Some more extended thoughts on Orlando (Winter Garden, Windermere: middle-class, renting, house)

[StreetSmarts]

Originally Posted by leftee

Put yourself in the shoes of the Windermere residents ... increased traffic through the village to get to DP and down Main into Maguire, an increase in crime due to a general increase in population, an increase in school populations, etc. Sleepy ole Windermere is not sleepy any more. Growth is not always good when you have something at stake ... I kinda feel the same way about what's happening up here in the northern suburbs of Atlanta.

exactly

[EditorJul]

Originally Posted by Boarderline77

Ok so what you described in your third section sounds like what we are looking for. I want to be somewhere friendly where people are interested in getting to know their neighbors and where people are just overall friendly. Where we live now, in a suburb of baltimore, everyone seems to be pissed off all the time - everyone's worried about keeping up with the jones's so to say, they're working themselves to the bone and too busy to be nice. When you're not that type, it gets old to be around very quickly ��

We moved down from Laurel, MD about a year ago. I totally get what you're talking about.

[Boarderline77]

I saw you mentioned frederick MD in another post so I was wondering can you name specific neighborhoods that you would recommend or avoid? I'm flying down this afternoon and trying to gather as much info as I can for our house hunting this weekend. Thanks!

[EditorJul]

Originally Posted by Boarderline77

I saw you mentioned frederick MD in another post so I was wondering can you name specific neighborhoods that you would recommend or avoid? I'm flying down this afternoon and trying to gather as much info as I can for our house hunting this weekend. Thanks!

Offhand, there aren't any neighborhoods around here I can think of that you'd want to avoid--it really depends on budget and whether you want new construction or something a few years old. Worth mentioning is that if you find a house that sounds too good to be true price-wise in Summerport and it is on Indian Deer Road, there was a sinkhole there a few years back. It's been stabilized and supposedly it's safe, but I don't know how getting insurance right in that immediate area would be. Aside from that, Summerport is a nice little community. We're in Windermere Trails and really like it here. If you drive up and down 535 between the tourist district and Winter Garden, there's a lot of communities around. In the newer part of Winter Garden that is Horizon West, you might want to look at Hamlin and Summerlake. Here's the main web site that lists all the development going on in Horizon West:
HorizonWest Florida - Live Horizon WestHorizonWest Florida

When you get to the area, if you stop at the Publix on 535, by the exit they usually have (in with the apartment guides and things like that) a brochure about Horizon West that gives a map and an idea about the different builders in the area.

[Boarderline77]

Thanks so much for the tips. My brother lives there so he will be our "tour guide" for the weekend along with the realtor we have been working with.

[Boarderline77]

Do you have kids? How are the schools for windermere trails? My husband likes that neighborhood a lot. My biggest concern is for the schools (will have a 4th and 2nd grader this coming school year and my youngest will go to kindergarten next). Most seem to be so overcrowded and I know they have new schools in the works but that worries me too as I figure it will probably take a few years for the new schools to work out their kinks. My brother doesn't have kids so he's not too much help on this besides saying his neighbors are happy with the schools (he's in lake sawyer south).

[EditorJul]

Originally Posted by Boarderline77

Do you have kids? How are the schools for windermere trails? My husband likes that neighborhood a lot. My biggest concern is for the schools (will have a 4th and 2nd grader this coming school year and my youngest will go to kindergarten next). Most seem to be so overcrowded and I know they have new schools in the works but that worries me too as I figure it will probably take a few years for the new schools to work out their kinks. My brother doesn't have kids so he's not too much help on this besides saying his neighbors are happy with the schools (he's in lake sawyer south).

My daughter is starting kindergarten at Sunset Park this fall. I think they said that there's going to be 13 kindergarten classes there, so it is a lot of students (although class sizes are capped at 18 for that age)! The second new elementary school is supposed to open in 2016, although I'm thinking it is more likely a sure thing for 2017, and Windermere Trails should end up at that new elementary school because of the side of 535 that we're on. (The two elementary schools are going to be almost across the street from each other.) The new middle school should be opening around that time, too, and the new high school will be opening as well.

After going to orientation, there's a lot of things I like about the school--a focus on technology, having recess every day (plus PE three times a week, one day a week of music, one day a week of art). I'm concerned about the lunch schedules. My daughter is a very pokey eater, and I've heard that kids eat very early or very late and have short lunch times. I like that they have a separate playground for kindergarten students, but I can't wait until the PTO gets the money together to put a canopy over the playground for the older kids.

Most of the people in this neighborhood do send their kids to the public schools even though there are private schools nearby, and I've never heard anyone say anything bad about the elementary and middle school aside from the crowded conditions. I guess I'll find out on my own in a few months!

[Mannyme]

Originally Posted by Lamigra1200

Could you give me some insight regarding Raleigh, NC ?
Used to live in Charleston, SC . Are they similar? Are NC schools better than Florida? What are property taxes,vehicle tags and registration like? Does Raleigh have a strong economy and do employers pay better than Florida's right to work state?

NC is a right to work state also. Depending on your experience and job you may or may not make more than Florida. In NC you also have annual state inspections plus annual property tax on each vehicle which can run as high as $340/ vehicle depending on its value. The property tax and inspection must be done before registration is authorized. To get vehicle registered they charge a one time $250/ vehicle road use fee plus cost of tags. You also have state income tax at 5.8% in addition to other taxes. Property taxes on real estate is per county like most other places but depends naturally on value of property. I've seen from several hundred dollars on little shacks to several thousand dollars. Average in the triangle area (RDU) is probably about $2,200 but that's just a wild guess. My home 6 yrs ago before I sold it in Johnston county (rural) was $1,980 for a 2,400sq ft ⅓ acre property. Florida has toll roads on turnpike Raleigh has tolls on I540 on half of it though they will eventually toll all of it plus talks of tollin I95 throughout state in the not so distant future.

Hope that helps. We are leaving NC to Orlando very soon. NC is for some but not for us. Tried to like it for over 10yrs but not our vibe. If you want to know my personal reasons then PM me.

[StreetSmarts]

just make sure the things you dislike about Raleigh arent the same or worse in Orlando.

[0nyxStation]

Originally Posted by PDF

Well this was probably my last day trip to Orlando before moving there as I'll be out of the country until then. But I think I got to get to know Orlando a little more as I was all over the city.

Started my day in Downtown Disney and then made my way into the city. Didn't get to check out the Eye, but I did drive through the I-Drive and Dr. Phillips area a bit. Ate at my beloved Shake Shack accompanied by some paddle boarding on Lake Killarney. Picked up a Giordano's take-and-bake pizza, still have to eat that at home here.

I wanted to check out some of these neighborhoods that some of you have recommended to me. Ivanhoe Village seemed pretty cool. I really liked Mills 50 and the surrounding area. I didn't find the weather to be too hot, and I love the area by Lake Eola. Good place to go for a run.

Went to the Predators game, so my second experience at Amway. I used to go to a lot of Storm games 10 years ago or so, and it seems like Arena Football has died off. Just a few thousand people, but they did a good job of getting people into the game. Are Solar Bear games like that? I think the incredible atmosphere of Magic games is more my style, but catching some other sports at Amway definitely seems like a good relaxed night out.

The stretch from Winter Park to Downtown is definitely what I really like about Orlando so far. I guess that's as close to urban as you'll get here. But I like the places that are in between WP and DT.

I still really like the Winter Park Village area, and that's where I'll end up living. Close to Shake Shack, I can shop at Trader Joe's (also went there!), plus you have Lake Killarney and close to the SunRail station. Close to many Publix stores in different directions as well. I like that area the most.

I actually didn't leave Orlando until this morning because I got my first taste of Orlando's nightlife scene. This was important to me. Without it, I couldn't really consider Orlando as I'm a young single person who loves to party. It was a Saturday night, so loads of people. Downtown Orlando has lots of bars and a few nightclubs, but I settled on going to Vanity. Incredible that you can find a nightclub like that in Orlando. I like going to bars but I'm more of a nightclub person. I see there are a few other more laid-back nightclubs, and I'll have to check those out down the line. But I had a great time and it's easy to meet people. Even if you're not talking about the nightlife, people in Orlando seem much friendlier in general than they are here in Tampa.

One thing I'm still trying to gauge, and perhaps this is most important to me, is how big Orlando actually feels. I've seen some others say previously that Orlando feels bigger than it actually is because of the Disney presence and all the development in other areas that we get because of it. And I agreed with that. However, normally you wouldn't catch me in a city the size of Orlando. I'm a big city person through and through. So I like vibrant neighborhood after neighborhood, and the closest thing Orlando has to that is the stretch from Winter Park to Downtown.

But I think the city may have "enough" for me. I can live in WP, and have the surrounding areas to enjoy plus Downtown for some solid nightlife. Plus, I'm interested in exploring Orlando as a whole. I want to get out there and check out the areas by SunRail stops, the UCF area, etc. I guess if I do that, I won't have a problem meeting people and enjoying Orlando. I was just worried for a second that I picked a place to live that was a little too small for me! I could easily leave FL, but I make more money here than elsewhere, so it's kind of a sacrifice. And it's not a bad one, because Orlando overall might be the best place in Florida I've seen.

Interesting read....I will say im very much interested in Orlando. I really want to know how urban it is, what is the overall culture of the metro. It doesnt seem like its all Mickey Mouse and Shamu like its painted to the outside world. MCO seems pretty busy. Id like Sunrail to get more TODs in the future. If it did have more TODs id would consider moving there if form[