Opinions on Oviedo, Winter Springs, and Lake Nona (Winter Park, Maitland: apartment, move)

[GregTraub]

Winter Park is actually one of the closest cities to Maitland?

Lake Nona I think would be too far of a commute though a very nice area that IS getting a new high school.

Oviedo and Winter Springs are good options as well, however like someone else mentioned to drive in a straight shot to Maitland would be all slow residential roads, and to get there via highway would get you caught in I-4 traffic after a fast but long drive along the 417.

In Winter Park you can certainly find a nice home for under 350K, Depending on what size home you were looking for.

Altamonte maybe, or you could try even further North in Heathrow or Lake Mary, very nice area's.

[CURT]

I live in Oviedo and worked in Maitland a long time ago. I worked right on Maitland Blvd. It was not a bad drive at all. I took red bug to semoron to 17/92 to maitland blvd.

[momandmore]

Have you tried getting to Maitland, Winter Park or Altamonte from Oviedo lately? Greg Traub is absolutely right...there is no shortcut, highway, etc. You have no choice but to navigate through the local roads and traffic. I currently live in Oviedo and have to have a VERY good reason to go to any of those places during rush hour.

[CURT]

Originally Posted by momandmore

Have you tried getting to Maitland, Winter Park or Altamonte from Oviedo lately? Greg Traub is absolutely right...there is no shortcut, highway, etc. You have no choice but to navigate through the local roads and traffic. I currently live in Oviedo and have to have a VERY good reason to go to any of those places during rush hour.

I actually drive right thru winter park on aloma on my way to work on north orange ave. I agree its not great because aloma is the worst. yes, I have driven from oviedo to maitland blvd recently and it is not as bad as just driving up aloma to where i work right now.
red bug is a fairly good moving road at any time of day. semoraon is not good but its a short stretch and 17/92 to maitland blvd is pretty good. one could also take 434 to 17-92. both are decent at any time through those stretches. For those who may live in oviedo farhter out next to chuluota the drive to anywhere gets worse. if you have to go through or around the old down town area or if you have to touch mitchell hammock, you add alot of time to the drive.

[momandmore]

Curt...then you know what I go through. I do live in the newer part of Oviedo (used to be Chuluota), so I go through a whole lot to get to the other side of town.

[CURT]

Originally Posted by momandmore

Curt...then you know what I go through. I do live in the newer part of Oviedo (used to be Chuluota), so I go through a whole lot to get to the other side of town.

I can see that.
I actually think winter springs is a decent place for driving to maitland.
Or Oviedo if you are on the North and/or west side of down town or similar locales I should say.
I looked on the east side of town a while back but I too was concerned on how to get past down town.

There are a few new areas all around the mead area that eliminates what you unfortunately deal with. On the bright side, there are plans to complete the 426/419 corridor through the old down town sooner than later. Not sure its worth the wait though....could still be a while.

[ldeej]

Thank you for the responses,

It does seem like a long commute from Oviedo to Maitland, shorter from Winter Springs.

Any opinions on the following:
Winter Park
Altamonte Springs
Maitland itself


Or any other options I should be investigating with a 20 minute drive or less from Maitland?

[orlandoforsale]

Winter Park is a wonderful suburb with many cultural amenities and filled with large and VERY expensive mansions. However, if you look in the 32792 zip code, you can find good houses and reasonable prices plus easy access to Maitland. The Winter Park High School is always desirable, so if you can find a house in the district, this is highly recommended. $350,000 is very doable.

Oviedo is accessible to Maitland if you purchase a house in the 32765 (western part of Oviedo) zip code. Great houses, great neighborhoods, and highly rated schools.

You might have been warned away from Maitland because it is an older community, and therefore the houses are also generally older. But many people like the neighborliness and stability of Maitland, plus it has its own library (the head librarian is a friend), the very popular Maitland Art Center, and a fantastic athletic center called the RDV Sportsplex .

Hope this helps.

[GregTraub]

Most parts of Winter Park are A+. Altamonte is OK, but I don't seem to do much business in that area. The area's of Maitland that abutt Winter Park are all great area's as well, not sure why Maitland wasn't suggested to you, It all depends what neighborhood in any area you choose.

You may want to check out College Park. Older area like Winter Park, but great little town with alot of character.

[foxlore]

What about Heathrow? I am not the pro - a newb to Orlando myself, but from what I saw on a househunting trip this past week if DH worked in Maitland and if we had chosen the Maitland school I would DEFINITELY be living in Heathrow. We love the area - loved it six months ago - loved it just as much now... There are some great opportunities in the area too. I also didn't find I-4 terrible and we were on it several times at rush hour - but then I'm from S. Cal initially and DC recently. I also do a lot of driving in Atlanta and frankly I-4 is small potatoes comparatively. That being said, I'll avoid it if I can. We also did Heathrow to Oviedo via 417 (did I get that right?) at am rush hour - was a breeze and a half- no one on it and everyone going 80 - just like GA. The tolls weren't terrible either - I can't remember how much, but worth the time IMHO.

Greg - HI!! I just got home from Atlanta - will PM you... C - was SO GREAT to run into you at Masters! I still can't believe it - I mean what are the odds?

I agree with everyone saying Oviedo to Maitland is a bit far - I wouldn't be interested in doing that. Like I said I love Heathrow, but it won't work for us long-term - we chose a school in Oviedo and we're looking at the Oviedo Aloma area... We like it - like it's proximity to the school and to DH's work in Baldwin Park as well as it's proximity to Winter Park... So, we'll just spend the next month or so looking for the right neighborhood. We're going to look at a couple other areas too - Tuscawilla, Winter Springs and it seems there are some newer neighborhoods in I guess you'd call it NW Oviedo - just east of the next exit North of RedBug...

Good luck with the move! I hope you love it! We're very excited and can't wait to head into town on 5/24!