Avalon Park v. Baldwin Park v. Celebration (cheaper, year)

[AONE]

Schools in Celebration fall a little short of ideal

BP is pretty expensive , even in rentals as is Celebration.

Avalon is the most affordable of the areas mentioned. I suspect you can get a townhome for your target price. homes tend to start around 1300 and go North.

The best schools are those in the Winter park area.

[JustinsMama]

We could probably go up a couple hundred a month if we had to...I was just trying to draw the line somewhere to start.

Why do you say the schools in Celebration are less than ideal? I'm of the philosophy that school is what the parents and child make of it (minus any safety issues like gangs or something crazy like that)..

[GLS2010]

Originally Posted by JustinsMama

We could probably go up a couple hundred a month if we had to...I was just trying to draw the line somewhere to start.

Why do you say the schools in Celebration are less than ideal? I'm of the philosophy that school is what the parents and child make of it (minus any safety issues like gangs or something crazy like that)..

Because Celebration is in Osceola county, which tends to be a low preforming school district compared to Orange county (bladwin park/Avalon park). The highest preforming school district is Seminole county, followed by Orange, then Lake, then Osceola.

[JustinsMama]

Because Celebration is in Osceola county, which tends to be a low preforming school district compared to Orange county (bladwin park/Avalon park). The highest preforming school district is Seminole county, followed by Orange, then Lake, then Osceola.

Okay (and I'm not trying to be a smart-ass when I ask this)...is the fact that Celebration schools are in Osceola that they are automatically lumped in with the rest of the county as lacking in performance? Could the Celebration k-8 school possibly still be a decent school on it's own regardless of what county it's in or has it proven to be a lower performing school?

[keithwand]

Celebration is why we moved from MI in 2004. We liked the supposed lifestyle.
Thankfully we heard about Baldwin Park and bought there instead.
We still like Celebration but use it more as a theme park ie Christmas time when they make it "snow" and the town is decorated.
Personally if it were not for Baldwin Park we would be at Celebration. We like the neo traditional lifestyle that much.

[JustinsMama]

We do as well and will hopefully be able to experience that in the next few months...

[totsuka]

-We looked at AP but did not like the quality of construction and traffic

- Celebration - review a book written about ten years ago on that project for some insight about that area.

- BP - you might be able to find the smaller 3/2/2 homes..there are still short sales/foreclosures.Also, the area across the street is picking up. I see more people buying those homes and remodeling them. The cost is much cheaper and you would be surprised what you can do on your own to remodel a home. I do like some of the townhomes in BP, but check the fees first... BP has a great
location.

[merriweather]

Originally Posted by JustinsMama

Okay (and I'm not trying to be a smart-ass when I ask this)...is the fact that Celebration schools are in Osceola that they are automatically lumped in with the rest of the county as lacking in performance? Could the Celebration k-8 school possibly still be a decent school on it's own regardless of what county it's in or has it proven to be a lower performing school?

In following the evolution of Celebration over the years, I think what I read was that many early Celebration residents assumed their schools would be open to THEIR community exclusively. But the laws demanded that kids from the rest of the county be admitted. Now, it seems, the Celebration schools are typical of Osceola in student body & performance.

I am not making a judgment, just relating what occurred....It was one of several factors (ie...DISNEY COMPANY selling off Celebration) that soured the place for many homeowners. I believe school performance stats are available online.

Still, I would LOVE to live there!

[StreetSmarts]

Justin's Mama,

I dont advise moving to Avalon Pk. If you remember all the problems/complaints I had when living there. If you do, be as close to Alafaya (not Colonial/50) as possible.

[uberwulu]

This thread is over 4 years old, but it's the first Google result when searching for nice areas in the greater Orlando area, so I'll chime in with my $0.02:

Celebration & Baldwin Park (tie) > Lake Nona > Dr Phillips > Hunters Creek > Avalon Park

Celebration and Baldwin Park are nearly identical in terms of the overall look, feel, safety, and walkability. They're both fantastic. The one major factor to consider between them is commute. They're about an hour apart from each other, so which one is best for you will depend largely on where ELSE you go on a regular basis. If you work or go to school in STEM fields, Baldwin Park is closer to the major college campuses and the STEM jobs. If you don't work in such a field, Celebration is closer to theme parks and hospitality jobs. At the time of this writing, Celebration is also just the slightest bit more expensive than Baldwin Park. For households without children, that's pretty much all there is to decide on. I don't have children, so I can't comment on the schools.

Avalon Park doesn't even compare to Baldwin Park or Celebration. It's nice in that it's quiet and pretty, but it doesn't have nearly the same level of amenities, fanciness, and walkability as the other two. Hunters Creek, Dr Phillips, and Lake Nona are other nice areas that compare to Avalon Park. With all the ongoing development, Lake Nona is rapidly improving and may even rise up to Baldwin Park standards of awesome. Dr Phillips has luxury but suffers from similar issues that plague downtown luxury highrises - the surrounding area gets infested with all the worst kinds of people (hookers, bums, drunk bar whores, drunk clubbers, drug dealers, college kids getting high in the alleys, etc.).

As a STEM professional who has lived in every form of housing imaginable (from agricultural to highrise and everything in between), I currently live in Baldwin Park and I absolutely love it. However, I only choose Baldwin Park over Celebration for the commute. My ultimate goal is to shift toward full-time telecommuting or save up enough money to retire early, at which point I intend to spend the rest of my years in Celebration enjoying the theme parks.