Orlando, Boca or Jacksonville? (Miami, Tampa: oceanfront, condos, high crime)

[GLS2010]

Originally Posted by stevo75

I really appreciate everyone's input, as long as I'm within 45 minutes to 1 hour or so from the coast it will work for me. Our office in Orlando is off of Rt4 close to Eatonville so Oviedo looks like a good option. Are there any other areas near Oviedo I should look at. It almost looks like Cocoa Beach is the best or should I say closest beach to Oviedo!?

Currently I live in the central mass area where cows crossing the street are normal but I work in Boston so I'm use to both.

Again thank you all with the great feedback.

Cocoa beach, or New Symerna beach are the two closest beaches, im not sure which is closer. Other nice areas around Oviedo would be Waterford Lakes/ Avalon park (thats where i live), Winter Springs, and the 419 & 50 area is also nice.

[OrlandoRE_Miracle]

One other thing to consider: your homeowner's insurance in Boca (and maybe Tampa as well) will probably be a lot higher than the other 3 places you mentioned.

[nativefla]

In the Orlando area, Lake Mary and Longwood are nice suburban areas with lush vegetation, mature trees and really good schools. They are right off I-4 so it's an easy commute to Eatonville. You don't see the typical cookie-cutter subdivisions with no trees you see in south Orlando. Lake Mary was voted the #4 area to live in the U.S. by CNN/Money Magazine, #1 in the south. Good transportation, good schools, abundant recreation opportunities, clean industry and office parks all contribute to the appeal. Sorry to sound like a chamber of commerce ad but I'm in the real estate business in Orlando and Lake Mary is a very popular area with people relocating from outside of the area. Oh yeah, 45 minutes to New Smyrna Beach. PM me and I'll send you some links to neighborhood sites.

[Wilshire81182]

I live in Orlando and post on here a lot. I love Orlando and others have already given plenty of reason to move there, so I will leave Orlando out.

I agree with others that Jacksonville is kind of dull. I would not choose it. If you post this same question in the Jax forum, I think the opinions will differ and the reasons for choosing Jacksonville will be explained better. All I know is living in Orlando, I go to Tampa and Miami (South Florida in general) fairly often but I never have any reason to go to Jacksonville. It is kind of the same Charlotte attraction thing that I do not fully understand.

But I want to be one that recommends Boca Raton to a certain degree. I like the cosmopolitan culture of South Florida, the major city feel (much larger than the other areas metro-wise that you mentioned), the proximity to the beach, great dining and shopping (less chains than the other areas), better year round climate (warmer, milder winter, ocean breeze).

The only reasons I would pick Orlando over Boca is that people are very pretentious in South Florida, and Boca is among the worst. I remember getting attitude from the hostess at P.F. Chang's rolling her eyes. I swear she thought she was a supermodel. I had words for her, but it was not worth it. I don't care if your parents owned half of Boca, you are a hostess at a restaurant and while that does not make me better than you by any means, it also does not mean you should be uppity. It seems like countless experiences like this dot my experience in Boca and other parts of South Florida. Anyway, some other things are the larger susceptibileness to hurricanes, a larger income disparity, some issues with a language barrier, etc.

Some things are pretty similar, crime, traffic, aggressive driving, rude people, etc.

[Crane's Rooster]

If the water is that important to you Tampa is also a really good option for you. The bay is absolutely beautiful. However, as many posters have stated, Orlando is not all that far from the water. Also keep in mind Orlando has ton of really good ski/fishing lakes. If you are able to afford waterfront property you would have the option of using your lake during the week and towing to the ocean on the weekends (I'm assuming you own a boat based on your post). With the location of your work I would really consider Altamonte/Longwood/Wekiwa area. For some one in your situation I would look at property with access to Bear Lake or Lake Brantley. Both are in a great school district and both Lakes are very large and popular among water lovers. Also they would be very close to your work. Hope this helps and good luck.

[psouth]

Originally Posted by stevo75

My wife and I have decided to move to Florida from Massachusetts but not sure where. We have always wanted to move to Florida but are firm believers in having jobs lined up. I will be transferring to one of 5 offices in my current company. My first choices are in order Orlando, Boca/FT Lauderdale or Jacksonville. We also have offices in Tampa and Tallhassee. My wife is an RN and shouldn't have an issue finding work and I am an Engineer. We have two kids, a 3 year old girl and 3 month old son. I have read nice comments for the city of Oviedo if I were to choose Orlando. What is important to us is school system, beaches within 45 minutes (boatgoer/offshore fisherman), convenience of shopping, outdoor activities, fitness centers and any other obvious requests. Boca sounds appealing but not sure if it's too Rodeo Drive like.

Any input would be appreciated.



Steve

I think you need to decide on whether you prefer living inland or on the coast. To most Florida is all about the ocean and the breeze. Take that away and you may as well just move to Alabama. Inland Florida is like an oven in the summer with crazy humidity not to mention bugs and mosquitoes galore. Orlando has become a traffic nightmare with exploding crime as well. There are nice areas but lots of riff raff and something to consider.

As far as the coast goes, I would stay away from Jacksonville. It is old skool and has nothing to offer. Since you both have excellent jobs you would have no problem living in a great area no matter where you go. Ft. Lauderdale/Boca would be my choice. The main issue with Boca is that it is very affluent and full of rich old Jews who can be pretty snooty. But there are great places to live which are family oriented. It has all the restaurants and other activities as well as a state university. It is not Rodeo Dr. like. You would have to go to Palm Beach for that. You will find snobs in any affluent town in America. I would take that over gangs any day. Ft. Lauderdale has just about everything depending on where you live. Again with your jobs you can live in very nice and safe areas. It sounds like you can even consider the Coral Springs area which is very nice.

The best thing about the Ft. Lauderdale and Boca areas is access to everything the Gold Coast has to offer such as Miami, Palm Beach County, all the action of Ft. Lauderdale, etc. None of the other locations will give you this. Jacksonville is rednecky and isolated. Orlando is inland and not convenient to other places. Tampa has its own thing but is on the other coast. It is hotter and no breeze in the summer.

Nowhere is perfect. There is nothing to be afraid of in nice areas of Boca or Ft. Lauderdale though. If you do not mind the heat and being away from the coast then look into Orlando. I would mainly concentrate on these choices though. The only other one would be Tampa possibly.

[right-here-i-say]

One more consideration. You are leaving Mass for Florida. This is a major change. (I moved from the rust belt to Orlando a while back)

At first, you will probably love every change, I did. But after a while, you may miss some of the milder weather, the different types of trees (and seasons), architecture of houses, etc. Jacksonville is usually 10 degrees cooler than everywhere else, they have more Oak/Maple trees, and the architecture may be more comfortable for you than the other places you asked about. Jacksonville will give you a Fall and Spring, whereas the others are strictly Palm Trees and Live Oaks (no Fall colors).

Just a thought.

[stevo75]

Great feedback and very appreciative! I am liking the areas surrounding Oviedo from some of the posters descriptions. Lakes are really not my thing, for my boat it would be like putting a jet ski in a swimming pool,LOL! Being near the coast is important but I don't need to be right there. I presently tow 1-1.5 hours in Mass. What is more important are the school system and the town structure.

I hear a lot about gangs down in the Boca surrounding areas but are these really gangs or kids dressed like thugs? I here the same around here but they are just kids dressed up.

Would Coral Springs be a terrible drive to Orlando (my office). Currently I drive 1 hour to work and from.

I certaily will miss many aspects of the Northeast but I also think we will gain many. What would be worse is not trying it out and kicking myself down the road, besides I could always come back. I feel fortunate to be in a situation with a company that has many offices so why not take advantage of it.

Anywho very good info and I hope to hear some more, thank you.

[Wilshire81182]

Originally Posted by stevo75

Great feedback and very appreciative! I am liking the areas surrounding Oviedo from some of the posters descriptions. Lakes are really not my thing, for my boat it would be like putting a jet ski in a swimming pool,LOL! Being near the coast is important but I don't need to be right there. I presently tow 1-1.5 hours in Mass. What is more important are the school system and the town structure.


I hear a lot about gangs down in the Boca surrounding areas but are these really gangs or kids dressed like thugs? I here the same around here but they are just kids dressed up.

Would Coral Springs be a terrible drive to Orlando (my office). Currently I drive 1 hour to work and from.

I certaily will miss many aspects of the Northeast but I also think we will gain many. What would be worse is not trying it out and kicking myself down the road, besides I could always come back. I feel fortunate to be in a situation with a company that has many offices so why not take advantage of it.

Anywho very good info and I hope to hear some more, thank you.

1) Some of the lakes here are very large so this is not always the case. If you look at a map see Lake Jessup, Lake Apopka, Lake Tohopekaliga and others that are a considerable size. A lot of these lakes have gators especially Jessup, but they are very large as are several in the Lake Butler chain.

2) If you are referring to Coral Springs in South Florida this is a 2.5-3 hour drive with low to moderate traffic and can easily be longer if there is traffic.

[OrlandoRE_Miracle]

The bad parts that I've seen personally are in West Palm Beach and Riviera Beach, which are well north of Boca. Delray is nice but has some shady areas. I think Boca is fine--I've never heard of gangs there.

Originally Posted by stevo75

Great feedback and very appreciative! I am liking the areas surrounding Oviedo from some of the posters descriptions. Lakes are really not my thing, for my boat it would be like putting a jet ski in a swimming pool,LOL! Being near the coast is important but I don't need to be right there. I presently tow 1-1.5 hours in Mass. What is more important are the school system and the town structure.

I hear a lot about gangs down in the Boca surrounding areas but are these really gangs or kids dressed like thugs? I here the same around here but they are just kids dressed up.

Would Coral Springs be a terrible drive to Orlando (my office). Currently I drive 1 hour to work and from.

I certaily will miss many aspects of the Northeast but I also think we will gain many. What would be worse is not trying it out and kicking myself down the road, besides I could always come back. I feel fortunate to be in a situation with a company that has many offices so why not take advantage of it.

Anywho very good info and I hope to hear some more, thank you.