Considering Relocating To Orlando Area (Tampa, Sarasota: transplants, new home, low crime)

[CURT]

Originally Posted by pianogal

What a surprise.....he's baaaaaack!!!!! LOL

it was to be expected....for a day or 2 without the garbage the "not to come to florida" comments were intelligent....time to get more trash mouth i guess

[Dee2e]

Originally Posted by CURT

it was to be expected....for a day or 2 without the garbage the "not to come to florida" comments were intelligent....time to get more trash mouth i guess

Why do people have to be like that? I guess it's the "misery loves company" theory. It drives me crazy!

No area is perfect but some of the scare tactics used here are rediculous.

Sunbane, Lake Mary is a nice community. I live just next to Lake Mary in Longwood, which is also a nice community. Seminole County schools are pretty good. However, it is still a growing County and some parts are crowded. Three is still a lot of undeveloped land, however.

Visit and see for yourself. Make up your own mind about various areas.

[nitaporter1]

I am a BSF who recently transferred from a job in south-eastern Arizona to north-central West Virginia. Besides the culture shock, i have not experienced cold weather like this for 10 years. My current job has a location in Longwood, Florida, which is just north of Orlando. I have been reading the posts here about Orlando; however, does anyone have any thoughts about Longwood?

[Randman]

Hi all. A Kansas City, MO person, who is possibly going to be hired by the mouse for a position (flying out in a few weeks).

If one is working at Disney, what are the good areas to live? We have a 2 year old son, so that is a factor, as well. So, we'll want some decent schools.

Reading the boards, I guess I'm a little confused at the negative comments. 3 murders in 6 months is bad? KC has had over 100 each year for the past couple of years. There are good and bad areas, so I wouldn't broadbrush the entire city due to the crime in the inner city.

Other than traffic, multi-cultural issue and heat, what's wrong?

Thanks!

[pianogal]

Other than traffic, multi-cultural issue and heat, what's wrong?

Our biggest concern right now is the insurance crisis...and it really is a crisis. I don't think you'll hear anyone debate that. If you're in Orlando away from the coasts and have established credit, I wouldn't think it would be too bad for you.

As far as areas to live and have easy access to Disney, I would suggest you look at Winter Garden. There are a number of posts here that describe all the nice things happening there and it's convenient to Disney. I would be careful about living in a neighborhood too close to Disney without checking it out carefully. Many of the homes have been purchased by investors for vacation/rental homes. That is NOT true of every neighborhood. One particularly nice neighborhood that is close to Disney is Hunter's Creek and although I'm sure there are some rentals, it is primarily owner occupied. I don't know about the schools in the area. Perhaps someone else can speak to that issue.

Good Luck. I have several friends who also work for the mouse! You're in good company!

[Dee2e]

Originally Posted by nitaporter1

I am a BSF who recently transferred from a job in south-eastern Arizona to north-central West Virginia. Besides the culture shock, i have not experienced cold weather like this for 10 years. My current job has a location in Longwood, Florida, which is just north of Orlando. I have been reading the posts here about Orlando; however, does anyone have any thoughts about Longwood?

I moved to Longwood in 1991 and love it here. It's conveniently located, schools are very good, and it's a very pleasant town. We are near shopping, banking, and lots of good places to eat. We're 35 minutes from Disney World and about the same distance to the beach.

[nitaporter1]

Dear Dee2e,
thank you for your response. do you mind if i address a few specific areas?
specially, is the cost of living high and crime rates high in longwood.

[Dee2e]

Originally Posted by nitaporter1

Dear Dee2e,
thank you for your response. do you mind if i address a few specific areas?
specially, is the cost of living high and crime rates high in longwood.

http://www.seminoletax.org/SCTAXEST.HTM (broken link) will link you to the tax estimator for Seminole County. You would put in the adjusted value of the home then select the City or unincorporated area (Longwood is a City in Seminole County) and it will calculate the City and County property taxes. If you live in your home, you would get a homestead exemption on at 25,000 of the home's value.

http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/FSAC/Cri...nds/Map/59.htm Seminole County Crime stats for 2004/2005

http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/FSAC/UCR...y_annual05.pdf Crime stats for the State

http://www.disastercenter.com/florid...ongwoodPD.html Longwood Crime Stats 2004 The second column rates per 100,000 people using mathmatical conversions since the population at the time was just over 13,000.

http://www.ci.longwood.fl.us/ City of Longwood website

I hope you can find what you are looking for with the links provided.

[rogercobb]

I moved from Citrus County to Orlando in Oct. 2005 to work at a hotel. All I can say is do some research and visit different neighborhoods of Orlando at night. The person Christian is very accurate in his posts. I can remember visiting Orlando in the mid-late 90's going downtown and having lots of fun AND feeling pretty safe. Now..this city basically sucks. There is SO much road rage in Orlando. MUCH more than in Boston, NYC, and DC yet less people in Orlando. Go figure. I hate to say this but there are quite a few shallow and stupid people in the area and its real hard to find down-to-earth sincere folks here. History and culture is non-existant and the traffic is atrocious for a city of approximately 200,000 people. It is broiling hot in the summer with mid 90's every day for 4-5 months straight. Others have mentioned the language barriers and when you come to Orlando you will feel like you are in Puerto Rico or Mexico with all the people hablo'ing away in this and that. Muscle shirts, pants down below the butt crack, gold chains and earrings, sideways baseball caps, lousy bass music, and bad attitudes abound here! All of Florida is not like this and in fact much of the rest of the state is better such as the Tampa/St.Pete area, Sarasota/Bradenton, Ocala, or the beaches up in the Panhandle. These areas seem to have more Midwest transplants, less crime, more sincere people and English is still the primary language (unlike Orlando). Do yourself a favor and check them out

[rogercobb]

Please do some research on Orlando. There are plenty of nicer places in the state to live...like in Tampa/St.Pete, Sarasota/Bradenton, and on the beaches of the Panhandle. Do you speak Spanish? well, you'll need to with all the people from Puerto Rico and Mexico speaking loud and fast everywhere ya go. Spanish is the dominant language in Orlando. The road rage here is INSANE. I've driven through DC, NYC, and Boston and it doiesn't come close to being as bad as Orlando. There is no history or culture here and the city is SO spread out and traffic is bad for a city of 200,000 people. May-Oct is brutally hot...you'll feel like you're living on the sun and so bright. the people are not welcoming overall and unhelpful when asking for directions. People that have lived here for years give horrible directions. Not smart at all. On the positive note the fall and winter temps are nice, every type of chain is here, and shops stay open pretty late, downtown looks nice, and a lot of the women here are attractive. Foe someone relocating to Florida I'd recommend Tampa/St.Pete area. There seem to be more down-to-earth people, more Midwest transplants, and people still speak English!