Best Part of Orlando to live in?

[frozman]

So I might be moving to Orlando soon for a job on the North side of downtown. I think it will be 3 12 hour shifts per week rather than the standard 8h/5d, so that kind of puts some flexibility in how far I am willing to be from the job. Does anyone think a certain part of Orlando is better/safer? I looked at apartment reviews for East Orlando (as far out as the airport), South Orlando (near you know what ), West Orlando and North Orlando, up towards South Sanford.

Aside from North Orlando, all the complexes have reviews of crime, break ins, vandalism etc. The fact that these issues seem to happen across all communities is making me nervous. I'm wondering if the area south of Sanford but not quite in Orlando is my best bet. I'm certainly not going to let one incident that the media has blown way out of proportion scare me away (as much as I hate to say it stuff like that happens everywhere). Does anyone have any recommendations as to where I should look into apartment communities?
Once again, as the workweek is compressed I'm willing to pay extra in gas money in exchange for a better living arrangement.
Any help is appreciated, then comes the next question... AP for Disney, Universal, or both?

[Itchy]

I am not sure this will help much but here goes.

I am a retired police officer and in my 38 yrs on the force I saw that crime did not stay out of any particular area whether high priced or the government subsidy homes.

Per capita the crime is about the same between big and small cities. If you have the opportunity to drive thru areas that interest you I would do so just to get a feel of the area.

Stop and talk to the local police officer on the beat as they are a world of information. Call the local police department and talk to them.

I have never lived in Florida but have seen the local news when at WDW and you see crime in all kinds of neighbor hoods. Check with the chamber of commerce, and of course you will get input from all of the great folks on Intercot that live in the area of Orlando as well.

Hope this helps.....

[dnickels]

'Best' is pretty open ended. Every part of Orlando (north, south, east, west) has good & not so good areas. I could tell you Windermere is generally considered the most desirable area of Orlando, but it's expensive and depending on where you work may make more or less sense than other areas. Some areas are better if you have kids and schools are important, some are better for a young single person. I know my little area of Orlando pretty well but am less familiar with the north and eastern sides of the metro area.

I'd join the 'City Data' forums and post your question on the sub-forum for Orlando. Post your expected salary, roughly where the job will be, type of budget you're looking at for the apt, what you want nearby (nothing? / sleepy community? / walk to restaurants? / nightlife?) and you'll get a lot better info than you will here. Then find some specific apt complexes and ask about them on those forums as well. You'll find people there who can tell you about those actual complexes because they drive by them or live there.

[garymacd]

Too bad you just can't live at FQ! On the other hand, all those beignets....

Didn't I hear that Disney is building a condo on-site? Something to look into. Probably very expensive, but tempting.

[Kenny1113]

I have heard that Windermere and winter park are nice.

In regards to the annual pass, some people I know alternate passes each year. So one year they do disney AP and the following year they do universal AP.

[Disney4us2]

I am currently researching this myself. I am considering Orlando and Winter Haven (about 35 miles south of WDW).

Getting moving quotes now... very overwhelming. For us, going cross country.

AP's... I will be upgrading our current Disneyland pass to the Premier pass until it expires in January. Then get a FL res or DVC discount pass. Don't know about Universal yet. Will have to check out Universal once we get there.

Good luck.... hope it all works out for you.

[Main Street Jim]

Windermere - just northeast of Walt Disney World property - is home (or former home) to Tiger Woods, Shaquille O'Neal, and many other sports stars and celebrities. That should give you an idea of how much homes and property are worth in Windermere

Four Corners - just southwest of Disney - is "south Clermont" or Davenport. Very nice area located at the "four corners" of Lake, Orange, Osceola, and Polk counties. US 192 runs right to US 27. If you're working in "north Orlando", SR 429 (a toll road) runs parallel to I-4 (actually 429 runs north/south around Orlando).

Deltona and DeBary aren't too bad - both are near I-4, and traffic up that way isn't nearly as bad as downtown.

Winter Park is nice, but pricey.

Winter Haven is a ways away, southwest and off of the highway (unless you count US 27 as a "highway").