Description of the nice areas of and around Orlando? (Winter Park: real estate, apartment)

[techtan]

Hello all, looks like I am moving to the Orlando area shortly for my job. I am going to be at renting first most likely somewhere around Winter Park as that is where HQ will be. But the job is going to be all over Orlando so it really doesn't matter where i live as one day the commute is going to be short the other day long. I have been to the area for vacation but never really with the mindset of looking at real estate. I was wondering with all the suburbs and towns of the Orlando area is there any description you could give that defines those areas?

For example How is Lake Mary different from Dr. Phillips, Winter Park, Lake Nona etc...? Are they all similar or can definitive statements be made such as if you are young professionals in your 30s and raising kids then you should be living in Location A,B,C. If you are single in your 20s who likes a busier lifestyle you should be living in location D,E,F. If you enjoy quiet tree lined streets, with lots of parks and lakes you should be in location...

Can statements like that be made to describe the different areas of Orlando? I am just trying to get a feel for the different areas before I go down. Once I go down I can form my own opinions but until then I need the experts help in the matter. And this is definitely for down the road, but its not too early to start the research.


Side Note. When I went down to visit 2 summers ago I stayed at a hotel that was really a timeshare and man it was awesome. I think it even had permanent residents. I could see myself living in that type of environment. It was 3 floors high i believe and spread out like a townhouse community with a couple of pools. Even had direct access to an outdoor tanger type mall, It was great. If i could find that in an apartment or condo, I may not need a house! lol.

Ha I googled it and found it was the Hilton Grand Vacation Suites on I Drive. Man find me that in a condo or apartment please! lol.

Thanks everyone look forward to chatting with you all.

[brinkofsunshine]

I'm not really familiar with Lake Mary or Lake Nona (never even been there before!), but I can comment on a few:

Dr. Phillips is a fairly busy suburb of Orlando, nestled between Universal and Disney. The main thoroughfare that runs through DP is Sand Lake. Rd, which is lined with shopping centers with grocery stores, restaurants, and other various stores (Barnes and Noble, Office Depot.. to name a few). This strip is called "Restaurant Row" because it has a plethora of some of the best eateries in the metro. Very good schools, quiet and generally older subdivisions (although newer construction can be found). It's mostly middle to upper class. You can find homes in the upper 100's in an old fixer-upper to multi-million dollar mansions. Easy access to I-4, close to major shopping at Mall of Millenia, close to I-Drive and somewhat close to the Florida Mall. About 15 minutes from downtown with little traffic.

Windermere is a very affluent small town just outside of Dr. Phillips. Further away from I-4 but closer to the 408. Can be thought of as two different areas- new Windermere and old Windermere. Old Windermere is what appears when you search for it on a map... in the immediate area where the chain of lakes is. There's a very small downtown area with some tiny historic buildings. Sprawling oaks canopy the streets and dirt roads branch off from the main road. Very quiet and safe community. Speed limit is 30 MPH pretty much everywhere and the cops are very strict about it. Very expensive homes in the older part of Windermere. I think you'd be hard pressed to find anything below 300k (even that is probably a low estimate). The prestigious community of Isleworth can be found here, which has been home to the likes of Shaquille O'Neal and Tiger Woods. New Windermere is even further from major highways/roads and is almost all new construction where all of the trees are plowed down and nearly identical houses spring up. The houses here are much cheaper, although the zoned high school isn't as good (if that's a concern). Still safe and quiet.. although it really feels like you're kind of far out of town, though.

Winter Park is a very affluent area north of downtown Orlando. It has an actual downtown, filled with upscale shopping, dining, a park and the Morse Museum of Art. It's also home to the beautiful Rollins College campus. Winter Park is primarily old money... huge estates lining the lake and the various canals. Mature trees, some brick roads... it has a different feel than both Windermere and Dr. Phillips. Definitely more traffic on the major thoroughfares.

It's hard to say who fits where and why. I could say that if you're single in you're twenties you should be in downtown Orlando, or if you're married with children pick Dr. Phillips; but I'm single and in my twenties and I'd rather live in Dr. Phillips or Windermere. Any of the three areas I mentioned are good for families. If you liked what you stayed in on I-Drive you might like one of the master-planned communities like Celebration or Baldwin Park. You might want to explore the various areas on Google Maps.. or the best advice: take a trip and explore.

[Crane's Rooster]

Orlando is really divided by North and South. Not in a good and a bad way but by the two sides of Orlando, North is the more established, residential side or Orlando where South tends to have newer developments and more heavily influenced by the tourist industry here in Orlando.

For example, take Lake Mary/Heathrow compared to the Dr.Phillips/Windermere area. Both are very nice areas, family oriented, great schools, some very affluent areas mixed with middle and uppper middle class areas. Both have good access to I4 but the differences are Dr. Phillips/Windermere are near the theme parks. The good is easy access to entertainment, great restaurants galore, all the conveniences you could ask for as far as dinning, shopping, etc. But the trade off is much more congested, traffic can be nightmarish at times and generally alot more interaction with the tourists. Lake Mary/Heathrow on the other hand would be a slower pace of life, less traffic, less developed, more established, less transient and overall more accessible. There are always exceptions to this rule but generally speaking Michigan Ave. would be the dividing the line between Old and New Orlando.