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Old 05-21-2013, 12:05 PM
 
4 posts, read 7,432 times
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Hello everyone,

My Job is relocating to Lake Mary, FL and I will likely be accepting the job offer and relocating. My wife and I are trying to figure out were to live. We know lake mary, ovideo, etc are great places to live with top notch schools however they are extremely expensive. We have a small toddler and would like to buy a house for 200k or under, however we still value a decent school system and were wondering if anyone had any suggestions of good places to live that the commute would be manageable, preferable 45 mins or less, as we feel the LM and surrounding communities will just be too expensive right now in our careers. Area's that we were thinking of are De Bary, Mount Dora, and Deland. Any one have any thoughts on those areas and the schools or any other suggestions for us?

Thanks you!
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Old 05-21-2013, 01:58 PM
 
Location: SoCal
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Lake Mary is a wonderful area, and first and foremost if you find something there or In neighboring Sanford take it. That being said 200k wont get you much in a nice area, so I would suggest looking into Apopka, Orange City, Deland, Debary, Mt. Dora, and Altamonte springs. Anywhere in Seminole County you'll be alright with public schools. Orange, Lake, and Volusia can be a problem though. In each there are specific elementary school zones id recommend. In Apopka go with the Wolf Lake zone, In Mt Dora go with Sorrento, and Round lake, in Debary go with Debary, and manatee cove, In Deltona go with Forest Lake, and Timbercrest, In Deland go with Freedom, and Woodward Ave. For the other areas I did not mention specifics because you couldn't go wrong with any. All are within abut 30 minute commute to Lake Mary.
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Old 05-21-2013, 08:44 PM
 
Location: Groveland, FL
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We have been in the Orlando area for about 5 years now (we moved from Houston). We just visited Mt Dora for the first time on Sunday for a blues festival. We are sorry we hadn't checked Mt Dora out sooner! It's such a picturesque area with a homey, small-town feel and a quaint downtown. Definitely worth checking it out! We will be finding excuses from here on to visit Mt Dora again, and again, and....
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Old 05-21-2013, 10:41 PM
 
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Mount Dora is a cute little town, but it's a bit far from Lake Mary. There is no freeway, so you'd need to take 46, which is a single lane road. I'd look around Sanford, if you can't find anything in Lake Mary. If Sanford is too expensive, than Mount Dora might be okay. The town itself is nice from what I have seen, but it is a bit isolated.
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Old 05-22-2013, 05:57 AM
 
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You can find quite a bit actually in the 175K-200K range in Sanford's family-friendly west side which will make for an easy commute and put you into the most desirable school district in the area. I sent you listings via direct mail to check out. I'm not a real estate, just a long time resident of the area.
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Old 05-22-2013, 06:54 AM
 
Location: Asheville, NC
12,626 posts, read 31,949,629 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kyle19125 View Post
You can find quite a bit actually in the 175K-200K range in Sanford's family-friendly west side which will make for an easy commute and put you into the most desirable school district in the area. I sent you listings via direct mail to check out. I'm not a real estate, just a long time resident of the area.
I agree. You can still find homes in Lake Mary and Longwood in your price range. The other areas listed are OK as well but then you're involved with commuting. I wouldn't give up on Lake Mary, Sanford or Longwood. Just for example, we live in the Lake Mary area and are selling our house for $160K. The schools are better in Seminole County as well. Good luck!
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Old 05-22-2013, 01:08 PM
 
Location: Clearwater, FL.
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Also look in Winter Springs, which is adjacent to Oviedo. It's not built up too much, and it's a nice area. A neighborhood anywhere off Tuskawilla Rd. would be nice. I bought a 3-BR/2-bath home there a year ago for $125k.
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Old 05-22-2013, 02:33 PM
 
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You should look in Altamonte springs, there are great private schools and it is not so expensive. It is centrally located and only a hop, skip and not even a jump from Lake Mary
http://www.trulia.com/for_rent/32714_zip/
here is a list of apartments
there is also houses on this site as well
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Old 05-22-2013, 09:02 PM
 
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Thank you everyone for all your replies. I like the idea of living in the LM area, the only thing we are concerned about is having a house big enough to have family visit, since all of our family will be in Texas. Maybe if we keep searching and wait for the right time to buy we can find something. Our relocation likely won't be until 2Q next year.

Does anyone have any direct thoughts on Mount Dora schools?
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Old 05-22-2013, 09:08 PM
 
4 posts, read 7,432 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by beckycat View Post
I agree. You can still find homes in Lake Mary and Longwood in your price range. The other areas listed are OK as well but then you're involved with commuting. I wouldn't give up on Lake Mary, Sanford or Longwood. Just for example, we live in the Lake Mary area and are selling our house for $160K. The schools are better in Seminole County as well. Good luck!
Any thoughts on Sanford? I have heard some mixed things about the Sanford area. Opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I would like to thank everyone for taking the time and giving my wife and I some feed back.
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