Where to live near WDW for retiring family with kids.

George Arauz

New Member
Original Poster
Ok,
So I live in Boston and I was looking to buy a new home in a safe area close to WDW. I'm retiring from law enforcement up here and looking to find a nice and safe place to raise kids and possibly work at WDW if I get selected for something.
I hear about places like Celebration, Lake Nona, etc.
I'm looking for advice from you all on making my dreams come true. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

George
 

sm57co

Member
Ok,
So I live in Boston and I was looking to buy a new home in a safe area close to WDW. I'm retiring from law enforcement up here and looking to find a nice and safe place to raise kids and possibly work at WDW if I get selected for something.
I hear about places like Celebration, Lake Nona, etc.
I'm looking for advice from you all on making my dreams come true. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

George
I'll be interested in the replies here, George. I'm too considering a move down the road. Celebration seems great. Pricey but right up my alley. I don't have any more info than a basic Zillow search would give you but Windermere, Winter Garden, both north of WDW seem like places to explore as well.
 

RustySpork

Oscar Mayer Memer
Ok,
So I live in Boston and I was looking to buy a new home in a safe area close to WDW. I'm retiring from law enforcement up here and looking to find a nice and safe place to raise kids and possibly work at WDW if I get selected for something.
I hear about places like Celebration, Lake Nona, etc.
I'm looking for advice from you all on making my dreams come true. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

George

Lake Nona is an easy drive to WDW down 417, and you don't have to deal with any of the Orlando traffic unless you head into town. Windermere and Winter Garden are nice as well, and you have easy access via 429 but they're pretty close to the city.
 

WhatJaneSays

Well-Known Member
I just recently moved to the Bay Hill area. I've been enjoying it and so far it seems safe. It's not the most quiet area because of the wide range of kids/schools. It's very centrally located, 20-25 minutes or less to WDW, Universal or the convention center. Really the biggest downside I've found is that much of the shopping in the area is very tourist heavy.
 

Audrey77

New Member
Ok,
So I live in Boston and I was looking to buy a new home in a safe area close to WDW. I'm retiring from law enforcement up here and looking to find a nice and safe place to raise kids and possibly work at WDW if I get selected for something.
I hear about places like Celebration, Lake Nona, etc.
I'm looking for advice from you all on making my dreams come true. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

George

Honestly, the area has changed so much over the past 20 years. What may be great today might be bad tomorrow, and vice versa. I agree that Bay Hill (famed golf course) or Dr. Phillips hasn't changed much- but it has gotten touristy with Universal creeping to the East, etc.

If you want to work for WDW, I suggest something close- commuting is a pain because simply getting around on property, parking, etc is a pain. CM parking is usually far away, and then you have to think about going to costuming, etc.

The police departments in Florida are really into crime analysis. You could definitely touch base with areas that you are interested in and get some data.

I lived near UCF and commuted to the Yacht and Beach Club daily. Tolls need to be added in as well.

Congrats on your impending retirement... we're looking at that soon as well!
 

Robert Summers

New Member
Ok,
So I live in Boston and I was looking to buy a new home in a safe area close to WDW. I'm retiring from law enforcement up here and looking to find a nice and safe place to raise kids and possibly work at WDW if I get selected for something.
I hear about places like Celebration, Lake Nona, etc.
I'm looking for advice from you all on making my dreams come true. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

George
I chose the Windermere area for my retirement. Can be on Disney property in 15 minutes, close to the Turnpike, close to Sand Lake Road, close to quaint old town Winter Garden. From some lakefront locations, you can see Disney fireworks.
 

Ekohlby

New Member
Horizons West.

That area includes Dr. Phillips, Windermere, and some of Winter Garden - though some of Winter Garden is north of that. I live in Horizons West and moved here a few months ago. I can't see the fireworks out my window - due to the house across the street. But I can walk a few houses down the road and see Disney fireworks. Some subdivisions in that area are Summerport, Orchard Hills, and Independence.

One thing we were looking for was to avoid I-4 as much as possible. My husband works for Universal so we wanted to be on the West side of Orlando.
 

Eric B

New Member
I was driving around near the north entrance the other day and there is a new subdivision going up called Summerlake in Winter Garden. KB Homes has a website here: http://www.kbhome.com/new-homes-orlando-area/summerlake
There are other builders, but this is a good start to explore the community. Homes were from $200-$1M+ and the surrounding area has many new shopping plazas going up. From this community, you can access the north entrance off Reams Rd within 5 mins.
 

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