Question for Greater Orlando residents...

[oogieboogie]

I might have a chance to relocate down there this summer and I've narrowed a few cities to live in and wanted to get you guys' input on these places:

Altamonte Springs
Longwood
Casselberry
Lake Mary
Winter Park
Winter Springs

I'm leaning more toward Seminole county primarily because of the schools, and out of the 6, it seems like the top 3 are the cheapest in terms of housing.

Can anyone give me the bad and the good? The job itself will be in Lake Mary, but I don't mind a little bit of a drive.

Thanks

 

[Keggy]

My husband and I both work in Lake Mary and used to live in Lake Mary, but recently moved to Sanford. Any of the areas you mentioned would be nice!

I really like this area!

Kelly

PS - I am originally from Medina, OH....

 

[ChristmasElf]

If your job is going to be in Lake Mary, you should try to live in Lake Mary as I am sure you have heard that traffic around here can be a nightmare especially in the rush hour times.
Even living in Altamonte will provide for some drive time.
While housing will be more reasonable in Casselberry than in Lake Mary, you will no doubt also find some great deals in Sanford.
Winter Park is in Orange County and that area will be sky high for anything even remotely decent. Plus you would have to spend a lot more time on I 4 than you would ever want to.

Have you checked out realtor.com lately? Although sometimes the houses are sold and still listed on there, ya never know, you might find one there that you would want to see.
Will you be renting or buying? I ask only in the chance that you want to try an area out first before you buy. While Seminole schools sometimes seem to be better, there are a lot of "pockets" in Orange county that have great schools-but again, if you will be employed in Lake Mary, you won't want that commute from anywhere south of Altamonte.
My sister lives off of 434 in Altamonte Springs and works in Maitland and even though Maitland is fairly close to her, unless she takes the back roads to work, she is in the car forever.

 

[ducklite]

I agree, the traffic down here is nightmarish. I'd definitely try and be as close to work as possible. Lake MAry is supposed to ahve good schools.

Anne

 

[bavaria]

Can't believe that I am actually posting here! Lake Mary is a great area with a lot of new neighbourhoods. You would definitely want to be close to work and avoid the I-4 drive. I did it on several occasions and wouldn't want to do it on a regular basis.

I spent a lot of time in Lake Mary last year - great area!

 

[SoonerKate]

Traffic really is a nightmare -- when we were living in Metrowest, my roommate commuted to Lake Mary and hated it. She's in Oveido now, which is still not close, but significantly closer, and with reasonable housing prices. A lot of the people she works with are in Sanford and Lake Mary.

 

[oogieboogie]

I didn't really list Sanford because I heard the crime rate is a little higher than the other cities listed. It is easy access to 417 though, which is good, because the family lives in Poinciana and it's easier to get there thru 417 (albeit the toll would bankrupt us...LOL)

I do like what I saw of Lake Mary when I drove around. Didn't really like the elementary school building though - it looked like mobile homes strung together with concrete paving in between them - they were all open air and looked like pods. I'm not used to seeing that up here in OH. I was told that they had so much growth that they couldn't keep up with the population growth and so had to just build classrooms out of these trailers.

I clocked driving from Altamonte Springs to Lake Mary through 436, up 17/92 and getting off at Lake Mary Blvd at 3pm-ish at about 20 minutes. I'm sure I'd have to add to that during rush hours what not.

 

[ducklite]

I didn't really list Sanford because I heard the crime rate is a little higher than the other cities listed. It is easy access to 417 though, which is good, because the family lives in Poinciana and it's easier to get there thru 417 (albeit the toll would bankrupt us...LOL)

I do like what I saw of Lake Mary when I drove around. Didn't really like the elementary school building though - it looked like mobile homes strung together with concrete paving in between them - they were all open air and looked like pods. I'm not used to seeing that up here in OH. I was told that they had so much growth that they couldn't keep up with the population growth and so had to just build classrooms out of these trailers.

I clocked driving from Altamonte Springs to Lake Mary through 436, up 17/92 and getting off at Lake Mary Blvd at 3pm-ish at about 20 minutes. I'm sure I'd have to add to that during rush hours what not.

A lot of schools are built like that down here. It's pretty normal. Heck I was seeing that in NJ before we moved.

I would close to triple that time during rush hour.

Anne

 

[ChristmasElf]

MOST of the elementary schools and even some of the middle and Senior high schools have the portable buildings. The state is exploding with new growth and they can't build the schools fast enough to house all the students.
When the schools are getting built, they are getting away from having to use portables.
The 20 minutes drive time was very unusual, believe me. Double that on a quiet day.
As far as the family being in Poinciana, that is a 30 minute drive from South unincorporated Orange county. (John Young and Town Center Blvd) From Lake Mary it will no doubt be just over an hour and that will be taking the Greeneway. If you will going on the weekends like Sat afternoon or Sunday mornings, you will just be better off taking I 4 as traffic will be lighter than during the week, plus it will be a more direct route.

 

[Brendita]

 

[Stepharoonie!]

I personally like Altamonte....not as crowded as Lake Mary.

 

[nile455]

I personally like Altamonte....not as crowded as Lake Mary.

I live in Altamonte. It's grown a lot. And in a year or so, "Uptown Altamonte" will start taking shape. Looks really nice what they've done to that area of SR 436.

 

[ducklite]

Although the schools in Lake Mary are reported to be better than the schools in Altamonte.

Anne

 

[oogieboogie]

now when you say Altamonte, that's the same as Altamonte Springs right? Not another suburb named just Altamonte?

One observation that I made about Orlando, and I don't know if this is true everywhere, but I've seen that if the houses aren't newer construction, pastel houses just don't age well. They look really bleached out and just plain dull. Also that these older houses look so plain because they don't have any trims on the windows & doors.

But if I were to get a newer construction house, the prices are just astronomical. The same house that would've cost less than $200K here in OH goes for $350K++ down there. Makes you wonder how anyone starting out as a young family could ever afford to buy a house, even a semi decent one. It actually seems like the condos and condo conversions are better looking plus you get all the community conveniences like a pool and playground, etc.

 

[nile455]

now when you say Altamonte, that's the same as Altamonte Springs right? Not another suburb named just Altamonte?

One observation that I made about Orlando, and I don't know if this is true everywhere, but I've seen that if the houses aren't newer construction, pastel houses just don't age well. They look really bleached out and just plain dull. Also that these older houses look so plain because they don't have any trims on the windows & doors.

But if I were to get a newer construction house, the prices are just astronomical. The same house that would've cost less than $200K here in OH goes for $350K++ down there. Makes you wonder how anyone starting out as a young family could ever afford to buy a house, even a semi decent one. It actually seems like the condos and condo conversions are better looking plus you get all the community conveniences like a pool and playground, etc.

Yes Altamonte = Altamonte Springs.

There are some really nice, new condos that have come up in Seminole County. And you are right, a $300,000 condo here will look much nicer than a $300,000 house. Some of those condos are better than a resort. But be careful, many of them have astronomical HOA fees, some over $300/month.

What's your price range? To be honest, if you're looking for a newly constructed home, $350,000 is even pushing it if you're talking Orange or Seminole Counties. You might have to consider Lake or Osceola County, or consider an older home.