sab1250

Considering bidding, and moving down to MCO. Any thoughts on best places to live? Just want to rent a one bedroom apartment or small house for a while, before I’d consider buying. Ideally within 45 minutes of airport. Thoughts? Can save the sarcasm too. I’ve lived in FL several times over the years, and know I like it. Just never the Orlando area. Thanks.

sobo

The two places I was shopping to move to in MCO were: Doctor Philips if you wanna live close to the airport and have a nice place to live, and Merit Island/coco beach if you want to be near the water.

I lived up north near Sanford for about 6 months, it was nice and quiet but a 35 min drive to the airport and not close to really anything.

My impression of living in Orlando was that it was a loose grouping of suburbs calling itself a city. Downtown is obviously downtown but for the most part find yourself a commutable spot near the amenities you want and call it a day.

Seneca Pilot

I lived in Apopka and liked it but too far from MCO. Look for areas that keep you off I4 for any type of commute. I second going east toward the coast. Commute in would be trouble free and the lifestyle around Merritt/Cocoa/Titusville is pretty good.

SonicFlyer

Anything in the NW quadrant of town will have a hard time getting to the airport. This includes downtown. The east side and south west side of the area all have great (toll) roads that make it easy to get to the airport. Traffic is horrible there so you'll want to make your ride to the airport as easy as possible.

Osceola County consists of hospitality workers, Orange County is a mix of everything. Brevard County are aerospace workers (NASA and every other defense contractor). Seminole County are high paid professionals (engineers, college professors, etc). Volusia County is blue-collar.

It really depends on what you're looking for and how much you're willing to spend. In Orange County it's either the slums or the ritz for the most part.

Aero1900

The nicest place closest to the airport and easiest drive is SE. Lake Nona area.

Gone Flying

Lake Nona area- nice and very close to MCO (10 mins or less)

Lake Mary/Heathrow area- also nice but 35 minutes on sr417 from MCO (toll road ~$4 each way) west of I4 is nice, closer you get to SFB the more you have to pay attention.

Merritt Island/Cocoa Beach/Viera- nice area, about 45-60 minutes away but lower COL and nice area. About $2.50 each way in tolls. IMO great for if you have a family, probably gonna get bored if you are single

lived in Lake Mary/Sanford and Merritt Island/Viera area and have very few complaints about either. Would definitely lean toward lake Mary/Heathrow vs Sanford though.

best of luck, I love central FL.

Margaritaville

Lake Mary is a massively overcrowded and overpriced liberal yuppie town with terrible traffic. Everything else in seminole county is a dump. Like he said above, the closer you get to SFB airport, the worst it is. Avoid the I-4 corridor at all costs. Move to the coast. Get a boat. That's the ticket.

SSlow

I've lived in Orlando twice during my adult life, most recently in 2019. For me the horrible traffic and endless road consruction are a complete nonstarter, to the point that living in South Florida is an improvement over what I had to endure there, and no I'm not being sarcastic. Head to the coast and enjoy the seabreeze during the hot summers.

e6bpilot

I grew up there and go back and visit infrequently. The entire I-4 corridor is a completely overcrowded morass of gridlock and strip malls.
The areas that used to be "hidden gems" are all "found gems" and are priced and populated accordingly.
The above advice about the coasts and going south are actually really good. The further away from Orange, Seminole, and Lake County (The Villages) you go, the more sane you will be. The coasts actually have some really nice areas that are relatively low cost, especially due east of Orlando in the Space Coast and surrounding regions. Life moves a lot slower and the commute to the airport is relatively stress free. Inland south has a lot of really nice communities as well.
I don't plan on ever moving back, but if I do, it won't be anywhere near the three counties I listed above.

Xdashdriver

Lake county is a lot more than just the villages. What’s wrong with it? I like it.