If you are thinking about thinking about buying a Puerto Vallarta Condo, and making the unique combination of traditional charm, beautiful beachfront and modern comfort of this city your new home, you probably have an idea of what you want your lifestyle to be like. But now begins the work – how to search for that right property.

A good place to start is by getting to know what Puerto Vallarta offers. There are many neighborhoods, both established areas that have been favorites for a few decades now, since the time when Puerto Vallarta was first discovered by the American expat community, and their are newer communities offering a slightly different take on this city’s unique lifestyle.

One community which offers a good choice of Puerto Vallarta luxury condos is Amapas, which is located on the hillside, only a short walk from downtown. This community is becoming one of the top favorites for Americans and Canadians currently buying properties. Also a short walk from downtown are the up-and-coming communities of Alta Vista and 5 de Deciembre. In both of these communities new condos with beautiful town and bay views are available starting at very accessible prices, sometimes less than $200,000. Other options include a fixer-upper home; while these can be bought for slightly more than the starting price for a condo, after a renovation, the home could be worth closer to $500,000.

Further away from downtown, about a 30 minute drive, Nuevo Vallarta is already popular for condos in the golf course communities, starting around $250,000. Vallarta beachfront condos in this area start around $450,000. Besides the championship golf course, there is also a shopping mall. Nearby in Marina Vallarta there are many more shopping options.

The Waterford Lakes area refers to a somewhat new group of communities on the South East side of Orlando. What was once, a heavily wooded area, abounding with wildlife, has been transformed over the last 25 years into a thriving residential suburb of Orlando. It all began with the building of Waterford Lakes, a neighborhood of single family residential homes and townhouses with a dedicated recreational area of lakes, walking trails, pools, tennis and racquetball courts, playgrounds, and more. That neighborhood was quickly followed by Eastwood, a partially gated community with a championship golf course and country club. Eastwood was also built as a recreational/resort-style community with a large swimming pool overlooking a lake, walking trails, playgrounds, and tennis and racquetball courts. Stoneybrook East overlapped the development of Eastwood and offered it’s own championship golf course, a completely gated private community with recreational center, activities director, and more.

During this period, with the influx of so many new residents, commercial, retail, and dining facilities sprang up in the immediate vicinity. Waterford Towne Center features large anchor stores such as Target, Best Buy, Pet Smart, Barnes & Noble, a large movie theatre complex, and several other shops and restaurants. Across the street, more shopping centers were built, a Home Depot, a post office, and several surrounding apartment communities. Firkin & Kegler, a large entertainment complex similar to Dave & Busters was also added recently.

Different from the other neighborhoods is Avalon Park. Avalon was built as a neo-traditional community; one with that front porch, old-town community feel. The entrance to Avalon Park has a downtown area that looks much like a small town and even has a weekend farmer’s market, movies in the park, activities for children, and has its own YMCA, shopping center, some of the best pizza outside of NYC (don’t miss Papa Gio’s), a Publix, banks, gas stations and more. The homes in Avalon Park also feature some custom-built models. Avalon Park extended it’s building behind it’s original borders with a less neo-traditional and more modern feel. Timber Creek High School was added and more retail complexes.

Schools in this area are known for their excellence and because of the area’s convenience to major highways such as 408 and 417, it’s an easy commute to almost any area of Central Florida. Lockheed Martin is one of the area’s major employers and the area is also well-liked with those working at the Orlando International Airport. For these reasons, Waterford has become very popular with families.

Homes in the area are priced from $100,000 to $800,000 with the majority of them in the $150,000 to the $250,000 range. That makes Waterford an affordable and attractive option for most families today.