AARP’s Great Places to Live: Longwood, Florida

The suburban Orlando community provides small-town living within a lively metro area

Dan Tracy,

AARP

Published November 19, 2025

AARP’s Great Places to Live is a list of 10 communities that have many of the qualities older people value: good health care, social opportunities, a nice climate, ease in getting, a thriving job market and rank highly on AARP's Livability Index (learn more about the Livability Index here, including how your community ranks). One city that made the list: Longwood, Florida. To see more Great Places to Live, click here.

Population: 17,089
AARP Livability Index score: 59
Average monthly housing cost: $1,400
Perfect-weather days*: 148 per year

Though it sits in the shadow of Orlando, Florida, Longwood has a distinct identity, boasting a small historic downtown and a number of mom-and-pop shops and eateries. But as part of a sprawling metro area, it’s close to health care centers, sports and entertainment. Best of all, this community of 17,000 in the north Orlando suburbs is far enough inland (about 40 miles from the Atlantic Ocean and about 100 miles from the Gulf of Mexico) to allow residents to enjoy warm Florida weather without bearing the brunt of hurricanes.

Affordability

Longwood has a wide range of housing, from complexes offering one-bedroom apartments for less than $1,500 a month to upscale communities.

Greg Miller, a 71-year-old retired editor, has lived in the Wekiva neighborhood for 33 years. It’s heavily wooded and close to the popular Wekiwa Springs State Park, built around the Wekiva River and a spring where the water is 72 degrees year-round. He calls it an “oasis.” “We have hawks in the trees, deer and bears walking around,” he says. “The main spring is home to turtles and plenty of small fish that otters and water birds snack on.”

Like housing prices, the cost of insurance in Florida has risen substantially in recent years, partly due to hurricanes and increased flooding, although Longwood is protected from the worst hurricane damage. Annual property insurance rates are cheaper in Longwood and surrounding Seminole County (about $3,400 on average) than the coastal areas: roughly $6,300 in Broward County, where Fort Lauderdale is located, for example, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.

Health care

Two major hospitals serve metro Orlando: AdventHealth Orlando and Orlando Health. This allows Longwood residents like Frank and Shirley Carter, 77 and 76, to enjoy a laid-back lifestyle with easy access to big-city medical services. The Carters live in a rural section of town called Longwood Farms, where the zoning calls for 5 acres per home. Yet they are within 5 miles of campuses or emergency rooms operated by those two hospital systems.

Culture

Four years ago, Longwood City Commissioner Tony Boni, 58, created a nonprofit called Be The Change that caters to older residents. Most Wednesdays, Boni holds events in a meeting room at the Northland Church that include bingo, movies, exercise classes and seminars on such topics as avoiding scams.

Getting around

The city is adding more than 7 miles of new sidewalks. Plus, it supports the Cross Seminole Connector, a path for cyclists and pedestrians that cuts through Longwood. At 23 miles long, it is a link in the planned 250-mile bike path that eventually will connect St. Petersburg on the Gulf Coast with Titusville on the east coast.

Culture

Getting around

Longwood is just east of Interstate 4, the main transportation artery of Central Florida. That highway provides residents access to theme parks, downtown Orlando and its world-class Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, plus the beaches on both Florida coasts.

The city also has a stop on the SunRail, a commuter train that runs weekdays along 61 miles of track, connecting 17 communities, from Volusia County to the east to Osceola County to the west.

Climate

Like the rest of Florida, Longwood’s weather can be humid, hot and rainy in the summer, with highs routinely in the 90s. But people live in the Sunshine State for the lovely winters. From late October through April, the area tends to dry out, and temperatures typically range from the 50s to the low 80s.

Job market

The city also has a stop on the SunRail, a commuter train that runs weekdays along 61 miles of track, connecting 17 communities, from Volusia County to the east to Osceola County to the west.

Climate

Job market

Being in the center of a tourism state, there are plenty of part-time jobs available for older people, from retail to working at major attractions. The unemployment rate in Seminole County is 3.7 percent, below the national average. According to the U.S. Census American Community Survey, more than 16 percent of Floridians 65 and older are still working.

Going-out Guide

Sunny-day location: Wekiwa Springs State Park. This recreational area covers 7,000 acres and is built around the headwaters of the Wekiva River. Go for a hike or a swim. The springs pump out up to 45 million gallons of fresh water daily at 72 degrees all year. And admission is only $6 per car.

Weekday evening hangout: Wekiva Island. Rent a paddleboard or kayak at this resort on the Wekiva River. Or just relax by the water with some food and drink in an Adirondack chair.

Where to take visitors first: Reiter Park Butterfly Garden. Take a walk among the colorful flowers and view the monarch butterflies that populate this peaceful place.

AARP initiatives

From information on caregiving to nursing homes, learn more about AARP initiatives, volunteer opportunities and news from the AARP Florida office.

*What's a perfect weather day? High temperature between 60 and 85 degrees, with less than 1 millimeter of rain. Source: Yahoo News analysis of federal data

Dan Tracy spent more than 35 years as a reporter for the Orlando Sentinel.

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