Possible relocation to Orlando (Altamonte Springs, Winter Springs: renting, high crime, house)

[memcgee]

My husband has a job opportunity in Orlando that he would like to pursue, but I am very resistant to moving to the Orlando area after reading many of the posts on this forum. We're currently living in the northeast while I'm attending graduate school, but we definitely do not want to stay here. There is nothing tying us down to any particular location, and basically the sky is the limit in terms of where we might want to live next.

As previously stated, many of the posts in this forum regarding the crime in Orlando are very concerning to me. One of the big reasons we want to leave our current location is because of the crime. The last thing I want to do is move from one high crime area to another. I guess my biggest question is what are the nice, SAFE areas in and around Orlando? We'd be looking to purchase a home as well, probably in the $250,000 to $300,000 range...what kind of neighborhood would that put us in? I'm not opposed to gated communities or anything like that, I just would like to be in an area that is primarily safe and isn't packed full of retired people and snowbirds (we're in our late 20's/early 30's and would love to live near people in a similar age range). We also don't mind commuting a bit of a distance if that's necessary. My husband's possible job would put him close to the downtown area. We'd be willing to live with a 45 minute to 1-hour commute if that would land us in a good community.

If anyone can provide any insight or constructive feedback, that would be really appreciated. Thanks!

[GregTraub]

Unfortunately in an online forum there tend to be the extreme ends of the spectum moved enough to post ... this forum is better than most, but there are still many discontents that, in my opinion, paint orlando to be the most dangerous place on the planet.

In the 10 years I have lived here I have only had one crime occur to me....and that was when I parked my car in a sketchy area near UCF....and that was just a broken window and stolen CD deck.

Like EVERYWHERE you may live there are the good area's and the bad area's. For buying or renting a home, in the 250-300K range you will be in the solid middle to upper middle class neighorhoods that you will not have much cause for concern within. And don't worry about snow-birds either While Florida is known as the retirement capital of the U.S. the Orlando Metro area is FAR from a retirement community.

Some of the area's that are highly rated and desired include Lake Mary, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Dr. Phillips, Windermere, Winter Park, Thornton Park, College Park, Lake Nona, etc...etc... Each will have their own unique feel.

[GLS2010]

places that your looking for include Oviedo (15 min commute), winter springs (20 min commute), lake Mary (20-25 min commute), winter park (10 min commute), dr Phillips (10 min commute, Baldwin park (5 min commute), lake nona (20 min commute), clermonte (25 min commute), Avalon Park (15 min commute). I'm cauculating the commute based on highway time, the time it would take you via highway to get from downtown orlando to the exit of the suburb.

[Broker Dave]

I would take a close look at the Horizon West section of Orange county which is the back side of Disney / Windermere areas, zoned urban with existing and new subdivisions, open air shopping and quick access to Route 429 Western Expy and Route 535.

Also Lake Mary (family lives here), Lake Nona (new Medical City), Winter Springs (Family lives here), Clermont (rural but changing)

[annerk]

I wouldn't call Clermont rural anymore. It was when we signed the paperwork to build our house 6.5 years ago. These days it's a full blown suburb.

Somehow I don't think of rural when I think of an area with a movie theater, dozens of restaurants, shopping centers with JC Penneys, Michaels, Kohls, Target, Belk, Wal-Mart, TJ Maxx, several larger private schools, and a populatioin of 23,000.

OP--in your price range you have a large selection of where to live. What you need to understand is that this area is very spread out, and in many cases there's not a good way to get from point A to point B. Where your husband will be working will have a large impact on where you'll want to live. If you could give us a little more info on that we could give you better suggestions.

[memcgee]

Thanks for all of the suggestions / information! He will be working out near the Orlando International Airport. Which neighborhoods have easiest access to the airport?

[annerk]

Lake Nona would probably be my first choice.

[Wilshire81182]

I think you would be perfectly happy and safe if you pick the aforementioned areas and some others. I will list them:

Winter Park, Lake Mary, Dr Phillips, Oviedo, Lake Nona, Windermere, Longwood, College Park, Lake Davis/Delaney Park, Thornton Park, Baldwin Park.

Most of these areas ^^ have a better share of educated individuals, professionals, etc.

Some decent areas that look appealing but are less so than my first list are: Waterford, Avalon Park, Ocoee, Altamonte Springs, Hunters Creek, Apopka, South Chase, Wyndham Lakes, Conway/Belle Isle, etc.
These are often the areas where people state that they buy into a nice area but have issues with crime or undesirables, etc. They are not horrible areas and they range from average (Altamonte/Ocoee) to pretty good (Hunters Creek/Apopka/Conway/Belle Isle).

For instance, I live in Conway and I am comfortable there and like my neighborhood, but there are some sketchy areas smaller crime issues and I am pretty close to the Semoran corridor where there is a lot of aggressive driving, crime, petty crime, etc. The first least is really the cream of the crop and the next list is the next rung down. There are definitely areas missing from this list, but most areas not listed are lower on the rungs.

[GLS2010]

if he's gonna be commuting from the airport, then ignore all the commute times I listed. from the airport the closest area would be lake nona, then Avalon area, then Oviedo or Baldwin park, then winter park or winter springs, then lake Mary, then clermonte.

[GregTraub]

If working at the airport, more northern area's like LakeMary, and even Winter Springs and Oviedo will be getting quite far for a daily commute to the airport. Like others have confirmed, Lake Nona and the Lake Hart area is the closest and and may seem like the best fit. Many of those I've worked with in that area work at OIA. Next best place with easy access would be Dr. Phillips. Then I'd suggest Stoneybrook East/Waterford Lakes and Avalon Park area. With a quick trip through the nice parts of Belle Isle.

It hasn't been mentioned yet but the Lee Vista area is just north of Lake Nona and is also a very beautiful area ....but has gotten a stigma recently because it used to be a bombing range way back when, whiched caused some serious issues with the residents a few years back. It's up to you whether you'd consider living there after you do your research, but the stigma has given what was built as a very well planned well located area lower than normal priced homes.

All those area's are considered relatively safe and keep you with a commute under 20-30 minutes. All the other area's unfortunately you will be looking at 45 minutes to an hour commute each way.