Moving to Orlando...

[Seanual757]

As a resident of Central Florida for 31 years I would suggest not moving to Hunters Creek or Oviedo I would go west Ocoee, Clermont area. I love out in Ocoee and to get to Lake Mary is a quick 20-25 min trip, 30 in the morning. Heading to the mouse house is a quick 20 min drive down the 429. Once the Wekiva parkway is complete a quick 20 minute commute to Lake Mary all times of the day.

The Hunters Creek in South Orlando IMHO is far too crowded JYPW is always busy (I work 5 minutes from Hunters Creek) so I have to deal with that traffic daily.

 

[Chef Mickey]

I've actually lived in Hunters Creek for the last 12 years and while I don't have kids I can likely answer many/most questions you might have about the area.

The number of times a month you have to get to Lake Mary should indeed be a determining factor in choosing the location you move to. I used to work up in Maitland and made the commute up and down I4 every day for 5 years. From south to north you're going a little against the grain so it wasn't normally horrible. However, as others have noted I4 is entering a long cycle of very extensive construction for a complete redesign and history has taught us that will cause major league headaches for a long time to come, especially in rush hour right after the afternoon rain has hit.

Many people don't have a good solid picture of the Orlando area and where everything is relative to something else. It's much more spread out than most people realize if their only perspective is the tourist areas. Spend some time taking a look at a good map of the region to give yourself a chance to understand where things are, how far apart they are, etc.. as you're making your selection.

As for Hunters Creek; it's not for everyone but I really like it. It's a master planned community of over 4,000 single family homes and countless multi-family properties built over the course of about 25 years. There is a really aggressive and active HOA that can feel extremely confining if you're not used to that sort of thing. For example, I just did a landscaping project that included removing an overgrown tree and new beds and sod. I had to submit the entire project for approval by the Architectural Review Committee before I could even start the work. Want to paint the house, you need to choose from their approved colors and get advance approval for the painting, same with putting on a new roof. It runs like a small town with lots and lots of rules.

The flip side of all of those rules and the enforcement of them results in a really fantastic community where even all of the public streets are fully manicured and maintained. There are countless parks and other outdoor recreation facilities from tennis courts, to soccer fields, baseball diamonds, lighted basketball courts and much much more.

Having said all that I could not think of living anywhere else in central Florida. I'm 20 minutes from most all of the theme parks; I can be on MSUSA in less than 30 minutes from pressing the button to close my garage. But in my day-to-day life of going to grocery store, putting gas in the car or any other sort of normal life activity the tourist economy is completely invisible (except when you hear the fireworks in the distance at night). I also travel a lot for work so the easy access to the airport is a big plus for me.

Hope that helps but if you've got more specific questions don't hesitate to ask.

HOAs like that are pretty common. I live in a different state completely and I not only have 1 HOA, I have TWO HOAs that stick their nose in everything you do.

Just yesterday I got a letter WITH pictures of my home asking me to re-stain my entire fence because I have TINY water marks from my sprinklers on the very bottom. It's really not even noticeable. They also asked me to powerwash the stone trim around my house, which I agree needs to be done, but it's not noticeable unless you're staring right at it from about 5 feet.

I pay over $600/yr for the one and another $450/yr for the other one. They are a constant pain and do nothing except write letters and create work. They don't do any maintenance to Owner's yards, lawns, homes, etc. They just tell you what to do. If you want to paint, you have to get color approved, yard projects must be approved, tree ring stone color must be approved, etc.

 

[mickaroonie]

I just moved down from pa. And bought in the town of celebration. A very unique place to live and raise a family.

I was thinking of Celebration myself like everything I've seen so far. Do you have condo or house?

 

[donsullivan]

HOAs like that are pretty common. I live in a different state completely and I not only have 1 HOA, I have TWO HOAs that stick their nose in everything you do.

Just yesterday I got a letter WITH pictures of my home asking me to re-stain my entire fence because I have TINY water marks from my sprinklers on the very bottom. It's really not even noticeable. They also asked me to powerwash the stone trim around my house, which I agree needs to be done, but it's not noticeable unless you're staring right at it from about 5 feet.

I pay over $600/yr for the one and another $450/yr for the other one. They are a constant pain and do nothing except write letters and create work. They don't do any maintenance to Owner's yards, lawns, homes, etc. They just tell you what to do. If you want to paint, you have to get color approved, yard projects must be approved, tree ring stone color must be approved, etc.

I certainly acknowledge they are not rare but if you're one who is not used to it, they can feel incredibly restrictive. I've talked to a number of folks over the years who have moved out of this area because they got tired of dealing with the HOA. I actually pay more than double the numbers you've described above annually but that includes access to a wide array of sporting facilities and parks as well as maintenance of all of the landscaping along all the streets as well as the entrances to the neighborhoods and in the case of my neighborhood a shared pool (which I don't use because I have my own). I cringe when I make that payment every quarter since I don't use many of the facilities, but they are available to me if I wanted.

If you're the type who doesn't like having restrictions placed on what you can do with 'your property' that sort of HOA neighborhood will make you crazy. One of the ones I appreciate most but seems to rile the most people is the restriction on commercial vehicles parked overnight. That means if your job provides a vehicle that includes logos, phone numbers, etc on the sides, it cannot be parked in your driveway overnight. I had a neighbor who was a claims adjuster for an insurance company. The vehicle they gave him had a big blue elephant and red giraffe along with the company name and phone number painted on them. The HOA required them to get color matched (his were white) flexible magnetic vinyl signs cut to match the shape of the car that he had to put on every night when the car was left in the driveway so none of that is visible. I've seen a scenario where an electrician had similar and had to get big white panels to cover up all the messaging and artwork every night.

 

[Chef Mickey]

I certainly acknowledge they are not rare but if you're one who is not used to it, they can feel incredibly restrictive. I've talked to a number of folks over the years who have moved out of this area because they got tired of dealing with the HOA. I actually pay more than double the numbers you've described above annually but that includes access to a wide array of sporting facilities and parks as well as maintenance of all of the landscaping along all the streets as well as the entrances to the neighborhoods and in the case of my neighborhood a shared pool (which I don't use because I have my own). I cringe when I make that payment every quarter since I don't use many of the facilities, but they are available to me if I wanted.

If you're the type who doesn't like having restrictions placed on what you can do with 'your property' that sort of HOA neighborhood will make you crazy. One of the ones I appreciate most but seems to rile the most people is the restriction on commercial vehicles parked overnight. That means if your job provides a vehicle that includes logos, phone numbers, etc on the sides, it cannot be parked in your driveway overnight. I had a neighbor who was a claims adjuster for an insurance company. The vehicle they gave him had a big blue elephant and red giraffe along with the company name and phone number painted on them. The HOA required them to get color matched (his were white) flexible magnetic vinyl signs cut to match the shape of the car that he had to put on every night when the car was left in the driveway so none of that is visible. I've seen a scenario where an electrician had similar and had to get big white panels to cover up all the messaging and artwork every night.

Yep, I understand. We have the same rule against work/company trucks/cars with logos. At least you get some perceived benefit with some facilities.

Ours are literally pure cost for the resident, nothing more. These people do nothing except bother residents. I know their hearts are in the right place, but our neighborhood is pretty nice and this causes them to nitpick. There are never obvious infractions like painting a house pink, so they start grasping at straws to validate their existence.

 

[Mad Stitch]

HOAs like that are pretty common. I live in a different state completely and I not only have 1 HOA, I have TWO HOAs that stick their nose in everything you do.

Just yesterday I got a letter WITH pictures of my home asking me to re-stain my entire fence because I have TINY water marks from my sprinklers on the very bottom. It's really not even noticeable. They also asked me to powerwash the stone trim around my house, which I agree needs to be done, but it's not noticeable unless you're staring right at it from about 5 feet.

I pay over $600/yr for the one and another $450/yr for the other one. They are a constant pain and do nothing except write letters and create work. They don't do any maintenance to Owner's yards, lawns, homes, etc. They just tell you what to do. If you want to paint, you have to get color approved, yard projects must be approved, tree ring stone color must be approved, etc.

I have never heard of 2 HOAs before. So do the rules of HOA 1 ever conflict with the rules of HOA 2? I would never live in an HOA, I am they type of person who would intentionally do something on my property to antagonize the HOA board.

 

[Chef Mickey]

I have never heard of 2 HOAs before. So do the rules of HOA 1 ever conflict with the rules of HOA 2? I would never live in an HOA, I am they type of person who would intentionally do something on my property to antagonize the HOA board.

They have some power and can my your life difficult if you disobey them. Both of them have different roles, so they rarely conflict. If you don't do the things they ask, they simply turn it over to their team of lawyers who start threatening to put a lien on your house, force you to do the things legally, etc. I really don't think they can ultimately do much to you, but they are really annoying.

 

[KikoKea]

As a resident of Central Florida for 31 years I would suggest not moving to Hunters Creek or Oviedo I would go west Ocoee, Clermont area. I love out in Ocoee and to get to Lake Mary is a quick 20-25 min trip, 30 in the morning. Heading to the mouse house is a quick 20 min drive down the 429. Once the Wekiva parkway is complete a quick 20 minute commute to Lake Mary all times of the day.

The Hunters Creek in South Orlando IMHO is far too crowded JYPW is always busy (I work 5 minutes from Hunters Creek) so I have to deal with that traffic daily.

On an earlier trip, we rode around the Hunter's Creek area and was not happy with the traffic and crossed it off the list. We're considering the NW wedge or area from WDW up past Clermont along with possibly the east coast from Viero (Melbourne) to Daytona. Can't really tell about the area until we get there and have a chance to look around.

 

[Mad Stitch]

This is off topic, but I'll ask it anyway. The reoccurring theme I keep hearing is that I4 is gridlock, and that no one wants to pay to use the toll roads. Why does greater Orlando have so many toll roads? Wouldn't removing the tolls encourage people to use other routes and reduce the pressure on I4, especially during the widening project.

 

[halltd]

I honestly don't get the hatred of I-4. I commute I-4 daily to and from work and have for the past year and a half and it's not been the nightmare that anyone speaks of. Sure, some days there are accidents, but that's on any highway. For me, it's far worse on the weekends than it is during rush hour. Or, during non-rush hour times. That leads me to believe the issue is tourists, not locals.

 

[lazyboy97o]

This is off topic, but I'll ask it anyway. The reoccurring theme I keep hearing is that I4 is gridlock, and that no one wants to pay to use the toll roads. Why does greater Orlando have so many toll roads? Wouldn't removing the tolls encourage people to use other routes and reduce the pressure on I4, especially during the widening project.

Induced demand. Additional highway capacity does not ease traffic congestion, it just gets filled up. Removing the tolls would reduce revenues used to maintain those roads, increase traffic on the former toll roads all while I-4 remains as it was. Your end result is just more congestion in more places.

 

[Gabe1]

I honestly don't get the hatred of I-4. I commute I-4 daily to and from work and have for the past year and a half and it's not been the nightmare that anyone speaks of. Sure, some days there are accidents, but that's on any highway. For me, it's far worse on the weekends than it is during rush hour. Or, during non-rush hour times. That leads me to believe the issue is tourists, not locals.

As a tourist we stopped renting cars. Way too many tourists not knowing what the heck they are doing or where they are going. Yeah lets make a right hand turn from the left lane. We either use on sight transportation or Uber/Taxi around.

 

[KikoKea]

Does the SunPass work on all toll roads?

 

[donsullivan]

Does the SunPass work on all toll roads?

Yes

 

[marni1971]

As a tourist we stopped renting cars..

We always do and always will.

Compared to Manchester, U.K., Orlando traffic is a dream.

 

[Gabe1]

We always do and always will.

Compared to Manchester, U.K., Orlando traffic is a dream.

Noted. Do not rent a car in Manchester either.

 

[bethymouse]

Following... Plan to move to the area as well!

Actually thinking about it at this moment too! Sad situation really, but it might have to happen.

 

[bethymouse]

My husband perhaps could get a job at Orlando Sentinel ( machine operator), and I am a teacher with WV certification K-6 ( seems like it's difficult to get FL certification since they require you to take the Florida Teacher Certification Exam or have your current school district fill out a special for called HOUSSE or SAE... which I am very confused about if anyone has any insight into this I would greatly appreciate it!) I have a Masters Degree, and am considered highly qualified here in WV, but not sure about FL. I taught at a Title I school for 8 years!
We are considering moving to Orlando ( probably won't even be able to afford annual passes to Disney anyway at the moment $3,000 for 4 of us). But, we could do just the water parks, or begin with Busch Gardens, Sea World or Universal passes... we'll see.
I have even thought about working at Disney, but that would be a last minute/desperate scenario!
I have looked into areas of Ocoee ( McCormick Reserve), which some of you have mentioned, plus Apopka, Wyndham Lakes (Calloway Bay), Sawgrass Pointe, Mount Dora, and Winter Garden.
If anyone has any insight into these areas ( especially schools... I have twin boys in middle school/7th grade), that would be greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone, and have a magical day whatever you may be doing!

 

[donsullivan]

On an earlier trip, we rode around the Hunter's Creek area and was not happy with the traffic and crossed it off the list. We're considering the NW wedge or area from WDW up past Clermont along with possibly the east coast from Viero (Melbourne) to Daytona. Can't really tell about the area until we get there and have a chance to look around.

Traffic is the one of the most relative things out there and the comparison will be different for nearly everyone. If you currently live in a somewhat more rural area or small town with limited traffic, it can certainly seem nuts. In the 10 years before I moved to Orlando I lived in Ft Lauderdale and Dallas, so Orlando traffic is occasionally annoying and that's the extent of it. Most of the time, I just don't find it that big of a deal; It's all about the baseline you're comparing it to though.

That however, is a very good example of what I was referring to in the earlier post about getting a feel for the neighborhoods you might be considering before making a decision. If your threshold of pain for traffic is very low, there are lots of of the Orlando metro area you should avoid.

 

[KikoKea]

My husband perhaps could get a job at Orlando Sentinel ( machine operator), and I am a teacher with WV certification K-6 ( seems like it's difficult to get FL certification since they require you to take the Florida Teacher Certification Exam or have your current school district fill out a special for called HOUSSE or SAE... which I am very confused about if anyone has any insight into this I would greatly appreciate it!) I have a Masters Degree, and am considered highly qualified here in WV, but not sure about FL. I taught at a Title I school for 8 years!
We are considering moving to Orlando ( probably won't even be able to afford annual passes to Disney anyway at the moment $3,000 for 4 of us). But, we could do just the water parks, or begin with Busch Gardens, Sea World or Universal passes... we'll see.
I have even thought about working at Disney, but that would be a last minute/desperate scenario!
I have looked into areas of Ocoee ( McCormick Reserve), which some of you have mentioned, plus Apopka, Wyndham Lakes (Calloway Bay), Sawgrass Pointe, Mount Dora, and Winter Garden.
If anyone has any insight into these areas ( especially schools... I have twin boys in middle school/7th grade), that would be greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone, and have a magical day whatever you may be doing!

Citydata.com has lots of info about towns, counties, etc such as population, schools, weather, crime, stats, and so on.