Location recommendatons for a Mom with 2 teen girls (Orlando, Sanford: apartment complexes, rentals)

[poobears]

Last time I posted here I mentioned we were all planning on moving down to Orlando when the kids graduated and we sold the house. Slight change of plans my husband sprung a divorce on me a couple months ago. I asked the girls (17 and 19) if they could pick one place to go where they wanted to move and they still want to move to Orlando area. So, husband gets left behind and here we go LOL

We don't need to worry about the schools, my youngest graduated a year early so school is out of the way. My biggest concern with 2 older teenage girls is safety. I know a lot of areas near Orlando are higher in crime. We'd like to stay 10-15 minutes drive time of Universal, maybe 20 max from Disney and Disney Springs, to give you a general idea of the area want.

Dr. Phillips looks amazing and that may be where we wind up, looks like a 3 bedroom there is going to run us around $1,700-$2,000 a month. Would love to find a comparable area, safety and location wise with cheaper rent. If not we can swing the rent in DP. Anyone have any other suggestions?

I'm not against apartment complexes but it seems all the ones we've found in Orlando have horrible reviews on them, high crime, car break ins, mold in the complex (DD and I both have a genetic lung disease so this is a definite no for us), etc etc. Except for one that is located directly across from Universal where you can walk across, but it's $1700+ for a 2bd and I'm not sure I want to pay that much for a tiny apartment.

Also I am not the typical applicant. I don't have a rental history, I have owned my house for 20+ years so no rental history to check and I am a SAHM so no real work history. I have my own business, that I can easily support us with, I have supported a family of 6 on it in the past, but dialed it back a few years ago because financially it wasn't needed anymore and I was focused on homeschooling my oldest 2 through high school. Without the proven income I'm afraid it may be hard to rent, though there will be plenty in the bank with the house settlement.

[bmw335xi]

I always prefer renting from individuals or property management companies who manage indivduals homes.

Check rentals in the Dr. Phillips area on zillow.com. Your other option would be Windermere.

Good luck with the move

[poobears]

Thanks, we are so excited to be making this move. Zillow is what we are using to look at rentals and then checking out the areas for crime on Trulia, wasn't sure if that was the best way to do it or not. My other option would be to move down there and maybe rent through VRBO for a couple of weeks and go in person around town to see what we can find. But I wasn't sure how long the rental approval process would take and I don't want to spend a ton of money on short term renting before we get into a rental house. It would be nice if we could have a house waiting for us when we get there.

I have up to 60 days to find one, that is when we need to be out of the house and I would love to move sooner, so the clock is ticking).

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by poobears

Thanks, we are so excited to be making this move. Zillow is what we are using to look at rentals and then checking out the areas for crime on Trulia, wasn't sure if that was the best way to do it or not. My other option would be to move down there and maybe rent through VRBO for a couple of weeks and go in person around town to see what we can find. But I wasn't sure how long the rental approval process would take and I don't want to spend a ton of money on short term renting before we get into a rental house. It would be nice if we could have a house waiting for us when we get there.

I have up to 60 days to find one, that is when we need to be out of the house and I would love to move sooner, so the clock is ticking).

Generally speaking, it takes 2-3 weeks from the time you submit your application to move in date if the place is vacant.



You could look on VBRO and Airbnb in the meantime.



Regarding crime, if you're checking sites like that, it will probably scare you lol. Check the area you live in and you'd be surprised too. Generally speaking, Dr. Phillips, Windermere, Oviedo, Lake Mary, Winter Park, Heathrow, etc are very safe areas. If you have a specific location, feel free to ask as there are still safer areas than others within good areas too, but really, you don't need to worry about violent crime in any of the areas above.

[poobears]

We live in a little bitty town of less than 500 people with an insanely low crime rate. We still take precautions, locked doors, security system, I even have my conceal carry if I need it, since we have a lot of people that travel through and some crime comes along with that but overall it's extremely safe here. Moving to the Orlando area will be a huge transition but it's exactly what we need right now.


I'm not too picky about what town we are in as long as it's really close drive time of the theme parks and safe enough, if it has stores and maybe a post office (since I go there every day) to walk to that's a bonus. After our first years lease is up, we may move to a different location but for the fist year we want to keep within that close of distance of parks for sure, so the girls have quick access especially to Universal.

Right now Dr. Phillips is top of our list since it looks close to Universal and like it's very walkable, not sure if one part of it would be better than another.

[brinkofsunshine]

Any reason why you’d want to stick that close to the parks? If you want walkability you’d have to look closer to downtown Orlando or Winter Park. There are some really cute neighborhoods around that area and you’d still be about 15-20 minutes to Universal and probably 30 to Disney.

In regards to Dr. Phillips, you really can’t go wrong with any part of it. The only part I don’t care for is the neighborhood right off of Turkey Lake Rd., next to Shadow Bay Park. I don’t think it has crime issues but the level of care varies from house to house. You mentioned walkability- I wouldn’t say DP is walkable unless you lived in a neighborhood right off of Sand Lake, Della Dr., or DP Blvd. near the marketplace.

You might want to check out nearby Gotha/Ocoee; the area south of Colonial Dr. along Maguire Rd., and along Roberson/Moore Rd.; still very safe but tends to be a little cheaper. Williamsburg, over by SeaWorld might also be an option. The newer part of Windermere along 535 could work but you’d be a little further from Universal.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by poobears

We live in a little bitty town of less than 500 people with an insanely low crime rate. We still take precautions, locked doors, security system, I even have my conceal carry if I need it, since we have a lot of people that travel through and some crime comes along with that but overall it's extremely safe here. Moving to the Orlando area will be a huge transition but it's exactly what we need right now.


I'm not too picky about what town we are in as long as it's really close drive time of the theme parks and safe enough, if it has stores and maybe a post office (since I go there every day) to walk to that's a bonus. After our first years lease is up, we may move to a different location but for the fist year we want to keep within that close of distance of parks for sure, so the girls have quick access especially to Universal.

Right now Dr. Phillips is top of our list since it looks close to Universal and like it's very walkable, not sure if one part of it would be better than another.

Yes, Dr. Phillips is by far your best option given this information. Windermere is very leave it to beaver feel, meaning very very very safe. However, it's closer to Disney than Universal.



Dr. Phillips isn't your traditional walkable area. However, there are certainly areas in Dr. Phillips you can walk to restaurants, stores, groceries, etc from your home.



I attached a photo, the outlined area has everything you need, so if you find a place near that, you'll be able to walk or bike for most of your needs.



There are some communities popular for renting by this area such as...



Sandpointe
Stonewood Manorhomes
Carriage Homes at Southampton
Sanctuary / Bay Hill
Granada Villas


There are others, but these tend to have units go for rent more frequently and are all pretty much adjacent to the shopping areas. There are some nice townhomes along Wallace Road.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by poobears

We live in a little bitty town of less than 500 people with an insanely low crime rate. We still take precautions, locked doors, security system, I even have my conceal carry if I need it, since we have a lot of people that travel through and some crime comes along with that but overall it's extremely safe here. Moving to the Orlando area will be a huge transition but it's exactly what we need right now.


I'm not too picky about what town we are in as long as it's really close drive time of the theme parks and safe enough, if it has stores and maybe a post office (since I go there every day) to walk to that's a bonus. After our first years lease is up, we may move to a different location but for the fist year we want to keep within that close of distance of parks for sure, so the girls have quick access especially to Universal.

Right now Dr. Phillips is top of our list since it looks close to Universal and like it's very walkable, not sure if one part of it would be better than another.

While not near the amusement parks (30-40 minutes away), you might also consider the Lake Mary/West Sanford area. Much of the area is fairly walkable with grocery stores like Publix or Fresh Market, Target, Walmart, BJ's, Walgreens/CVS, fitness centers, other shops, and scores of restaurants within easy walking distance plus bike/walking trails. It's an extremely safe area and among the top few suburbs in the metro area in terms of overall desirability. You can land in a nice three bedroom/two bathroom apartment for around $1400-$1600. Again while not near the amusement parks can say that the desire for proximity to them will most likely wear off after awhile, along with the patience for log-jammed traffic and collateral tourist activity.

https://www.apartments.com/apartment...pqz5q98Gy4trtP

[bmw335xi]

Lake Mary / Sanford is about as far as you can get from the theme parks lol

[OrlFlaUsa]

^lol that's what I was thinking. No quick trips to Universal for the girls for sure.

I might look into Williamsburg. A friend of mine works at Volcano Bay and just recently moved her family there and describes it as an affordable and a fairly non touristy pocket of a neighborhood near Sea World which puts you basically in between WDW and Universal.

The "walkable" post office is going to be a problem in the suburbs here which are massive land area wise and nothing like a small 500 person town like you're used to. You could search the post offices nearest these parks and then start looking at listings that meet all your criteria and are not that far from said offices.