Can you tell me where you live in Florida and why you like it?

[Maleficient]

We have state tests that everyone takes from grade 3 through 8, english language arts, math, science, and social studies, then in high school most kids go the New York Regents track, taking 3 years of math, science, social studies and ELA - there is also a year of foreign language required to get the Regents diploma. If kids are accelerated they can finish their Regents requirement in 10th or 11th grade and go on to AP classes or the International Baccalaureate (sp?) Degree (in our area, not in all schools). All the teachers say the state tests are a joke too and dumbs their classes down because they have to spend so much time getting the kids ready for them so the school will do well and "look better" as far as ratings, etc.

Is there tuition at the magnet schools?

 

[Katieinwonderland]

I live in Winter Garden, right on the border of Winter Garden and Windermere. Both areas are really nice, would highly recommend them both! Windermere can be pretty pricey but we managed to find something in Winter Garden that was a little more reasonable. I've heard great things about the schools in this area, but we don't have kids yet (we're in our early twenties) so can't be too much help there! The area itself has low crime and we've always felt very safe.

We're just 20 minutes from Disney, 30 minutes from Universal/Sea World and about 40 minutes from downtown Orlando. We love that we're close to the attractions, but neither Winter Garden nor Windermere are touristy areas at all.

I like Florida for the weather during the spring and fall, but the summer heat just about kills me!!! We're actually considering moving back up north to either New York or New England to be closer to DH's family - so I might be asking you for advice in a couple years!!!

 

[Mean Queen]

We have state tests that everyone takes from grade 3 through 8, english language arts, math, science, and social studies, then in high school most kids go the New York Regents track, taking 3 years of math, science, social studies and ELA - there is also a year of foreign language required to get the Regents diploma. If kids are accelerated they can finish their Regents requirement in 10th or 11th grade and go on to AP classes or the International Baccalaureate (sp?) Degree (in our area, not in all schools). All the teachers say the state tests are a joke too and dumbs their classes down because they have to spend so much time getting the kids ready for them so the school will do well and "look better" as far as ratings, etc.

Is there tuition at the magnet schools?

Magnet, charter, and fundamental schools are public and free. But it's luck of the draw and you have to apply early. My DD10 starts middle school next year. We toured the schools and put in our applications in January. We find out what school, if any, we got into the first week of March. We then have to accept what we want. If we don't get in, then you go to your area school or find a charter or private school.

 

[mommybunnyof2]

Regarding your question about ice hockey. We have a ice hockey ring here in Brandon where our Tampa Bay Lightening practice. We've been in there over the summer to ice skate (nice, cool activity for the kids) and were able to watch them practice. They love the kids to watch them and have fun going up and smacking the plexi-glass with their sticks. Our local high school (Newsome) just won the state championship for ice hockey and a friend of a friends son was drafted to a league (can't remember which one). So, yep, we got that

 

[Art 1]

I live in Maitland, it's a very nice area and convenient .

 

[Feralpeg]

I live in Windermere. I am a five minute drive from WDW property.

I love this area. It is so close to WDW, yet you would never know it. It is a quiet area. You rarely see tourists out this way. There has been a lot of building since I moved to the area a little over 5 years ago. I am about 5 minutes from a Publix grocery store. About 3 minutes to Walgreens. A new shopping mall opened a little over a year ago in Winter Garden. It is about a 10 minute drive from my house.

Windermere has a mix of housing available. You can find new houses starting at $180k. Ilseworth has homes in the multi-millions. A lot of very wealthy, famous people live there. It is right down the road from my area. There are a couple of other very nice developments nearby. Due to these areas, I have no doubt that my property will continue to hold its value. I bought in before the housing boom, so the value of my house is still above what I paid for it. There were many people who built homes in the area during the housing boom. They found they could not sell them when the economy tanked. That means there are very good housing deals to be had right now.

There is a new elementary school about a 3 minute drive from my home. My daughter is currently student teaching at a beautiful new middle school. It is about a 10 minute drive from home. They will be building another new elementary school in that area soon.

I love the weather in Florida. Some will say that it is too hot in the summer. I disagree. I lived in the Midwest most of my life. During August, it would be above 100 degrees for a couple of weeks at a time. It was also very humid. Since I moved to Florida, the actual temperature has never reached 100 degrees. Yes, we have had a heat index higher, but no higher than what I was used to in Missouri. Of course, people on these boards tend to base their perception of Florida summers based on the theme parks. Yes, it feels very hot walking around on asphalt all day. When you live here, that isn't what you normally do on a day to day basis. When it gets really hot, I go into my air conditioned house.

This winter has been odd. It has been colder and wetter than any winter since I moved here. Normally, we have a couple of really cold days (40-50s during the day, 30s overnight), but most of the time it is in the 60s to 70s. It can reach 80 degrees during the winter here, but most of the time it is beautiful and in the 70s during the day. That's my idea of winter.

I've found the people in this area to be very warm and welcoming. There is a lot to do here.

I don't plan on ever moving from this area.

 

[OK!]

My parents just bought a townhouse in Windermere to use as a vacation home and while I've only stayed there a week so far, I love the area. It's a few minutes from the parks and yet feels like it might as well be a hundred miles away as far as noise and lack of tourists are concerned. It's close to 535 so it's pretty easy to get just about anywhere. Sorry, I don't know anything about schools or any of that, but I do know that I love that area!

They were able to buy on short sale from a guy who could no longer afford to keep the house, so they got an EXCELLENT deal on it. Unfortunately, they've had to deal with some contentiousness from him after the fact (as though it's their fault he couldn't pay for his house!), but they're thrilled with the place. And I can't wait to go back in April! I'm planning on staying for about a month with my cat, since I can work remotely. I may soon find myself living in FL more than here!

 

[Maleficient]

OK, I really think we have to make this move after hearing everyone describe where they are! I'm going to start doing more research into schools in some of the communities that have been described - I'm excited! Thanks so much and i know that I'm going to have more questions for you all once I get deeper into this....btw I put my resume on the Disney site, but no calls as yet!

 

[Feralpeg]

OK, I really think we have to make this move after hearing everyone describe where they are! I'm going to start doing more research into schools in some of the communities that have been described - I'm excited! Thanks so much and i know that I'm going to have more questions for you all once I get deeper into this....btw I put my resume on the Disney site, but no calls as yet!

Disney isn't very good about responding to resumes for folks out of the area. They're are so many people in the area still looking for jobs that they don't have to look to out of state people. Also, WDW is still on a limited hiring freeze.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Thanks to all who responded - and would love to hear from anyone else! I'm so grateful to have the Dis to gain all this personal info - and thanks especially to dr zero for the links!

One question I have is the lottery system for kids to get into the magnet or charter schools. How does that work exactly - how far in advance can you try to get in, are there way more kids than allotted spots, etc. It's different up here - there aren't any choices from the public school systems other than parochial schools. You can, however, pay tuition to attend a school district where you don't reside if you are unhappy with the district where you live, and that happens quite a bit. I'm really overwhelmed with how do you know what schools are best down there - how do I start looking for houses not knowing the different district lines, etc....

But its really cold here and I'm excited to be in the warmth and near(er) Disney!

For Brevard, you can check the county website and get links to each of the schools for their own listing of their lottery dates.

My understanding is that you must present in person to do this. Beyond that I don't recall as each individual school has its own dates. You do not do this through the county, but at the specific school.

I do not know how other counties do this and do not know what you must bring with you to get in the lottery or if you must already be a resident to participate in the lottery.

For our districts--the best thing to do is to call the county to see if you can get a district map. Sometimes the realtors MLS will have the schools posted on it--but as I stated in a prior post, gumby manages them and they have just changed so you cannot trust any information that you do nto get directly from Brevard County schools.

One reason I deter you from our county is due to what seems to be a constant shuffling of students every 1-2-3 years. You cannot trust that what you initially decide upon as far as neighborhood to a specific school (especially in the Viera and North Melbourne neighborhoods)--will be the school that you get to stay at. Even if the neighborhood seem sto be a sure thing, you do not know what happen.

I had one friend that if selected for rezoning--her child would be placed on a bus and drive past (literally) THREE elementary schools to go to a school that is low in student population. It's complete nonsense. I won't see her for a little over a week to find out what happened.

Middle schools and high schools were left alone this year--but next year they are up for rezoning.

I do not know if other counties are better, but this has to do with the class size amendment and instead of reassigning teachers to a school deemed "overcrowded" (even though they are not over capacity), they shuffle the students around.

 

[Maridw]

In Panama City (Bay County), if you would like your child to go to a different school than the school they are zoned for, you can apply to "go out of zone". Usually they approve this. If they are registered in an academy at a high school out of their zone, they get this automatically.

We also have a couple charter schools in town. My DD went to a different HS than she was zoned for because she got into the tech academy there. I worked just down the street from the HS so it worked out fine for getting her to and from school for both HS and middle school.

Unfortunately they do stress the FCAT quite a bit. In fact our local schools are preparing for it right now.

 

[Maleficient]

So it really sounds like the rules are different from county to county - you don't see that as much up here. Definitely too much focus on the state tests in NY as well - always a big topic to grouse about here.

Feralpig - I had a feeling that it was the case regarding hiring out of the area - I'm seeing that I may have to relocate first and then continue the job search. I know I can work as an RN or NP if I need to, so I'm not too concerned about finding something, but it definitely seems like no one wants to look at candidates from out of state. And I do understand that with all the talent they have to pull from there.

Lisa loves Pooh - I've heard about the kids being sent to schools further than they need to go like you described in other states too - but that is absolutely ridiculous. If you buy a house in a district they shouldn't be able to change where the kids are going - that's really not fair.

THanks again to all who have responded - I'm grateful for all the info!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Lisa loves Pooh - I've heard about the kids being sent to schools further than they need to go like you described in other states too - but that is absolutely ridiculous. If you buy a house in a district they shouldn't be able to change where the kids are going - that's really not fair.

THanks again to all who have responded - I'm grateful for all the info!

It doesn't bother me so much if they were to say instead of going north to a school, you'll go south to a school. But when they resort to "bussing'--someone has lost their commons sense.