Orlando suburbs (Miami, West Palm Beach, Pine Hills: crime, houses, transfer)

[suzmyers]

Originally Posted by CURT

unless you are looking for a new townhome you will not find anything new in oviedo, winter springs, tuskawilla for that price. you will find nice older places in good areas but not new.
you can view citydata.com for crime and other information.

I agree... but the apartments in Oviedo that have switched to condos may be for that price in Oviedo... the ones in Casselberry (Cabana Keys) is 220000. the small homes in Tuskawilla are selling at 330000. the larger ones are 400k - 800k. and those are the older homes.

[texasturbocat]

We may be moving to Orlando due to hubby's job change...What about neighborhoods with homes in the $140K-200K price range? Older homes are okay, but the bigger the better. Communities that are a little more rural are OK but we'd like to stay within 45 minutes of the city.

Thanks!
Turbocat

[nk0171]

Originally Posted by texasturbocat

We may be moving to Orlando due to hubby's job change...What about neighborhoods with homes in the $140K-200K price range? Older homes are okay, but the bigger the better. Communities that are a little more rural are OK but we'd like to stay within 45 minutes of the city.

Thanks!
Turbocat

OH BOY! I'm sorry Tex, but although you can buy a home in that price range in or around Orlando, you may want to invest in some kind of Security alarm system for your home because those places (for that price) are not safe at all. To get in a safer and larger home, you need at least $260,000 and i do mean at least! I would also suggest to get a realtor ASAP to help you out. good luck!

[mom4]

i have lived in seminole county for over 18 years it is outside of Orange county (orlando). If you plan to move here and have children Orange county is not the place to be. Schools are not as good as Seminole County and it is more conjested. I-4 is the major highway that leads you into Orlando all the way to Tampa. That highway is very conjested during rush hours. If you are from Vegas than It wont be a problem. I have family who live there and my cousin teaches in clark county and I have visted many times. The tourist shouldnt bother you either. Getting back to the area.... winter springs in some parts is nice so is tuscawilla. Winter Springs high school is good, Longwood has some nice parts over by the Lake Brantley High School, and Lake Mary is where I live has Lake Mary high school all are top rated schools. All these places are about 15-30 minutes from Orlando except during rush hour. Houses in Longwood could run you 250,000 and above the same with Winter Springs and Tuscawilla. Lake Mary the average home price is 350,00 and up depending on which part of Lake Mary you live in. All these areas have malls, target, walmart, movie theaters and restaurants. If you buy a house make sure you know which school district you are in because you may live in a town where they bus your kids to another town to keep the racial balance. Stay away from Seminole high school Sanford area. As for Tampa forget it its a dive. Sarasota is nice to visit. Some people find it a nice place to live but its not for me. The west coast is a lot more laid back. As for crime I go into Orlando a lot and have no problems. Is like every other big city you just have to know where you are going. Disney is about 30-40 minutes from Seminole County so we dont deal with the tourist. Every town that was mentioned to you does have new housing developments going up but they can be high in price. Keep in mind the housing can be high but are property taxes are low. Its the homeowner insurance that can get you because of hurricane protection. Answer to your question about hurricanes they can hit any side of the coast but being more inland we dont get hit to bad. If you need anymore info. let me know. thanks

[texasturbocat]

Wow my DH told me he did research on Orlando housing and found it was comparable to Houston. We live in Friendswood, a small town about 20 mi. SE of downtown Houston. (Close to the Clear Lake/NASA area). Our neighborhood is 30 years old and working-class, but we have had little to no crime that I'm aware of. We go walking around all the time and people wave to us. The homes in our subdivision go for $100K-$120K and I just did a search on Orlando properties and homes with similar S.F. are asking $180K and up... I was warned about sticker shock when moving from Texas...I guess we have a little bit more space...

--Turbo

[TN Tin Man]

East Coast - West Coast- Centeral It does not matter where your at in Florida It's all getting over crowed,then the hurricanes are another story.They use too hit lower in the state,now it's the roll of the dice.Orlando has 21 schools too be built in the next 10 years.Most places are charging impact fees 2,000--9,800 dollars just get the house rolling.So if you see that perfect house for 275,000 dollars just add another 8 grand on top of that for impact fees.O' forgot about the insurance for the house,check that out then if that's not enough check out those tax's.Then the roads!! then the schools........

[milano]

Hi, if you are confused between, Orlando or Tampa , the choice is simple: Stay away from both!! those two towns are the worse places in florida! well not to mantion Fort lauderdale and Miami...(just as bad)! As far as the crime , congestion of people and traffic, schools, and unpleasant people....well you'll find it here for sure!
I hope you have No Children!!! Good Luck!!

[pianogal]

I have lived in both places and while there are nice places in Tampa, I MUCH prefer Orlando. There is so much to do here for families. I don't find the traffic all that big of a deal...perhaps I'm used to it. I live in a great location that seems rural - woods all around, but is close to major roads that are rarely backed up. I work in downtown Orlando and commute there everyday. I've never had a problem with crime, in fact, never think about it as no one I know has either.

I know there are areas where you have to be concerned, perhaps I've just been blessed to live/work outside those areas. I posted this to another reply, but just in case you're interested, here are some facts about SE Orlando. It isn't true that all Orange County schools are awful. All the schools that feed our community are A rated schools. And in fact, many of the developers have built community schools within the subdivisions. These schools are top notch, I have friends teaching in a couple of them. Their budget and parental support is fantastic.

Nestled amid a transportation network that includes the Beachline Expressway, the Central Florida GreeneWay and the East-West Expressway, southeast Orlando’s growth should be no surprise.

“Location, location, location,” chants Beat Kahli, developer of burgeoning Avalon Park. “This is the most ideal area. You can get almost anywhere in Central Florida—downtown Orlando, beaches, the attractions—in about 30 minutes.”

The location factor is enhanced by the area’s environmental and recreational offerings, beginning with the Econ River and the Hal Scott Regional Preserve and Park.

Then there’s the area’s varied employment base, encompassing everything from higher education and defense contractors to the simulation industry and healthcare.

Top southeast Orlando employers include UCF, Central Florida Research Park, Siemens Westinghouse Power Corp., Lockheed Martin, Florida Hospital East Orlando, Orlando International Airport and Waterford Lakes Town Center.

The town center, a 1.2-million-square-foot open-air mall, includes big box retailers as well as a 20-screen movie theater and more than 100 specialty shops and restaurants.

Central Florida Research Park’s current 1,027-acre campus, located adjacent to UCF, is home to 9,500 employees who work for companies such as the National Center for Simulation, the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Hewitt Associates, Adaptec, Boeing, the Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation and the Army Simulation, Training and Instrumentation Command.

“Many of these jobs are high-value, high-wage jobs,” says Jim Spaeth, chairman of the East Orlando Chamber of Commerce and senior vice president of Mainsail Development Group. Such jobs allow the area’s residents to enjoy a high quality-of-life index and an average household income of more than $55,000 a year.

Tavistock Group, the developer of upscale Lake Nona, has been particularly aggressive in promoting commercial and job growth in southeast Orlando.

Those efforts were bolstered in March, when the state university system’s Board of Governors approved UCF’s plans for a medical school. Now the university can break ground on its Burnett College of Biomedical Sciences, which will rise on land donated by Tavistock.

“The UCF medical school will be the center of a 50-acre medical city at Lake Nona that will involve medicine, research and hundreds of new jobs,” says Jim Zboril, president of Lake Nona Property Holdings, a subsidiary of Tavistock. “The med school is a phenomenal opportunity for the community as a whole and will create a new class of jobs in the Southeast sector.”

[LauraerieL]

Just a little info:
Newsweek Magazine has posted the top 5% of high school in the nation and ALL Seminole County high schools made the list for this past year. You can find good schools in FL, just got to do some research. Enjoy.

[deana]

to pianogal.....you really seem to love where you live but you didn't say......what city are you in?