What's become of Orlando (Cocoa, Goldenrod: insurance, crime rate, safe neighborhood)

[GLS2010]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

the hair cuttery is a chain shop actually. and technically that one i went to was in orlando, on landstar blvd, in the meadow woods area. meadow woods has the highest concentration of puerto ricans then any other place in florida. not that its a bad thing, but it explains why that lady at the hair cuttery didnt speak english

meadow woods is also about a mile up the road from Buenaventura Lakes, which is IN Osceola County, perhaps the most hispanic heavy neighborhood in Central FL, if not the entire state

As far as Rio Pinar is concerned, the south side of Lake Underhill yes, that area is nice, older homes with big yards and lots of big trees, along with the golf course

But look at the older smaller subdivisions on the north side where Little River Elementary is, I cannot remember their names but with the exception of Shadow Bay and one other one, the subdivisions between Chickasaw and 417, on the north side of Lake Underhill are not good neighborhoods at all. Go to Quail Hollow Dr where I used to live and you will see what I mean

I cannot think of one stretch of Goldenrod where the neighborhoods are even decent, with the exception of a few newer subdivisions on the far southern end of Goldenrod near the airport, and maybe on the far northern fringe near Aloma Ave

The two neigborhoods north of lake underhill closest to the 417 aren't that bad. I know 4 people in the one closest to the 417 who live in separate homes, and when ever i go there i am impressed at how good of a neighborhood it is. It has a sense of community. the neighbors know eachother, they have community gerage sales, and other community events. I was not expecting that. Plus its a newer subdivision. The one little river ES is in is pretty sketchy but the one next to it isn't bad and the one next to that is, like i said, pretty nice.

[airboat5]

Originally Posted by GLS2010

The two neigborhoods north of lake underhill closest to the 417 aren't that bad. I know 4 people in the one closest to the 417 who live in separate homes, and when ever i go there i am impressed at how good of a neighborhood it is. It has a sense of community. the neighbors know eachother, they have community gerage sales, and other community events. I was not expecting that. Plus its a newer subdivision. The one little river ES is in is pretty sketchy but the one next to it isn't bad and the one next to that is, like i said, pretty nice.

Its like beckycat said its not all bad.

[JustinsMama]

Just think of what I could contribute if we actually moved down there

[StreetSmarts]

Originally Posted by Jala88

[b]Need some advice. I lived in the Orlando Area for 15 years up until 2004, last residence in the 32828 ( Avalon ) area, then relocated to NC for the past 6 yrs. My husband has a steady job here, but is considering relocating back to Florida to work for the company he left back in 2004. My concern is all the garbage that I have been hearing/reading about the crime ect, but some threads are outdated and wanted to hear if things have changed for the better and to see if I can get some more opinions on the area. I'm really unsure if it's a wise decision to come back to FL or to stay here in NC.
Thanks

The Avalon Pk area is not a great place any longer. Gangs, grafitti, idiots on the roads, etc. It's not a war zone, but it aint great. A lot of the Smith's and Johnson's have moved out, if you get my drift.

Orlando has changed a lot. I feel like it's gotten worse over the yrs. It isnt the same place it was, even in the early 2000's. Crime is however improving over the last few yrs. My biggest complaint about the area is the people (rude) and how they drive and behave towards others. The constant spanish and lack of community gets to me too.

Just my 2 cents.

[Jala88]

[b]I will try to address each one of you if I can.. Wilshire, GLS thanks for your comments. Glad to hear that it's still growing. I had googled the area and can see all the changes. It's amazing. Noodles, I will say this, NC is a very beautiful place. No doubt. The mountains, natural landscape is just beautiful, season changes are nice too. Florida is man made beautiful. I did get tired of the heat myself and enjoyed NC for the past few years, but winter can get old after a while. It can be pretty cold and gloomy at times. I think I got used to the Florida heat and sunshine. You probably feel the way we did when we moved. Sick of the heat, but you may miss it if you left it. Shir, where did you move too? Cranes rooster... Thanks for all of that info, very helpful .. Just another guy... From what I see Avalon has boomed tremendously since 04'.. It's amazing. I just loved the whole Avalon concept. I have 2 kids, one entering high school in the fall the other is only 4. They don't quite have communities here in NC like that with all the schools in the neighborhood as well as shopping centers, medical, churches, ymca.. ect.. It was always a great concept for families. We left Fl for several reasons... Closer to family (mistake), "seemed" more for affordable at the time. More house/property for the money, Change of season was a big one, I was done with the hurricanes at that point ( didn't bother my husband, just me ).. Now we have a change of heart mainly due to my husbands job, better company in Florida, warm weather more often is nice, Avalon would be great for my kids, if it's still a safe place with good schools. Miss being by the ocean. 4 hour drive for us. Found out that sometimes it's worse living too close to family like we thought. Limited to where we can live being in the outskirts of Charlotte. Charlotte's crime is pretty bad, and then were you want to live, good schools, safe neighborhoods, then it gets expensive. Just a difficult decision when you like 2 places for different reasons. When you live out of the state your researching and you have no one to get info from it's difficult and your finding yourself doing research online and you read information that may not be what you want to hear, but then you wonder how true it is. I have another questions.. How about the property tax's and the homeowners insurance? Is that true that it has sky rocketed as well? We pay about $2200/yr for a 2300 sf home on 1/4 acre..Love to read all your comments and would love more info if you have it. Thanks

[Jala88]

Com Sense... Actually what you just said is what I have been hearing ! That's what makes me question if we are making the right decision. Gotcha on the people moving out.. Don't know if my husband needs to hang in there and keep his eye out for another job and just move to a different part of NC??

[StreetSmarts]

Originally Posted by **NoodLes**

Same old boring city as when you left. Hot ass April weather already, it's in the lower 80's, feels like lower 90's. Still have the poorly planned roads, plans for more toll roads, and low paying jobs and the great "diversification". And the crappiest people in the country all flock here for some reason.

I was thinking about how hot it already was too. Today was brutal at around 4 or 5 pm. The sun was intense an the humidity isnt even that bad yet.

I agree about the people. It definitely seems like Orlando (and a lot of FL actually) attract a lot of...... what you said.

[**NoodLes**]

Originally Posted by ComSense

I was thinking about how hot it already was too. Today was brutal at around 4 or 5 pm. The sun was intense an the humidity isnt even that bad yet.

I agree about the people. It definitely seems like Orlando (and a lot of FL actually) attract a lot of...... what you said.

Yep, feels like summer already. Like you said, around 4 to 5 pm seems to be the worst part of the day, but the rest feels pretty good so far. But, that's how Otown is, it can go from being the most beautiful day to the most terrible place either with the heat or the strong thunderstorms. And is it just me or does the white pavement look ugly as hell too? Aren't roads supposed to be black?

[GLS2010]

no offense comsense but your a bit biased because you hate FL. The weather has been beautiful lately. It's actually been hotter up north. Starting Friday it's not going to get out of the 70s for atleast another week according to the 10 day forecast. Orlando has plenty of "smiths and johnsons" and so does Avalon. The way com speaks, Avalon sounds like some ghetto in puerto rico. Avalon park is a great place to live, and crime wise Orlando is no different than how it was in 04. Also this Hispanic population was pretty big back in 04, it hasn't changed much. The biggest changes from 04 has been the new construction (homes, stores, etc) The people and the aditudes are about the same.

[GLS2010]

Originally Posted by **NoodLes**

Yep, feels like summer already. Like you said, around 4 to 5 pm seems to be the worst part of the day, but the rest feels pretty good so far. But, that's how Otown is, it can go from being the most beautiful day to the most terrible place either with the heat or the strong thunderstorms. And is it just me or does the white pavement look ugly as hell too? Aren't roads supposed to be black?

most all the roads I drive on are black. some grey. never seen white. seems like all the older "grey" roads over here are in the process of being widened or resurfaced