Leesburg and Groveland area (Orlando, East Lake: travel, job, new home)

[majesticspoof]

Needing information. My husband was there on business and was offered a job in Orlando, and we are considering moving to the Leesburg or Groveland area. Can anybody give me any information on school system as well as the area it's self.

[cflmmo]

Originally Posted by majesticspoof

Needing information. My husband was there on business and was offered a job in Orlando, and we are considering moving to the Leesburg or Groveland area. Can anybody give me any information on school system as well as the area it's self.

I've lived in Central Florida most of my life. I moved to Groveland in 2000 from Orlando. I am a small business owner now, but I used to commute to Orlando the first couple of years. The reasons I decided to purchase and move to Groveland it was because the commute to Orlando was shorter in time (more miles, but less time) and I did not have to drive on I-4. Groveland has changed A LOT in the past few years and commute is now longer, but traffic is still better than Orlando.

My first questions would be - exactly where in Orlando will you be working. IF you plan to work in the South Orlando area, then Groveland is a better option. Any Orlando town is just a drive away since we have the Turnpike nearby. If you plan to work in the North Orlando area, then Leesburg might be a better option for you.

In regards to schools, the Elementary and Middle Schools in Groveland are great. However, the High School is not too good compared to Orlando area schools - but most of Florida Schools rank low anyway compared to other States. My two oldest daughters graduated from South Lake Hight School and I have a 10th grader there now and they turned out just fine. The oldest one already graduated from College and is working as a teacher in Japan and my middle one is attending UCF. I strongly believe that Parents make a huge difference no matter the school children go to.

Orlando has gotten a bit crazy and the North area (Apopka area) even has gang activity. Although Groveland has grown a lot, we are still a small town with under 6,000 and besides a few theft crimes, any major crime is unheard of here...

I can't say much about Leesburg as I only go there every once in a while, but if you have any questions about Groveland, feel free to ask!

Good luck with your plans.

[AONE]

The homes in the area from Groveland to Leesburg have hoems ranging from 100k - over 2M with the bulk of the 800 properties falling in the under 300 range ( 604) You will find old homes, new homes and all between. The schools will vary but they will all fall in Lake County. This will be rural living ats its best.

[majesticspoof]

Originally Posted by cflmmo

I've lived in Central Florida most of my life. I moved to Groveland in 2000 from Orlando. I am a small business owner now, but I used to commute to Orlando the first couple of years. The reasons I decided to purchase and move to Groveland it was because the commute to Orlando was shorter in time (more miles, but less time) and I did not have to drive on I-4. Groveland has changed A LOT in the past few years and commute is now longer, but traffic is still better than Orlando.

My first questions would be - exactly where in Orlando will you be working. IF you plan to work in the South Orlando area, then Groveland is a better option. Any Orlando town is just a drive away since we have the Turnpike nearby. If you plan to work in the North Orlando area, then Leesburg might be a better option for you.

In regards to schools, the Elementary and Middle Schools in Groveland are great. However, the High School is not too good compared to Orlando area schools - but most of Florida Schools rank low anyway compared to other States. My two oldest daughters graduated from South Lake Hight School and I have a 10th grader there now and they turned out just fine. The oldest one already graduated from College and is working as a teacher in Japan and my middle one is attending UCF. I strongly believe that Parents make a huge difference no matter the school children go to.

Orlando has gotten a bit crazy and the North area (Apopka area) even has gang activity. Although Groveland has grown a lot, we are still a small town with under 6,000 and besides a few theft crimes, any major crime is unheard of here...

I can't say much about Leesburg as I only go there every once in a while, but if you have any questions about Groveland, feel free to ask!

Good luck with your plans.

Thanks for the information about Groveland. That's one of the town that were considering moving to. My husband will be working in Orlando on State Road 50 near John Young Parkway. Could you tell me what side of Orlando that it is on because I don't know what side it on ( north, south). Do you know how the schools are in Orlando compare to the school outside of Orlando. I have 2 boys there in 6th and 8th grade now, so I'm looking into the middle and high school.

[SouthernBelle3]

In your case, Leesburg is not a good location for an Orlando commute. The schools in Leesburg are not that great either. Either Clermont or Mt. Dora would be better locations. Groveland wouldn't be too bad. It's not too far from the turnpike. You may also want to check out West orange county communities such as Windermere or Winter Garden.
I live in Eustis near Mt.Dora in Lake county and my husband commutes to his work on John Young Parkway every day. It takes him 35 minutes at 6AM and 50-1 hr at 5PM coming home due to traffic. The reason you may want to check out the Mt.Dora area is because the schools are decent and in 2009, the Apopka bypass will be completed and will make commuting from Mt.Dora to Orlando much quicker. The bypass will end at 414 or Maitland Blvd, which is not too far from the John Young Parkway.

[bdpop]

From what I have read the John Young Parkway is going to be extended northward sometime in the future. I wonder if it will connect to the Apopka bypass.

[SouthernBelle3]

I think the John Young Parkway is considered the Apopka bypass. Eventually it will connect to 441 north of Apopka somewhere around Binion Rd. I think it will make commuting to Orlando from East Lake county easier. At least I hope so. It takes as long for me to get through Apopka as it does for me to travel the 11 miles from Mt. Dora to Apopka.

[majesticspoof]

Thank you all for the information about Central Florida. I will keep everything in mind when I start looking.

[Liberty53000]

I've lived in Clermont for 3 years now, and I go to the high school in Groveland (South Lake).
The city of Clermont is a decent, and perpetually developing. Right now there isn't a lot for people my age (highschoolers) to do - the closest movie theater is in Ocoee and some "hotspots" for people to hang out at are local restaurants like Steak 'n Shake after a football game or something, lol. There's also a small sized bowling alley... but... that's about it.
If you move in the Groveland/Clermont area, you'll definitely hear about the South Lake/East Ridge rivalry. SL kids like to claim that SL is the better school, ER kids think ER is better, etc.
From my personal experience, I don't think either schools are that great. The student-teacher ratio for both is like 25-30 to 1, and the standards for the students aren't set very high at all (unless they take AP classes).
And at SL it's very difficult for students AND parents to get in touch with guidance counselors - and when you do get a chance to have a meeting with them, it always feels very rushed. They're also very unorganized, at the beginning of the year at least 75% of the students' schedules had some sort of problem, and it takes about 2 weeks for them to fix it all.

Random quick facts:
-East Ridge (ER) is a bigger school than SL by about 700 people, it also has more problems with violence - BUT, don't get the wrong idea, SL has it's fair share of fights and faux bomb threats as well.
-Last year at a blood drive, 100 kids gave blood, and 17 tested positive for HIV.
-Teen pregnancy isn't uncommon around here.
-A couple years ago at ER, there was a riot, basically lots of kids who were Hispanic and black brought weapons and started a big fight.
-Last year someone spray painted ...uhmm... not sure how to word this... a male body part... all over the campus (don't worry, it all got cleaned off).

blah blah I could ramble forever about this area, but just PM me if you want to know more

[Liberty53000]

Oh, and I have a sister who goes to Gray Middle School in Groveland, it's a very old school, and to me, it seems like it's a constant battle between the students and teachers. They also have a dress code rule saying that their shirts MUST be tucked in - no matter what.
They are given agendas, and when they "mess up" (like... speak out of turn, arrive late to class, etc) the teacher writes a little comment in the agenda - 3 comments equals a detention. The parents must also sign the agenda every week.