moving to orlando for law school

[d070033]

Hum, if your coming to Orlando for law school that means either Barry University or Florida A&M Law. Either way, housing isn't the problem its your choice of school. Retake the LSAT or boost your GPA because these are not well regarded law schools and will impact your employment options.

[Lawstudent]

Interesting. I have been debating the idea for about 2 months now. Are you a member of the legal profession? I am always interested in hearing thoughts especially from a member of the legal community. I have been accepted into 2 tier one law schools. Both being in the Midwest. But the problem is I want to practice in Florida. I have lived in the panhandle of Florida for most of my life. I Have it on good authority that if I do well my first year either at FAMU school of law or FCSL that FSU school of law takes transfers as long as the applicant is in the top 1/3. FSU is very highly rated in the top tier. This is the plan and FAMU is super affordable and I would only be looking at one year in Orlando then off to Tallahassee. Even if the plan failed and I am a miserable Law student I would become a lawyer for very little expense. (even though FAMU is not what I want) You threw your 2 cents in, throw the rest of your thoughts in. They would be appreciated at this time.

Law

[carolac]

The Conway area is about 20 minutes south of downtown and has homes in that price range. They're not newer, though, although there are new homes that have gone up, and apartment complexes that converted to condos. People here are tending to remodel. A lot of families seek out the Conway area because of the good schools (Pershing Elementary, Conway Middle and Boone HS) and lower crime. A lot of attorneys and other professionals live in Southern Oaks, a subdivision in Conway, but the homes are a lot more than $250,000. Many of us tend to take the "back roads" to get to work downtown instead of I-4.

Our home is in a subdivision right next to Southern Oaks and is valued at $250,000. We're looking to sell it next year to move to Tennessee. The zip code is 32806. The zip codes which are 3280___ are original Orlando zips with the others added on as Orlando grew. Conway is it's own community with Avery Academy, a school and child care place that is very actively involved in the community, the Conway News, a newspaper which circulates advertising churches and businesses which operate in Conway which the residents prefer to use. Avery is not the only child care facility in Conway, but seems to go out of its way to service the childrens' needs more than the others. Everybody takes their mowers to Conway mower to be repaired, and so on. I've spent 35years in the legal field here. You planning to go to FAMU or Barry? There are some GREAT law firms here that have super summer programs and attract good students. Plus, the downtown skyline is rapidly changing. I really like downtown Orlando. You'll see "Milton," a young man with CP in a wheelchair who supports his wife and children selling flowers. Several years ago Milton was trying to save enough money to buy a house for his family. The downtown community opened up a bank account for donations for him. Good luck in your search.

Originally Posted by Lawstudent

looking for safe area with homes around 250k within half an hour of downtown Orlando. Newer homes preferred.
All reponses appreciated

[Lawstudent]

Carloac,
Thank you for the information. I will be looking at the area when I come down. I found a place in Thorton park about a block from Lake Eola. I know the area immedialtly by Lake Eola is nice does it change a block or two away. Are you an Attorney? It sounds as if the wheels of change are turning in Orlando. Have you been there the entire 35 years. Why may I ask are you leaving for Tennessee. ( We love Tenn.) Any thoughts on Thorton Park would be greatly appreciated.

[carolac]

Good choice. Thornton Park, which is just east of downtown, is an awesome place--very trendy, retro (if I'm using that phrase correctly), dominated by young adults. They are really upgrading downtown so that people can live there. The City leaders are working hard to upgrade the Parramore area, just to the west of Orlando. The residents of that area need so much, so I am glad to see the efforts on their behalf starting. I was a paralegal for 30 years until I decided to stay home with my two impaired children (I started my career young )

My hubby is a Conway native and has lived in Florida all his life. I moved here in 1970. My hubby owns his own painting/reconstruction business, and we comply with all laws which changed in 2005 and cover all employees with workers' comp. We're struggling to compete with the low prices the uninsured, unlicensed contractors. While we're picking up quite significantly finally this year because homeowners and businesses are starting to seek insured contractors, we think we'll do a little better out of state. Our homeowners' insurance nearly tripled even though we made no claims for any damages in the 2004 hurricane season as we had no damage.

You'll find Florida to not be such the good ole' boy "Cracker" state it used to be. While Florida was one of the last states to form a Bar Association, if not the last, the lawyers really are very forward thinking and are good leaders. There are a lot of very active committees with the county bar association, and a lot of opportunities for young lawyers. The law firms I think are a little more "Gator" than "Noles" oriented.

Best of luck to you in your decisions.

Originally Posted by Lawstudent

Carloac,
Thank you for the information. I will be looking at the area when I come down. I found a place in Thorton park about a block from Lake Eola. I know the area immedialtly by Lake Eola is nice does it change a block or two away. Are you an Attorney? It sounds as if the wheels of change are turning in Orlando. Have you been there the entire 35 years. Why may I ask are you leaving for Tennessee. ( We love Tenn.) Any thoughts on Thorton Park would be greatly appreciated.

[lawrelwill]

I am an Atty with the State of FL but went to Duquesne Univ in Pittsburgh for Law School - came to FL with the Army. I have been an atty in Orlando since 2002. I work with Barry grad who was quite happy with his experience there. I would not reccomend the FAMU plan unless cost is an absolute #1 priority. FAMU is right next door to the State of FL Office Bldg where I work and the students come into the cafeteria in our bldg daily. They do not seem to be cream of the crop and the loudness factor would have been prohibitive for me. Thornton Park is great - highly reccomend. I lived there when I first moved here but in 2004 bought a house in 32806 about 2 miles before Conway Rd that another poster mentioned, a little closer to downtown Orlando. The Conway area is right now under graffitti attack literally and its a real shame, very depressing.

[Maggie123]

Question to anyone living in Orlando in the late 70's- early 80's. Am working on a book and need some socio-economic info. What was the demgraphic like at that time? I am particularly interested in the houses surrounding the park. Were they well kept? I lived there then, but was little & can't remember.
Maggie

[Prichard]

Question to anyone living in Orlando in the late 70's- early 80's. Am working on a book and need some socio-economic info. What was the demgraphic like at that time? I am particularly interested in the houses surrounding the park. Were they well kept? I lived there then, but was little & can't remember.
Maggie

I have lived in Orlando since the '60's, so I guess I'm qualified to try to answer this. Demographicaly you had far fewer hispanic people in the '70's. In the late '70's early 80's we just started seeing some hispanic imigration of Puerto Ricans, mostly whom were from New York, I believe.

I believe that Blacks were about 20% of the population, perhaps less. In the 70's things were still kind of segregated - blacks lived in black areas and you still had schools that were 98% white and some that were all black, like Hungaford and Jones.

By "the Park", I'm assuming you mean Lake Eola. If not, then you need to be more specific. Downtown Orlando was just coming out of a long depressing slumber in the late '70's with churchstreet station. Still, nothing was really happening over by Lake Eola. You mostly had very small "Sears" kit homes and other Florida houses built around the 1930's that were in disrepair. Further out toward Thornton Park houses were typically '40's and '50's style. These were fairly cheap homes until about the 1990's. There was a federal housing project between Robinson Street and Livingston that was an eye soar for a long time that kept hose prices down in that area. The whole area was sort of run down, lots of elderly people lived in these areas, I suppose many had lived there since the 1930's. Demographically, it was always more or less a "white" area, though lower income.

The Lake Eola Park was nothing more than a few swings and slides along the south end of Lake Eola. Much of the rest of it was naturally wooded - no walkway or anything like that.

Hope that helps - don't know what other information you might be looking for.

[Maggie123]

One of my main character's parents is going to inherit the home about that time, the information you gave works well with what I already have. As for it being a poorer, older, area, all the better! Looking at the homes surrounding Lake Eola right now, most of them are quite charming. I was down there earlier in the month, visiting some friends, but they (like me) grew up off University Blvd.
I remember going to the festivals in November and eating gyros for the first time there, back before they were commonplace in the food court! Thanks for your help.
Maggie