Living in Celebration or Independence

[ptaylor]

Hi

I am moving to Orlando during the next year, and would like some advice on some of the communities. Top of my list are Celebration and Independence. Has anyone got any opinions on either of these locations? The good and the bad? Are there any other good locations that I should consider?

Thanks.

 

[mom2of2]

those are tops of most peeps list, problem with Celebration is $$$$$$$. Extremely expensive doesn't even cover it. Can't tell you much about Independence although I do know that it's decent $$$ too.
Location depends on where you will be working/attending school etc. What we did was find an area that had a good school and then look for places that went there. We are about 2 1/2 miles from AKL and 6 miles from Celebration, on the West side.

 

[Littlebit]

Due to the nature of my work, I've often driven though the town of, as well as been inside several homes and apartments within Celebration.

The community is, of course, nearly unflawed in outward appearance. I understand their Homeowners' Association is amazingly strict, with rules that include not only how much and what color mulch to put around your trees, but what height and color the curtains on your windows must be. Some people don't mind such rules, since it keeps the community looking good and stops your neighbor from painting his house purple...some people find it extremely restricting and controlling.

The houses are gorgeous, both inside and out. High ceilings, medium-to-large sized rooms, lots of windows and natural light. Modern room layouts. You also have very little property and, depending on where you live, parking for guests can be troublesome. Price is, of course, much, MUCH more than what you would get for a similar home that's not in Celebration.

The apartments are nothing special. Small kitchens, small dining rooms, small bedrooms, not enough storage space, not nearly as many windows. Problems with parking (espcially if you live near the Downtown/Market Street area) and rent is EXTREMELY high.

Some people think that Celebration is THE place to live. Or if they can't live there, they visit...which also makes Celebration something of a fishbowl. As with everything else, some people can tolerate this, some can't...different strokes for different folks.

Whether or not someone wants to live in Celebration (or Independence...sorry, I know nothing about it) or any particular community is a personal decision. Before you make your final decision, make sure you know what you're getting into and if you're willing to live within the confines that the Community requires. Also look at other areas...drive through them, go shopping in nearby stores, look at the traffic patterns during rush hour, take where you plan to work into consideration, etc.

It's a huge step...one that can be the best decision you ever made or one where you're counting the days before your lease is up or you finally re-sell. Just make sure you do all your homework before making that final decision (grin).

Littlebit
Orlando FL

 

[Tim G]

Due to the nature of my work, I've often driven though the town of, as well as been inside several homes and apartments within Celebration.

The community is, of course, nearly unflawed in outward appearance. I understand their Homeowners' Association is amazingly strict, with rules that include not only how much and what color mulch to put around your trees, but what height and color the curtains on your windows must be. Some people don't mind such rules, since it keeps the community looking good and stops your neighbor from painting his house purple...some people find it extremely restricting and controlling.

The houses are gorgeous, both inside and out. High ceilings, medium-to-large sized rooms, lots of windows and natural light. Modern room layouts. You also have very little property and, depending on where you live, parking for guests can be troublesome. Price is, of course, much, MUCH more than what you would get for a similar home that's not in Celebration.

The apartments are nothing special. Small kitchens, small dining rooms, small bedrooms, not enough storage space, not nearly as many windows. Problems with parking (espcially if you live near the Downtown/Market Street area) and rent is EXTREMELY high.

Some people think that Celebration is THE place to live. Or if they can't live there, they visit...which also makes Celebration something of a fishbowl. As with everything else, some people can tolerate this, some can't...different strokes for different folks.

Whether or not someone wants to live in Celebration (or Independence...sorry, I know nothing about it) or any particular community is a personal decision. Before you make your final decision, make sure you know what you're getting into and if you're willing to live within the confines that the Community requires. Also look at other areas...drive through them, go shopping in nearby stores, look at the traffic patterns during rush hour, take where you plan to work into consideration, etc.

It's a huge step...one that can be the best decision you ever made or one where you're counting the days before your lease is up or you finally re-sell. Just make sure you do all your homework before making that final decision (grin).

Littlebit
Orlando FL

OMG... so it's more like a stepford wives scene???

 

[Littlebit]

> OMG... so it's more like a stepford wives scene???

Some people think so. I've heard it compared to that more than once.

Littlebit
Orlando FL

 

[Tim G]

> OMG... so it's more like a stepford wives scene???

Some people think so. I've heard it compared to that more than once.

Littlebit
Orlando FL

Well... I'm living there, for about 7 years now (East Village)... and I never noticed anything...

 

[Littlebit]

> Well... I'm living there, for about 7 years now
> (East Village)... and I never noticed anything...

Some people love it and if living there is "right" for them, terrific for them and so be it. But not everyone feels that way. The original poster asked for the good and the bad, so... (shrug)

Littlebit
Orlando FL

 

[Tim G]

> Well... I'm living there, for about 7 years now
> (East Village)... and I never noticed anything...

Some people love it and if living there is "right" for them, terrific for them and so be it. But not everyone feels that way. The original poster asked for the good and the bad, so... (shrug)

Littlebit
Orlando FL

The original poster said (quote):"Living in Celebration or Independence"
Which means the citizens of Celebration, FL are some sort of puppets, well... We are no puppets... not in any way...
And he didn't ask for an opinion, because of his own "Celebration or Independence" line, he already made up his mind...


And about your "shrugging" ?

Take it easy... 11 days and it's Christmas... :xmas: :xmas: :xmas:

 

[Littlebit]

The user said: "I am moving to Orlando during the next year, and would like some advice on some of the communities. Top of my list are Celebration and Independence. Has anyone got any opinions on either of these locations? The good and the bad?"

I gave some advice and varying opinions (good and bad) about one of the communities he/she asked for. The "shrug" was because the user asked a question, I answered it, and in my mind, what more was there to say about it? So..."shrug." I hope my input was helpful to him/her.

I'm not sure why you're making a larger deal out of this than it is, unless you're trying to egg me on for a "Rah Rah Celebration" vs a "Celebration stinks" debate. I'm not going to go there. Remember that, with 3 days' worth of tenure, I'm a relatively new user to this board, realize that I don't necessarily have the board-specific etiquette down pat and am going to stay as neutral as possible on most issues, until I know "my place" (wink).

Neutrality is pretty much how I feel about Celebration anyway...IMHO it has its good points and its bad points, the same as any other planned community does. And life goes on (grin).

Littlebit
Orlando FL

 

[luna99]

I understand their Homeowners' Association is amazingly strict, with rules that include not only how much and what color mulch to put around your trees, but what height and color the curtains on your windows must be. Some people don't mind such rules, since it keeps the community looking good and stops your neighbor from painting his house purple...some people find it extremely restricting and controlling.

that's so true.

When I lived in Kissimmee, I had a friend who lived in an apartment in celebration just behind the main shopping/downtown area there and would go visit her quite a bit and I did some apartment sitting for her as well when she was out of town... this was my opinion:

driving into celebration sometimes did give me a "woah" feeling.. it's just that everything looks so perfect and clean and like it's right out of a catalog.. it was both kinda cool and neat and a little eerie for me.. I'm kinda an artisitic person so I like personal expression and things that are a little out of the ordinary... but, it is very "pretty" there....

my friends apartment was pretty cool.. I thought it was a good size for a one bedroom.. she had vaulted celings and a pretty good sized kitchen and a nice little patio outside... apparently she had one of the bigger apartment sizes though.... I also really loved staying there with her and being able to just walk down the block to go to that diner (can't remember the name of it) or to walk a little further to the movie theater or walk around the lake ...

I drove around a little and saw some of the houses and they are beautiful... as everyone has already said though, the main thing about living in celebration is HOW CRAZY EXPENSIVE IT IS.... if you can do it, and you really want to live there, then go for it. I can see how it would be kinda fun to live there, but I wonder if after a while the "novelty" of it would wear off ... what I mean is, I'd probably move there and wake up thinking "wow, I live in celebration!" and after a while I probably would stop thinking of it that way and just start thinking of it as just where I live.

anyway, if I could afford to live there, I'd probably do it too. lol.

oh, btw, the hospital in celebration is AMAZING. My mother got sick once in florida and it was the closest place to take her (it was an emergecy) so we went there and I walked around the hospital and it's really, really nice. I think they have a gym/health center there too that maybe you can join...

ok, i'll shut up now.

 

[lamarvenoy]

I've grown up in gated communities and it's all I've known until building my 1st house and moving out at 24. My wife grew up in a community that was nice but not fancy-her area was more open and every lot was 1 to 3 acres with no gate and no neighborhood community fees although they did have deed restriction. We almost built in a gated community until my wife demanded otherwise and gave me the whole "stepford" argument and saving hundreds per month by not having community fees. Well, we built a gorgeous house in a decent neigborhood that is under city code but no neigborhood association.I've had 3 lousy renters across the street from me all of which caused problems, the neigbors at the corner live like the Clamped's from the beverly hillbillies and I am unhappy with OUR choice. Its been 5 years and I'm no happier and my advice is if you are a "gated community" type person-stay with that type.My wife by the way IS happy.Which is why we are still here. I want to move back to the comunity I grew up in but the houses are now ridiculously expensive with the cheapest ones being around $800K, and the ones I like are all 1.5-2M.A little out of reach Maybe Santa will drop me off new neighbors:lookaroun .

 

[lamarvenoy]

I almost forgot, the coolest perk of living in Celebration.........Corrus as a neighbor!!!!!!!!! He is in the top 3 of people on this site who are "in the know".