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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Might be moving to orlando from Indiana
Hi! My DH may soon be accepting a job in Orlando (South Orlando). I really don't know much about the area (except WDW- DH is a fanatic 
I read that the crime rate has really risen and traffic is horrible. I know that is the case with a lot of places but I'm curious what the perspective is of locals. Also, what is the cost of living like? We will probably have to rent a house at first. What kind of rent can I expect? We are going down for a long weekend for an interview and tour of the city in a few weeks but I'm just wanting to get prepared. Anything you can tell me will be helpful! TIA!
I read that the crime rate has really risen and traffic is horrible. I know that is the case with a lot of places but I'm curious what the perspective is of locals. Also, what is the cost of living like? We will probably have to rent a house at first. What kind of rent can I expect? We are going down for a long weekend for an interview and tour of the city in a few weeks but I'm just wanting to get prepared. Anything you can tell me will be helpful! TIA! 
Re: Might be moving to orlando from Indiana
Orlando is a major city, and like any other major city, traffic can always be an issue. Traffic in Orlando really varies depending on where you live. When we first moved down here 6 years ago, we lived in Altamonte Springs and worked closer to the attractions area. The commute on I-4 was pretty bad. After a year, we moved closer to Universal Studios, and the traffic was much better. Now we live out by the airport, and rarely have a problem with traffic.
Like traffic, crime really varies on location. Where we live, crime is almost nonexistent. The same can not be said for all neighborhoods though. I don't think Orlando has more crime than other comparable cities.
If you rent a townhouse in a nice area, it will cost about $1200-1400. Houses are probably a bit more. Of course, cheaper housing can be found, but you may have to deal with more crime, etc. I'd be careful about renting a house. A lot of people are being foreclosed on, and I've heard of quite a few renters getting kicked out of their homes.
Good luck!
Hi, I just moved here from Pittsburgh! I am in Melbourne/Palm Bay which is 60+ miles away from the city, but have been up there quite a few times (that's the airport we use, we just took a minimoon there, etc).
I'm from Pittsburgh and had a 2 hour commute one way (35 miles) to graduate school. The traffic in Pittsburgh is much worse than here, I think. The crime is about the same depending on the neighborhood you live in. Although, DH and I have both remarked that there seem to be a lot more sex offenders/offenses here. We are not sure if maybe Florida's reporting system is just more stringent, if it gets more publicity here, just not sure.
The cost of living here is about the same as Pittsburgh. Where are you from in Indiana? I know rent is much more expensive here ($200-300 more a month for comparable back north) and groceries are a little more. We are well outside the city and pay $700 for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath townhouse including some utilities. That was about the cheapest we could find and we're on a super tight budget.
HTH! I love to meet new people!
I think it all just depends on who you ask. I use to live in Atlanta and I don't think Orlando really has traffic. But that's comparing it to what I am used to. If you are willing to live outside of the city, you can find housing that is really affordable and not have to worry about high crime rates. My husband and I lived about 20-30mins South of downtown Orlando and about 10 mins away from WDW. We paid $1000 for a 3 bed/2 bath home with a pool. Our lawn and pool maintenance was included and it was in a newer neighborhood. We never had a problem with crime. We left our windows and garage door up many times and always felt comfortable with doors unlocked during the day.
(Florida does have a more strict view of sex offenders. Some counties make it very difficult for SOs to live because they require SOs live 500 feet from schools, daycares, public libraries, etc..)
We live in Sanford/Lake Mary which is just north of Orlando. It's a very nice suburban community with everything (i.e. mall, Target, Walmart, Publix, etc...) Plus, it's less than an hour from the beach in New Smyrna and Merritt Island where you can boat and watch the shuttle launches. Traffic can be rough but if you plan for it I can make it to downtown Orlando in 20 minutes without traffic. Crime in downtown Sanford can be high but we live far enough away that we don't have any problems. Crime in downtown Orlando can be bad as well but what major city doesn't have crime? Plus, hardly anybody lives in downtown Orlando, we live in the suburbs.
Before Sanford/Lake Mary (Heathrow is actually not a city, it's a neighborhood in Lake Mary), DH and I lived in Longwood and Altamonte Springs. There are also nice communities in Oviedo, Winter Springs and Winter Park. All of these cities have nice areas as well as rough areas. The best thing to do is come down for a long weekend and drive around the communities you're interested in to get an idea of where to buy/rent a house. Figure out where your DH is going to work and try to pick something close by; 20 minutes without traffic will take 40 minutes to an hour during peak traffic (even longrer if there's an accident; I spent almost 2 hours driving home on I-4 one evening coming home to Sanford from downtown Orlando.)
www.orlandosentinel.com and www.craigslist.com are great resources for finding rental properties. We prefer the Seminole County area but there are nice areas in Orange County as well.
My DH and I live in Downtown Orlando. We love it! There is crime but it tends to stay on the other side of the tracks. We live in the Thornton Park area (which has Starbucks, little restaurants, shops and stuff like that) The traffic is like any other city. Once you live here, you'll figure out the best and worst times to be on the road. Depending on where he is working I would recommend a few places ( Thornton Park- there are tons of old homes however your going to pay around 1500 to 1700 a month) (Sanford- I've never lived here, but I love it! It's really cute and affordable) (College Park- right outside of Downtown Orlando lots of homes to rent) and I hear Clermont is a nice place to live.
Miss Autumn I'm soo jealous. DH and I want to move to Thornton Park when we buy a house. We own a townhouse right now.
I would also check out College Park, Delaney Park, and Baldwin Park. Conway can have some nice homes as well in certain places. One of my friends lives in Lake Nona and loves it there. HTH!
I second the recommendation for Lake Nona! We live there and love it! It is a bit more expensive than other areas of Orlando though (such as Winter Garden.)
I lived in Baldwin Park and really liked it as well. Its right outside of Downtown Orlando but its own little community with grocery, restaurants, stores, banks and everything.
I think Hunters Creek is nice but ive never really lived there, I hear that its growing though.
Statistically speaking, Orlando has a lower than average cost of living. You can google "cost of living orlando" and come up with lots of different cost of living websites sharing that information.
Forbes magazine had an article last year about the best and worst cities for commuters. Orlando was on the worse list. But if you live near your workplace you will be doing yourself a favor! I commute 25 miles to work and it takes me at least 45 minutes.
Check out the Orlando Sentinel for real estate listing, especially rentals. You'll be able to find some comparision prices.
I lived in Hunters Creek several years ago and it was convenient to my job. The area has grown a lot. It is on the border of Orange/Osceola county.
Sure, crime has increased here but it has nationwide. There is a direct correlation between an increase in unemployment and an increase in crime. I don't feel that this is an unsafe city. But you will want to take a look at the crime reports of the areas you are looking to live in so you can make a smart choice. The Orlando Sentinel does a great job with its online website and the crime in town. You can see a map overlay of where crime is taking place, etc.
Have a great time visiting our city! Hope it all works out for your DH and this new job.
hi!
I live in Clermont with my DH (moved down here from South Jersey in June) and we're loving it. We love our house (couldn't have imagined being able to afford a house like ours in NJ) and really like our community. We live in the Verde Ridge development (the development is not done yet and there are still plenty more houses to be built). Clermont has a very small-town feel, but it is being built up. We just got a Ross, TJMaxx, JCPenneys, Olive Garden and Red Lobster. BJs and a movie theater are also supposed to be opening soon.
We do make less $ than up north, but are enjoying this type of living. It's great to have Disney only a half hour away and tons of beaches on the coasts. People also seem to be very friendly here.
Good luck!