Safe places to live near Disney?

[cinderella73]

I used to live in Florida but its been sooo long. I really need some help from Florida locals on finding the safest and nicest areas within a 30 minute drive to Disney. I want safety first and a attractive type town next. Live in Pennsylvania and you know why the last one is important! lol Any advice?

 

[CLR4321]

What about Celebration? That is probably one of the nicest areas around WDW to live, as long as you don't mind all of the city ordinances.

 

[tinkerlisa]

We are moving to Florida too! We looked into Mulberry. It was a nice town. Houses were reasonably priced too. I am not aure how far it is from Disney but its between Tampa and Orlando. Although I think its closer to Orlando

Ultimately, we have decided to move closer to Tampa than Orlando. Its much quieter. We visited family in Spring Hill last April and fell in love with it! Its about 45 mintues from Tampa and 1 1/2- 2 hours from Orlando. There schools are good which is a plus for me since I have kids.

 

[kgle]

What about Celebration? That is probably one of the nicest areas around WDW to live, as long as you don't mind all of the city ordinances.

Just curious, what are the ordinances?

 

[rebecca06261]

I currently live in Spring Hill and can tell you that it is NOT an area that you want to live... especially if you have children. I'll address this issue in a moment but wanted to suggest several options for living within 30-45 minutes of Disney

1) Clermont

2) Winter Garden

3) Winter Park

4) Celebration if you can live with the covenants

As for anyone who is thinking of living in Spring Hill- Hernando County has the 14% unemployment rate with the primary industries being fishing and retail. Many of the retail shopping center projects that are in mid-construction are now being abandoned completely and like most places, are witnessing entire shopping centers closing all together. On a positive note, due to the insanely high forclosure rate (over 2000 properties in forclosure) you can get a newer model home for next to nothing... then again, with 2 more homeowner insurers pulling out of the business here in Florida, you will make up the cost difference by way of high property taxes and crazy-high insurance rates (auto and home- remember, not only are you in Florida BUT you are now living on the coast) Also, the highschool drop out rate is now 26%. As soon as my lease is up in November, I will be relocating closer to Tampa.

However, there are some wonderful things about where I live:
It takes me 1 hour 10 minutes to get to Disney and 1 hour to get to the Tampa airport. Most of the people here are elderly so the violent crime rate is uber-low. Most of the people here are elderly so it's relatively quiet. Most of the people here are elderly so there are 4 hospitals within 10 square miles Did i mention it only takes me an hour 10 min to get to Disney???

 

[cinderella73]

I keep hearing about Winter Park and Winter Garden. I am not familar with them other than driving through them years ago. I am going to check out Craigslist and see what the houses rent for. Celebration is still high on my list but its hard to find a 3 bedroom under 1800 a month . How far is Winter Park/ Winter Garden's? Are they relatively safe? Thanks for all the help!

I currently live in Spring Hill and can tell you that it is NOT an area that you want to live... especially if you have children. I'll address this issue in a moment but wanted to suggest several options for living within 30-45 minutes of Disney

1) Clermont

2) Winter Garden

3) Winter Park

4) Celebration if you can live with the covenants

As for anyone who is thinking of living in Spring Hill- Hernando County has the 14% unemployment rate with the primary industries being fishing and retail. Many of the retail shopping center projects that are in mid-construction are now being abandoned completely and like most places, are witnessing entire shopping centers closing all together. On a positive note, due to the insanely high forclosure rate (over 2000 properties in forclosure) you can get a newer model home for next to nothing... then again, with 2 more homeowner insurers pulling out of the business here in Florida, you will make up the cost difference by way of high property taxes and crazy-high insurance rates (auto and home- remember, not only are you in Florida BUT you are now living on the coast) Also, the highschool drop out rate is now 26%. As soon as my lease is up in November, I will be relocating closer to Tampa.

However, there are some wonderful things about where I live:
It takes me 1 hour 10 minutes to get to Disney and 1 hour to get to the Tampa airport. Most of the people here are elderly so the violent crime rate is uber-low. Most of the people here are elderly so it's relatively quiet. Most of the people here are elderly so there are 4 hospitals within 10 square miles Did i mention it only takes me an hour 10 min to get to Disney???

 

[cinderella73]

What about Celebration? That is probably one of the nicest areas around WDW to live, as long as you don't mind all of the city ordinances.

We are definatly looking there. Rent is extermely high though. For what we want and need we are looking at a rent starting at 1800 for a 3 bedroom . Havent ruled it out yet though.

 

[cinderella73]

I found this link / Thought it was interesting. Some of the areas that are listed as safe are like hillbilly land. There is nothing there but swamp and trees . lol Its interesting to do the comparisions though. http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/fl/crime/ Make sure that you are viewing the crime rates and not the property values. There is a bar at the top that allows you to view different things.

 

[rebecca06261]

I keep hearing about Winter Park and Winter Garden. I am not familar with them other than driving through them years ago. I am going to check out Craigslist and see what the houses rent for. Celebration is still high on my list but its hard to find a 3 bedroom under 1800 a month . How far is Winter Park/ Winter Garden's? Are they relatively safe? Thanks for all the help!

Both towns are within 15-30 miles (not sure exact miledge) of Disney but am not all that familiar with them. I have become rather well acquainted with Clermont and can tell you that is where many better paid cms and their families live.

I found this link / Thought it was interesting. Some of the areas that are listed as safe are like hillbilly land. There is nothing there but swamp and trees . lol Its interesting to do the comparisions though. http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/fl/crime/ Make sure that you are viewing the crime rates and not the property values. There is a bar at the top that allows you to view different things.

That is interesting! Funny that Weekie Wachee ranks as a safest place to live... it doesn't really have much of a residential or business area- just the Marshes, Springs, and Gardens

 

[790dozeyspackage]

Celebration

 

[Disney1976]

Just curious, what are the ordinances?

Well, I can't speak to all of them, but my legal assistant lives there now, and she says it's not nearly as bad as it was. But, they did/do have restrictions on things like what color you can have your house, type of blinds/curtains, no displays on your lawns, lawns cut and maintained a certain way, etc.

Don't forget that while Celebration is a beautiful town (although getting more and more built up now) it's right off US-192, one of the ugliest streets in the area, full of tacky tourist shops and cheap motels.

Also, the economic downturn hasn't hit Celebration nealy as hard in the sense that rents are still high there. Yes, more properties are available, but there are far fewer deals then you could find elsewhere. The "cheapest" deals are for gargage apartments, and they go for $1000-$1200 a month for a one bedroom!

To the OP, don't fully rule out Orlando -there are some nice places still. Have you looked into Hunter's Creek, in unincorporated South Orlando? It's only 10 minutes to Disney and it's a very nice area.

 

[cinderella73]

Disney 1976~ Yeah that is one drawback for me. Not a big fan of the areas its near. celebration is a bubble like anywhere else but I hate what its like just right outside. I guess just about any place I am looking it seems that way. The prices though! I did more looking and was unable to find anything tonight under 1800 at all..

So guys tell me more about Windermere. I know the crime is low. I know its also a small area though. And all surrounding areas are not so great either. I read that it is located at the back door to Disney . Can someone explain ? Is the neighborhood directly locaed behind the MK? If so do I not have to go on main roads to get in? With working there it would be a nice perk everyday to avoid getting caught in traffic. Are there regular grocery stores and etc in Windermere or do you have to venture out a lot for shopping needs and so on?

 

[mom2nji]

Winter Park is sounds like what you are looking for.
Davenport is pretty nice too.

 

[Katieinwonderland]

We live in Kissimmee right now, but we're moving in the next few months.

Celebration is a great area, but the restrictions on what you can do made us decide against it...plus the taxes are ridiculously high.

Winter Park is more towards Orlando than Disney (I don't know if that makes a difference), but it's beautiful, a really safe, pretty area to live. Again, a little pricey.

We're moving to Windermere...it's ten minutes from Disney. Windermere and Winter Garden are right next to one another, they both seem to us to be nice places to live. Windermere has some HUGE houses in the millions, but there are plenty of normal ones too. To give you an idea, the house we have our eye on is four bedroom with a pool, needs very little work and listed at $275,000.

Feel free to PM me if you would like any more info!

 

[Mommytink]

I used to live in Hunter's Creek and loved it. It is only ten minutes to Disney and a very safe place to live. Most houses are pretty reasonable.

 

[pooh2001]

what about working for the Renaissance Charter School at Tapestry
Any good reviews ?

 

[BuzzyBelle]

We lived in Winter Garden for about 10 years before moving back up north. (Crazy, right?) It’s been 7 years since we moved so things may have changed, but it is a beautiful town. It’s very close to Disney and has a lot of convenient shops- Target, grocery, Lowe’s, etc. They were starting to revitalize the main st area when we left and from what I’ve heard it’s amazing. It was more quiet, quaint when we were there. Now there are more restaurants, etc. If we ever decided to move back to the area I would absolutely look at Winter Garden again.

 

[Allison]

Old, old thread as in 9 years old.