Help Needed! Moving To Disney

[DisneyPrincess21]

Hello everyone,
I am planning a move to the Disney area within the next few months and am in the process of looking into what area's around Disney area are the best.

I will be taking a trip down in January to meet up with an agent and look at some homes, so I need to get a general idea of what area's are the best to look into, and avoid. Looking for somewhere that is obviously safe and close commute to the magic

I was wondering if any locals can give me some advice on what areas to look into.


Thanks!

[cer]

We were riding on a bus back to the airport once, and the bus driver was talking about where he lived. One point he made which I thought was really good, was that you want to live far enough away from the magic that your family does not think of you as their own personal hotel... unless of course, you just like having house guests.

I don't know where he said that he lived, but I think it is good point that I had not ever considered.

[disneydeb]

I toured Celebration during my last trip. It looks like an awesome place to live. I have another friend in the Lake Mary area, it is nice too and about 45 minutes away from the magic.
Have fun and enjoy your relocation!

[dnickels]

Just a few Q's and I should be able to give a little advice since I have a place here in the area.
-Are you retired or working? And as part of that where do you plan to work? (no point in giving yourself a 10 minute commute to visit Disney twice a week if you're going to give yourself an hour long commute to work 5 days a week).
-Single family homes or townhomes?
-Do you want to live in an area with a homeowners association or no HOA?
-Do you like newer subdivisions or older neighborhoods?
-Do you want to be close enough to walk/bike to things (i.e. restaurants/shopping/etc) or are you fine with using a car to get everywhere?
-Rough estimate of price ranges you're comfortable with?
Keep in mind you could always rent for 6 months and explore the neighborhoods so you get a little bit more exposure to the different areas than you can see in a few days or week of house-hunting.

[Tygger7]

I have friends in Apopka and based on their experiences, that's where my DH will most likely end up. It's about 30 minutes from WDW, and isn't as "touristy" as other areas. I've also heard good things about Celebration, but it's significantly more expensive. Of course, my #1 choice would be Golden Oaks.

[clausjo]

My parents live in Clermont, one sister lives in Orlando and the other was in Davenport and just moved to Winter Haven. Brother-in-law and family live in Winter Park. Winter Haven is a bit far, but Clermont, Davenport and Winter Park are nice. My mom used to drive into downtown Orlando from Clermont when she was still working so its doable. Same with BIL. I would base my decision more on where I am working more than WDW. You're never too far once you're in the general area.

[DisneyPrincess21]

Just a few Q's and I should be able to give a little advice since I have a place here in the area.
-Are you retired or working? And as part of that where do you plan to work? (no point in giving yourself a 10 minute commute to visit Disney twice a week if you're going to give yourself an hour long commute to work 5 days a week). *My job is pretty flexiable so I will be working in the area around Disney & then also working for Disney hopefully as well.*
-Single family homes or townhomes? *Single family home*
-Do you want to live in an area with a homeowners association or no HOA? *No preference*
-Do you like newer subdivisions or older neighborhoods? *No real preference, just want somewhere safe & nice/not rundown houses and yards, etc*
-Do you want to be close enough to walk/bike to things (i.e. restaurants/shopping/etc) or are you fine with using a car to get everywhere? *I would mainly be driving places*
-Rough estimate of price ranges you're comfortable with? *No more than $1,000ish per month mortgage*
Keep in mind you could always rent for 6 months and explore the neighborhoods so you get a little bit more exposure to the different areas than you can see in a few days or week of house-hunting.

Hope this helps to answer your questions

[DisneyPrincess21]

My parents live in Clermont, one sister lives in Orlando and the other was in Davenport and just moved to Winter Haven. Brother-in-law and family live in Winter Park. Winter Haven is a bit far, but Clermont, Davenport and Winter Park are nice. My mom used to drive into downtown Orlando from Clermont when she was still working so its doable. Same with BIL. I would base my decision more on where I am working more than WDW. You're never too far once you're in the general area.

My job is very flexiable, so it is pretty much based on where I *want* to live rather than where I *have* to live. So if I get to pick, then I want to be as close as possible to the magic do you think Cinderella's Castle is available?!

[DisneyPrincess21]

We were riding on a bus back to the airport once, and the bus driver was talking about where he lived. One point he made which I thought was really good, was that you want to live far enough away from the magic that your family does not think of you as their own personal hotel... unless of course, you just like having house guests.

I don't know where he said that he lived, but I think it is good point that I had not ever considered.

That is a good point. However, I don't have many friends & family who visit Disney area & the ones that do come to the area, I wouldn't mind hosting them

[DisneyPrincess21]

I have heard of some houses in the Quail Ridge Ph2 Subdivision in Kissimmee. I have heard this is a nice area/subdivision. On Google it looks like a fairly nice & well kept, safe area. Can anyone confirm this?

[dnickels]

Perfect, thanks!

With that in mind I'll start with some of the areas I'm most familiar with and work to those I'm less familiar with.

Winter Garden/Windermere
-Subdivision of Independence in Winter Garden, FL is the area where I live. I can see the MK fireworks every night from the driveway and hear the train whistle on most calm days. It's a typical newer subdivision, generally very safe, HOA, community pools/basketball courts/tennis courts/workout rooms in the clubhouses, that sort of thing. It's huge and still being built-out so you can either get new construction from one of the builders or buy a place that's been lived in already. Using the rear entrance to Disney property means you're on property in about 5 minutes from the time you pull out of the subdivision (though it still takes some driving to get to the parking lots of course).
-Moving a bit further away...... There are a ton of newish subdivisions along County Rd 535 all the way up to the Turnpike (just pull up google maps to see where I mean). Everything in those will be typical of newer subdivisions (generally very safe, HOAs, drive to most services, etc). Near the intersection of 535 and the 429 is a huge new shopping/dining area called Winter Garden Village so you'd have just about any services you might need right there.
-Further north there's a neat older area of Winter Garden that extends from about Plant St (running east to west) and north to Lake Apopka. Great little old downtown with events, music, farmers market, that sort of thing. The downside is that it's separated from the other good areas mentioned earlier by some less than great places along Colonial Drive, aka State Route 50.

Some general thoughts on other areas
Kissimmee
-Generally speaking it's not an area where most locals would choose to move. Because of the touristy aspect, it's more transient and because of that you get a little bit higher crime, worse schools, more low-paying jobs. Not all of Kissimmee is that way, and I can't speak for that specific subdivision, but the generally lower housing prices in Kissimmee tend to be for a reason.

Clermont
Beautiful area out among rolling hills, lots of newer subdivisions and shopping, but a longer drive to Disney and to Orlando. I know people who do, but just for my tastes I wouldn't want to be commuting from Clermont to the Disney area everyday.

[Ed]

I have heard of some houses in the Quail Ridge Ph2 Subdivision in Kissimmee. I have heard this is a nice area/subdivision. On Google it looks like a fairly nice & well kept, safe area. Can anyone confirm this?

One aspect of Quail Ridge that you may not like is its proximity to Orlando Int'l Airport; it is only about 3 miles directly south of the main runways, which means lots of jet noise. That close to the airport, the planes are quite low both while landing and taking off, and the noise can be significant, especially from planes taking off under full power.

We live in St. Cloud, which is east of Kissimmee off US 192. It is a city of about 35,000 residents, largely single family homes on decent sized lots, no HOA in most parts of the city, and there are many nice homes available at prices roughly half of what they were five years ago. We spent nine months living in our RV while taking our time scouting the entire Orlando area for a home. We checked out virtually every city and town in a 50 mile radius, and kept coming back to St. Cloud where we finally located a nice home a block and a half away from a beautiful 14,000 acre lake. We've grown to love our little town. Like any other town, it has its "warts" but the majority of the homes closer to the lake are very nice, well maintained, nicely landscaped, and the city has done a great job of renovating the lakefront park area. It might well be on your list of areas to check out.

Almost forgot - -we're only about 22 miles from WDW. Close enough to be convenient, far away enough from all the traffic and tourist chaos.

[DisneyPrincess21]

How about the Lindfields Subdivision in Kissimmee on Disney's side of 4?

[Main Street Jim]

South Clermont/Davenport/Four Corners area. It's where Orange, Lake, Osceola, and Polk counties all come together.

SW of Disney, near US192 and US27. 15-20 minutes to Disney. Lived there for nearly ten years before moving up here to Ohio, but...I had an apartment or rented a room.

BUT - it's nice 'n quiet, far enough away from Disney to not deal with the traffic all week. Plenty of homes in subdivisions.

Anything east/southeast, you usually have to deal with toll roads (Osceola Parkway, 417, 408, etc.). Anything north (Apopka, Altamonte Springs, Sanford, etc.) you have to deal with downtown Orlando. Someone mentioned St. Cloud; it's alright, small town, but a good 30-45 minute drive through Kissimmee to get anywheres - and not much *in* St. Cloud other than a Wal-Mart on 192. Melbourne/Cocoa area's close as well.

Winter Garden's not *too* bad, but SR 50 is/was a nightmare. CR 535 (*not* SR 535) is OK, but just a bit too close for my tastes.

Clermont "officially" stretches all the way from SR 50 down to US 192 via US 27 (a good 20-mile stretch) (I lived at US 192 and US 27 on the northeast intersection basically, and had a "Clermont" address, but I would call it "South Clermont").

Kissimmee/Hunter's Creek - I'd stay away from, too crowded, dealing with traffic on 192/Osceola Parkway, expensive. Even Celebration isn't "run" by Disney any more; they turned it over to Osceola county a coupla years back, and it's gone downhill (businesses have left the shopping area because of vandalism, etc.).

Some ZIP codes to look at:

33897 (Davenport)
32836 (southwest Orange county)
34713/14 (south Clermont)

[Dixie Springs]

You may also want to check City Data Forums (site), Orlando section. There are tons of queries just like yours with specific Q&A's, some from area residents. It covers all the 'hoods - Windermere, Celebration, Davenport, Dr. Phillips, etc. One word of caution: You will see some very negative posts about the area, as well as arguments that any Intercot moderator would zap. Unfortunately, crime seems to be a hot topic for the greater Orlando area.

[Donald A]

I just moved down from Pittsburgh and am working in Winter Haven. Winter Haven is pretty nice but perhaps a little far from Disney for a daily commute. Now I sometimes work in Davenport and that is pretty nice. Close to I-4 with easy access to the resort (only a few exits to the East BEFORE Orlando). Houses are fairly cheap there for the money but were hurt by the housing market collapse. I came down a weekend to look at houses and even had an offer but the appraisal came in too low. With a son and several animals I said I never would do it but rented a house. This gives me the time to look for the perfect place to live.