Orlando Neighborhoods.

[colaboy29]

I've been in the same boat when a job moved me out to Las Vegas, and all my friends and family were back in Florida. But there was no Disney community out there back there. Heck, the Internet was barely formed when I lived out there. I was still dialing in the a BBS for access. So you'll find lots of support here to help you adjust.

 

[OrlandoMike]

Since your going to be living in that neighborhood I thought I would suggest a good pizza joint, and by joint I mean the type of place you would never ever pull into unless someone told you to! This place is a hidden gem, and yes I know it looks like a dump on the outside, but give it a try!

Rossi's on OBT...

http://www.rossispizza.com/

 

[SanFranciscan]

Since your going to be living in that neighborhood I thought I would suggest a good pizza joint, and by joint I mean the type of place you would never ever pull into unless someone told you to! This place is a hidden gem, and yes I know it looks like a dump on the outside, but give it a try!

Rossi's on OBT...

http://www.rossispizza.com/

Thank you. We will check out the pizza place.

It feels weird to know that in two more days this will not be my home anymore. I have now lived in this place for about as long as I had been alive when I first came to San Francisco. From what I am hearing about my new neighborhood, we may be short-term tenants at the next place. At least we are renters. I am reading stories of people who bought property not knowing what they were getting into because the conditions are different at night or the agent showed them the property by routes that did not reveal what was close by from another direction etc. If the reviews are honest on the real estate review site, the tenants think that the place is well-maintained at least.

We are taking Amtrak to close the gap between the time that our rent is up here and the time that the next place shall be available. This is our opportunity to adjust to the fact that life as we have known it for the past 23 years is over.

 

[SanFranciscan]

Arrived in Orlando on Tuesday. Saw new address yesterday. Our apartment is not ready, but we move in on Saturday. Complex looks nice enough. Neighborhood is dicey, but nobody bothered us on the buses yesterday or today. We might get a car for convenience sake.

 

[colaboy29]

Welcome to Florida!

 

[OrlandoMike]

Welcome home neighbor!

And I lived right across OBT from you for years, its not all that bad, just be aware of your surroundings!

 

[SanFranciscan]

Thank you all so much for your concern. I have not yet spent the night in the new neighborhood, but I have seen the apartment and ridden around on the buses through the area. Nobody has bothered us. I understand your concerns because those same demographics in San Francisco would be a disaster. I blame political correctness for that though. I think that San Francisco is too liberal, even though I am not a right-winged person myself. If you telll people that it is okay to behave like fools, they will act like fools.

 

[SanFranciscan]

We applied for another apartment on Saturday instead of moving into original address becaus we heard so much bad about the neighborhood. We signed the lease today so we had better be happy! The second apartment was some sort of government place with a bunch of red tape that we did not know about beforehand.

 

[colaboy29]

What area is the new apartment located in?

 

[SanFranciscan]

What area is the new apartment located in?

Southeastern Orlando on a small street. Basically we are at Americana and San Antonio. The only trouble zone that we have encountered so far is that strip mall with the liquor store. In our old neighborhood it was the 7-Eleven by the beach. Just find the hangout for the town drunks and stir clear I guess.

We will know more when the lease is up. New people from out of town are so easily taken advantage of that it was pointless to stay in hotel rooms to keep looking. Off the record conversations are how to really learn about neighborhoods because so many things are illegal for real estate agents to say that they are scared to say anything more than the number of bedrooms that a place has.

 

[colaboy29]

Have you looked into renting a house? There's plenty out there, and it can give you the chance of living in a great neighborhood while you learn the area and save up to purchase a place.

 

[OrlandoMike]

I find renting a house in Orlando to be a much better deal than an apartment. Granted, you may have to shell out $100 for a lawn mower, but it's worth it! There are tons of rentals on the market right now! I lived right off OBT and Holden, right near where you are, and about 15 years ago I was paying $650 for a 3 bedroom 2 bath home with a pool!

 

[colaboy29]

I find renting a house in Orlando to be a much better deal than an apartment. Granted, you may have to shell out $100 for a lawn mower, but it's worth it! There are tons of rentals on the market right now! I lived right off OBT and Holden, right near where you are, and about 15 years ago I was paying $650 for a 3 bedroom 2 bath home with a pool!

And many landlords will just add $50 or so to your monthly bill and have a yard service come do your lawn. Just ask. And as for a condo or town home the lawn service is always included.

 

[Disneyland_emily]

Welcome to the neighborhood-

I live off Texas/Americana so I know what strip-mall you are talking about The area during the day isn't as horrible but still not something I choose to visit-

-em

 

[SpectroMan71]

Now I'm really curious to see both of these areas. I'm always fascinated by what people from different parts of the country consider good, iffy and horrible. I live 6 miles from DLR and many would probably consider that a bad area . Truth is, it's as safe as you make it. I seldom go out after dark on foot, but my roommate wanders the streets late at night (no, he's not a hooker and has been accosted twice. So, it's really a relative description, I think, when describing how safe an area is.

 

[OrlandoMike]

If I couldn't take a walk at night, I wouldn't want to live there. Thats where I draw the line.....I live in a pretty diverse neighborhood, but we all keep an eye out for each other. An informal "Neighborhood Watch" type of thing.

 

[SanFranciscan]

We have called the police twice already but not on our neighbors. It is building management that we do not trust. Somebody with a key stole from us less than 48 hours after we moved in. We have our suspect but the evidence is purely circumstancial. We had the locks changed on Monday. Yesterday we had damages inside the apartment which occurred while we were out. I think that building management is not to be trusted here so we are already planning our next move.

I am working though. I started my first day outside of orientation yesterday. I work for Universal Studios. I expected to be working for Disney since my supervisor at the Disney Museum was recommending me to WDW, but Universal made an offer to me first. It is convenient that the bus stops right outside of my door and right outside of the backstage area of Universal Studios so that it nice.

I work as a photographer at the front gate of Universal Studios so whatever was said about me for the time that I photographed for the San Francisco Giants must have been good. I am just glad to be working so soon after arriving here.

 

[hematite153]

I'm glad you are working, but, two calls to the police in your first week is rough!

I know nothing about living in the Orlando area, but, it sounds like renting a house would be a good thing to think about.

 

[Saxton]

It will get better. You've got a job and now you can take some time to get to know the area before you move. Congratulations on the job!

 

[colaboy29]

Sorry for the troubles you've had already. Have you looked into the apartments they built right next to Universal on Vineland Rd? (north side of Universal property)