Lake Mary

[beckycat]

Originally Posted by lameduck51

Got back late last night from our FL trip. "Weather delays" in NY pushed our flight home back 5 hours.

Paid not one, but TWO visits to Lake Mary during our 4 day stay. Saw a lot of sub-divisions, streets and houses, and my wife liked about half of them from an aesthetics/logistics viewpoint.
It surprised me that Lake Mary looks so similar to our hometown here on Long Island, and you would think that the similarity would have given my wife a warm and fuzzy feeling.....but it didn't. She seemed a little disappointed.....almost as if she was looking for "something different".....something more "Florida looking".
So we then went to Mount Dora. Very nice community, and very different from Lake Mary, so I thought that Mount Dora would light her fire.....but it didn't.
The 2 cities we visited that DID pique her enthusiasm and interest level were Clermont (north of SR-50) and Melbourne.
She absolutely LOVED Melbourne, and really liked Clermont because of the hills, slopes and proximity to shopping on SR-50.

As for me, I can put a sofa and a big screen TV anywhere and be happy, but my own assessment of Lake Mary is that we probably need to up our max price a little to find some of the nicer homes. The one home we looked at in Crystal Ridge was unremarkable, and the two places we saw in The Hills were a 50/50 split.
Greenwood Lakes and The Crossings produced better results. Chase Groves did nothing for either of us, except for one house that looked like it belonged in a better neighborhood than the homes surrounding it.

Regardless, we visited 9 cities on our tour of FL, and Lake Mary DID make it to the final 4.....along with Melbourne, Clermont and Land O' Lakes.
We'll be going back at least one more time before making our decision. Maybe then, my wife's expectations will change, or a few nicer houses will be available for sale.

Palm trees and cul de sacs seem to make 'Grandma' happy, so if you can plant a few choice palm trees on the front lawn of some available properties, that would score big for Lake Mary.
I guess it's unreasonable to expect you to be able to do anything about the cul de sac issue....LOL

Thanks for the update. Sounds like you were very productive. As you see, you never know until you visit the area before making a decision. I'm surprised about your wife's opinion of Mt Dora. I guess it depends what you like. I don't know anything about the other end. Glad you were able to explore the area.

[lameduck51]

Originally Posted by beckycat

Thanks for the update. Sounds like you were very productive. As you see, you never know until you visit the area before making a decision. I'm surprised about your wife's opinion of Mt Dora. I guess it depends what you like. I don't know anything about the other end. Glad you were able to explore the area.

For what it's worth, *I* had Mount Dora ranked 1A on my list, with Lake Mary 3rd.
Just in the past week, 5 or 6 very nice homes in Mount Dora dropped in price to within our current range, but we had to discount them because they were too expensive at the time we viewed them.
Most of the places we evaluated in Mount Dora were in the Sullivan Ranch area, up near Eustis.
So.....with the gods of the real estate market having granted us favor, it's time for a recount of the ballot !!!
I am boldly predicting that Mount Dora will replace Land O' Lakes in the semi-final round of 4.....and I'd be very happen to choose a home among a final four consisting of Melbourne, Mount Dora, Lake Mary and Clermont.

BTW.....between the murder of the 13 year-old boy in Sanford and the fatal overturned tractor-trailer just north of Lake Mary Blvd., we probably didn't see Lake Mary in its finest hour. I'm reasonably sure that the current events affected my wife's perception of Lake Mary. I'm also equally sure that the two events are atypical of what Lake Mary is really like.

[beckycat]

Originally Posted by lameduck51

For what it's worth, *I* had Mount Dora ranked 1A on my list, with Lake Mary 3rd.
Just in the past week, 5 or 6 very nice homes in Mount Dora dropped in price to within our current range, but we had to discount them because they were too expensive at the time we viewed them.
Most of the places we evaluated in Mount Dora were in the Sullivan Ranch area, up near Eustis.
So.....with the gods of the real estate market having granted us favor, it's time for a recount of the ballot !!!
I am boldly predicting that Mount Dora will replace Land O' Lakes in the semi-final round of 4.....and I'd be very happen to choose a home among a final four consisting of Melbourne, Mount Dora, Lake Mary and Clermont.

BTW.....between the murder of the 13 year-old boy in Sanford and the fatal overturned tractor-trailer just north of Lake Mary Blvd., we probably didn't see Lake Mary in its finest hour. I'm reasonably sure that the current events affected my wife's perception of Lake Mary. I'm also equally sure that the two events are atypical of what Lake Mary is really like.

I hope you both went to downtown Mt Dora where all the shops and cafe's are. That's the "real" Mt Dora to me. The part by Eustis is more commercial and has all the big box stores and chain restaurants. Downtown is the unique part with privately owned businesses. Therefore, you get the best of both worlds.

[lameduck51]

Originally Posted by beckycat

I hope you both went to downtown Mt Dora where all the shops and cafe's are. That's the "real" Mt Dora to me. The part by Eustis is more commercial and has all the big box stores and chain restaurants. Downtown is the unique part with privately owned businesses. Therefore, you get the best of both worlds.

We *did*, in fact, visit downtown Mt. Dora.....but cafes and boutiques are not my wife's style. She's more of a SuperTarget/Walmart kind of gal.....probably because that's what she's accustomed to and, like everyone else, has become a creature of habit when it comes to shopping.
As strange as this sounds, her favorite experience during the Lake Mary/Mt. Dora shopping spree was 30minutes in a Winn-Dixie just off of Lake Mary Blvd.
She even brought the disposible plastic bag from Winn-Dixie back to NY as a souvenir !!!

BTW.....after the recount, Mount Dora *did* replace Land O' Lakes in the top 4.

[brinkofsunshine]

Originally Posted by lameduck51

We *did*, in fact, visit downtown Mt. Dora.....but cafes and boutiques are not my wife's style. She's more of a SuperTarget/Walmart kind of gal.....probably because that's what she's accustomed to and, like everyone else, has become a creature of habit when it comes to shopping.
As strange as this sounds, her favorite experience during the Lake Mary/Mt. Dora shopping spree was 30minutes in a Winn-Dixie just off of Lake Mary Blvd.
She even brought the disposible plastic bag from Winn-Dixie back to NY as a souvenir !!!

BTW.....after the recount, Mount Dora *did* replace Land O' Lakes in the top 4.

Not sure if you saw them, but there's a Walmart Supercenter and relatively new Target less than 10 minutes from downtown Mt. Dora on 441.

It might be a little late to add more communities to your list to consider, but have you considered Dr. Phillips and/or Windermere?

[lameduck51]

Originally Posted by brinkofsunshine

Not sure if you saw them, but there's a Walmart Supercenter and relatively new Target less than 10 minutes from downtown Mt. Dora on 441.

It might be a little late to add more communities to your list to consider, but have you considered Dr. Phillips and/or Windermere?

We only did a "drive through" Dr. Phillips and Windermere. Wasn't crazy about Doc Phillips; liked Windermere more....but still preferred Mount Dora and Lake Mary.

Must've missed the Target on 441. :-(
Probably the only Target we didn't see and shop in. We had to stop at a minimum of 7 Targets or SuperTargets in the Greater Orlando area. Not all my wife's doing. Some were nature calls disguised as shopping stops.

[beckycat]

Did you make it to Sanford over by the mall with all the shopping? Super Walmart, Super Target and everything else. It's abiout 10 minutes from Lake Mary. There are some nice subdivisions in that part of Sanford as well. Glad you clarified that. It makes a difference on areas then. Lake Mary is going to be one of the newer areas with all the palm trees and cookie cutter homes.

Do you go to the beach at all? If so, Lake Mary would be a better choice because it would be closer.

[lameduck51]

Originally Posted by beckycat

Did you make it to Sanford over by the mall with all the shopping? Super Walmart, Super Target and everything else. It's abiout 10 minutes from Lake Mary. There are some nice subdivisions in that part of Sanford as well. Glad you clarified that. It makes a difference on areas then. Lake Mary is going to be one of the newer areas with all the palm trees and cookie cutter homes.

Do you go to the beach at all? If so, Lake Mary would be a better choice because it would be closer.

Never made it more than one block north of 46, so we really didn't get a chance to see any part of Sanford. The weather was great last week, and I, for one, would have loved the opportunity to grab some beach time.....but we had too much ground to cover and not nearly enough time to cover it.

I'm making a list of things we missed this time around. Next time we go, we'll make a point of seeing what we missed on this trip.

The pace and schedule were so hectic that I went 3 whole days without grabbing a slice of pizza !!!

That's why is was so important that we 'narrow the field' to a select 3-4 places. Trying to cover the entire state of FL in 4 days is just too much "business" and not enough "pleasure".

[beckycat]

Originally Posted by lameduck51

Never made it more than one block north of 46, so we really didn't get a chance to see any part of Sanford. The weather was great last week, and I, for one, would have loved the opportunity to grab some beach time.....but we had too much ground to cover and not nearly enough time to cover it.

I'm making a list of things we missed this time around. Next time we go, we'll make a point of seeing what we missed on this trip.

The pace and schedule were so hectic that I went 3 whole days without grabbing a slice of pizza !!!

That's why is was so important that we 'narrow the field' to a select 3-4 places. Trying to cover the entire state of FL in 4 days is just too much "business" and not enough "pleasure".

Well, definately go to Sanford by the mall. You're wife will be in heaven. She only got to see a 1/4 of the shopping just in Lake Mary. There are a ton of stores and restaurants there. Way too many to name! They have everything.

When is your next trip down?

[lameduck51]

Originally Posted by beckycat

Well, definately go to Sanford by the mall. You're wife will be in heaven. She only got to see a 1/4 of the shopping just in Lake Mary. There are a ton of stores and restaurants there. Way too many to name! They have everything.

When is your next trip down?

Not until the end of the school year at the earliest, Becky.

We're committed to watching our grandkids until school ends at the end of June.
After that, it depends on my umpiring schedule and whether 'Grandma' chooses to work this summer.

We'd love to go back sooner, but...... :-(