How is the Altamonte Springs area of Florida?
I am going to be renting for a year or two. I want to make sure we are going to be there a while before I commit to buying. I will be working near UCF and don't want to pay a fortune in tolls.
I've been in Orlando since 97 and if you're working near UCF, then you probably dont want to not live in Altamonte. You'll be avoiding I-4 but you end up taking 436 which gets quite busy during rush hour. You'd probably be looking at a 45 minute commute. I work right outside UCF and live in the Winter Springs area. I would highly recommend you try to stay there or Oviedo. My commute door to door is about 20-25 minutes with manageable traffic. I didnt see if you have kids, planning on having kids, bought a kid, etc..but Seminole county has the top schools in central FL. You could get an apartment right outside of UCF but youre going to have to deal with the college crowd. You can also live south of UCF near Waterford Lakes (outdoor mall area) and Cloak & Blaster. This is an ideal spot because there's lots of shops and things to do. Oviedo has lots of good restaurants and things to do but it's much quieter than the UCF area.
I drive by this apt complex all the time and its fairly new. If I was looking for an apt, then I'd check it out.
parkplaceoviedo.com
Much like everyone says, the summers are typically hot and muggy but that's the price I pay to be able to golf and hit the theme parks in Jan/Feb when it's 68 degrees out. I-4 is going under major construction and you should avoid it at all costs. Get a sunpass toll reader and utilize it to get to the theme parks using the 417 or 429 if on the West side of town. It's 45 minutes to WDW from my house. Do get a FL annual pass if theme parks are your thing. If you go about 6-7 times/year then it pays itself off. We have the premium WDW pass so I get to golf at one of their courses for free year round and parking is free. Do the theme parks during non-peak times of year mid Jan to mid March and Sept to Nov. Go to water parks during the summer while all the other sucker tourists sweat at the main parks. Go downtown on weekends to get your club/foodie/drink fill. There are some great places down there and it has improved in the past 20 years. Lots of Uber rides available all throughout Orlando.
Orlando, for me anyway, isn't as conservative/rednecky as you would think. The downtown has an awesome new theater venue, public city bike rentals, and a very diverse culture. The new Orlando City Soccer Club stadium went up last year in an attempt to gentrify downtown area west of I-4. A lot of Puerto Ricans have started migrating to central FL and it has definitely helped the soccer club but also create some of that diversity without it getting too overwhelming like Miami.
Go to WinterPark for a nice night out. Stay off of I-drive since it is a tourist trap. Make a trip to Gotha to eat at Yellow Dog Eats
Yellow Dog Eats | Restaurant, Cafe & Bar in Gotha, FL (fucking phenomenal sammiches). Go to Cloak and Blaster for great board game nights. (Food is ok, but beer/mead selection is great). When you need time away from Orlando, drive down to the Keys over a long weekend (8 hrs), go to Port Canaveral (90 minute drive) and hop on a cruise ship for a quick 3 nighter (utilize vacationstogo.com for cheap prices. I did a 3 night cruise on carnival for $218 non-peak season).
Orlando has good and bad like any other city, but it's definitely growing and once you discover all the other stuff aside from the theme parks it's actually pretty cool. I've lived all over and visited many cities but I do enjoy being here. There are certainly worse places to be. Good luck. PM me if you want any other insider insight on restaurants, places to go, porn stores, etc...
