Moving to Orlando soon, schools, Kissimmee, Celebration and other ??

[palmtreegirl]

Hello all. we are moving to Florida. DH has already accepted a job down there and now it's time to find somewhere to live, the hard part.

We have done so much research and even went down to neighborhood search recently. After visting and driving all over central Florida we decieded that Dh doesn't want a long commute. So that rules out Seminole County where the schools are much better, I know. He will be working in the area of the airport.

We checked out Hunters creek and I was disppointed with it. It was nice and all but totally different then what the web site led me to believe it was. It just seemed really crowded maybe we missed something here?

We really loved the feel of Celebration but it's on the expensive side. We had thought it would be worth having a smaller house for the community. But now I'm learning some things that don't thrill me about it. I was just recently told by a a few people that live outside of Celebration that they have approved timeshare condos for Celebration. That really bothers me because when we were down there we were told that there were no vacation rentals in celebration. Well, what he said was there were no short-term rentals so I guess maybe timeshare isn't considered short term BUT I still feel mislead, ynwim? Does anyone know if this is even true?

Also I read and heard of many reports of the homes having structural problems. I know this was a reported problem in the beginning, does this still exist?

We also looked into the Kissimmee area and found a new sub division going up near Hunters creek. The homes there were beautiful, very big and reasonable priced BUT I've heard nothing but poor reviews of the schools there. They are planning to build a charter school to be opened in about 2 years but my DD will be entering 1st grade next year so there in lies the problem. Right now the kids are bused passed 2 local schools to another one. I was considering maybe sending her to private school till the charter opened up. Does anyone have any knowledge of private schools in the Kissimmee area besides Catholic ones?

Basically we're looking for a nice, safe, diverse neighborhood with a good school where homes aren't too expensive. we'd like to be able to get a 4/5 bedroom, 2/3 bath for 230,000, tops. If we went to Celebration we'd ony be able to get a 3 bedroom/2 bath for the that money which would mean no guest room for our many family visitors we'll be getting-lol.

Does anyone know anything about these areas- Waterford lakes, Vista lakes, DR. Phillips, Cypresss lakes or Eagles and Weston reserve?

ANY help would be great, our house here is going up next week so I'm feeling the pressure now , big time and really starting to stress out! Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Kirk]

palmtreegirl,

All I really know about Orlando is there's some great theme parks in the area! But saw your thread slipping and wanted to give it a bump! My DD has a friend north of Orlando in Maitland (sp?) in a private Christian school. If you need info there let me know - otherwise here's a couple links you've probably seen:


http://www.hmrealtors.com/orlando-area-schools.htm

http://www.see-orlandoflorida.com/images/kissmap120401.PDF

 

[jamsmom]

I sure hope that someone part of the DIS family has some information to help you out

 

[milo]

Hi there. How great is that!!!! You get to move to Orlando. We would like to move there someday and always check out the neighborhoods for a day or so when we are vacation there.

We ran across a what we thought was a very nice neighborhood when we were there last December. It's in the Windemere area, which is a very, very nice place.

It's just North of WDW and in an area of much more expensive homes and not too far from the airport. (About a 25 min drive I think)

They have a website if you'd like to check it out.

www.ashtonwoodshomes.com

Good luck in your search!!!!

 

[PKK/MJK]

Definitely check out the Ashton Woods homes. We looked at their models last summer and they are lovely. I can't tell you anything much on price--we were looking more for a townhome. Fortunately for us, Ashton Woods has just started building townhomes on Reams Road (which is directly behind the Magic Kingdom). We have invested in one of those for our DD who is a CM--she'll rent it from us. Anyway, there are a lot of model homes out in the Ashton woods area (I believe it is on route 535). Don't know anything specific about the Windermere Schools, but that's something you could check. GOOD LUCK!!

 

[palmtreegirl]

Thank you everyone!!!

I'm going to check out all the links now, thanks again!

 

[cherylp3]

I thought I would use this thread to ask a question, How can I get a paper copy of the Sunday Orlando sentinel. Do I need to find an Orlando resident that would send me one or Will the Orlando sentinel send me a copy if I ask them to and agree to pay for postage??


Thanks Cheryl

 

[Kirk]

cherylp3,

Here from the Sentinel FAQ:

Q. I would like to send a gift subscription to a person who lives outside the delivery zones. Is this possible?
A. Yes. We can send a gift subscription by mail. The recipient will receive their newspaper by mail 3 to 5 days after publication. Please contact our Customer Service Department at (407) 420-5353 or outside of Orlando (800) 359-5353 to place your order.

 

[LIDisneyFan]

Only going on info from my BIL who has lived in Orlando for the past 20 years (if only I were so lucky!).

My underatding is that the schools in the Lake Mary, Altamonte area (north of Orlando) are good by Fla standrds. There aren't as many new subdivisions, but there seem to be good resales. There are also some private schools in that area, but they do tend to be pricey. It depends on your budget.

DW and I also looked at Celebration (hey, you can dream) and felt the property was smallish for the price. BUt I love the neighborhood feel. I didn't get the impression of a lot of diversity (when we asked where a jewich temple was, the sales person looked kinda blank!)

Anyway, good luck. Keep researching - and be sure to visit the schools and look at indicators like class size, etc.

 

[joeokw]

We are thinking about moving to the Orlando area. We are looking at seminole county. There is a excellent web site. realtor.com that can give you lots of info on homes for sale and demographic and school info.. ie. SAT scores and class sizes. also the Seminole school district has a web site that gives the breakdown of each school performance on the Florida school testing scores. Almost every school I looked at had a "A" rating. Lake Mary, Lake Howell, Lake Brantley High Schools seems to be the tops. The avg. SAT scores are in the 1050 to 1100 ranges. The range of prices for 4 bedroom homes go from $165,000 to 500,000. We are almost sure we are going to move in the next year or so. .

 

[FINFAN]

Palmtreegirl...check your PM's!

 

[rangebob]

I am near the Windermere and Dr. Phillips area. I moved here about a year ago and love the entire area. I've driven around the Windermere area and they have some really nice houses. I'm not too sure about the costs though. I know that the schools in that area are pretty good and it is about 7 - 10 miles away from the airport. I will see if I can find some websites about any of the housing developments today or as I am driving around I will see if I can find any phone # for you. I've seen signs in the area about 2/1 townhomes for around $100,000. This area is down the street from Universal Studios.

Another area that is alot further away from the airport but they have great house prices and they are building the development currently. In Clearmont on Highway 27 they have 4/2 houses I think in the $150 range. This area is real close to Disney but 20-30 miles away from the airport. I've heard great reviews about this area (my cousin lives there and I have a friend building a house there).

I will try to find any information and post it here later tonight or tomorrow.

 

[TennVolTony]

I'm in Hunters Creek and I love it!