[Jelliedfox]

Hi! I am planning on moving to Florida sometime the end of this year. We are saving a big time and would like to know some nice places outside of orlando to look at? We are willing to move as far as but no further than 1-3 hours away due to family being in Orlando.

So far, I like:

Rockledge
Punta Gorda
Naples
North Port
And Port Saint Lucie
Oviedo

These ive been to and are a no:

Altamonte springs
Maitland
Ocoe
dr. philips
windermere
Clermont (I didnt like the apartments but clermont is so nice lol)
Lake Mary
Winter Park
Longwood

The only reason those places are a no is because they are either way too expensive, too close to orlando and family, and because ive been there and there were still high crime reports. :/

So far, top 3 are:

Port Saint Lucie
Naples
Rockledge

What we are looking for is this: Low crime and an activity friendly area. We have a 10 month old son, and good schools are semi-important. I want him to have a good education, but I also dont want him cramming for hours with buckets of homework like some top notch schools have. So in the middle is fine by me. Especially since NJ schools suck. -__-

Activities we like are fishing, hiking, theme parks, etc. The beach is nice, but not necessity.

As for jobs. My fiance works at Walmart and I work for Animal Control. So, as long as there is jobs, we are fine with any area. (I have to go back to school so we will be using savings for rent for the the first 3 to 4 months)

Now, a little backstory on why CRIME IS THE MOST IMPORTANT:
I moved to Florida once before. We werent ready and moved back to Jersey, but now we are officially ready. When we moved, Altamonte Springs was on the list of okay crime. We were wrong. Crime ratings were B+ and to me, it was an F! We were in FL for 6 months and these things happened: A drive by shooting in front of the best buy, two stores getting robbed, a friend of mine on the I-4 side house got robbed, someone got stabbed and there was a huge traffic chase. Thats all a no-no. I understand that , "crime happens everywhere" but where I live- the worst thing youve heard of was some idiot stealing from a Walmart. Everything else like the above was miles away. So yeah, I want something like that. No major crime. So please, refrain from posting, "everywhere is crime" or you havent heard anything, etc. If allowed, I'd like to post one link to a crime reporting website that I like, its: HomeFacts.com Enter the area you're erecommended me in there and click, "crime stats". If anything is above 50 in the total and violent crime index, its a no from me. And if property crime is above 60 it is also a no. Im sorry, I am VERY PICKY! D:

Last thing, we are looking into townhomes or apartments. Some of the nicer places that I liked didnt have any apartments, xD

Thanks in advanced,
Bethanie

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by Jelliedfox

Hi! I am planning on moving to Florida sometime the end of this year. We are saving a big time and would like to know some nice places outside of orlando to look at? We are willing to move as far as but no further than 1-3 hours away due to family being in Orlando.

So far, I like:

Rockledge
Punta Gorda
Naples
North Port
And Port Saint Lucie
Oviedo

These ive been to and are a no:
Altamonte springs
Maitland
Ocoe
dr. philips
windermere
Clermont (I didnt like the apartments but clermont is so nice lol)
Lake Mary
Winter Park
Longwood

The only reason the last 3 are a no is because they are either way too expensive, and because ive been there and there were still high crime reports. :/

So far, are top 3 are:

Port Saint Lucie
Naples
Rockledge

What we are looking for is this: Low crime and an activity friendly area. We have a 10 month old son, and good schools are semi-important. I want him to have a good education, but I also dont want him cramming for hours with buckets of homework like some top notch schools have. So in the middle is fine by me. Especially since NJ schools suck. -__-

Activities we like are fishing, hiking, theme parks, etc. The beach is nice, but not necessity.

As for jobs. My fiance works at Walmart and I work for Animal Control. So, as long as there is jobs, we are fine with any area. (I have to go back to school so we will be using savings for rent for the the first 3 to 4 months)

Now, a little backstory on why CRIME IS THE MOST IMPORTANT:
I moved to Florida once before. We werent ready and moved back to Jersey, but now we are officially ready. When we moved, Altamonte Springs was on the list of okay crime. We were wrong. Crime ratings were B+ and to me, it was an F! We were in FL for 6 months and these things happened: A drive by shooting in front of the best buy, two stores getting robbed, a friend of mine on the I-4 side house got robbed, someone got stabbed and there was a huge traffic chase. Thats all a no-no. I understand that , "crime happens everywhere" but where I live- the worst thing youve heard of was some idiot stealing from a Walmart. Everything else like the above was miles away. So yeah, I want something like that. No major crime. So please, refrain from posting, "everywhere is crime" or you havent heard anything, etc. If allowed, I'd like to post one link to a crime reporting website that I like, its: HomeFacts.com Enter the area you're erecommended me in there and click, "crime stats". If anything is above 50 in the total and violent crime index, its a no from me. And if property crime is above 60 it is also a no. Im sorry, I am VERY PICKY! D:

Last thing, we are looking into townhomes or apartments. Some of the nicer places that I liked didnt have any apartments, xD

Thanks in advanced,
Bethanie

Lake Mary and Longwood too expensive and crime heavy? Well what kind of rent are you looking to pay??? And the vast majority of Lake Mary/Longwood is VERY safe.
What's wrong with Maitland?
And did you only look at one apartment complex in Clermont?

[Jelliedfox]

I'm sorry, I dont agree., I drove through all of those areas and sent crime alerts to my email. Lake mary had a lot of in store robberies and (two at gun point) and Longwood's crime was worse on the facts report as well as email.

The more expensive places were windermere, and dr phillips. I need to edit that part of my post xD

And im looking for a 2 or 3 bedroom between 1200-1600. The townhome I saw in st. lucie was 1500 for a 3 bedroom so that was almost perfect. I just want second, third, fourth, fifth, etc opinions lol

I looked at 8 apartments in Clermont. Like I said, I am very picky. I just didnt like them. Their square foot size for a 2-bedroom was something around 1,100 and was smaller than the places Ive looked at elsewhere which were larger for the same price. ^-^

Also, Longwood is too close to orlando. I want to be at least 45 minutes away.

[kyle19125]

I have lived here for 4 years, preceded by my parents in the same house for 30+ years, and despite your assertion of a deeper understanding via a drive-through and texted crime stats Lake Mary/West Sanford has one of the lowest crime rates in Florida.

[Jelliedfox]

Did you read what I wrote?

I have been to both sanford and Lake Mary. I drove down a street for five minutes and had some guy banging at my window asking me for money and food. I was in Sanford getting gas and a cross the street, someone was getting arrested for possessing some sort of drugs and illegal guns. Im not into that, sorry. If you never saw it, GREAT. But i dont want be to there.

If youre not going to suggest anything and instead say im wrong about the crime rates then please, dont post here. I want suggestions of places to look up, if yours is on the list already for whatever reasons "yes or a no" then dont post or suggest nice areas in those places (of yeses) or tell me more about the yes places.
Please and thank you.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by Jelliedfox

Did you read what I wrote?

I have been to both sanford and Lake Mary. I drove down a street for five minutes and had some guy banging at my window asking me for money and food. I was in Sanford getting gas and a cross the street, someone was getting arrested for possessing some sort of drugs and illegal guns. Im not into that, sorry. If you never saw it, GREAT. But i dont want be to there.

If youre not going to suggest anything and instead say im wrong about the crime rates then please, dont post here. I want suggestions of places to look up, if yours is on the list already for whatever reasons "yes or a no" then dont post or suggest nice areas in those places (of yeses) or tell me more about the yes places.
Please and thank you.

I'll take a wild guess and say the beggar was at the I4 Offramp and SR 46 intersection? So a dude decides to plop himself at a busy intersection where he knows individuals with handsome incomes frequent. You'll see this everywhere in FL where there is a major intersection.

Florida is full of gun nuts and druggies... everywhere you go. You will seriously see things like this in every town in FL.
Now I assure you, had you gone to the West side of Lake Mary/Sanford/Longwood (International Pkwy, Heathrow, Markham, Orange St, even Longwood Hills and the Woolands Elementary area...just to name a FEW) I'm SURE you'd have an entirely different perspective on the area.
If you saw that kind of foolishness in these towns (statistically some of the lowest crime-ridden parts of Florida), what makes you think you'll see less of it in towns statistically proven to be more dangerous/less safe?

Longwood "crime" is basically limited to a small stretch nearing Altamonte and again at a small stretch nearing Casselberry.

Oviedo is nice (although no different than Lake Mary and Longwood, really, but w/e.) Can you afford to live there? Keep in mind most landlords want you to be able to show proof that you bring home at least 3x the rent.

[Jelliedfox]

No, it was on a side street. My encounters were all local, and in front of little businesses like Wendys. In faaact, the beggar was actually two blocks away from the sanford Walmart. Then there is the news that always has Sanford on it. and dont get me starts on how thee crime index its well over 100 in every aspect. noooo thaaaanks. lol

Anyway, I am just restating the fact that I mentioned that in my first post I dont want to hear counter arguments to my crime analysis. I had bad experiences and one is enough for me since I never had that issue.

I am in the range of 1200-1600 for a 2 bedroom. The ones that I saw that I liked were about 1100-1300 square feet for about 1295-1475. But these were in the 1 hour to 2 hour away from orlando. Which is what I WANT.

Oviedo I found myself going back to a lot, but it is very low on my list. I feel it is a last resort considering it still a little close to Orlando and I want to be at least an hours drive away.

Thanks

And just saying:

Oviedo crime index:
Total Crime Index

20.16
Violent Crime Index

6.76
Property Crime Index

51.43

Longwood:
Total Crime Index

49.34
Violent Crime Index

24.70
Property Crime Index

106.82

Big difference in property crime index and double in violent crime.. I said nothing above 60 for property crime and its over 100.

I am sorry, I am just very picky with these things. That is why I laid everything out in the first post.
Any info on my Top 3?

[HarryWho?]

I'd like to know where you live in Jersey that's so crime free...

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by Jelliedfox

Hi! I am planning on moving to Florida sometime the end of this year. We are saving a big time and would like to know some nice places outside of orlando to look at? We are willing to move as far as but no further than 1-3 hours away due to family being in Orlando.

So far, I like:

Rockledge
Punta Gorda
Naples
North Port
And Port Saint Lucie
Oviedo

Rockledge: Crime index is lower than the towns you complain about. (The higher the number, the safer.
Punta Gorda: Half the town is over 65. It's a retirement town.
Naples: And crime is one of your main concerns, yes?
North Port: This might work for you, income-wise and crime-wise. It's nowhere close to being close to Orlando, though.
Port St-Lucie: A pretty big city. Renting a decent place there will be costly.

Maybe you should move out to the country? Like... Paisley, FL?

[Jelliedfox]

I don't mind living in an retirement town. I'm not a busy person. I want quiet and homey.
Lucie I found a town home for 1500 and that was a 3 bedroom Lol that and all the activity up there is nice.
I don't mind being Two or three hours away from Orlando.
What is paisley like?