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Myr, you are more than welcome to come visit. We get all sorts of discounts and free passes, and Southwest Airlines has an Internet special they just expanded to cover the rest of the year....$49.99 each way from Hartford to Orlando! It cost us $116 round trip with all of the fees included, so it is very inexpensive right now...
My father suggested I look into working for JCPenney in the furniture department, I guess with all the property damage last year they are extremely busy right now. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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<--is not familiar with any JCPenney furniture departments round these parts.
When you were looking at apartments, did you find the website that includes ratings of them and reviews from tenants? What you posted might have been it, but I didn't register.
Did you go to the one place you posted that's in St. Cloud? I'm not real familiar with the traffic in that area, but that's a pretty good drive to Disney. Joe would be much better at helping you find a place down there though.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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I wrote down which one I visited, but I don't remember offhand. I think it was in Kissimmee though, not St. Cloud.
If I have to drive half an hour to get a rent I can afford, so be it, although ti would be nice to not have to do that....
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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St. Cloud is doable if you take the turnpike and Osceola parkway (at least during peak traffic hours), but then we're talking about $2.25 in tolls each way.
I will try to look at these later . . . maybe bugmenot can help with the registration.
Posts: 289 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Someone at work just told me they were selling a full size pick up for about $500...well, it was more, but I have worked for her for 2 years and we get along well so she lowered the price for us...and it just passed the MA inspection last month and has 4 tires less than a year old.
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Check out this site.. They have apartment complexes rated, apparently by people who have lived there. FWIW.
Outrigger, if they're the ones I'm thinking of, have a cute front facade. They are in a minority (read: Puerto Rican) area of Kissimmee, convenient to both 192 and to the Osceola.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Reef Club seems to be in the same neck of the woods, but I can't bring up a mental image for it. I'll ask my father what he knows.
Summer Cove is well in the heart of Saint Cloud. St. Cloud is a less expensive town than Kissimmee. It's population is largely farm-oriented (when it is not work-at-the-parks oriented). I would worry about the commute to work--especially tolls.
What is the name of that other one? Do you have a link?
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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No, Jenni will be coming down before I am, she will be staying at her cousins house in Lake Mary for a few weeks.
It is a ride, but for a short term stay it is workable, as long as this pickup works out when I look at it tomorrow (tonight maybe)...she will drive down, probably with ther mother. I will keep the pickup, and perhaps drive down with a friend.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Another thought, though... Ask your Disney compatriots where some good places to live are. You're moving down toward the end of the summer season. I expect there are lots of people vacating places that they rented for the summer while they interned or something.
St. Cloud isn't bad, except for the tolls. Disney is a bear on tardiness, so you definitely want to live somewhere where you can find an alternate route to work if necessary. St. Cloud does fit the bill as you could always jump on the toll roads if you were running late or traffic was backed up.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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Have you had a bad experience with Reef Club Bob? I take it either you ahve or you know someone who has...
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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quote:Disney is a bear on tardiness, so you definitely want to live somewhere where you can find an alternate route to work if necessary. St. Cloud does fit the bill as you could always jump on the toll roads if you were running late or traffic was backed up.
This would suggest rather strongly against Hanes City and Davenport and the other cities down I-4 or US-27, and there is only one basic way from there. And I-4 (lately anyways) has frequent construction between Hanes City and Disney, that sets traffic back for miles and miles.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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I am currently looking into Maitland...Kev says it takes about 20 min to get to work, and he lives about 10 min from Disney...
I like St. Cloud, and I am looking at Southwestern Orlando but it makes me nervous because I don't know anything about the area so I don't know where to stay away from, you know....
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Kwea: Near the $600 mark, although we might go a little above that if we have to....I have been looking at some 2 BR-2BTHRM apartments that are about $630...
Most of the 1 BR ones seem to be about the $540-590 mark, with the 2 BR ones between $590-680...
*coughs*
*chokes*
*sputters*
I clearly have been living in SoCal too long. I'm starting to think what we pay for rent is normal!
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I ahve found that the prices varies as much as $150, even between places close to each other, with similar amenities...
Most of the 2 BR/2 BTHRM apartments seem to be between 600-700, at least outside of Orlando. In Orlando they seemt o be higher, of all things... Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Apparently, my father's only paying 580. My mistake then. I'm not sure of his square footage, but it sure seems small.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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He does, but it was sold and went condo like every other apartment complex in Central Florida. But, like a lot of condo buyers, his is willing to continue to rent it to him. Apparently it was bought as an investment. Or, we think, as a drug money laundering scheme. We suspect that this may be part of the huge price bubble in Central Florida.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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I am fairly sure of it myslef, but a lot of it is possible because of the huge population growth one way or another. Even if it is a sacm or a laundering scheme.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Jenni is calling Disney tomorrow to try and push back her orientatio a few days, maybe a week, they told her to call if it was a problem when we were down there interviewing.
She want to give a full two weeks notice, adn help pack a bit around here. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I go to look at the truck today, and I hope that it is in decent shape...if it is it will be a godsend. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Well, there is good news and bad news about the truck....
First of all, it is NOT a full sized truck, it is a Ford Ranger XLT, which is a very SMALL truck. I believe it also had a 4 cylinder engine which will limit how much I can pull with it.
I seems to be in fairly good condition, although there is come rust in the wheel wells which has been Bondo'd up well and painted over. It looks pretty nice for a 1992...
I will probably buy it providing it rides well, but there is another potential snag...I couldn't tell if it had air conditioning.
Now I know that seems like a quibble to a lot of people, but trust me it isn't...not when we are moving to FL. I have had quite a few cars and trucks that didn't have air conditioning, and up here that is just a minor issue. Most of the time you like to have it here, but it is rarely (if ever) a necessity.
In FL it is so hot that the inside of the car/truck can exceed 180-190 degrees at times.
I will buy it one way or another, but to be honest I probably won't keep it if it doesn't have AC. I can't, it is actually dangerous.
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One thing to consider, though, is that it will be hard to unload it in FL if it has no air conditioning...
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Right...but since I am only paying $500 for it it would seem to be worth it, at least for now. I can'tr afford much with the pending move and all, and I plan on being up here for at least 3 weeks without JenniK, so I really need a car/truck for the time I am up here alone as well.
I am taking it for a test drive tomorrow to se if it is worth it. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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You say you're not sure. That would imply the seller is not sure either, or is hiding the information from you. It would also implied that it possibly *might* have A/C, and therefore, the agreed-upon price is, in both your opinions, a fair price for a truck *with* A/C.
Could be a basis for knocking the price down a little further?
If the price is good enough, you could always just pay someone to fix the A/C.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Glad to see you're able to move here as you wanted to, Kwea.
I don't really have any apartment complex recommendations as I've never lived in any in the Orlando area. I usually try to rent whole houses or subdivided houses when I can. However, I believe a lot of people doing the Disney thing are living in the Clermont area as it avoids a lot of the Orlando traffic. Maybe you can look for places there, too.
The main thing I've heard about Disney is that they aren't too flexible in terms of giving you days off when you need it. Also, it seems like every couple of years Disney goes through spasms where it fires a ton of people and then a few months later hires a bunch of people....
Hope you're used to crappy traffic. Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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The owner is in Poland, I am friends with his Aunt...
With all the work that was done to it in the last year, and the fact that it just passed the MA insepctions last month, $500 is as low as I could expect, with or without AC. Good idea though....
I won't know until I can get inside the truck...it was locked today, I just went to go look at the body of it and see it first hand...some of the older AC's didn't have a seperate control, just a little button adn the temp slide thing.....so it COULD have AC, but it is doubtful.
I take it on a test run tomorrow, I should know more about 6:30 pm tomorrow...but AC or not, if it runs well I am taking it.
It is a 4 cylinder Ford Ranger, 1992, with about 200,000 miles on it...I am ot putting a DIME into it other than a trailer hitch. Posts: 325 | Registered: Aug 2002
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I'm not convinced that a 4-cylinder car can tow a trailer.
I think all cars came with A/C by 1992, so I would think the question would more be does it still work.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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No, you can still buy them without it, although living in FL I can see why you would not know that.
It can tow a trailer, just not the trailer I was planning on using. I will be using a small one, to be sure...although it might be a 6 cylinder, I haven't seen under the hood, or in the manual, yet. Posts: 325 | Registered: Aug 2002
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Have you heard anything about that Outrigger Apts? It got a fair rating on the site, mostly complaints about the cabinaets....
I know you said it was in a minority area, but that doesn't mean it is a bad part of town...or was that what you were getting at?
I live in an area now that some people look down on, but the rent is great and the neighbors are cool, and we have never had a real problem in the almost 3 years we have lived here.... Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I haven't had the chance to talk to my father about it.
It's not really a bad area. My father lives not to far from there. It's just that not being prejudiced and being comfortable living where all your neighbors speak Spanish first are two different things. If you're going to live in the US-192 area, in the rectangle that is formed by Columbia, Oak, Main, and Hoagland, you'd better be comfortable being a minority. And I'm not saying that you're not, just giving you food for thought.
-o-
One piece of advice I would give for all potential renters is visit a complex at night at least once. How many teenagers are hanging around in the parking lot? How loud are people? What's the atmosphere like? Is it one you're comfortable with?
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Yeah, I was going to recommend that to Jenni...check in on a Sunday night...Sunday because a lot fo people work all weekend at the parks in the area, Mon/Tues are a weekend for a lot of people. Either that or just check in on a Fri/Sat night.
I would prefer to be able to speak in English to my neighbors, but Jenni speaks Spanish well, so we would be able to get along if necessary.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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It is a SIX cylinder, not a four, which is great news...
It does NOT have AC, which is bad. Also, it was a little lound, but not bad, and there were no warning signs...no clicks, squeals, clanks....
The steering column had been broken into a while ago, but the key still works, and still locks...I tried it with another key AND a screwdriver and it wouldn't turn.
I am buying it to be sure. She was a little late getting to the truck because of an accident closing a lane down over the only bridge into town, so it was too alte to get the cash from the bank, but we will be buying it on Tuesday.
Now, I need a trailer hitch...also, the mirrors are too weak...they move inward when I go over 50 mph...so I will replace those, and add a hitch, and that is it. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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At that price, I'm sure you can unload it again later without too much trouble.
I asked a buddy who used to be in Kissimmee PD for some ideas on good/bad/ugly for apartment complexes. There are a couple I liked over off of the Osceola Parkway. I can't recall the names of them, but they weren't bad.
You might be able to rent a house in an area called "Indian Wells" for around your price range too.
Not the be-all/end-all of neighborhoods, but I think they're a bit better than Reef Club.
I'm hesitating on where else to look because I don't know the price ranges and I can't recall the names of the ones that were truly notorious.
I hope my friend gets back to me in a timely fashion. He's a bit of a problem that way.
Anyway, since it's a rental, you aren't really stuck FOREVER anyway.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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Right...some of these places even offer a 6 or 7 month lease.
Where would I find out about those houses for about that price? I would MUCH rather move into a house, all other things equal. Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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well, here's a link that will give you a map to where it is. Frankly, the link is about vacation rentals and you'll probably get freaked by the prices they're asking ($600/wk US). But there are a fair number of people who bought in that subdivision who have moved up in life and didn't do the conversion to a holiday rental (it's expensive to make a property legal for short-term rental). So, there are usually a lot of places to rent and/or for sale in that neighborhood.
I personally wouldn't recommend buying there unless you got such a great price that you know you could get your money back out of it later when you moved to a nicer area.
The houses are pretty simple, but the builder (Greater Construction) is one of the better ones in the area. They did a nice job and had a few nicer features for what were basically entry level houses.
I used to live in a sister development of theirs called Indian Ridge. That's off one 192 up closer to Disney. I doubt you could find a house there to rent for less than $1000 a month. And a lot more of them are vacation rentals.
Edit to add: when you zoom out on that map, the locations tagged "Old Lake Wilson Subdivisions" is about where I used to live -- Indian Ridge is in there.
So...I'd say at least check out Indian Wells.
Location-wise, it's in a good spot. You can get to Disney by one of several routes.
Good luck!
I think you'll love it there! (I mean in the Kissimmee/Orlando area)
Have fun.
by the way, check out 104.1 in the afternoon drive time. Jim Phillips show (The Phillips Phile) is a lot of fun. The other stuff on WTKS (104.1) can be a bit too raunchy for my tastes, but I always enjoyed Jim Phillips' program.
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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