[Jdy328]

I hope this doesnt make anyone mad! My family is thinking of moving to the St. Cloud FL area. I want to move with my company. I have two young teen children. Every one I talk with makes the area sound so bad. I have talked to about 15 people that all say the same thing. They say its hot, traffic is bad and crime is high. They say the Spanish population is out of control and you cant go anywhere without speaking Spanish. The information I read says that it is nothing like that. I dont want to move my kids to some war zone where I have to take a gun to the Walmart to shop.

In the town I live in we leave our kids alone at home (13 and 10). I told a person that I would have to do that in St. Cloud. They said I would be crazy to do that there.

I would like to hear some information from people that live in the area with kids.

[firemed]

School teachers are moving away due to the high price and low pay, Spanish population work for less money so there is a change in the area, crime is up all over Florida, but I would go there for a week and look before I would move there.

[deana]

to jdy.....hi i live in south fl but bought a house in st cloud in a new development. i am planning on moving to central fl in about a year and thought this would be perfect. i decided that i will sell that house and find a different part of central florida to move to. why???? because i have visited my home several times and really got turned off. there is a huge puerto rican population there and my next door neighbors are already blaring the music, having wild partys, and everytime i go my driveway is full of **** from their mutt. i know because i have witnessed this dog pooping on my property on many occasions. other than that it is ok. during the week the traffic is a little crazy going down 192 and it is only getting worse so good luck.

[Jdy328]

Well if a person wanted to live near Disney and avoid all that where would you live?

[aplacetocallhome]

Originally Posted by Jdy328

Well if a person wanted to live near Disney and avoid all that where would you live?

CELEBRATION, FL IS VERY NICE OR HUNTERS CREEK IN KISSIMMEE

[ana m]

Celebration is off of 192, isn't there alot of traffic in 192?

[cflmmo]

Jdy328, St. Cloud is a big mix of "rednecks" and Puertoricans as opposed to illegal immigrants or "Hispanic" in general. Some time ago it was known as "KK" territory. Is is kind of "country" but close enough to Orlando. Crime is one of the lowest in the entire Central Florida. Just because there are lots of Hispanics doesn't mean is a high-crime area because most of those Hispanics are NOT illegal immigrants (read below for details). If someone chooses to live in Orlando but stay away from the crime, I would definitely recommend the Osceola County in general.

The difference between the Puertoricans living in the St. Cloud/Kissimmee area and the ones in North Orlando (or Poinciana) and other Central Florida areas is that the majority come directly from the Island instead of New York. In case you did not know, Puerto Rico is a US Commonwealth and their residents are US Citizens and taught English, however, it is not practiced widely in the island - that is where the difficulty comes from. Yes, they might lack English language skills, however, a lot of them are well educated and behavior and attitude in completely different from their children that were borne and raised up North. No offense to people from NY but people for the Islands in general are more laid back AND tolerant. Hispanics that live in the area are there to WORK looking for better opportunities like every other US Citizen not to "rob" a Walmart.

In regards to traffic, because St. Cloud doesn't have many options coming in an out of town, you will have to drive through their Downtown most of the time and US Hwy 192 which is very touristy. But I-4 in Orlando is worst.

Where do you plan to work or what type of business you have? That makes a big difference when selecting a place to live in Central Florida.

[Susan058]

I left Miami 7 yrs. ago and raised 2 kids in St. Cloud. I have not regretted it. Excellent Boy Scout Troop here, lots of sport activities. I think if you move into an established neighborhood, it may look different than a new development. My neighborhood has not declined in 7 yrs. , has mature trees, 3 miles from town, new access to turnpike being built about 5 min. away (for easier access than going down 192 to turnpike entrance apx. 15-20 min.). Orlando less than an hr. away. Traffic on I-4 Orlando can be a challenge at time, but to me, not as bad as Dade county was. Crime..........tell me of a place where there is none, and everything else is perfect. Certainly it's not as bad as Miami. I walk in neighborhood after dark. Overall, I think it's a nice town, even though it's growing. Have my house for sale for under $250K, as I belong in the mts. now that kids are on their own. My taxes are still low, insurance is still low, esp. by Miami standards. Hope this helps some.

[Jdy328]

Well that is helpful. We have alot of mixed information and decided to just look for ourselves on Vacation. I work for a home Improvement warehouse and we own a kids, well family salon. My goal is to work at Disney I have a great many management talents and merchandising skills that I would like to put in use for a fun company like Disney. I would love to hear comments from people that work at Disney.

The town we come from is low crime. Its one of those towns that if your out after 1:00 am you just get stopped to see what your doing...lol

I know that just because you are not a US citizen born and raised doesn't make you a criminal but the fact is that in areas where the population is higher so is the crime. That isn't an opinion that is a simple undeniable fact.

We just want a place that is nice for kids and safe. We are looking to find a more fulfilling career and all that other fun stuff.

[cflmmo]

Jdy328 - I understand your point of view, however, that might be true in other parts of the Country, however, Florida has a huge Hispanic population and those "facts" do not necessarily apply.

Do a search like "FBI crime stats" and read for yourself.. you will be pleasantly surprised. Osceola County has the lower crime rate index from the entire Orlando metro area and it has the biggest Hispanic population in Central Florida.

I also agree with Susan058 in regards to an "established" neighborhood as opposed to a new subdivision. But in Osceola County that is hard to find.

Good luck with your search.