Opinions on the Orlando area?

[DangerousRhythm]

I'm really not sure if this is the right forum for it and I apologize if it isn't, but I might possibly be moving to the Orlando area this year or next and I'm just wondering if anyone has any opinions about neighborhoods, cities surrounding, like Winter Park, Ocoee, Casselberry, Maitland, Winter Garden... basically anything north of Mouse World and hopefully at least as far inland, hopefully on a bus line and $150k or under would be lovely.

I'm not sure what to expect, as far as hurricanes and potential flooding, the bus system, Homeowners Associations, taxes and fees... basically everything. It'd be my first time owning a home and well, I admit I'm clueless about the whole thing but trying to learn.

I've noticed there are lots of lakes in the area I'm looking and I'm not sure if it's a good idea to be by a lake, if they flood badly during storms, etc. Concerning hurricanes and flooding, I'm in Houston and I believe I'm closer to the coast than I would be in FL and the elevation here is lower, so that may be something to consider.

Also, I noticed one of the turnpikes is named after Ronald Reagan. :crazy: I'm hoping to get something above that turnpike because it seems the buses run in that area and not much below it.

I have so many questions and really don't know anyone who lives in Florida to ask them about it so any help or even just general advice would REALLY be appreciated! :)

[Mojorabbit]

1. I live in Orlando on a lake

no flooding problems at all. Flood plain maps are good to look at here. A lot of new developments were put in in areas with poor drainage. My house was built in the 40's. Winter Park is a lovely place but pretty upscale price range. Lovely downtown and they have strict building rules to keep the ambiance. It would be my first choice if I was newly moving here. The bus system in central florida sucks. I have lived here off and on for 35 years and only once was Orlando directly impacted badly by a hurricane and that was when we got the three in a row. It is far enough inland where it usually has not been a problem.

[DangerousRhythm]

4. Good to know!

I'll have to keep that in mind about new developments. I'd love Winter Park, actually, but what you said... it's a bit pricey. I notice a lot of the houses made in the 50s or older have a bit of the same shape (kind of rectangular, sort of ranch style I guess?) and wondered whether that was just the style then or whether it's functional in some way concerning the heat and weather. I love a two-story house but I worry about heat rising to that second floor and possibly costing more to cool so perhaps ranch style is more practical?

I'm also glad to hear about the hurricane situation because we just got hit with Ike last year and I've HAD it with hurricanes and being this close to the coast.

Too bad about the bus system though. I am thinking Houston's really isn't much better. I'm actually from New York and I'm sure you know the bus goes *everywhere* there at all hours, pretty much. :)

Thanks for the useful info! :toast:

[litlady]

2. I just moved away from there last year...

I lived next to Lake Buena Vista/Kissimmee, in Orlando proper, and in Oviedo. All were fairly nice. The area near Walt Disney World really is nice but can be pricey and condo-based. Oviedo was a typical suburb and right next to Orlando. Other areas around there like Sanford, Winter Haven, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, etc were all pretty typical suburban areas.

As to buses, I took the bus and the service is really only acceptable in Orlando itself or the few communities like Oviedo that it goes to. Not a great bus system compared to what I am used to in CA, but it got me around. The Downtown terminal was not a very friendly place but many of the connecting routes are there.

Hurricanes may occur there but I never had more than a few tropical storms. Most storms tended to head toward Tampa, South, or Northeast. However, living in Florida you definitely want to be aware of hurricane evacuation routes and have a hurricane preparedness kit. Flooding was rarely an issue but living in Central Florida you must be prepared for nearly DAILY rain, usually absolute downpours that come everyday around 3-4pm and last a few hours. These are usually warm rains because the humidity is very high in Orlando. If anyone is afraid of thunderstorms, Central Florida is not a fun place as it storms constantly during that part of the year. Central Florida doesn't tend to get freezing but it can get quite cold in winter. Summers are rarely blazing hot but they often feel like they are because of the humidity. As to elevation, Florida is one of the flattest places in the country with literally nothing above 300 feet!

There are indeed hundreds of little lakes and many you can buy propety around. These lakes don't tend to flood and in fact sometimes get lower. The issues with the lakes are mosquitoes (there are LOTS of them in Florida)and alligators that can eat your pets if they are in the backyard. If the animal is indoors or just going for a walk, they should be fine.

Don't know about the Homeowner Association stuff as I always rented but many homes there are new so that seems inevitable. Florida has no income tax and lower sales tax than some other places. However, the average salary is also lower because of the lower cost of living. Main food stores in the Orlando area are Publix, Winn Dixie, Super Wal-Mart, Super Target, and Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. Utilities can be a bit pricey in the smaller suburbs not incoroprated in Orlando. Toll roads, which are everywhere, will also take a lot of your money when you are there (I paid $6 a day for awhile). It is nearly impossible to escape the toll roads or the turnpike if you want to get nearly anywhere in Florida.

If you like theme parks, there are nine in close proximity. Walt Disney World has a FL resident passport. Orlando has a nice downtown that does have a large library, arts, and dining. There is poverty and an unusually high murder rate for such a small city. Some of the surrounding areas of Orlando are pretty "country." For the most part, Orlando is a pleasant place to live. As for politics, there are many Republicans though many residents are Democrats as well. However, some of the ridiculous policies with roads and etc are clearly Republican. Finally, most of Florida is naturally green. Orlando is quite green for a city and the lakes everywhere are nice. Many state parks are in Central Florida so if you enjoy outdoor recreation, it is a good area. The Everglades and the bigger city feel of Miami are about 3 hours away and it is an easy drive. The ocean is about an hour away and gulf coast beaches tend to be nicer/warmer.

Certainly ask if there are any other questions... :-)

[DangerousRhythm]

5. Awesome!

I worried a bit about Oveido because it's closer to the coast than some of the other locations, but I think I'm feeling a bit better about it now, so thank you! I love rain so I have no issues whatsoever with it unless of course it kills your power constantly like here in Houston! It's humid as a hot, wet rag here so I don't think I'd feel much worse in Orlando, haha.

I'm also really glad to hear about the lakes, though the mosquitoes worry me. We have tons in Houston because it's never cold enough to kill them off so I guess I'm used to that. The alligators worry me a lot though, and I heard you guys find snakes in your backyards and I read about how to sweep them into a garbage can... I assume you just call animal control if this happens so they can retrieve the snake? D: I've also heard alligators hide in drainage ditches... true, false? Someone may have been trying to mess with me there but I could believe it. :rofl:

I didn't know Florida has no income tax but I'm happy about that!

Thank you so much for your post... it was very helpful! :fistbump:

[Mojorabbit]

7. If you are looking at Oviedo

my husband's family practice office is there. It used to be a combo Dr.s office/ hospital way back in the day. It still has a small town feel but the politics are pretty right wing even though there is a university nearby.

One of my best friends lives in Sanford and there is a pretty bad crime problem there.

As far as alligators. We have one that lives in our lake. We sit out on the dock and watch him cruise across in the summer in the evenings. We do swim in the lake. It does happen that occasionally one gets a dog or child somewhere in the area which we see in the news but it is pretty rare. I love snakes so it doesn't bother me to see them in the yard. Other than the water mocassins we mostly have harmless snakes. Our lake is spring fed so the water level stays steady. Something to look for if you are looking for lakefront property.

We are known for lightening strikes. I have lived all over but I love Orlando. It will always be home to me.

[DangerousRhythm]

11. You swim in the lake?

But what about the alligator? :scared:

That's the only thing that makes me nervous, haha. A friend of mine was telling me alligators attack gardeners sometimes? :o

[Mojorabbit]

14. Sure

We only have one or two and they head the other way. The problem arises when people feed them and they lost their fear. Some lakes in Oviedo are full of alligators and I wouldn't swim there. LOL.

[DangerousRhythm]

16. Brave...

Very brave. :rofl:

I guess, if I got something on the water, I'd probably have to ask around the neighborhood before I ventured near the lake with any intent on swimming. :D

[2Design]

18. if there is water - there is an alligator n/t

[lib2DaBone]

3. Forget Orlando. The wages are low and the traffic is a nightmare...

The traffic is a nightmare ...even Californians can not cope. I-4 at 5 p.m.? 436 in Altamonte any time of the day or night? It is a mess. Cost of living is high, government response is low and you will be surronded by right winger syncophants at every level.

Disney is a cheap neighbor. Disney pays minimum wage on ALL jobs, and whatever profit is made, is shipped out of Orlando back to the corporation. Nothing is returned to the local neighborhood. All burdens are put on the local taxpayers. (The MAGIC of Disney)

The town of Reedy Creek is the Disney Owned Police and Fire Operations.
The Reedy Creek Improvement District is a special government agency created by the Florida Legislature in 1967 as part of the effort to lure Walt Disney World to Orlando. It covers nearly 25,000 acres and has powers typically reserved for city and county governments, such as the ability to regulate building codes, issue bonds and even levy property taxes.

Elections to the Reedy Creek's governing Board of Supervisors are determined by district landowners, who get one vote for every acre of land they own -- as Reedy Creek's largest landowner by far, Disney controls those elections. The company pays nearly $9 out of every $10 in property taxes Reedy Creek collects. As of 2007, Reedy Creek's second-largest taxpayer was Tishman Hotel Corp., owner of the Swan and Dolphin hotels and a Hilton at Disney. The district is located in Orange and Osceola counties - about 15 miles southwest of Orlando - and his home to the cities of Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake

Just my humble opinion, but the allure of Disney faded many years ago...

[DangerousRhythm]

6. Here's the thing...

I'm from NYC so I don't drive, which makes for fun times in sprawly states like Texas... so I won't personally be worrying about the traffic. My husband does drive though, so this IS good to know. I figured I could probably bus it or bike if it's local enough and I'm hoping to have a nice enough backyard to grow some vegetables in to relieve costs. :D

I didn't know that about Reedy Creek so thank you for the info!

[litlady]

9. Not everyone feels this way... : - )

I felt the cost of living was very low especially compared to where I'm from (So. CA). In Oviedo, for instance, I paid $950 a month for a large three bedroom and that was by far the most expensive place we lived in FL. There were some right-wingers but there were also many Democrats from various walks of life. Orlando is not as large a retirement community as South Florida so I hardly saw that group either.

Disney often gives back to the community and recently gave to establish an arts center. They frequently give to local candidates on both sides, they sponsor a program at the university, and have a wildlife conservation area (Nature Conservancy manages it) and fund. Yes, they pay only slightly over FL's minimum wage for entry level but all the rest of the area employers are the same. No, I am not defending low wages, but Disney should not be singled out. In fact Disney, unlike the other local park chains, does have unions for even part time workers.

LOL, yes Reedy Creek is the Disney owned utilities and infrastructure district, complete with Mickey shaped power poles (no, really!). Yes, they have near total control of what goes on around Walt Disney World. However, I lived but two blocks away from Disney and was not under Reedy Creek because Only Disney employees live in that district, and less than 50 of them live in the two cities under their control. Even Celebration, the Disney-planned community near Walt Disney World, is not in RCID. The police are not run by Disney either and their security cannot issue tickets. Some roads around Walt Disney World are owned by RCID but that only means they are taken care of.

As to the allure of Disney fading years ago, clearly not everyone feels this way as indicated in the subject. Walt Disney World is in the top 6 most visited places in North America and Magic Kingdom specifically has been the most visited theme park in the world for many years now. Lots of folks move to Orlando specifically to enjoy those parks.

Edit to add:

[litlady]

10. Oh, and about the traffic...

definitely bad! The drivers are nuts there creating their own turns lanes etc. But while the 4 can be crowded every day, the toll roads aren't as bad. I don't agree that the traffic is anywhere near as bad as So. Cal but it is by no means good. We often drove through Downtown to avoid 4 traffic and that tends to work if you know all the little streets to turn on.

[DangerousRhythm]

12. Wow, Mickey poles?!

Haha, that's crazy. And yeah, my father would love to move to Florida, not only to be in a warmer climate but so he could go to Disney more often. I know other people who despise Disney though, so I guess it goes both ways. :D

I think the cost of living would probably be on par with Houston... at least I hope so.

[2Design]

8. high crime city

http://www.orlandosentinel2.com/data/crime/
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/custom/data/orl-homicidemap-main,0,4865031.htmlpage
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/custom/data/orl-homicidemap2008-main,0,5382337.htmlpage

[DangerousRhythm]

13. Looks like the majority of murders...

...are committed where I probably wouldn't be living, so that's a good thing. Gotta say though, I'm from the Bronx originally so I'm not sure if this worries me as much as it probably should. :rofl:

[ddeclue]

15. OK here's the 411:

1) Orlando is where Floridians evacuate TO in a hurricane. Between 1959 and 2004 it was never directly hit by one as far as I know. In 2004 we got hit by 3 back to back hurricanes in 6 weeks. Since then we've had a few brushes with them but no direct hits - a few windy rainy muggy cloudy days. Hopefully we'll avoid them for the foreseeable future given the insurance stupidity going on in this state since 2004.

2) Orlando is not prone to hurricane flooding as it is 50 miles inland but there are portions of it that are in ordinary flood planes so be sure to check that out when moving here. Flood insurance is NOT covered by home owners' policies.

3) $150,000 for a decent home in Orlando is pretty unrealistic even now with the economic in the crapper. $200,000 is a more reasonable number. If things stay like this for long though, a year from now $150,000 may be high.

4) Unemployment is at 8.6% in Florida as of January - our economy is sucking like a Hoover right now.

5) Bus service/public transportation is pretty piss poor around these parts if you are used to NYC, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Washington D.C. etc where they have excellent trains/subway based systems. All we have is bus service and because of falling tax revenue and very poor planning by our City and County governments in choosing to build new venues including a basketball arena for an out of state Republican billionaire (Rich DeVos) - bus service is being curtailed.

A commuter rail line from Daytona to Orlando to Tampa is supposed to eventually happen provided the funding can ever make it out of Tallahassee (the state legislature) and we can get funding from Washington and the local govt's can all get their ducks in a row but that is probably 5 to 10 years from completion at this point.

6) Roads/traffic is getting worse all the time but in spite of all the local complaints, it does not begin to compare to the traffic problems suffered by places like Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York City metro, Chicago, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, etc. for decades.

7) Construction/development has long been out of control in this town with the developers running everything but with the recent market collapse, they've really run out of steam.

Unfortunately they've largely turned Orlando into an unplanned messy sprawlopolis over the last 30 years and it makes public transportation even more useless in Orlando than it otherwise would have been. Orlando is right up there with Atlanta and L.A. on the "you need a car to live here" scale.

8) Orlando City government is largely held by Democrats, County Government is largely held by Republicans. Officially they are "non partisan" jobs but we all know the score. Regardless of party they are largely in the pocket of the local Chamber of Commerce as witnessed by their passing a 2 BILLION dollar spending (counting interest) plan in 2007 to build/rebuild three public venues: a 500 million dollar+interest basketball arena for out of state uber conservative Republican Amway billionaire Rich DeVos and the Orlando Magic, rebuilding the Orlando Citrus bowl for abotu $200 million for which there is no longer any football team, and building a new performing arts center for which the various arts organizations will not be able to afford the rent.

Meanwhile local gov't basic services such as parks, libraries, schools, emergency responders, roads, bridges, public transport, etc. are being cut so that the show can go on with the venues. Indeed right now these local gov'ts are having to eat crow on the venues and are delaying and scaling back but Rich Devos's basketball arena goes on unimpeded.

9) School systems are good although perpetually underfunded. The Chamber of Commerce has successfully hijacked the school board and will get their double voting school board chair in 2010 so that the developers will have one stop shopping to insure that new schools are only built in their new rich developments while old schools in minority and poor areas will be neglected.

10) Nightlife/social life in Orlando is pretty much a joke compared to larger cities like Atlanta, NYC, L.A., Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Chicago and even compared to similar size cities like Nashville, Austin and New Orleans. Live music is hard to find - most of the restaurants are chain restaurants in strip malls. Thornton Park is one nice pocket, Winter Park is another. Downtown has a night club district but it's hardly like the French Quarter or Buckhead in Atlanta, or the Village in NYC, etc. I don't even waste my time visiting the attractions unless forced to do so by visiting friends or relatives or by a Democratic party event - it's too far, too crowded and too artificial.

Compared to these cities, Orlando is a poor town to meet your significant other - the joke is that you meet someone in Miami and move to Orlando to settle down.

11) Airport destinations from Orlando are very good for a city of this size because Orlando is a tourist desination - Orlando is the 10th busiest U.S. airport and 20th in the world - but not as good as from NYC or Atlanta or Chicago. You can get direct flights to most points in the Eastern U.S. and to many places in Europe from Orlando.

There are also some other nearby smaller airports in Tampa, St. Pete, Melbourne, Daytona, and Sanford if you want to check for cheap flights.

If you are a private pilot as I am, Orlando has a nice executive airport centrally located and there are many many strips around Florida - Florida is well suited to general aviation - but costs are prohibitive in recent times.

12) Crime spiked greatly in 2007-2008 but recently seems to be on its way back down.

13) Higher Education - Orlando has a number of "second tier" and community college institutions but nothing in Florida really is first tier. UCF, Rollins, Valencia, Seminole Community College, Florida A&M, and another law school that I can't remember come to mind.

14) Shopping - mostly chain stores and strip malls. There are a few nicer places in Winter Park.

15) Entertainment/Sports - We do have the Orlando Magic if you like NBA basketball, along with an indoor arena football team the Orlando Predators?, college sports at UCF including a pretty good football team, and spring training MLB baseball nearby.

If you want NFL football or MLB regular season baseball you will have to travel to Tampa - about an hour and a half away, Jacksonville 2 hours, or Miami 3-1/2 hours to see this.

Some major entertainment acts do make it to a number of the venues around the Orlando area but by and large they skip Orlando and do their Florida shows in the larger towns in Florida including nearby Tampa/St. Pete, and further away Jacksonville and Miami/Ft. Lauderdale.

There is some live local/regional theater and one or two arthouse film theaters but by and large it is the chain cinema multiplex theater that rules in Orlando.

16) Politics - Orlando is strongly polarized between Democrats and Republicans but the Democrats took a decisive lead in registrations and in their wins in recent elections between 2006-2008. Orange County was the only county in Central Florida to break for Kerry in 2004 but just barely and in 2008 went 60% to 40% for Barack Obama.

Orlando is shifting quickly Democratic as we have won back 2 state house seats and two Congressional seats since 2006. That said, the local DEC's are in need of some massive training and organizational effort - the OCYD however has been the "Special Operations Forces" commando squad in getting all these Democrats elected here in Orange County in the last few years.

Other counties DEC's by comparison to OCDEC are actually far worse off however - Seminole County and Brevard County are Republican strongholds still.

I could probably write a lot more about Orlando - if you have questions, just ask.

Doug D.
Orlando, FL

[DangerousRhythm]

17. Wow, thank you!

That is some response... LOTS of good information in there for me to chew on for a while. I was thinking either Winter Garden or Winter Park would be best for me, probably the latter as there's a higher chance of me being on a bus line and I read they have a nice farmer's market. It'd just be me and my husband so we're not looking for anything huge, probably just a 3 bedroom but I must admit a 4 bedroom would be lovely... probably no bigger than 1500 sq ft though. I noticed a lot of the houses for sale in Winter Park were older and probably in more established neighborhoods than Winter Garden, where a lot of the construction for sale seems to be newer, possibly planned communities?

I moved from the Bronx to Houston and I'm not exactly in a hip, happening part of town, so I'm sure whatever's there will probably be on par with what we have here. It's chain city but we try to seek out small non-chain restaurants and give them our business. :D

It seems Winter Park is less sprawly, just from all the good stuff they seem to have within a small area and I'm always up for museums and artsy things, so it seems like the best neighborhood for me to look in, and if everything is within 10-20 minutes that'd be less time spent in traffic, I'd imagine. Another plus is that it's close to an Amtrak station so I can go up to NY and visit every once in a while if I like. The commuter rail line sounds like a great idea if they can ever manage to get it off the ground. Here in Houston we have the light rail but it's VERY limited to a small area of the downtown and while it's REALLY great, smooth, fast and clean, I wish they'd expand it because it's fairly useless to me where it is.

I've been looking on realtor.com and it seems houses are pretty decent at the $150k mark, but who knows whether that'll start going up in the coming months. Do you know of any other local site like realtor.com that I could look at? I plan to Google for more but maybe there's one I've missed or that might only be known by locals? :D

Thanks again for the info and the offer! If I have any other questions I'll drop you a line. :)

[Sancho]

19. Doug wrote a good post...I might add....

17.) Buy a Kindle - you'll need something to read while sitting on the road in big traffic jams.

18.) Sailing, cruising, kayaking, etc. are very good on the west coast of Florida and the best night life is Miami. I still love the Keys, so living where you can get to the coast of you interest may be worthwhile. It saves an hour to avoid going through Orlando to the other side.

19.) Doctors and dentists are all over the place, but they tend to move a lot so keeping a family physician for a few years may be an issue.

20.) You may need to brush up on your Spanish.

Good luck!

[litlady]

20. And I might add that there are many great places to see manatees!

Which are very cute. :-)

[DangerousRhythm]

22. Awesome! N/T

[DangerousRhythm]

21. Thanks!

I have an iPod Touch with Stanza AND Kindle apps so I'm good there.

I'd love to take a nice cruise to the islands south of Florida, especially if any cruises go to Puerto Rico. Speaking of, I know enough Spanish to get by decently enough, including lots of curse words I learned at home growing up. :rofl: