Where to live in MCO?

[RP 04]

Lake Nona prices: http://www.divosta.com/homefinder/market.asp?acctcode=1112

 

[V-STALL]

Read this too.

http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?t=60498&highlight=Deland

 

[Blue Dude]

Ditto the advice to rent for a while before you buy. You just won't fully understand the character of a neighborhood until you have a chance to observe for a period of time. And don't count on a real estate agent helping you decide the right area to live in. They aren't allowed to assist in, let us say, cultural decisions. (In other words, if the neighborhood you're looking at has been steadily transforming into a ghetto/barrio, he can't tell you. Believe me, you'll want to know this.)

Probably the best places to focus are east and northeast of the city. Clermont (W of Orlando) was hot a couple of years ago, but you can hardly recognize it now. St. Cloud (South) isn't bad and you can get plenty of land there for not much money if you want to build. Lake Nona is a fast-building yuppie haven, but you'll have to buy a $400k house on a postage stamp of land with 200 people living within shouting distance. Avalon Park is trying to do the same. Oviedo is nice; older town/family feel, a little expensive. Wedgefield has plenty of acre-plus lots and it's quiet, but you'll probably have to build. Good schools and quick airport access though.

It just depends on what you want.

 

[Pattern-Master]

I would recommend Lake Nona Area. Just EAST of airport. 5 min to employee parking. 20 mins from downtown, 20 mins from Disney, something on the order of about 35 mins from SFB. For those that are saying 'what about noise'; since the runways are north/south, and the neighborhoods are so close you almost never see or hear any traffic. Very classy area of town. Bio-tech firm, VA hospital, and UCF Medical center are all going in in that area in the next few years. Northlake Park Elementary is an A rated school and there is a top-notch YMCA located adjacent as well. Just my $.02....

I would agree, my wife and have been living in East Park for two years now and love it. It makes my commute to EWR much easier because of the proximity to the airport, I'm ten minutes from the terminal.

 

[fugghedabowdit]

Thanks for all the good info everyone.

 

[RP 04]

Pine Hills seems to be popular among SWA pilots, while UAL pilots like to live in the Parramore area...

 

[Jeff Helgeson]

A few options...

Beach area: Coco Beach off the 528 Beeline or Port Orange.

Just north off the 417, Oviedo.

Nice areas, good schools and close to the airport, easy access via hwys.

 

[ERJdca]

I highly recommend Avalon Park. Its on the East side, 25 minutes to MCO, 20 minutes to downtown, it has a nice little suburban downtown center and housing ranging from townhomes to custom homes. Avalon Elementary is an A+ school, and a brand new middle school just opened this year. Check out these sites
www.avalonpark.com and my buddy Joe is a real estate agent in town,
www.milleniumrealtygroup.com/

Good Luck,
boost

I will Second that. I am having a house built there at the moment.

 

[HalinTexas]

My wife lived in St. Cloud for 11 years. Her folks still live there and a another good friend lives in the area. I can't say the schools are all that great, they suck, but the proximity to the airport and beaches, Coco and Melbourne, is pretty good. Have to drive into Kissimmee for any kind of night life. Lots of construction going on that way and eastward along 192, largely due to a new access ramp to the Fl. Turnpike. If you want some country living, that's the place.

Traffic around Orlando is stupid. Not well organized. Lots of toll roads no one uses. Think about this when considering location. Your entertainment and commute may be effected.

The cost of real estate went nuts after I left in early 2003. At the time you could get a really nice home, probably with a pool, for less than $200K depending on location. Coco beach/Canaveral was surprisingly cheap. Might still be worth the look. "B-Line" to the airport is usually less than an hour.

Insurance is kinda nuts. If you buy anywhere east of I-95, it's going to jump. You'll have to buy extra flood insurance for your home and it's pretty high as it is. Florida law basically allows your deductible to be about 10% of your policy. After the FOUR(!) hurricanes of 2004 I think they've modified that law. My in-law's house got hit three times that year. Two of them drew an "X" on top of Kissimmee. They faired well, but lost a couple of citrus trees and their "Florida room" twice. Get good insurance! Flood and Hurrican/storm coverage are different. A year later I still saw "FEMA roofs" in St. Cloud.

The east coast of Florida is mostly Yankee transplants and Cubans while the gulf coast is full of midwesterners. Orlando is a big mix with some European immigrant, Disney employees.

My beefs with Orlando was the traffic first, schools second.