Baldwin Park, Thornton Park, or Winter Park? (Orlando, Oviedo: hair salon, apartment complexes)

[ready4change88]

K, so I have a new job in the Winter Park area and need to move. I am a SBF and I am looking for a DIVERSE area (as diverse as Orlando can be anyway...), with lots of young professionals (i.e. 25 - 35, no recent college grads thanks). Here's the other thing, I'd really like a urban, pedestrian friendly area as much as possible, you know, for Orlando... by that I mean, shops , cafes, restaurants within walking distant, people on the streets, active spots... I'm interested in lots of space and trees... just not where my headspace is at.. when I have five kids and need a big yard, I'll worry about that...

All input on above areas is appreciated...a little bit on the "Personalities" of each area is BEST! ... As well as any particular apartment complexes or streets that you know are best to check places out (please don't recommend other areas, I'm trying to narrow things down, UNLESS you TRULY feel they emcompass all that I'm looking for...)...

Lastly, for the haters -- please dont' waste my time (or yours) with B.S. responses about why Orlando sucks (so if you're going to say that, I already know that, but I plan to make the abosolute best of it, LOL) , I'm looking for real input....

THANK YOU!!

[DailyJournalist]

Have you checked out the College Park area or Orlando? I think it would fit your needs perfectly. It has a young prefessional crowd and is more diverse than the areas you stated.

MyCollegePark.com - College Park's Online Newsletter

[Granny Sue]

Originally Posted by ready4change88

K, so I have a new job in the Winter Park area and need to move. I am a SBF and I am looking for a DIVERSE area (as diverse as Orlando can be anyway...), with lots of young professionals (i.e. 25 - 35, no recent college grads thanks). Here's the other thing, I'd really like a urban, pedestrian friendly area as much as possible, you know, for Orlando... by that I mean, shops , cafes, restaurants within walking distant, people on the streets, active spots... I'm interested in lots of space and trees... just not where my headspace is at.. when I have five kids and need a big yard, I'll worry about that...

All input on above areas is appreciated...a little bit on the "Personalities" of each area is BEST! ... As well as any particular apartment complexes or streets that you know are best to check places out (please don't recommend other areas, I'm trying to narrow things down, UNLESS you TRULY feel they emcompass all that I'm looking for...)...

Lastly, for the haters -- please dont' waste my time (or yours) with B.S. responses about why Orlando sucks (so if you're going to say that, I already know that, but I plan to make the abosolute best of it, LOL) , I'm looking for real input....

THANK YOU!!

K....weeding out the mysterious statement about diversity, I'll try to help.
Winter Park is Old Money
Baldwin Park is New Money
Thornton Park is a mix.

I've never been in Baldwin Park so hopefully someone else on the thread can help you. I haven't been over there since the Navy Base was still in it's place.

I like the other two.
If you choose Winter Park, I myself would try to stay near the Rollins College/Park Ave area. This is the higher end. You will find quaint little boutiques and groceries...with just a short drive you're within just about any store imaginable.

Thornton Park is in the midst of change....it's all good, just not all there yet.
It's got old money but now a cool funky vibe that's very popular with the 25+ to 45 crowd. You'll find a brand new Publix, bookstores, cafes ect. If you're into the club scene you could actually walk to the downtown clubs.

So basically, if I liked the urban areas (which isn't my cup of tea) and based on what I know, I would pick either Winter Park or Thornton.

[Wilshire81182]

I would also advise that you look into College Park to round out the areas you are looking for. I think Kali's Grandma did a great job explaining the areas. They are are all somewhat urban and close to downtown. Baldwin Park is a little stepford wives in feel, but it is very clean and fresh as it is a new development. The homes in Thornton Park and Winter Park are the older feel and colonial style, but you can also find modern condos and other cute places. Winter Park is undeniably the most charming of the areas IMO and I think other people would probably agree with that. Thornton park is the most hip and urban because of its location by downtown and Lake Eola. College Park is a bit bohemian but it is also urban and has a lot of small markets, non-chain restaurants, lakeside parks, and I think this area would have more overall diversity than the others. I think if you are looking for the nicest areas that are urban and not suburban like the others most suggest (Windermere, Oviedo, Lake Mary, etc.) than you are looking at the cream of the crop with these four. Parts of Colonialtown may suit you too and that area is more diverse too.

[cfIfan]

Baldwin park is a nice community, unfortunatly it is in the wrong place. It sits on the East of Colonial drive and just the drive from I4 along colonial is bad in terms of traffic and its a bad area so i wouldnt advise but it may be somewhere you like so you should deffinatly check it out. To be able to get all the wants you have, such as walking distance to shops etc, you really do need to be in a downtown area. I would recommend checking out Winter Park, but you may also want to check out Dr Phillips as that is a great area aswell.

Good luck

[Crane's Rooster]

Thornton Park really fits your bill to a T except the age demographic. It's a mix but has a substantial amount of younger folks 20-25. Otherwise it's a great walkable community. Once you get home from work you could probaly go without using a car for the rest of the night. There are restaurants, parks, bars, grocery stores, hair salons, dry cleaners, you name it....all in walking distance. It is a fairly diverse place since it's he new young hip yuppy spot. Most of the housing options here fall into one of two categories. Rent an older colonial style home or a brand new condo. No big apartment complexes or anything of that sort in this area except maybe the Grand on South Street. I would look on Craigslist for a place in thornton park.

Baldwin is nice also but as others stated is more of a family oriented community. Granted there are a fair share of young professionals there also but more families. Housing for young singles is townhouses, apartments and condos for rent. I believe they have a leasing office and you may be able to find it online.

Winter Park is older, more mature, except in the immediate vicinity of Rollins College where there are of course, college students. Very charming, very mature but again, very old money. Housing option are similar to Thornton Park. There are also some new developments that are apartments, condos and city lofts.

College Park is another great option. Very walkable. Good Amenities. Close to Winter Park and Downtown. But again, more family oriented than young professional. Look on craiglists and also try the Wellsley (I think that's how it's spelled) on Edgewater avenue.

Here's the great part, all these communities are very close to each other by Orlando standards. They are all basically in the core of Central Florida. You could easily visit each of these places for various reasons all in the same night. The actual drive time between any of these neighborhoods really doesn't exceed 10-15 minutes at most and that's in city driving, no highways.

For your situation my top pick is obviously Thornton Park but since all these places are nearby one another I think you could find a nice place in anyone of these neighborhoods and be happy. I would focus more on the amenities and conveniences of your place since you could easily get the benefits of each of these communities. Hope this helps and welcome to Orlando.

[ramon81]

I think you'd be happiest in College Park. Winter park, while wealthy and very pretty, only has one stretch of overpriced everything shops, and is very, like others have said, old money. I would stay as far away from Baldwin as I could...I actually live downtown, and used to drive through there every day. Talk about an area infested with yups. I mean if that's your cup of tea, then there you go, but it is really for people who want to live in an area that looks like The Truman Show(Jim Carey movie.) I actually live downtown, just west of Bumby, and it's a good area... it's ALMOST walkable to College Park/Lake Eola...you can find a decent place, at a decent price, if you look hard enough. For a young professional, that's really the place to be.

[lokahi]

I have friends that live in Baldwin Park and they love it. It's modeled after Celebration, kind of like a little town. They have been living there for 3 years and haven't had any problems. Altho, they did tell me that their HOA's are high and that their taxes are high as well. Other than that, they really like it. Best of luck!