Orange, Seminole, and Brevard County (Orlando, Fort Lauderdale: relocating, real estate, military)

[mariaL717]

We have been attracted to Seminole and Brevard county because of the schools, and the family appeal, but we are finding that East Orlando in Orange County have homes that are on bigger lots and kind of cheaper. How are the schools Elem. Middle, and High and is it a safe family friendy area. These are some of the subdivisions in Orange County that have homes for sale we could be interested in. Rocket City, Reserve at Wedgefield, Andover Lakes, Waterford Trails, Andover Cay. If anyone has any input I would love to hear it. Thanks

[mariaL717]

I guess there is not much to say about these places if no one responds. I am a "junior member", and with any thread I start I really don't get much help. Why is that?

[Denise in Fla]

Being a Jr member has nothing to do with it. Did you try and use the search feature for these areas, there has been many discussions on these areas.

[Crane's Rooster]

As far as I know and from what I've heard the schools there are pretty good. Because they are fairly new the facilities are modern and have all the newest equipment. I spoke to a teacher who recently transferred to Timber Creek, which I believe is the new high school in East Orlando. He transferred there from some of the more historic older schools in the city and told me he loves teaching out there because he gets to focus on educating his students and not having to play the multiple roles of disciplinarian, attention-getter and teacher all at the same time. Odyssey Middle is supposed to be pretty good. I haven't heard much about the elementary schools, good or bad but considering most of the area is pretty well to do I'm assuming the schools are well funded and pretty good. Hope this helps.

[mariaL717]

Crane's Rooster-This does help. It is a start to the process. I have looked back at the posts from the past about these county's, but truly did not find answers I am looking for. I keep hearing so many great things about Ovieda and Viera, and everyone always says just stay away from Orlando. There are too many areas that go from good to bad from street to street. I grew up in Fort Lauderdale and know all about those neighborhoods, but living out of that for the past 6 years does not make me comfortable with that lifestyle. Maybe I should play the safe card and stick to Oviedo, or Viera. If there is any thing to be said about East Orlando and the neighborhoods I listed in the original post I would still love to hear them. Thanks for any help that can be given. BTW did I mention how much I hate the thought of relocating

[Crane's Rooster]

Well I think Oviedo and East Orlando, although they are literally right next to each other, are two very distinct places. Neither one is bad, nor does either one have a distinct advantage over the other but they definitely have different character. Best way for me to explain it, when I was growing up here in high school, Oviedo was considered an outlying, almost rural community. East Orlando did not exist back than, it was little more than swamp. That being said, in Oviedo, you're going to find a much more established community with more people likely to have had roots there for years. Oviedo H.S. is fairly old and well established. East Orlando on the other hand is fairly new community. It's very nice and you tend to get more bang for the buck there as far as real estate goes. However, the residents tend be younger and newer to Central Florida. Timber Creek H.S. is good but has far less tradition than Oviedo does. The advantage to East Orlando is that everything is brand new and very convenient. For example, Waterford Town Center has just about anything you could possibly need or want. II don't really know much about Viera or Brevard county but every time I've been out there for business or the beaches it seems very nice. However, Brevard county in general does have a much more "Southern" and "conservative" feel than Orange or Seminole due to military presence. That's my $.02 for what it's worth. Hope that helps.

[Wilshire81182]

I agree with Crane's Rooster, I just think that East Orlando also has a lot of dumpy neighborhoods in 32825 (Union Park) adjacent to Waterford Lakes that make it a smidge less desirable. Oviedo has an advantage of being more isolated from any nearby areas like that.

[pianogal]

maria...I live in East Orlando (Vista Lakes/Lake Nona) and find I like it here. However, Oviedo is also a great place to live. In fact, it was our first choice when deciding to move and build five years ago. However, we also compared what you can get for the money and chose East Orlando instead.

I have grown to love it here. It seems closer to downtown and the theme park area than Oviedo, the traffic is not as bad (YET!), and is adjacent to almost every major thruway in Orlando except the one I try to avoid I4. Granted they are toll roads, but are worth it to me. They are fast and you can get most anywhere within a few minutes. There is also some great shopping and most chain restaurants close by in WaterFord Lakes. By the way, we are getting a brand new high school!

[mariaL717]

pianogal, Wilshire81182, & Crane's Rooster- finally some real answers. Thank you so much. Now I just need someone familiar with Brevard to get in here. As long as I have a Publix I am good, and Oviedo seems like a better fit for my family. Crane's- are you saying that Brevard is like the Bible Belt that I am moving from? Nothing against conservative religions, but when it is the majority I have a hard time making friends.

[Crane's Rooster]

Originally Posted by mariaL717

pianogal, Wilshire81182, & Crane's Rooster- finally some real answers. Thank you so much. Now I just need someone familiar with Brevard to get in here. As long as I have a Publix I am good, and Oviedo seems like a better fit for my family. Crane's- are you saying that Brevard is like the Bible Belt that I am moving from? Nothing against conservative religions, but when it is the majority I have a hard time making friends.

No I wouldn't say Brevard is a bible belt type community. Just more conservative than Orange and Seminole counties. Orange, and Seminole to a lesser extent, are fairly liberal/progessive counties for being in the South. I would say the social/political mindset of Orange/Seminole county is closer to that of South Florida than to the rest of Florida.