has it's problems like everywhere else....at least its not LA.

Avalon Park... ok it's an interesting community, we live in Stoneybrook so Avalon is out our back gate..... I'll put it this way - nice place to visit wouldn't want to live there.

We like Waterford Lakes and Stoneybrook...... so far.

[shoppingmaventoo]

We are planning a move from NY to orlando within the next 6 months and have narrowed the search to Stoneybrook or maybe Eastwood. Any words of advice? Do you feel safe living in a gated community? Are there any other areas that are better? Less traffic? More of a hometown/community feel? Probably a stretch in Orlando...

Any info would be great!

[BeenAroundTheBlock]

Both communities are very nice. I live in Eastwood behind the gates and feel very safe. I have friends in Stoneybrook also that haven't had any problems. Just don't let it give you a false sense of security though because anything can happen anywhere. It's best to have a security system in your house. PM me if you have any questions about Eastwood.

[Wilshire81182]

The eastside has recently had some issues with crime, but it still remains a nice area. The main problem is that the Waterford area is less isolated from areas of East Colonial that are rundown like Union Park. This is also a very highly trafficked area because of the huge UCF campus and the shopping center at Waterford Lakes. The areas where you are looking get further and further from the trafficked area and are generally better than actual Waterford Lakes. They are working on widening a main stretch of Alafaya Trail south of Curry Ford Rd so that people can get in and out of there easier but I have seen a lot of backups in the afternoon especially in that area for people getting home and E Colonial to get to Avalon Park is not much better, if not worse. Orlando is very hard to get that sense of community and I would say that some areas like Avalon Park or Oviedo get closer to it than other, but it is not common in this part of Florida. There are also older more established parts of Florida that are more neighborly. There are social groups and events that you can join, but I would not expect your neighbors or people you encounter on a daily basis to be outwardly friendly or cordial. People generally stick to themselves and only go about talking to people they do not know if they have to. As far as better, like you asked. I think in general that the Oviedo and Winter Springs areas are better, more isolated from bad neighborhoods, and have better constructed homes. People generally care about their neighborhood more and take pride in their schools and social networks there. You should look into Tuskawilla. I assume if you can afford a gated community in lower Waterford Parks/Stonybrook that you could probably afford the area I am referring to. You do live in a city and there is no absolute escape from traffic, crime, rude people, etc. but there are places that are a little better off than where you are looking at. At the same time, I still think you would live comfortably in the areas you are looking at too.

[pianogal]

I live on the east side of town, but further from the UCF area than either Waterford or Oviedo. Still close enough that my son could get there in 15 minutes on the 417. We love it here, feel safe and have never had any problems. Our homes were built by the same builders as the ones in the Oviedo/Winter Springs area, so don't really understand the comment that the homes are better built there. We looked at both areas when building 4-5 years ago and chose this location due to it's proximity to major roadways, and the beauty of the surrounding woods. We feel like we live in the country here.

Avalon/Stoneybrook are nice but the towers from the power plant seem to loom over them and give them a 'simpsonesque' type look if you know what I mean. People who live there say they get used to them and don't notice them anymore.

[cwaz]

Wow, H80town.....if you are so miserable why don't you move? I live in Seminole County and we don't have the Spanish speaking problem as you do in your area? Maybe you live in a less desireable area and that is all the Spanish people can afford....come to Seminole County, maybe you will be fond of Central Florida once again!

[shoppingmaventoo]

Thanks for the info! A security system is the first thing on my list. We are 40 somethings with no kids, and two dogs. Is Eastwood/Stoneybrook a strictly family/kid neighborhood or is there an opportunity for us dinks to meet other dinks? Are there clubhouse activities?