Is DeLand, Fl a nice place to retire to? (Tampa: low income, sales)

[FloridaNative35]

Originally Posted by americandreamdead

I'd rather retire in Detroit than DeLand.

Good. We wish you well on your move out of Florida.

[miaminolonger]

We are looking to move to Central Florida from South Florida. The taxes, hoa fees and cost of insurance has skyrocketed here. We are in our late 40's and work from home. Our kids are adults and on their own, it's just us two and our 3 golden retrievers. Where would you recommend that has a low crime area, property that will increase in value (supply and demand) and has all that a big city can offer , with a small town appeal? Deland, Altamonte Springs, Winter Park, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Casselberry, Clermont.
We're just starting on our research and are hoping that some of you can share your thoughts/opinions on this matter.

Thank You.

[Penelope55]

We are also targeting Central Floida for our retirement. We visited Victoria Gardens and were very impressed. The amenities and homes were beautiful. Does anyone know anything about this community or the Deland area?

[Grumpyprof]

Penelope55

We also have visited 8-9 different 55+ communities in the central Florida area and, late this summer, were at Victoria Gardens.

Most of the other communities we visited were perfectly nice and we probably could happily live in at least a couple of them. We especially liked the mature landscaping and community feel of Kings Ridge, found Mt. Dora to be the most quaint downtown, and thought Dell Webb and Trilogy both had a great clubhouse. But when we added up the overall pros and cons, Victoria Gardens came out on top...at least for us.

Our main reasons for preferring Victoria Gardens over the others are as follows: the security (the entrance is guarded and not just a gate with a combination that you press to get it to lift); we thought the landscaping and layout of the community were very appealing; the Kolter home models are what we are looking for in design and price; the clubhouse seems to be quite active and a place to meet others ( the "pub" was a nice plus); we are glad that the other three Victoria Park communities are mixed age - we like the privacy of the 55+ along with the variety; we like the fact that Deland is a college town and has a clean and active downtown (we stopped in to visit several stores and couldn't have been received more warmly); if you get tired of the downtown it's only a few minutes to the Seminole Town Shopping Mall; it's near enough to Orlando and the theme parks to get there easily but far enough away to avoid the constant traffic of Orlando and the parks; there is a medical office pretty much on-site; proximity to east coast beaches and Port Canaveral cruise terminal; and we like the fact that Victoria Gardens still is building which we think tends to bring in new retirees.

As for any "cons", the HOA is a bit on the higher side as compared with some of the other communities we visited but not vastly so...the one missing component that a couple others offered was home painting every 5 years; we initially wanted to be on the Tampa side of Orlando which Deland obviously is not...but that is not a deal-breaker for us; we liked downtown Mt Dora a bit more...but it's a short drive from Deland.

Certainly, everyone has their own list of what appeals to them in a community. We think we've found ours in Victoria Gardens...although since we are a couple of years from relocating, we probably will look around a bit further just to be sure. Good luck with your search.

[colinrhar]

No way. Go up to The Vllages or try Lake Nona in / around Orlando.

Buy now because the market is expeted to increase by 30% into 2015 all around FL!

[keithwand]

We lived in Baldwin Park for 8 years then visited friends in The Villages. Came home and listed our house the next day.
Built a similar 3,200 sf home and moved in 1.5 years ago.
Love it here!

[keithwand]

Originally Posted by americandreamdead

I'd rather retire in Detroit than DeLand.

Too funny. We lived in Birmingham, MI before moving to Orlando in 2004.
Still Detroit proud.

[Penelope55]

Thanks for all the responses. Come February we will be staying in a gated 55 plus community in Leesburg for 2 months. I figure by the end of March we will be sure if this is the lifestyle for us. We will also be revisiting Country Club of Mount Dora (love that town), Victoria Gardens and the town of Deland and maybe Lake Nona and Lake Ashton. Ideally we would like to be ready to purchase by 2015 ....... 65 is on the horizon!

All comments are helpful. Thanks again for any insight you can give us

[Grumpyprof]

Originally Posted by colinrhar

No way. Go up to The Vllages or try Lake Nona in / around Orlando. Buy now because the market is expeted to increase by 30% into 2015 all around FL!

Not clear what you meant when you wrote "no way". Is it in reference to there being something negative about Deland or Victoria Gardens or related to something else? Thanks for any further info.

[keithwand]

Agree. Do a lifestyle visit at The Villages.
You will see why 100,000 call it home.
Beware; the free video is pretty hokey. Only a visit made up our minds.