How's Your Place

[accatt2204]

I thaught it would be a good idea to strart a topic on how everybody who lives downtown is liking it so far. What project they live in, their experiences and if its turned out to be worth it. I know I hear people taling about their places in other threads and thaught it might be good to hear about the pros and cons and how everybody's feeling about living downtown. The differences between downtown life in Orlando and Suburban life.

[tm68]

I thaught it would be a good idea to strart a topic on how everybody who lives downtown is liking it so far. What project they live in, their experiences and if its turned out to be worth it. I know I hear people taling about their places in other threads and thaught it might be good to hear about the pros and cons and how everybody's feeling about living downtown. The differences between downtown life in Orlando and Suburban life.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I lived at Echelon at Uptown (now Uptown Place) for 14 months and loved it. Unfortunately, they recently went condo and are priced at 196k for a one-bedroom; out of my price range as a twenty-something recently out of school.

I plan on moving back downtown, probably in an older duplex-type building, south of highway 50 maybe. I am definitely moving back dt though, without a doubt. Pros: lots of all people (young, old, rich, poor), convenient, walkable, "exiciting", sense of community Cons: Getting pricey, can be noisy, not for everyone (e.g. have to deal with homeless once in awhile, dirtier than the burbs, traffic)

[corpkid]

Well I moved into Eola South about 4 months ago from DeBary (total 'burbs)... I really, really am enjoying the Eola/Thornton Park neighborhood. Having moved from NYC three years ago, I really didn

[tennis32801]

I moved into the waverly a couple of months ago from east Orlando (Avalon Park). Nice community but far from everything. So far no regrets here.

Pro: walk to work, walk to everything, great city view, no grasses to cut every weekend, meet other professionals, no kids

Con: expensive condo fees, nieghbors can get loud, parking spaces

[bsutter2]

3/2 house in the 'burbs of unicorporated seminole county Winter Park

[Chemmie]

I love living in Colonialtown. We have two (soon to be three) dogs, so a condo really isn't a good place for us. So we bought a little house. We don't have kids, nor do we want them and we enjoy the city life. The house gives us a place for the dogs and gives us the benefits of city life. We hope to be here for a long time.

[cwetteland]

^ 3/2 house UCF area.

Pros: 1) Affordable 2) Work in Quadrangle (simulation stuff) 3) Youngest starts UCF in September.

Cons: Must drive everywhere.

[ChadKRagland]

My wife and I just bought a home in the Lake Como area, we still have our bungelo in Lake Eola Heights - we rent it now - we moved for a larger backyard for our "Girls" Two Weimariners. We still plan to buy into a condo or two. Not sure if we will move or rent them.

[prahaboheme]

I suppose I'll contribute as well. I (my parents) live in College Park a block south of Lake Adair. We've been in the neighborhood for about ten years, so I'm particularly interested in the re/development along Edgewater Drive. In just the past year or so things have really started to shape up, with the Wellesley condo project well underway (about three floors up now) as well as new restaurants like Taste (one of my favorites in all of Orlando). After college if I settle down in Orlando (not sure yet) I'll definitely be eyeing the downtown market for a condo, more than likely closer to Orange Ave than Thornton Park, but you never know.

[emt99]

I moved to MetroWest about a year ago (came from FL's West Coast) and got a house. We needed a house (we have too much stuff for a Condo-- unless it is a HUGE condo) and the market seemed right in MW.

Pros:

1. Huge appreciation (over 60% in less than a year-- we bought new...)

2. Convenient to restaurants and shops

3. Nice golf course

4. Not total suburbia

Cons:

1. Houses packed close together

2. Not a whole lot going on-- waiting for Veranda Park

3. We seem to be on the younger end of folk living out here

[giselle725]

Hi, Everyone!!!

As for me, my boyfriend and I purchased a condo at La Costa Brava. That was a crazy experience, we purchased it in May of last year. We were suppose to move in at the end of August. That sure didn't happen. We ended up closing in February!! We were one of the ones that had to jump from house to house for a couple of months. Sucked. Then, of course, we had problems with the unit itself. I won't get started...now, everything is great! The neighborhood is beautiful and my neighbors are awesome.

My real estate partner and I just closed on a 1bd/1bath at the Grande. I use to live there when they were apartments. I loved it! I love downtown Orlando. I think it's clean, laid back, and you can walk to almost anything. I can't wait for all these new condos, retail, etc. to go up. It's going to be amazing!

Fortunately, I also put a condo under contract at Solaire. Solaire is my baby project. I'm super syked about it.

And, this forum has helped me so much with obtaining information about the future projects. I hope everyone is as excited about the future of Downtown Orlando as I am.

[Sambone]

My wife and I have been downtown for about 9 months.

We Lived in winter springs/oviedo for 14 years.

We moved into a 3/3 Condo in Thornton Park Central, on the weekend between Charlie & Francis!!

Pros)

The View! I'm right above the tree canopy so most of my view is either skyscrappers or trees, also get a nice breeze there.

Solid construction (12in concrete walls) which really eliminates any noise from the neghbors.

Lights never blinked during the hurricane. Interestingly all of the wiring is commercial grade. The electrical wires are a much heavier gauge than house wiring, which makes changing switches a pain. However, the lights never dim when the A/C comes on.

The layout of the unit is very functional.

Close to Lake Eola, Giant Oak Trees! It really feels a lot cooler with all of the shade.

I can park on the same floor as my unit.

I've really been driving my car much less.

Cons)

Condo Fees are high.

Carrying groceries from the parking space sucks.

taking my dog out for a walk requires more effort

[hueblue]

I moved to Colonialtown about 5 years ago from a subdivision off of University Boulevard. I chose Colonialtown because it was more affordable than Thornton Park, had the historic character and brick streets I was looking for, and was within easy walking distance of interesting things to do.

The biggest difference I noticed was that the neighborhood is more tightly knit. In my old neighborhood, people tended to stay in their houses and didn't talk to each other. The day I moved into Colonialtown, people were showing up on my doorstep with brownies and going out of their way to come over and introduce themselves. Within a few weeks, I had more friends here than I had experienced in six years of living in my old subdivision.

I also was drawn to the diversity here. My neighbors are gay and straight, couples and singles, 20- to 50-somethings, renters and owners, corporate professionals and funky artists -- but at various times we have had block parties, brunches, barbecues and movie nights. Some of us have gone to "Ghost Stories" and the Harvest Moon Stroll at Leu Gardens, happy hour at the Peacock Room, the Fringe Festival, etc.

It's also exciting to watch the property values go up. My home value has nearly doubled in 5 years. I renovated a small rental unit on my property, and the income from that nearly pays my mortgage.

As for the cons?? That's easy! At times my 1920s bungalow was an albatross to maintain. I have been forced to learn things about home repair and maintenance that I never dreamed. Most of the big projects are now out of the way and I hope there won't be any more surprises anytime soon. But all in all, I'm happy here and appreciate it every day. I am a public school teacher and could never afford to buy into this neighborhood at today's prices.

[JTG]

My boyfriend and I moved to Post Parkside from Scottsdale, Arizona on New Year's Day this year. Absolutely love it and the management is great.

We looked at apartments all around downtown, and this was the nicest and had total flexibility with parking. More than ample parking for residents. Many residents here have more than 1 car. Some store their collector cars and small boat trailers, etc. We have 2 cars and a motorcylce and it' no problem.

The biggest con is that we face the site for the Paramount. I mean, RIGHT across from the Lee's Lakeside lot. We will live across the street from the hectic and loud construction, and the new building will block out the the view of the sky from our unit. I mean this quite literally -- we live on the third level of a 4 floor building. I just thank God that there is a tree that extends up to our floor, giving us a bit of privacy.

And, hopefully we'll get to reserve a unit. The idea of living across from a major construction site is a lot more tolerable if that site will be your new home, and then you can check its progress every day just looking out the window.