Corrected info-is there a Haiwasee, FL? (Orlando, Pine Hills: apartments, condos, crime)

[Bearyjoy]

Okay so I don't know where Tiffany came from, but he said she lived on Blair Drive in Haiwassee, FL. Anybody with info on that area? (If it exists).

[annerk]

Not a desirable area at all. Maybe 30 years ago it was, not now.

[Bearyjoy]

Really? The houses seemed so nice. Maybe I caught them on a good day. Any one else have input

[Crane's Rooster]

Yes, not the worst part of Orlando, but certainly not the best. The area is more commonly known as Pine Hills, aka Crime Hills according to some. It's one of Orlando's rougher neighborhoods. That's the sneaky part about Orlando, a bad area doesn't necessarily look "bad" or "rundown". Not to say there aren't some clearly bad area that look that way, but alot of areas in Orlando look ok but are fairly rough. It's not like other cities where there are housing projects and slums, most of the bad areas here were once nice neighborhoods that got taken over by bad elements.

[brinkofsunshine]

I agree with the other posters. Not a place I would ever want to live or raise a family in. Unfortunately on the west/southwest side of town affordable housing is limited. You either have to spend the money to live in Windermere, Dr. Phillips, and to some degree Winter Garden, or simply live farther out.

I think Winter Garden (remember- south of Colonial Dr.) is your best bet. You might want to look into an area called Williamsburg out by SeaWorld. I'm not totally familiar with the area but it doesn't have the bad reputation of Pine Hills, Oak Ridge, the bad side of Metrowest, etc...). There are also some apartments right behind Disney on 535 that may fit your budget.

[Bearyjoy]

Thank you guys for the info. I guess I can check that area off my list.

[sp2007]

FYI Hiawassee Rd is a road running north/south in the area commonly called Pine Hills (in the northern part) and MetroWest (south). The southern part is mostly in the city limits of Orlando. And as most posters said, its not the greatest place, although its more rural going north and there are some nicer condos and homes in MW.

[DavieJ89]

Originally Posted by Bearyjoy

Thank you guys for the info. I guess I can check that area off my list.

Hiawassee is a pretty long road, running from the Windermere area all the way up to Apopka. The further south on it you go, the better it gets. The worst stretch of Hiawassee Road is from Colonial Drive to Clarcona-Ocoee Road. There actually are some very nice homes along this stretch but the area in general is just bad

If you're going south and cross over Old Winter Garden Road into the Metrowest area, it's like somebody flipped a switch. Hiawassee is very nice in Metrowest but like BrinkofSunshine said, affordable housing on the southwest side of town is very limited. Williamsburg is a really good bet. My grandmother has had her home there since 1988 and has never had a problem

[Xx2O11xX]

I know exactly where this neighborhood is. Right by the intersection of North Hiawassee Road & Balboa Drive. This is a very diverse area. If you have driven thrugh the neighborhood, you will notice that some of the homes have bars on the windows, and the homes are very close together. A lot of the yards in this neighborhood are not well taken care of either. However, this area is zoned for schools that are OKAY, because it's not in the heart of Pine Hills, it's in the outskirts almost by Ocoee. It is very close to public transportation on North Hiawassee Road, and shopping on West Colonial Drive, and major highways. If you mind your own business in this neighborhood you will be fine, and I wouldn't mind living in this area if the home price was a good deal.

[annerk]

My neighborhood is diverse--on my street we have half a dozen white families, two Asian, one black, two Hispanic, but we don't need to keep bars on the windows...

That in itself would be a deal breaker.