Good place to live in FL??? (Orlando, Kissimmee: best neighborhood, renting, insurance)

[floridaornyc]

We would like to move to FL and I would like any help with picking the best neighborhood to live in. I have two small children and both my husband and I are college graduates. My husband is an electrical engineer and I am a preschool teacher. Of course we will be trying to get jobs within our fields. We want a quiet neighborhood (we are just entering our 30s) with clean, responsible homeowners, good schools, newly built homes under 500k. Which builder would you suggest? What is the salary for an engineer? Is Davenport a good place to live?

[bsmiles35]

there is no such place in florida anymore,i lived in central florida all my life.it was good in the 70's and 80's.but now you could not pay me to live there .good luck

[cmj_fla]

Originally Posted by floridaornyc

We would like to move to FL and I would like any help with picking the best neighborhood to live in. I have two small children and both my husband and I are college graduates. My husband is an electrical engineer and I am a preschool teacher. Of course we will be trying to get jobs within our fields. We want a quiet neighborhood (we are just entering our 30s) with clean, responsible homeowners, good schools, newly built homes under 500k. Which builder would you suggest? What is the salary for an engineer? Is Davenport a good place to live?

Don't let the negativity defer you from Central Florida. There are plenty of safe and clean neighborhoods left and I would definitely put Davenport of that list. However, it all depends on were you would get the jobs because the commute to Orlando is not that desirable. However, you may want to look into the Windermere area - it is centrally located and has a lot of nice communities. Depending on what field your husband specializes in would better establish what kind of salary you should expect. I know the Engineers that I worked with at Disney a few years ago (Ride and Show engineers) were making around $75 grand a year. Hope this helps.

[Ash5705]

I live in the Avalon Park neighborhood and love it. The people here are great, the schools are grade A, and there is so much to do as a family unit or as a single professional. The nieghborhood is somewhat new, only a few years old, and it really feels like a small town yet your so close to the urban lifestyle if you choose.

I work at the Orlando Airport and it takes me about 25 minutes to get to work. My wife works in downtown and that is normally a 30 minute to 45 minute commute.

[WCFORME]

Try the Hunters Creek/Loop area of Kissimmee, South Orlando - beautiful homes, well-kept neighborhoods and lots of new stores, restaurants, etc - it's getting better here literally every day! Windermere is also nice but very, very expensive!

[kvoss016]

We are looking to relocate to the Central Florida area also. We have three children. We have been looking at the Eustis and Apopka area. We toured the Eustis area and really loved it. Have looked a little at the Apopka area because it is closer to downtown but have not looked at it extensively. Take a look at www.cambridgeorlando.com. That is probably who we are looking at doing our home. We have met with them several times and have fallen in love with the floorplan on the Versailles/Georgetown II. Keep me in touch on any info you may come across, we are looking at relocating in the Spring of 2008 after I complete graduate school.

[SuzieB]

I moved to Longwood/Altamonte Springs about 4 years ago from Maryland. We are looking to get out of Florida due to the fact that we can't afford a house in the areas we like. Now the property tax and insurance prices, especially since 05' hurricane season has really put many people out of the market. We had 3 canes 1st was Charley make a direct hit on us. Not Fun!!! Salaries are lower even though cost of living is growing. Be aware that you could be paying several thousands a year for insurance. Also many companies are pulling out of the state altogether.
As for nice areas, Longwood, Lake Mary, Heathrow, Winter Springs are the best Seminole county towns. Schools are way better in Seminole. I wouldn't go to Lake or Osceola counties. Orange has good pockets like Windermere or Avalon on south east side and of course most of Winter Park is nice but pricey all of them. Parts of Apopka are nice just check out the schools. Eustis is more rural and getting from the area to Orlando is a haul and the schools are questionable. Renting is very expensive here as well and there is a lack of units due to the condo conversion boom. Crime has been increasing big time.

Now the good things! Lots to do within a hour from home, Disney, Sea world, Daytona beach and Nascar if you into that. We go fossil hunting for extinct shark teeth and find Mammoth teeth and such a few hours from us. The temps never exceed mid 90's but humid it is. Winter time is great. However is you have allergies this is a bad place. I didn't have them til I moved down here, now I have sinus headaches more often than not.

Hope this helps!

[Seabeacon]

We are moving to Wedgefield in east Orange county. You get multiple acres and it's out of the hustle bustle of Orlando.

[rickle]

Originally Posted by floridaornyc

We would like to move to FL and I would like any help with picking the best neighborhood to live in. I have two small children and both my husband and I are college graduates. My husband is an electrical engineer and I am a preschool teacher. Of course we will be trying to get jobs within our fields. We want a quiet neighborhood (we are just entering our 30s) with clean, responsible homeowners, good schools, newly built homes under 500k. Which builder would you suggest? What is the salary for an engineer? Is Davenport a good place to live?

Central Florida on the coast is beautiful. We moved here from Ft Lauderdale and we are happy we made the change.
I'm not sure about schools as we are semi-retired and my kids are grown.
Check it out

[rholborn]

hi ! i am from new york. central florida is great with job opportunities and for raising a family, and it is not nearly as expensive as south florida! davenport, i am unsure about though!