I took a job working close to Lake Eola and I'm looking for nicer areas on the East side of Orlando. I'd like to stay under 30 minutes commute but could drive a little further for the right area. Im not looking to buy just rent for a while and see how it goes. What do you guys suggest?

No one has any insight on the East side of Orlando? I read the thread about the West side from a couple months ago but I'm trying to stay East.

I really like the Winter Park area.

Cool restaurants and bars.   Parks are great.  

Sort of a village feel

They have all sorts of festivals.

Nice area.

Oviedo, get some land.

No constructive input from me.  I would tell you to stay away from that cluster @?5$.

I'm not looking to buy, I'm keeping my house in SC so I plan to rent for a few years.

Winter Park isn't far from where I'll be working, can you give me any more info?

It's sort of a hip cool area.  Close to everything.  Good schools.  Near downtown.  

Just depends what you like.

Traffic can be a real pain in Orlando, so there are advantages to being a little close to your work.  

When you come down just check out that area.  Go there on a weekend and see if you like it

I'm starting Monday but I plan to stay in Palm Coast for at least a week since I have family there and they have offered. It'll be a long drive so I hope to find something soon. If you're in the area I'm open to suggestions on where to look because it sounds like what I'm looking for.

For a 30 minute commute near Orlando you'd need to be within 5 miles of your work...Orlando traffic is the worst in the state.

Wise words.

If I Google map my work address and just use Winter Park as a destination it is 6.4 miles so that's not too bad.

If you moved there permanently, I would suggest having a longer drive and a nice house on land. But since this is temporary I would live close to work to not have the headache of travel.

That's exactly what I'm thinking, I'm still keeping my place in SC for now nd if it ends up being permanent I will sell later and look for something further out. At this point I'm still up in the air on where I'm going to stay while I'm there. 55 West seems nice and it's really close to where I'll be working but it's a little steep on rent and I'm not sure about the area. I can't find too many decent apartments in winter park. Most seem old and raggedy.

Winter Park is old and raggety

We bought on the west side, winter garden... but find we go over to Winter Park a lot.  My wife likes to shop over there and lots of good restaurants.  Housing runs the gambit from run down 2 bedrooms up to old high end homes or new rebuilds on old lots.   Raggety has a potential for a flip if you do decide to buy.  Also if you have kids schools over there can be dicey.

Winter Park High has IB and a great honors and ap curriculum. As well as very competitive sports teams for extra curricular activities. At least it did when I lived in central Florida.

Hello guys, OP.

I'm a winter park native, lived outside of Florida for a while but always end up back in Winter Park Florida.

It's a great area. Beautiful homes, awesome schools, takes about 20 minutes to get to lake eola(as with nearly anything). You can rent in Winter Park for sure, the market is decent for renters right now.

* Park ave is near Rollins college and is a staple here in Winter Park.  It's a historical street of shopping, restaurants and events.

* Baldwin Park is a newly developed area w tons of beautiful condominiums. Awesome environment for walking around. It's on a lake, near a dog park, tons of shopping and very centrally located.

* Mills ave/1792 area is a little closer to your job, is a growing area w lots of hip restaurants & bars around.

* College Park- near edgewater is also a booming microcosm within orlando. Maybe a bit too far from where you want to be but again it offers great surroundings.

Private message me if you're interested. Happy to show you around or tell you more about it.

Welcome to Orlando.

What the guy above me said

and the other one that said within 5 miles, he's right too.

Traffic sucks, if you can, live downtown. I like Winter Park, I have been here 2 years now and am glad I moved. Good schools, not sure what other schools the other folks are talking about, but I am sure there is a bad one here too. Baldwin is probably the best area, you are 15-20 downtown and plenty of rentals. Younger professional crowd too.