Thoughts on Orlando Areas for Kids (Winter Park, Hunters Creek: foreclosures, crime, house)

[MommyofRiley]

Good Morning!
I would love some input on the downtown/city areas of Orlando. We are moving in a month or so and currently live in Hunter's Creek. We've seen the neighborhood change and crime increase. We thought that we would move to some of the new sections of "Winder-near" but have seen those neighborhoods deteriorate as they were products of foreclosure during the boom (when most of the neighborhoods were built). Plus, we think we're done with the subdivisions popping up everywhere and the greater incidence of transiency and not knowing who your neighbors are.

We have a 3 month old daughter and want a place where it is relatively safe (we know it's Orlando, we're not shooting for the stars). We both grew up in neighborhoods where it was established, with full grown trees and streets, not subdivisions. We want somewhere where we could walk to restaurants and boutiques. We lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn, prior to moving to Orlando-so if you know that area, we'd like somewhere like that. Proximity to parks, shopping and still a slight urban feel. I also run, so that could be a factor.

We spoke to a lady this past week who lives in Delaney Park and had great things to say about it-plus that it is districted for Blankner Elementary, which I have heard wonderful things about.

Also, my husband works in Celebration. I heard the commute wouldn't be too horrible since he'd be going in the opposite direction of traffic flow? We know it's a far drive, and we've looked at Celebration. We love the "town," but can't get over how 192 is tourist central.

So, what areas would be great for kids? Are we being realistic by looking in these areas? I apologize for the rambling-my daughter was not a good sleeper last night so I'm kind of foggy!

[DailyJournalist]

The Park Avenue area of Winter Park, FL would be your best choice.

[Jonotastic]

Dr. Phillips, Windermere, Winter Park, Celebration have the best public schools in Orlando.

[Wilshire81182]

I think there are a lot of options but they are all mainly close to downtown.
There is Thornton Park, Colonialtown or Delaney Park that are all on the East, NE and SE of downtown. They have more walkable brick paved streets and independent shops and restaurants. The other areas would be College Park northwest of downtown or Winter Park, about 2 miles northeast of downtown. These areas also have a main street with tons of small bistros, markets, shops and in Winter Park there are also some cultural outlets and parks. Most of these areas are more costly than Hunters Creek in general, but closer to the prices you will see in Dr Phillips or Windermere. You can look at the crime maps that Orlando Sentinel posts and see that 32803, 32789 and 32806 have generally lower crime and in 32804 where there is crime, it is generally outside College Park's boundries. I think these areas have some of the most charming and livable areas in all of metro Orlando. A lot of suburbia is seeming to go in the wrong direction, while a lot of gentrification is taking place in these areas and those around them.

[lindquist22]

Hi there,

Are you looking to buy or rent? If you are buying, I don't think you can go wrong with buying in one of the areas mentioned downtown (but in the Blankner school district) as your daughter is still so little, your needs as adults might be the bigger priority (ie. being able to walk to places, have more variety of things to do). Even if you decide, once your daughter is school-age, that Blankner is not as good as it currently is, your house, if you bought it, will probably still have good resale value (being downtown). If you rent, well, then you can just move to a better school district when the time comes. I have also heard great things about Blankner BTW and would not hesitate to have my kids go there.

We currently prefer living in a subdivision as my kids are 8 and 10-- I feel more comfortable letting them (armed with a cellphone) go to their friends' house a couple of streets away and they can play outside on the street because there are few cars that come by; they are able to meet their friends at the community playground or soccer field or pool, etc. In downtown/College Park (where I used to live when I was single and loved it), it might not be quite the same in terms of amenities and access.

I'm not sure going "the other way" on I-4 is really much better than going towards Orlando... when I lived downtown, I worked at Disney Feature Animation and traffic was horrible. Not sure if that drive would get old for your husband after awhile??

Windermere has some stable subdivisions in the affordable arena, like Providence or Glenmuir (both off of 535 and zoned for Windermere Elementary and Bridgewater, A-rated both), and you're about 20 min. from Celebration. I currently live in Windermere in one of those subdivisions that has a lot of foreclosures and was re-zoned to a different elementary school. I will be moving myself in the summer due to those issues (I currently rent).

Best of luck!