My thoughts on Avalon (Orlando, Osprey: transplants, leasing, crime)

[Mr. Shankly]

Hey everyone. Just wrapped up my first year in Orlando and wanted to give some feedback. This will pertain mostly to the Avalon Park area and could get a little lengthy, so just take it for what it is worth.

I lived in a 5 bedroom/4 bathroom house in the Osprey Ridge portion of the Avalon Park community. I was leasing with 4 friends and we were all students. The house itself wasn't that bad - although it is the "cookie-cutter" style which I don't care for - but I wound up having several issues with the location.

1. There is definitely a crime element that should be considered. Several homes were broken into further down our street and a number of vehicles were broken into/vandalized, as well. It wasn't unusual at all to come home and see police cars blocking the streets as they responded to a call. I don't want to make it sound like this stuff happened every single day, but it was a consistent issue throughout the year. It seemed like the homes that were targeted were the ones located deeper within the community; away from the boulevard. At first I didn't like that our house was located so close to the entrance and the main boulevard, but as the year went on I became grateful just because it seemed like a deterrent. It would be harder for the invaders to make off with your T.V. and stuff being in plain view of a Walgreens, some restaurants, an elementary school, etc. Having said that, it still didn't stop our vehicles from getting messed with, so we weren't completely immune either. Anyway, I hate to make it sound like Liberty City or something - it's not to that level - but unfortunately it's an element that must be considered if you're planning on moving here.

2. I felt like the whole "family community" aspect was nonexistant. This didn't really matter so much to me being a single student, but it's just an observation since that is more or less what this development seems to advertise. This wasn't an area in which I would want to raise a family at all. I can see what the developers were thinking when they designed it and I feel like the concept was valiant, but somewhere along the line it went off the rails. None of our neighbors represented the "traditional family" demographic. Perhaps there could have been more of a family vibe up near the high school and the plaza, but I just didn't see it down where we were. Like I said, I would not recommend bringing your family here. It can be deceiving because there is an extensive sidewalk network, some park/playground areas, and the schools are walkable distance from the homes, but I wouldn't consider it safe or family-friendly. When I first moved in, I felt like I would use those sidewalk trails a lot for running or to walk up to the shopping center, etc., but for all the above mentioned reasons it was a lot more foreboding and I wound up using my car almost exclusively. We would walk as a group to Tijuana Flats every now and then, but that was pretty much it. I just don't feel like that area of Orlando will ever conform to the vision of the developers.

3. The company that is contracted to enforce the parking rules is incredibly mindless and annoying. I don't have a problem with the community's parking regulations. They are forced to have them because of the layout of the neighborhood and the way the public sidewalks cut across a sizeable portion of every driveway. It's just kind of an odd design and the regulations are needed to keep everything in line. I get that. However, I walked out one morning - closer to noon - and I had like 4 or 5 citations on my windshield all notifying me that my tire was apparently touching the grass. So, I was kind of concerned because I didn't know what the consequences were for those tickets and I called up the company to get some info. They informed me that they were warnings and, although there were no fines, if I accumulated a certain number of citations then my car would be towed. I was like, "Why did you write me 5 citations in one night for the same violation when I obviously was asleep inside and wouldn't even learn about it until the next day?" It's not like I even had a realistic chance to respond to the warning citations in that scenario. The guy was like, "Well, there are different shifts and each patrol can write a ticket for the violation." So basically, from what I gathered, you could be in violation of one of their parking policies and, if enough of their stooges drive by one night and write you up for it, your car could be towed without you ever knowing why. I realize its my job to read the rules, but in this case it was pretty ambiguous. In that situation I should have had maybe 2 citations max. Definitely not 4 or 5. It's a minor point, but this was something that irked me about Avalon. Fortunately, I never had another warning or anything the rest of the year and I still have no clue what the magic number is before your car gets hauled off. I just know it would be nice if their rent-a-cops would maybe focus more on identifying the hoodrats who are raping and pillaging the houses instead of whether a tire is barely grazing a blade of grass.

4. The morning commute into the city was another issue for me. There's a certain bottle-necking effect that occurs in the mornings at rush hour in that stretch from Avalon Park Blvd. onto 50, and then on 50 up to roughly Alafaya. It's pretty much dead stop traffic and I assume it's because everyone is trying to merge onto the 408. I think the fact that parents are dropping their kids off at the schools makes it worse. I don't know. But, basically, if you leave Avalon Park during this time, be prepared for it to take about an hour to get into Orlando. The most maddening thing is that most of that hour will be spent from Avalon Park Blvd. to the 408. I finally decided to just start getting up at like 5 am and getting out before it got congested. Keep in mind that I was new to the area and didn't know many alternate routes. I learned about Lake Underhill and Curry Ford after a while, but that can be a nightmare too. The other issue I had with traffic in the area is exiting the 408 onto 50 when you're coming back east to Avalon. You have to watch out because the right lane ends rather quickly; forcing anyone who is going beyond that first light (which means anyone who is going to Avalon) to merge left almost immediately. Of course, if there's dense traffic on 50, people freak out and it can be a complete travesty. I routinely noticed accidents at that location. Just something to keep an eye on if you will be traveling those roads a lot to and from Avalon.

So, anyway, these things kind of ruined Avalon for me. There are some positive aspects, though. For example, I enjoyed living so close to Waterford Lakes Town Center. The movie theatre there is outstanding and there are a ton of great restaurants, shops, etc. It was also nice being so close to the coast - one night we went to watch the shuttle go up and that was a memorable experience. However, in the end, Avalon just wasn't for me. I can only blame myself for not researching it better. It seemed like a great opportunity to live with friends in a good area for a very reasonable price, but I should have investigated it more. In reality, this is a community that has lost its identity, is dealing with crime issues, and is not a convenient location relative to the city. I'm looking to move downtown and I hope I'll see a different side of Orlando.

[Learflyer]

That area of "Avalon" is hardly "Avalon Park." None of the communities north of the High School have that "family feel." You're kind of (in my opinion) painting your statements with a very large brush. It's much nicer from the HS south then it is HS north. I used to live in Avalon Lakes which turned ghetto awefully quick.

[GLS2010]

I think he was talking about south of the HS. Either way I see a lot of families when I'm there, and the schools are rated well. I don't see what isn't so family friendly. But that's your opinion.

[Learflyer]

He was talking about Tijuana Flats, Walgreens, etc. To me, that's a whole different world up there.

[StreetSmarts]

Mr. Shankly,

I completely agree, especially the crime element and the non-existent community feel. Everyone is from somewhere else (or another country), the hispanic gangs seemed to increase in size and there were a lot of issues. I lived closer to the high -school, and it was worse than by your end. I live in Asheville NC now in an area with many transplants from elsewhere - most from FL - and its COMPLETELY different. I cant even explain it. A totally different breed of people up here, and were thankful to be in this area.

[GLS2010]

Originally Posted by Learflyer

He was talking about Tijuana Flats, Walgreens, etc. To me, that's a whole different world up there.

oh yea your right. I thought he was talking about the CVS by the publix.

[Mr. Shankly]

Yeah, I was in the Osprey Ridge portion down near the Camelot and Castle Creek elementary schools. I just realized that there were more elementary schools up near the Avalon plaza, so I see how my description could be confusing. Like I said, there may be sections that are better up by the high school and the plaza. I did my banking up there in that plaza and would sometimes shop at the Publix in there, and I thought it looked a little better. One thing I thought was pretty cool was that the Publix seemed to employ a lot of the high school kids. I think it's neat that the kids could potentially walk from their house to school and then to an after-school job. Where I'm from, that would have been impossible. I also thought the neighborhoods along Waterford Chase Parkway seemed nicer.

Having said that, I still don't feel like I'd want to raise a family in that area. I agree with ComSense. I think there's just too much of a transient dynamic to attain the idealistic vision of the developers.

[StreetSmarts]

^^^Orlando, and really pretty much all of FL is transient.

I actually think it's worse down by Waterford Trails and by the high-school. The closer to Alafaya, the better. The closer to 50/Colonial, the worse it seemed to get. Especially Waterford Trails or whatever it's called right there by 50/Colonial. That place is a disaster. dont get me wrong, it's not like Compton or Newark, but it's pretty sketchy in there.

[Learflyer]

AND they are building a new Aldi supermarket on 50/Avalon Pk Blvd. Yay. /sarcasm

[StreetSmarts]

^^^ Bad b/c of traffic you mean?