Is Deland Florida A Good Place To Live?
Do you like a small, college town feel, but want to be close to Orlando and still have affordable housing? DeLand might be just the place. Today I'm going to discuss my top pros and cons of living in Deland.
Let's start with the basics. Deland is located in Volusia County, about 35 miles north of Orlando. Its name comes from Henry Deland, a baking soda magnate from NY, who bought a bunch of land in the late 1800s and envisioned making a tourism, citrus and agricultural center. While he never lived in the city year round, he did name it after himself and recruited peope to move there from upstate NY. You can still visit the Henry Deland House museum.
Another important name in the history of Deland is John B Stetson, the famous hat maker, who was a patron of what eventually became named Stetson University. The Stetson Mansion, known as Florida's first luxury estate, is a beautiful 1886-built home that is available for private tours. It was recently on the market for $4,700,000 but did not sell. If you're interested, please let me know!
So now that you know a little about this interesting little town, let's dive right into the reasons you should consider living there.
#1, Deland's location. Deland is located in Volusia County and is about 35 miles north of Orlando and 25 miles West of Daytona Beach. The location is decent for commuting, although you are going to end up on I-4, and just far enough from the coastline to keep much of the roughest weather just out of reach. Deland is a community where most people commute to Lake Mary or Orlando for work, so do brace yourself for fighting the traffic.
#2, that awesome quirkiness that only comes from being a college town. DeLlnd is home to the aforementioned Stetson University, which is a small private college that Henry Deland founded in 1883. As a result, you'll find a lot of trendy stores downtown, imaginative boutiques, latest fad restaurants as well as legitimately great dining options. And of course, when there's not a pandemic, the university has lectures, music and theater performances and sporting events to go and see.
#3, Deland has a really nice variety of properties. In the West side of Deland, you'll find properties with more of a farm-like feel and a bit more land. Downtown, there is a historic district with homes dating back to the late 1800s, lots of wide front porches and creative colors which gives the downtown area a vibrant feel. Then you have gated communities like Victoria Gardens over closer to I-4, to the east. Finally, there are numerous new home communities moving in. There are homes in every budget. I'll post a link below so you can see what's available in Deland whenever you are seeing this video.
#4 lakes and St Johns River. One of my personal favorite spots to head to on the St Johns River is Lake Beresford. I usually go by boat, but you can also drive in and when you're there you can rent a houseboat or a pontoon. The St Johns is a northern flowing 310 mile long river, very slow moving, that will take you all the way to the Atlantic Ocean in Jacksonville. There are natural springs where you can stop and enjoy crystal clear water, maybe even see a manatee or two. Lake Beresford is on that route. Hontoon Island, which is only accessible by boat, is another cool Deland spot just south of Lake Beresford. It features a museum of Native american and St Johns River history, picnic and barbecue areas, and hot showers, which are much welcomed by boaters who may have been on the water for a while!
Cons
Well, if you were looking for a lot of cons, I'm terribly sorry, but I couldn't come up with much.
One thing is that some locals refer to Deland as Deadland, but honestly, I believe that term is created mostly by young people who are from DeLand and, having grown up there, are really immune to its charms and feel the draw of other locations mostly for their freshness. The grass is always greener, right? It's a small town, but it's so closer to other places, that I fail to see how you can really run out of things to do, unless you aren't old enough to drive.
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