T-Minus 235 Days: Crime Rate in Orlando Area

 We have been spending a lot of time looking at towns and neighborhoods in the west side of Greater Orlando. I thought it should be important to pay attention to crime rates. Crime can turn paradise into hell, so, we want to make sure we understand the crime rates of the areas we are considering - from Apopka and all along Rt 27 from Clermont to Haines City. The following are the crime rates as reported by Neighborhood Scout. The darker the color, the higher the crime.

Most of the areas we are looking at have less crime. I was surprised, however, to see how dark the east side of Apopka was, so, I looked at the area more closely (again, darker the color the higher the crime)

One of the hottest spots for crime to the north side of Lake Apopka.

Gotha toward Windermere is high, and the Paradise Heights area is medium high.

The map shows Clermont to be relatively low with crime. The worse area is known as "South Clermont, just north of Lake Louisa. This area runs to the west of Rt. 27. Regardless, overall, this area would fall to a medium/low danger.

Further south is the very popular area of Davenport, which happens to be one of the lowest crime areas in this area. We drove through the town of Davenport and it is no surprise to me that the crime in this area is focused on the town because it seemed fairly run down. The new developments along Rt 27 stand in stark contrast to the town. 

South and West of Davenport is Haines City, which can be loosely described as the intersection of Rt. 27 and Rt. 17. While this area is generally low crime to begin with, it is pleasant to see some of the sections we are considering are the lowest of this low area. 

That is a quick analysis of crime in the areas we are considering. It would appear the growing area of Davenport is the safest among all the communities we are considering.

T-Minus 236 Days: Searching for New Builds Part II

 In August, I searched the west side of Greater Orlando for new home builders. I thought I was very thorough. Regardless, we decided to give it one more look because we are traveling to Florida next week and have to figure out what we want to see. On one day, my wife and I went through every builder from Minneola to the Rt27/Rt192 intersection (Four Corners region). The next task was to continue down Rt. 27 toward Haines City. On another day, we are going to look at everything around Apopka Lake. 

In August, I put an "X" on the map for every builder I checked. This time, I put more information on the map, such as, are the houses too small for what we need? Are they too expensive? Is the development full or sold out? Or, is there a building plan in that subdivision that might meet our needs? Typically, anything that is too small is 2500sqft feet or less - or - up to 2800sqft with a building plan that doesn't meet our needs. Too expensive is anything that is outside of our Financial Advisor's budget (remembering that we need to add a pool).

The following are maps start at Four Corners (the first map) and go southward to the top of Haines City (the last map)

The next map is where I4 meets Rt. 27 in the Champion's Gate area. 

The next map is to the east of the I4/Rt27 intersection that was shown in the map above. The map shows the areas around Rt.17. Route27 and Rt 17 meet in Haines City.

For a little perspective on the next map: Rt 27 is running down the left side of the map. Rt. 17 is on the right side, coming in at an angle. 

Again, Rt. 27 is on the left side of the map, and Rt. 17 is on the right side of the map. 

If I continued south from this point, I would get deeper into Haines City, and there isn't really any new building happening. Besides, we don't want to go that far south. 

There are several promising house designs, unfortunately they are pretty far south and/or in the middle or no where. That is the end of the tour. The next area we'll look at is the area around the east side of Lake Apopka.

T-Minus 236 Days: Sand Key by Taylor Morrison

 We are going through new home plans in attempt to find something we really like. Today, I am going to review the Sand Key plan by Taylor Morrison.

If you have read my previous reviews, you know we are interested in "The Cluster". When we stand in the kitchen, we want to see the breakfast nook and the living room. The Breakfast Nook and living room should look out over the pool. The Sand Key provides the cluster.

I would like a lanai that stretches across the back of the house. The Sand key doesn't provide for it, nevertheless, a 36' x 10' lanai is very nice.

We would like a first floor master bedroom and office. The Sand Key provides for that. The Master Bedroom is 100 sqft larger than ours in New York. The dinning room is nearly the same size as our New York dinning room.

What don't we like? We don't like the idea that we have to walk through the bathroom to get to the walk in closet, but that is a minor inconvenience. 

We are brining our adult sons and want to make sure they have their own bathrooms and they can share a living room that is away from us. The second floor of the Sand Key would work perfectly for this. The second floor living room is slightly larger than our New York living room! The smallest bedroom is larger than our largest New York bedroom.

The problem with the Sand Key? By the time we add a pool to the base configuration we will be  almost 10% over budget - which is not where we want to be. While the Sand Key does look great, it is out of our price range.

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T-Minus 237: Wayfair by Highland Homes

 We are searching through many new home building designs and we came across the Wayfair by Highland Homes.

It is important to note that these home designs can not be customized. The builders are building these houses as fast as they can and they don't have time to move a wall or do something different. If we wait until the house is finished and make changes? We'll break the house warranty. Many of these home designs are "Take it or leave it". 

If you read my review of the Bonaire, you know about "The Cluster". From the kitchen we want to see the breakfast nook and the living room. We want the breakfast nook and living room to overlook the pool. The Wafair has the cluster we are looking for.

We also want a lanai that can go across the back of the house. This design can support that. Next, we like the size of all the rooms. The rooms are at least the size of the rooms in our New York home, and sometimes larger.

Next, we prefer the master bedroom and an office to be on the first floor. While the master bedroom is on the first floor, the office is not (unless we converted the dinning room into an office). The walk-in closet is huge, but, unfortunately, it is on the other side of the bathroom. If someone is taking a shower, for example, you wouldn't be able to get to the closet. Finally, the laundry is on the second floor and we need it on the first floor.

The second floor has what we are looking for: we want our adult sons to have a place in the house for themselves that is away from us. They will have their own living room and each will have their own bathroom. Most of the bedrooms are larger than our New York home. With 4 or 5 bedrooms we'll have room for an office and a guest bedroom.

The downside, as mentioned, is the office would be on the second floor instead of the first floor. 

Another huge problem with the Wayfair is the location where Highland Homes is building it. There are two communities (one with quarter acre lots and one with half acre lots) and they are both in the northern part of Haines City. They are pretty far away from Orlando, Disney, and many of the places we want to be. 

In summary, we like the layout, the size of the rooms, and the base price of the house. However, we are disappointed the laundry and office would be on the second floor, and the location of the Highland Homes community is not optimal.

T-Minus 238 Days: Bonaire by Taylor Morrison

 We have extensively searched new builders in the Orlando area. One of the new build house designs we found that we like is the Bonaire by builder Taylor Morrison. 

Taylor Morrison is building communities all throughout the west side of the greater Orlando area. We found this house in the Lakeside community in Apopka. 

There are several things that are essential to our search. We want, what we are calling, "The Cluster". We want a kitchen that is open to a breakfast nook and living room. We want the breakfast nook and living room to look out onto the pool. The first floor layout includes The Cluster.

I prefer a two story house that has the master bedroom and an office on the first floor. The Bonaire provides that. I also want a Lanai that stretches across the back of the house, which is available with this design. Many models have the walk-in closets on the other side of the bathroom - I like how the Bonaire has the closet between the master bedroom and bathroom. 

What don't I like about the first floor? Anyone from the North East is likely confused by the position of the garage. Building lots in Florida are small, so, they typically build the houses sideways (compared to a house in the North East). What we would consider to be the side of the house is actually the front of the house in Florida. That isn't always true with every home design, but it is true for most. While a garage would normally be seen on the side of the house, it is very common to see the garage sitting in the front yard. Often the garage is built into the house (with the second floor built over the top). Therefore, the position of the garage in this home design is not a concern.

What is a concern is the size of the rooms. The room sizes are... OK. But not desirable. The master bedroom is much smaller than our New York home. And the dinning room would not fit our dinning room set. In fact, every room on the first floor is smaller than the rooms in our New York house.

The next thing we want is a separate area for our adult children. We are bringing our sons with us and want them to each have their own bathroom, for them to share a living room space, and to have their area away from our area. The Bonaire has this area on the second floor.

There are several things we don't like about the upstairs. First, the "Open To Below" area is a cute architecture feature, but, it is wasted space. While I like it, we need square footage and we are disappointed that there isn't an option to turn that space into another room. Next, the bedrooms on the right side are very small compared to what we want. Those bedrooms are smaller than our smallest bedroom in the New York house. In fact, the largest bedroom (Bedroom 2) is just slightly larger than our smallest New York bedroom. The size of the bedrooms is a disappointment.

In summary, we like the layout of the house but find the rooms in the house to all be too small. 

T-Minus 239 Days: A Trip To Florida

 A Trip To Florida Video

T-Minus 245 Days: Florida Vision Board

 I was watching a Florida with Five episode and they mentioned having a vision board for their Florida move. I had never heard about vision boards before, so, I did a little research.

Vision Board Video

It makes sense. We all hang pictures in our house or put on our desk at work to remind ourselves of the things that are important.

Before cancer I was running 5 miles per day. After cancer, I put on a lot of weight. I hung this Run Disney picture in my office to remind myself of a goal I have to do a Run Disney Marathon someday. 

According to my research, this didn't work for several reasons. First, you are supposed to put the vision board someplace where you will see it every day. Second, you are supposed to look at it every day. Third, when you look at it, you are supposed to imagine that you have already achieved it (it is part of programming your mind to obtain what you want). Fourth, and optionally, you should use words or sentences that describe the feelings you get or will have from that picture.

I did none of that so the picture wasn't very motivating.

Now that I have done some research into Vision Boards, I understand them better. And I am thinking about what I might put on a vision board if I were to create one. These are some of my ideas (In no particular order):

We will live in Central Florida and vacation at the beaches

Get back into my pre-cancer shape

Certifications and/or degrees that advance my career and keep me employed

We will find a good church in Florida that we can stay connected to

Regular date nights in Disney Springs. If we just want to pop over for dinner, we can.

Season pass to Disney World. We can come and go whenever we want

Eating healthy

My Florida Car

I won't care about anything reported in the news and I won't care about politics. I want the world to just leave me alone.

Palm trees. Lots and lots of palm trees.

Participate in Disney Run Marathons 

A clutter free house

Watch TV while floating in the pool.

Relax and watch football

My summer kitchen so I can cook outdoors poolside.

Now all I have to do is print these pictures out, put them on a board, hang the board somewhere, and look at it every day.