Avalon Park is the BEST! (Orlando, Davie: HOA, school, to live in)

[Wilshire81182]

Originally Posted by GLS2010

But most Oviedo residents are forced to go to shop in Waterford lakes since it's the closest major shopping/dinning area to Oviedo. You would be surprised at how many cars with Oviedo/hagerty high stickers on them you see parked in the town center. Warerford lakes town center is like the city center of the east side of Orlando. People from all over the east including Oviedo go there. Waterford lakes is technically an amenitie for Oviedo residents. That's why that area is so crowded. Everyone from the north end of alafaya (Oviedo) to the south end (Avalon Park) and the communities that lay east and west of alafaya (chuluota/bithlo, and Union Park) and everywhere inbetween (UCF), go to Waterford lakes town center on a regular basis to do shopping, dinning and to attend events.

Oh I know that. I was just saying that as a place to live I would still rather live in Oviedo. It is still less congested than Waterford/Avalon.

[StreetSmarts]

Originally Posted by GLS2010

isn't it true?

LOL, yes. Not sure how many folks wouldn't want to live in a small southern town with low crime.

[StreetSmarts]

Originally Posted by Wilshire81182

There is seemingly a lot of crime in these areas compared to what you would expect in a suburban middle class area outside of the major city. This same type of neighborhood with the same demographics, proximity to the central business district, etc in another city may tend to be a lot safer.

People also compare Orlando to something it was 10-20 years ago when up until 2007 or 2008, it was growing at a very rapid and steady pace. The metropolitan area is about 2 million and experienced growing pains in several areas: overcrowded schools, insufficient infrastructure for traffic volume, more spending toward civil services and law enforcement, etc.

I think that some things seem to be stabilizing and even improving but crime in Orlando tends to be a little more haphazard and random. There are areas in the heart of the city with much less crime than some of the suburbs, but we also have a very high crime inner city portion of the city as well.

If I were providing relocation advice like what it commonly asked of on this forum, I would say that there are better places to move than Waterford/Avalon. I do not think it is a horrible area and I even looked at homes in Avalon recently just due to the fact that they are so cheap right now for their size. At the same time, however, I think there are better places to move to still be close to amenities and have an overall more serene suburban experience. Oviedo is one of those places, as are Lake Mary, Winter Springs, Lake Nona, etc. Waterford/Avalon to me is a very hectic and congested area for what you get in the form of amenities and what you pay for a home. I hope that with the upcoming development in Lake Nona that it does not become such a congested mess as well. . .

hit the nail on the head with that one.

[StreetSmarts]

[quote=keithwand;12648279]My wife and I drove to Avalon over Christmas to check it out.
1) Who would buy a house looking at the smoke stacks? Just plain ugly. I ado agree.
2) Nice town with a lot of amenities ie grocery, restaurants, gas... yes
3) Homes sit low to the ground maybe onlky 1-2 steps up to porch; looks cheap. I like the front porches myself.
4) Construction of homes looks cheap. Wood frame not block? no, there block.
5) Waay out yes Waay (emphasis). Would have to spend to much time commuting and tolls. That is true.
6) Not much around once leave Avalon. Heck it takes 15 minutes to get out. LOL, it can depending on where in Avlon and what time of the day.
7) Better than a lot of the older neighborhoods. Better than some, not as nice as some.
My thoughts

[StreetSmarts]

Wow, my neighbor had someone attempt to break into her house this a.m. Luckily they were unable to get in but they tried to pry her door open this a.m. - in broad daylight! This is the 2nd property crime this week, but the one this morning is more serious though. People in our subdivision are really thinking about leaving. I just cant believe this happened this morning while she was home - in broad daylight.

[GLS2010]

Originally Posted by ComSense

Wow, my neighbor had someone attempt to break into her house this a.m. Luckily they were unable to get in but they tried to pry her door open this a.m. - in broad daylight! This is the 2nd property crime this week, but the one this morning is more serious though. People in our subdivision are really thinking about leaving. I just cant believe this happened this morning while she was home - in broad daylight.

Can you link us to the crime report? I'm curious to see the details..

[StreetSmarts]

I dont know if there's a link or not. I got the info from our community watch website which is "i-neighbors.com"... it's basically a community website where people can post different things, meetings, crime, whatever. I drove by the house this morning, and I didnt see anything. I could prove this story (since apparently you dont believe me) by giving you access to our community watch website, but I cant do that. I guess you could call the Orange Co sheriffs office though. I do not make up this stuff. As soon as I find out more details from my neighbor, or anyone else, I'll let you know. I'm still waiting to hear more myself. It's a scary thing and it happened in the broad daylight. I can copy and paste the message from i-neighbors and DM it to you I guess.

[StreetSmarts]

I just checked ocso.com in the "crime information" section, and it's not posted yet.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by ComSense

in broad daylight!

Why is this shocking? Most burglars don't break in at night.

[StreetSmarts]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

Why is this shocking? Most burglars don't break in at night.

But she and her toddler were home! I cant believe it. We're packed in here like sardines (houses on top of one another), and I just cant believe they someone would try to pry the door open with some sort of tool or crowbar. It's very suprising to me. when that didnt work they tried to dismantle the door's hardware in another attempt to get in. Thats very suspicious looking obviously and the woman was home with her toddler so I'm assuming her vehicle was in her driveway! I could see if you lived in a rural / semi-rural place where someone might try to break in in the middle of the day, but not in an area like our's... anyone could have seen this person trying to get in.