+15 year Orlando Resident Here - Ask Me Anything (Pine Hills, Winter Springs: lawyer, relocate)

[spunky1]

Originally Posted by Floridian to relocate

spunky you are wrong yes i do wtch the news read papers , you loy just seem to be looking to find things wrong . you get crime every where you go . so tell everyone where in orlando areas there is no crime rape murder ect you will not find it . metro west is not as bad as people say on hiawassee rd it is down on kirkman area and i do not have my head in the sand .and i do not run around scared for my life in metro west. would be nice for you to tell everone where the areas with no crime are is so we can all move there . look at the crime in heatrow lake mary ect are they not good areas

As I previously stated, if you are unaware of the crime surrounding your area then you should do a search on google or even on city data and you can then become informed. Metro West has had a escalation in crime, even above the surging Central Fl. crime increase. If you truly believe your area is safe then I am worried about you, but if you refuse to believe it or research it then I am sorry you do have your head in the sand. Any responsible person would do their homework before moving to this area, especially if they have family. Of course there is crime everywhere, but Metro West is a dangerous area. I certainly am not one to "run around scared" however I also could not believe your naive post stating that Metro West was wonderful, luxury etc etc. I find it amusing that you don't get that these "luxury apts" are as cheap as other places-figure it out. The prices have been greatly reduced because there is a mass exodus from this area.

[Floridian to relocate]

well to strat that was not my post 2nd i do have family and still have not had anything happen to anyone so please do tell me what i am missing or are we just that lucky or is this crime being told by people who have other ideas on what is safe and not safe

[jessOH]

Dizzy,

Thank you for your honest response. Eventhough Winter Haven may seem to be a small rural town in Florida compared to where I live now, Winter haven is twice the size. I chose this location as it is evenly situated between Tampa and Orlando. I thought about Lakeland but the town was just 2 big as Lakeland is about 5 times bigger than where I live.

[jessOH]

I have another question. When I post on other threads about my family moving to Florida from Ohio, I recieve an outcry of people telling me NO don't do it. Is Florida really this bad? I know there will be quite a difference. Someone wrote a simile that moving to Florida was like moving out a frying pan into the fire. Ouch. Again, Is Florida that bad? Yes, I have heard about the taxes and home insurance. From working with a realtor the taxes are no more that what my sister pays in Cleveland. I am not looking for paradise as people keep telling me Florida is not. And, yes, I know that it is hot but during the summer in Ohio our air conditioner is kept at 80-82 and same for the winter(let me tell you our gas bill is outrageous). What are your thoughts?

[Dizzy is Moving]

Originally Posted by jessOH

I have another question. When I post on other threads about my family moving to Florida from Ohio, I recieve an outcry of people telling me NO don't do it. Is Florida really this bad? I know there will be quite a difference. Someone wrote a simile that moving to Florida was like moving out a frying pan into the fire. Ouch. Again, Is Florida that bad? Yes, I have heard about the taxes and home insurance. From working with a realtor the taxes are no more that what my sister pays in Cleveland. I am not looking for paradise as people keep telling me Florida is not. And, yes, I know that it is hot but during the summer in Ohio our air conditioner is kept at 80-82 and same for the winter(let me tell you our gas bill is outrageous). What are your thoughts?

jessOH -
You understand the hotness of FLA already it sounds like. Thats the worst we got to offer, I promise. Get ready to trade your gas bill in for a elec. bill due to a/c usage. Its get HOT here - and its not the heat, its the humidity. Its very odd, and there is no way to explain it until you experience it.

just look at all the negative, paranoid remarks i got so far in this thread. many people use the internet to vent anger & frustration, rather than learn & grow. that was the intent of my thread here - clear thru the clutter and offer a balanced point of view. i will not even bother responding to the negativity because its a waste of time.

imo, the outcry your getting is the same as you hear on this message board - fearful, delusional ramblings. youve done your homework, youve picked a spot that sounds comfortable to you and thats what you needed to do. youll be chilling in no time.

[OC2OC]

We're moving from beautiful Orange County CA to Orange County FL. We are saddened that we'll leave the LA area but excited to be in a new place where it will be close to a new set of relatives and to be more convenient to our business (business consultants to int'l clients in Latin America and Europe). I know what to expect when we move to Florida and we have also set our expectations to realistic levels. But despite my own filtering abilities in detecting paranoid comments, this board DOES make you wonder sometimes about the choices you're about to make.

So, since you are offering a direct and honest perspective, here is my question:

How is Winter Garden? Some mentioned that it's close to Ocoee which is "turning bad" as Pine Hills is right around the corner. We're in the Southern tip of the city, near the new mall. I've driven around the city of Winter Garden a few times and found it to be OK. There are some poorer areas but that's normal.

Thanks!

[BeenAroundTheBlock]

Folks - you have to take the good and the bad no matter where you move. There is NO perfect place. Go read the posts in any state and any town on this site and you will find the same negative posts. People are coming, people are going. The crime is this and the crime that. Just realize there is crime EVERYWHERE and you cannot escape it.

What you can do is do your homework and choose the best areas that you can find. Don't go to seedy areas (you'll learn where they are when you get here) because that is where most of the crime happens. The other random crime, well it just happens. There are 2 million people that live in the greater Orlando area. The 52 or whatever homicides that have happened in Orlando in an area of 2 million doesn't seem that high to me. Most of these murders are in bad areas and are drug related. There was a time I lived in Bakersfield, CA, a town of 200,000 with 91 homicides in one year. Now I live in East Orlando which is like it's own little city with very little crime and what there is is mostly petty crimes. While it's not perfect it does have many good points. Great shopping, restaurants and decent schools. I live and work near UCF and hey, today it was a beautiful day. I ran an errand at lunchtime towards downtown, rolled the windows down, blared my radio and had a great time. Did I fear I was going to be gunned down? Come on people, stop all the fear on these boards.

Everyone is coming from different vantage points and you cannot lump everyone's situations together. For those coming to FL in hopes to find employment, again, do your homework because typically wages are much lower, even for professionals. In hospitality? My daughters make $150-$300 a night in one of the fine dining establishments on restaurant row on Sand Lake.

Good luck to those who move here and just BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED!!! It's not really all that bad but we do have some crazy a$$ drivers here! Wonder why... a university with a few hundred thousand students, tourists from faraway lands...

[ITChick]

Originally Posted by Dizzy is Moving

If you think the roomate situation would be positive - i say go for it.
Altamonte Springs overall is a safe, cozy area that is only a short Interstate 4 trip to downtown Orlando.

Sounds to me like you would be renting if you come here - probably an apartment? If so, why not go right to Orlando? The apartment prices are about the same.

Also, if you explore a bit, like in the Metro West Area of Orlando - you could easily find a really beautiful, safe, borderline luxury apartment for only slightly higer rent than elsewhere.

The 1st Secret of this thread I will give away:
Metro West is our local best kept secret. If you are coming here wanting to live in an apartment and live INSIDE Orlando, Metro West is the best of the best. Lots & Lots of very recently built apartment complexes, most being very affordable. The funniest thing is, I see rent in places as far out as Lake Mary as costing MORE than the average rent in Metro West. (Lake Mary is incredibly far from Orlando)

Remember, during your search that thier is a distinction between 'West Orlando' and 'Metrowest Orlando'.

Thanks for the info! Yes, I will be renting but may purchase a very small property if I am comfortable with the area.

I got the impression that I should stay as far away from Orlando (for living) as possible, due to crime and traffic. Is that just certain parts of Orlando?

[ITChick]

Originally Posted by FLmomof2

I don't "think" South Apopka is a very good area (I guess it depends on what they are considering South, I live in NW Apopka and its very nice here, new things going up all around, new developments, stores, movie theaters, dog park, redesigning downtown, new schools, lots of banks.

Thanks for pointing that out. I was told that the rents/home prices were reasonable there. I guess what you posted might explain why.

I will look into NW Apopka as well, since I like "new".

[ITChick]

Originally Posted by spunky1

Is this a joke?? Metro West is crime ridden, very high % of rapes, murders, and robberies. It is a walled off (supposedly high-end) subdivision that is surrounded by a crime infested area (one of the worst in Orlando). I do not know why any one would suggest this area to an unsuspecting out of stater unless they had an ulterior motive.

spunky1, do you have any zipcodes for that Metro West area? I'd like to look them up if possible. Thanks.