Yet another near retiree (me!) thinking of moving to the area - but where? (Orlando: real estate market, homes)

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by tonyp22

BTW, can anyone tell me anything about Sorrento? It's near Mount Dora and looks nice.

It's a very small town. Very quiet. There is easy access into the major parts of Orlando via toll roads, but other than that, it's a sleepy town with one grocery store (locally-owned IGA, which I am a fan of) and a few neat Mexican eats.

There is no walkable town center whatsoever, but its close proximity to Mount Dora makes up for that.

As for why I suggested a deeper look at Mount Dora: while it's a bit far from Orlando itself compared to, say, Winter Park, its downtown area caters a lot to retirees. It had lots of shops, local restaurants, bars, parks, along with shaded sidewalks.

I find Winter Park to cater to more of the 30s-40s crowd, but it has some major advantages too: it's centrally located. It has a wider variety of grocery stores. Mount Dora is Publix-central. Winter Park has Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and soon, Sprouts. Mount Dora USED to have a Sprouts, but it changed ownership. I forget the name of the place now. I think it's "Hometown Market." Still a nice store however.

You can;t go wrong with either choice.

If you want more land but in a small town, Sorrento could fit the bill. Just be aware that it will feel like you're far from everything, despite the toll roads.

[tonyp22]

Thanks Arcenal352. In South Jersey everything is a drive, so that doesn't bother me too much. How far a drive is it from Sorrento to Mount Dora. If Sorrento has access to fiber optic broadband it goes up one more notch on the list!

[Arcenal813]

I don't know that it has fiber optic.

Sorrento is literally 5-10 minutes from the center of Mount Dora.
About 20 minutes to Heathrow which also has its share of shops and restaurants in its town center (Colonial Town Park.)

It's a nice area... A bit rural, but nice nonetheless.

[tonyp22]

Thanks again. I like the draw of Winter Park (the convenience to both Orlando, the stores I like, and an actual center of town), but so far in looking at the homes for sale I just do not care for the look of most of those styles.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by tonyp22

Thanks again. I like the draw of Winter Park (the convenience to both Orlando, the stores I like, and an actual center of town), but so far in looking at the homes for sale I just do not care for the look of most of those styles.

What style home are you looking for, and around which price point?

[tonyp22]

I hesitate with the price only because I know there are realtors who are members of this website. If I list a maximum I feel like I'm setting up a target for any who may contact me privately. So what I'll do is identify what I'm looking for... and say that I've seen homes of this type that I can afford in all the towns that have been so far mentioned in this thread. I would like a ranch style, or I could be persuaded to go for a splanch where the lower (or upper) level had something like a bonus room. All of the living, sleeping, and laundry should still be on the main floor. Two car garage needed. 2200 sq.ft. minimum (ideally). Pool is not necessarily a requirement. Quarter acre or better preferred. Styles of this type that I'd seen in Winter Park have generally had an older "1960s early 1970s" look to them. I'd have to put a lot of money into the ones I'd seen, but that's for what I've seen on the market now. I intend to drive through the area to see what the whole town has to offer.

[bmw335xi]

I believe you can turn off direct messaging or just ignore the direct messages that are trying to advertise a service. It’s not rude in this case as I’m sure the realtors here understand you or whoever receive multiple messages from others and don’t have the time to go back and forth with everyone.

Mount Dora and Winter Park are night and day... one feels quaint charming town in country side (Dora) and the other is hipster town with charm in the city.

Winter Park has a lot of flipped houses, but it will cost you. Winter Park is one of the most expensive parts of Central Florida.

[jamary1]

I'd look at College Park, Baldwin Park, Thornton Park and Winter Park.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by tonyp22

I would like a ranch style, or I could be persuaded to go for a splanch where the lower (or upper) level had something like a bonus room. All of the living, sleeping, and laundry should still be on the main floor. Two car garage needed. 2200 sq.ft. minimum (ideally). Pool is not necessarily a requirement. Quarter acre or better preferred. Styles of this type that I'd seen in Winter Park have generally had an older "1960s early 1970s" look to them. I'd have to put a lot of money into the ones I'd seen, but that's for what I've seen on the market now. I intend to drive through the area to see what the whole town has to offer.

Originally Posted by jamary1

I'd look at College Park, Baldwin Park, Thornton Park and Winter Park.

[OTownKnight]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

Agreed, you're not going to find that combination in any of those areas unless your budget is $1M+