[Nomoresubways]

Hey everyone, just bought a house in Stoneybrook Hills in Mount Dora and wanted to see if anyone had any comments and/or suggestions about the community or area. We got a great deal from Lennar due to their end of year inventory closeouts. We are completely psyched about the house and the community but don't know much about the surrounding areas. I have found out quite a bit about the town of Mount Dora. Sounds like a nice, quaint little town. Right down our alley.

We have a 13 year old daughter that will be going to school down there. From what I've gathered, she'll be going to Wolf Lake Middle School and then perhaps Apopka High School since Stoneybrook is in Orange County. I myself don't have a job yet down there but since I work with computers, I expect to find something in Maitland, Lake Mary or downtown. So I'm probably looking at a 30 minute commute one way or the other.

Just wanted to see if anyone could give us advise and/or tips.

Thanks!

[SouthernBelle3]

I live in the Mt. Dora area not too far from Stoneybrook hills. I can tell you that the commute to Maitland or downtown Orlando will be longer than 30 minutes. It's about 10-15 minutes to Apopka, but getting through Apopka on 441 is slow during rush hour. It takes about 40 minutes to get to I4 (driving the speed limit) on 441/436 or taking 441/434 (Maitland Avenue), but maybe longer during rush hour. If you were thinking of taking 46 to I4, good luck. Hwy 46 is a two lane road almost all the way to I4. Hope this helps.
I don't know too much about Apopka schools, since my kid went to Eustis, but I haven't heard anything too negative about them.
Hope this helps.

[Nomoresubways]

Cool thanks SouthernBelle. Everytime I've gone down there, I always do the reverse commute so it doesn't seem so bad. I usually hit 429 off 441 and that ends up being a relatively quick trip from there to Orlando.

When I was down last weekend, I attempted to go into the Mount Dora downtown area but it was extremely packed, is it always like that? I think it was Friday afternoon.

So there's just about everything we'd need to everyday shopping right in Mount Dora right? From what I've seen, there's a Publix and Winn Dixie, Walmart and Home Depot plus most of the major fast food restaurants and other restaurants to choose from. I also noticed that there's a pretty big mall in Leesburg. Is that a decent place to go?

[kona]

Mount Dora is a cool little town in a very pretty area.

Here is a picture of the sunrise over Lake Eustis viewed from my parent's lake house in Leesburg.



Big bass in Lake Eustis.

[Prichard]

Downtown Mt. Dora isn't normally packed, but a little like Winter Park, people like to visit and stroll down the streets on weekends. They host several events through out the year, the biggest of which is the Mt. Dora Art Festivle. You could have hit it at a time when there was some sort of event going on. BTW, lawn bowling is still a popular event in Mt. Dora.

[Nomoresubways]

Yeah I figured something must have been going on. Plus I saw a lot of school buses around so I may have hit the post-school rush. From what I've read and heard about Mount Dora, it sounds like a really cool little town. I'm all about traditional downtowns, and I'm also a huge water person, fishing and boats are my thing. Not too much on the antique stuff, I'll leave that up to my wife, but the other stuff like the antique boat show sound pretty cool.

By the sound of it, even though my commute might end up being a little longer than most would like, it will be worth it to be up there in that neck of the woods. Plus, with my current 2 + hours commute each way, it'll still be much much better.

[SouthernBelle3]

The mall in Leesburg is Lake Square Mall. It's a nice mall. The Seminole mall in Sanford off hwy 46 is also not too far away and has lots of shopping. Lots of boating and fishing in this county. Mount Dora often has events, but it's crowded almost every Saturday. The shops are so cute. I suppose if your already used to traffic the messy traffic we have here won't bother you. The construction between Mt.Dora and Leesburg ties up traffic during the day.
If you like nature, check out the St.John's Water District recreation sites
http://sjr.state.fl.us/programs/oper...gmt/index.html.

[Nomoresubways]

My wife works in retail so it sounds like she'll have plenty to find around there. And yes, I very much enjoy nature so the St. John's Water District sounds right down my alley.

So 46 is not a great road to count on for commuting though?

[SouthernBelle3]

Hwy 46 is ok if you have no other choice. It's 2 lane through Lake and almost to I4 so if you get behind a slow vehicle it is frustrating. ALso, lots of people drive reckless and try to pass taking chances. One more hazard though not real common are bears and deer. There are underground tunnels that go under 46 for the bears so that helps. Patience is what you need to commute to Orlando from Lake County.

[Nomoresubways]

Well thankfully I have a lot of patience. Which is why I don't do so well in NY. Patience is seen as a weakness in NYC. Whereas I see it as the best way to combat all the stressed out freaks who have to keep up with the Joneses.

I just wish I knew where I was going to work so I could get an idea what my commute will be. Safe to say though, it won't touch my 2 hour commute.