What is Windermere like to live (Orlando, Hollywood: real estate, houses, work)

[P_e_t_e]

Hi I am new to the forum , I am from London England and me and my family might be moving into the Orlando area next year.

What is Windermere like to live, Ive heard its one the the best places to live if you have children??

[GOODTOGO]

Pete:

Windermere is a lovely area unfortunately we live approx. 45 mins south of there, but the shopping and decent restaurants are all at your fingertips....Worth your while to check it out....

[diddy02]

Windermere is okay but unless you live right in old windermere you really could be anywhere! We are from the UK and live in Dr Phillips which is right next to Windermere. Easy access to I-4 , Disney etc. Can be expensive but very central with restaurants , shopping nearby.
Be aware that its very expensive to live here in Orlando, taxes, utilities etc compared to the UK and very hot!!!

[Prichard]

Windermere is a beautiful community. It is on the Butler chain of lakes which are nice, clean, spring fed, skiable lakes. They are a tad bit crouded these days with boats, but still a beautiful chain of lakes.

But, hey, if you don't like Windermere there's always Isleworth. Houses in Isleworth start in the low 3's.

The good and the bad about Greater Orlando is that it has too many "rich ghettos" where the ultra-rich live. The price for admission is not just $3,000,000 but add annual costs of $25,000 for taxes, $6,000 for yard maintenance, $12,000 for home owner's association dues, $20,000 for insurance, not to mention green fees, club fees, etc. Before you pay dime one in a mortgage payment, you will have already spent close to $70,000! It must be great to be rich.

[adp]

Windermere is surrounded by lakes and has dirt roads. It was a well-kept country town until it became absorbed by Metro Orlando and multi-million dollar subdivisions began bordering it such as Isleworth. Now it's also a high end area, high-priced compared to the average home. This is where alot of professionals live who seek the area for schools, safety, lakes, boating etc. It's also not too far from Dr. Philips, I-4, Disney and downtown.

[AONE]

Pete,
Windermere is a beautiful area and has much to offer. With school age kids I would suggest being selective as to what parts of Windermere, unless you are going the private school route. It is convenient to the attractions and some homes get to enjoy the fireworks of the parks from their yards. The lakes are amazing. They are very socially oriented and have access to the finest things in Orlando. While the true prices in the area range from 200k - 12M it is a little misleading because the normal neighborhoods will be 500k and up. Parts of it have good resale and history of good appreciation. I have seen some pretty good deals in the area. Im told the present state of the mortgage market is seeing foreign nationals having to put down 30% presently with expectations of this rising to 35%. I am facing this issue with a client now from Scotland it is not a great lending market, but the exchange rate is awesome for those coming in.
The town itself is small and almost no paved roads (in order to protect the lakes). the are making a central shopping district downtown but it will be pretty small. For you I would say schooling may be the first concern as to which neighborhoods would be ideal. Some parts of Dr. Phillips may also offer some great options. Best of Luck to you.

[AONE]

Pete
Windermere is a very nice community, upscale with homes going up to 12M and the norm more in the 700+ range. They have good private schools and some areas have the good school Olympia but some areas dont belong to that district. For schools that is definitely the choice and the areas that are in district would be the choices. There are a couple areas right next to it, Bay Hill and Dr. Phillips both of which are very nice areas. with good schools. Nearby is Hunters Creek which is a very family communities made up of about 37 neighborhoods, some gated many not but all nice. In short there are likely several areas in and around Windermere you might like. Isleworth is also in Windermere and is the most exclusive community in the area.

Here are some details about a few of the communities - I selected some of the information I had to give a good idea. See what you think.





Isleworth
Isleworth is Orlando’s most exclusive gated golf community. Developed by Arnold Palmer in the mis-80;s, it is or has been home to many celebrities including, Tiger Woods, Shaquille O'Neal, Barry Larkin and Ken Griffey Jr. head this impressive celebrity list, joined by Mark O'Meara, and Planet Hollywood CEO Robert Earl. Commonly misspelled Islesworth the community originally was citrus trees among the Butler Chain of Lakes

It has am impressive array of sculpture from the likes of Dali, Keith Harring, and Yoko Ono seeded through out the community. The homes are equally impressive with nothing but estate homes. The prices will start in the mid $1 million and can go towards $20,000,000 presently the highest priced home is $7,500,000. The Isleworth Country Club Is certainly the elegant experience, with an 89,000 square foot club house, golf, tennis and wellness facilities you are sure to feel pampered.

Situated in Windermere, Isleworth is fully gated with an impressive entrance and lush greenery at every turn. Homes can be on the golf course or on the water or for a select few both. There is no finer address in the Orlando area.

Windermere

A laid back up scale community full of sand bottom lakes known collectively as the Butler Chain of Lakes. It has some of the areas most prized real estate and has been home to celebrities like Arnold Palmer, Shaq, Tiger Woods and several boy band members. Located South and West of Orlando it is convenient to many of the area attractions. With fewer than 2000 residents it is a small community that many feel is the finest Orlando has to offer, particularly for families with children. The neighboring communities include Gotha, Isleworth (sometimes misspelled Islesworth), Dr. Phillips and Winter Garden.
Homes have a wide range from smaller $200,000 places to palatial estates up to $12,000,000. Visitors may be surprised by the lack of paved roads in the downtown area but it is left that way to protect the lakes that surround it.

Landmarks include Bird Island on Lake Butler and the Mormon TempleDr. Phillips

A beautiful community situated near Universal Studios and South of Orlando. The area is named after Dr. Phillip Phillips who developed many advances in the citrus industry. He owned thousands of acres of land and it was predominately orange groves. Now it is an upscale home to about 10,000 residents with prices ranging from $190,000 to over $3,000,000

Some outstanding restaurants can be found in the area. It is close to I-4, and 528 for quick access to everything in the areaBay Hill

An upscale golf community with beautiful lakes and rolling hills. It is home to about 5200 people in its 3 square miles of land. It also hosts the Bay Hill Invitational Golf tournament (PGATOUR.com - Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard) based out of Arnold Palmer’s Golf Club. The area is just a subdivision so the surrounding communities, Dr Phillips and Windermere have the amenities of shopping and restaurants. The homes in Bay Hill start at $325,000 and climb to $4,900,000.

[Alphaman]

It has a nice small town feel and plenty of big trees but ever since they widened Maguire there is too much traffic going thru the main street.

Oh and don`t go over the posted speed limit the bored cops will nail you for going like 3 miles over.

[Kaci]

LOVED IT!!!!

Beautiful large trees, lakes abound. Everyone is so nice, always things going on... picnics, baseball games. I don't think you would be sorry to live there.
The Windermere elementary school is so good that everyone sent their kids to that school, then put them in private schools for middle/ and Highschool.
Don't know what the schools are like now, we moved away 6 years ago.

We lived in one of the older neighborhoods... more character with deeded access to the lakes *rare these days*. It is worth checking it out. I always did most of my shopping in Dr. Phillps, pretty nice too. K