relocating to winter haven area (Orlando, Lakeland: loans, real estate, gated)

[want2startover]

I am looking to relocate down to orlando or winter haven area. I am a mother of a school age child that makes straight A's. we are home bodies and I am looking for a nice area to move to that has a good school / or private school
also where are some places where I should start looking for some Jobs in my field that I am in which is Customer Serivce. I just want to start my life over from my divorce and once i move i plan on going back to college.
any suggestion.
my mother thinks that i should stay up here in the country of florida lol but I just want something different with a little more life. When we come down to Universal every year I get more and more excited about the sceneary there.
please help..
I am open to any suggestion.

[ko1212]

I understand about starting over! Winter Haven is nice, somewhat rural/country but home prices are lower than Orlando and I might suggest you look at State Farm Ins Co as a potential employer in Winter Haven. They have their Florida regional office in WH and a large customer service division. You could also live in Lakeland and drive to WH for work-15-20 minute drive. Orlando is nice too but so spread out you'll want to be careful about which area you live. Of course, more potential employers in Orlando. Best of luck.

[Kaci]

we homeschool our kids, but there are some very nice private schools here.
Some of them have vans for transportation.

St. Joes, Grace Academy and All Saints, plus many more. We lived in Orlando and I actually was suprized when we moved here that the prices of homes were the same as the subdivisions outside of Orlando. West Orlando... Winter Garden is a great area.

Good luck in finding your home. Keep us posted. Kaci

PS: I'll get pictures of downtown Winter Haven and State Farm and post them at this site. Downtown WH is beautiful!

[Equitate]

Well your mother will be pretty happy with Winter Haven....it's pretty country! I am in Lake Wales-right next to Winter Haven-with a preschool aged child. I send her to a private school in Winter Haven (Grace). Winter Haven is big enough that if you want to find a home right in the "city" or a home that is out in the middle of nowhere, you can find it there.
As someone mentioned- Lakeland is just a short commute away, so that opens up MANY more job opportunities if you can't find anything right in the Winter Haven area.
Good luck!

[Kaci]

I would actually prefer living in Lakeland then Winter Haven, myself.
I use to live in Lake Wales too, on Osceola ave. near the ballfield.

[okstevens]

Winter haven is a great area. We plan on moving and semi retire there in the next few years. Our trips down there make us miss the area. Today it's below zero with the chill factor here in Ohio. I'd suggest you get on line with the local papers such as the News Chief and The Ledger and look at their classified section. Also visit the Winter haven Chamber at Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce. I'd take it a step further and call the office as they network with all types of businesses and they are all looking for GOOD people. If you need a place to stay we have a few condos in a nice area that we could rent long or short term. Just let me know if I can be of any assistance. We love it there! My guess is you will too!

[gypsychic]

Winter Haven is absolutely beautiful, but more of a smaller town. We live in Lakeland, which is also extremely beautiful, and is more like a small city. There are many deals on homes here right now and LOTS of things for families to do and enjoy. Wherever you choose in this area (Lakeland/Winter Haven) I don't think you can go wrong - one of the best areas of Florida to live for quality of life, IMO.

Good luck!

[AJ67]

We did alot of research on winter haven and auburndale last yr thinking we could sell our house and move to either place..well of course we all know that is'nt happening we will just have to wait it out.
But I concour with everyone winter haven is a nice beautiful place not to many people in a hurry kind of laid back for a City!

[Kaci]

We want to move to Geo. to get closer to family. We're worried that when we are ready to put the house on the market, it may take awhile to sell. It came down in value by $100,000 the last two years. BUt then again, so did the houses we're looking at in Georgia. Maybe well find someone in Georgia who wants to move to W.H. Florida.... on a golf course, gated community... hint, hint!

[shutle]

Hi;

I work for the USDA Rural Development office in Davenport fl. We offer low interest home loans in Rural Communities to person whom do not have the means to qualify for a Real Estate Loan with an Institutional Lender. I can provide you with some information to get you started. You can aslo look into the https://usajobs.gov Web site for jobs with the Federal Government. i understand your frustrations. call me at 863-420-4833x111 for direct contact.

DP