Moving to Orlando: Need help!!

[baby1disney]

Hello everyone! I haven't been on here in awhile, but I know I can come here and get answers that I need. I'm planning on moving to Orlando within the next three months and I don't know where to move to. Money is tight right now, so no more than $650/month can I spend on rent. I also have a 10 year old son, so I want a safe neighborhood as well as a good/great school district.

I work in the medical field (I'm a Certified Medical Assistant), so I don't think I'd have a problem finding a job as I'm already looking. This is coming upon me faster than I thought, but I'm ready to start a new life with myself and my son. So any tips, hints, anything I will be grateful for!!!

Thank You all!!!

Terrie

[baby1disney]

Also, what areas are good too?? I'm not prone to be in Orlando only, but I'd like to be within 30-60mins of Orlando if need be. Thanks again everyone!!

[AndyPok1]

That isn't an easy question to answer because Orlando is so spread out. What is attracting you to Orlando? Disney? Because Disney is 25 minutes from Downtown Orlando, and 40-50 minutes from the Northern suburbs on a good day.

Starting from the south:

Farthest south is Davenport, Kissimmee, and St Cloud. I have friends in these various locales, and like all places there are safe and less safe areas. Know absolutely zero about the schools.

Dr Phillips / Windermere are two neighborhoods on the southwest edge of Orlando between Disney and Universal that I know are highly recommended, and I believe the schools are good as well. Hunter's Creek is southeast and is a nice neighborhood. However, those are all somewhat pricey.

Metrowest is north of Universal, not super-great but more moderately priced, unsure how good the schools are though. On the opposite side of I-4 is the Millenia area, which is good in narrow strips because of the giant mall and surrounding developments all built last decade. It quickly goes downtown the farther you get from the highway.

Next notable area is downtown, but that and the surrounding good areas are outside of your price range.

Northwest of downtown is College Park which is nice, but its southern border gets sketchy quickly. Northwest of downtown is Winter Park and Baldwin Park. Both of which are very nice, but again pricey and I'm unsure of the schools.

Farther north than that are places I know nothing about.. Altamonte Springs and Maitland.

That basically covers wide swatch surrounding I-4 that goes for about 30 miles. However, there's plenty of other places around the various tolled beltways (Winter Garden, Clermont, Apopka, Ocoee, Sanford, etc. ... but I know even less than nothing about them.

[OKW Lover]

Val & I have been scouting various Orlando neighborhoods in preparation for moving there. Our criteria is a bit different than the OP's though since we are retired and will be buying a house. Some things we are considering:

• We want to be "close" to Disney, but not too close. Too close means too much congestion and a proliferation of tourist-trap kind of places. We want to be able to have a "normal" life as well as enjoying Disney. Our target is no more than a 30 minute drive to WDW. Oh, and we prefer not to have to drive through Orlando on I-4 to do it.
• We don't want new neighbors every week. Some areas are heavy in weekly rentals. We want to establish a nice relationship with the community.
• We do want to have convenient shopping within a 10 minute drive. This is actually pretty easy from what we've seen.

So far we're focusing on Clermont and Davenport. The far end of St. Cloud is nice too but a bit longer of a drive.

[AndyPok1]

Originally Posted by OKW Lover

a proliferation of tourist-trap kind of places

Oh, you mean like the fact that my local Pizza Hut doesn't do the $10 any pizza deal, so I have to drive 8 miles up the road to get pizza? That kind of tourist trap?

[OKW Lover]

Originally Posted by AndyPok1

Oh, you mean like the fact that my local Pizza Hut doesn't do the $10 any pizza deal, so I have to drive 8 miles up the road to get pizza? That kind of tourist trap?

Yes that too. Although I was really thinking of the ones that sell the cheap (as in poor quality) souvenirs. You know, the kind of places that have a sign outside advertising 4 t-shirts for $10.

[baby1disney]

Thanks everyone for the tips. I'm moving to get a fresh start in my life. Where I live now, I've had some very bad relationships and there's nothing left here for me anymore. I've loved Florida since my grandparents lived there years ago and I always said that if I get the chance to go, I would.

Thank you to the pp who posted that site!! I will be checking it out. Also, does anyone know how to look up school ratings and how they are? My son is 10 and I don't want a bad school for him.

[Stacy's a freak]

Good luck to you Baby1! Moving a great distance is a major life change for you AND your son. I certainly do not know you but would caution anyone to think long and hard about moving to "get away" from previous life choices; especially when there is a child in the mix. Children need stability more than anything else. Forgive the motherly advice - just hoping you have thought things through compeletely.

[dsnyfan608]

Originally Posted by baby1disney

Thanks everyone for the tips. I'm moving to get a fresh start in my life. Where I live now, I've had some very bad relationships and there's nothing left here for me anymore. I've loved Florida since my grandparents lived there years ago and I always said that if I get the chance to go, I would.

Thank you to the pp who posted that site!! I will be checking it out. Also, does anyone know how to look up school ratings and how they are? My son is 10 and I don't want a bad school for him.

I could be completely wrong but would the Chamber of Commerce have this info.? Just a thought....

[baby1disney]

Originally Posted by dsnyfan608

I could be completely wrong but would the Chamber of Commerce have this info.? Just a thought....

You know..I didn't think about that!! Lol

[baby1disney]

Stacy-

As a mother, my son is first and foremost on my list of priorities!! As far as getting away from a previous life, I also stated that I've been wanting to move to Florida for yeaars..since I was a little girl! Florida is/feels like home to me everytime I'm there and I love the feeling I get when I'm there!! I have read a lot of your posts on other threads and while I'm sure you think you're helping people see things, you can come across a completely different way. I'm not saying that is what you did with me, but I just felt like you were questioning my parenting skills. No biggie/no harm done but thank you for your input as well as everyone else!!

[jewjubean]

I am in the Winter Garden area and LOVE IT! I am about five minutes from the world... But it's a bit higher, the price for a two bedroom is around 800-900. I know friends who live in a couple apartment complexes around the area... Alexandria/Parc View, Cagen Crossing, and Discovery Palms are the ones that I know they give good reviews. Not sure about schools... But I would make sure you understand how your cost of living is going to go up... This is a tourist town.. With tourist prices! I pay 800 for a one bedroom apt. It's a bit fancier than the other ones.. But I enjoy it! Good luck and pm if you have any questions!

[baby1disney]

Originally Posted by jewjubean

I am in the Winter Garden area and LOVE IT! I am about five minutes from the world... But it's a bit higher, the price for a two bedroom is around 800-900. I know friends who live in a couple apartment complexes around the area... Alexandria/Parc View, Cagen Crossing, and Discovery Palms are the ones that I know they give good reviews. Not sure about schools... But I would make sure you understand how your cost of living is going to go up... This is a tourist town.. With tourist prices! I pay 800 for a one bedroom apt. It's a bit fancier than the other ones.. But I enjoy it! Good luck and pm if you have any questions!

Thank you for your response! I know things are gonna be higher down there..I plan on making a visit soon to check out some places and get an idea of what it be like.

[LilGMom]

We are moving to the Cocoa area this month so while I wasn't looking in Orange County this is what I did for Brevard County. What I did with when we were looking at houses since I want my boys to go to a good school is get on the county school board site and see if they have a link where you can input a street address and get the name of the school. Then put the school's name into www.greatschools.org to get ratings, past FCAT test scores and parent reviews. You can also check out www.schooldigger.com to look for housing based on the school that is in that area. www.trulia.com is a good site to search for rental and when it lists a house it will often give information about the schools towards the bottom of the page. We found a wonderful realtor to help us find a rental house in the area that we wanted, the price range, the amenities, etc. You might want to look into going that route. Good luck!

Have you considered a little farther from WDW than Orlando? Palm Bay, Rockledge, Viera, etc. are all about 45 minutes east.

[baby1disney]

Originally Posted by LilGMom

We are moving to the Cocoa area this month so while I wasn't looking in Orange County this is what I did for Brevard County. What I did with when we were looking at houses since I want my boys to go to a good school is get on the county school board site and see if they have a link where you can input a street address and get the name of the school. Then put the school's name into www.greatschools.org to get ratings, past FCAT test scores and parent reviews. You can also check out www.schooldigger.com to look for housing based on the school that is in that area. www.trulia.com is a good site to search for rental and when it lists a house it will often give information about the schools towards the bottom of the page. We found a wonderful realtor to help us find a rental house in the area that we wanted, the price range, the amenities, etc. You might want to look into going that route. Good luck!

Have you considered a little farther from WDW than Orlando? Palm Bay, Rockledge, Viera, etc. are all about 45 minutes east.

Yes I've considered that. I wouldn't wanna be no more than an hour out of Orlando, but if I was to find something elsewhere, I'd consider it highly!! Thanks for the tips!!