Heathrow and surrounds (Miami, Tampa, Orlando: appointed, sales, for rent)

[villageidiot]

Hi All

I have been reading a lot of the posts on this Forum and the more I read the more depressed I got. I have been to Heathrow a few times on Business and now my company is looking to relocate me out there. However coming from Europe and seeing all the negativity posted on here makes me really wonder if relocating there will be worth it.

I have 5 kids from Kindergarten to Senior school. I am obviously looking for a respectable place to raise them where they can enjoy a great quality of life.

With all the doom and gloom sprouted by some of the members here I am wondering - Can you please tell me what is positive about Florida north of Orlando.

Unfortunately this Forum does not cater for the burbs north of Orlando so I would really like some objective feedback from people who live around Seminole, De Land, DeBary, Longwood, Lake Mary etc.

Additionally after reading so many posts here about the extortianate cost of living in and around Orlando I would really like to know a bit more about what people think should be decent wage around Lake Mary.

My company has restructured my current pay scale to account for the 'LOWER' cost of living in Florida and from what I am seeing here that seems to me that I am being taken for a ride.

Unfortunately it is near impossible to work out what I need to earn there as you cannot do a straight currency conversion.

So from what I can see see I will still be paid fairly well at around 80k pa - however being that my wife will be running kids around etc I just wanted to start the ball rolling on getting some local advice at what I should be expecting.

Would really appreciate any feedback.

Thanks

[SouthernBelle3]

It is impossible to know a fair salary wage not knowing what it is that you do. People's wages are determined by their skills and educational background. If you will be getting 80,000 a year in salary, that is what many high paid professionals earn, like accountants. I don't know how the government taxes foreigners, but if you are not a citizen, I would assume you would still have to pay 25% of your earnings towards federal taxes and social security. 80K is in the 25% higher tax bracket, but with 5 kids, you would get a considrable tax deduction. If your company does not provide health insurance, you would need private health insurance which is very expensive here, about $8000 - $10,000 a year for a family plan.
Some good areas in Seminole County are the Lake Mary, Heathrow and Weikiva Springs. To the west, Mount Dora and Eustis are decent places to live and only a 20-25 minute drive from Heathrow.
Generally you can expect to pay the following for monthly basic services
Rent - Could be up to $2000.00 or more for a 3+ bedroom house in a nice area. Check out the internet and google houses for rent in the areas you are interested in.
Electricity - mostly to run the a/c 24/7 - $200-$300 for a 3 bedroom house.
Cable/high speed internet - $100.00
Local phone service for a land line - no long distance $50.00
Cell phone
(depending on who your provider is and how many phones) - $50.00- $150.00 or more
Water/Sewer/Trash pick up (usually on one bill) - $45-$55 or more if you irrigate your lawn.
Auto insurance - Depends (mine is about $60.00 per car) if you have a teenager driver on your policy - it is about 4 times that amount.
Groceries - for a family of 7, maybe $200.00 a week
Gas at $3.12 a gallon and rising.
Other miscellaneous expenses are taxes on the vehicles once a year -about $36 per car, school supplies and expenses for sports and recreation.
At least in Florida, there is no state income taxes but sales taxes are between 6-7% on everything but food.
Medical care depends on your insurance, but most insurance has an office copay of $20-25 with presciption copays of $10-25. Without a presciption plan, drugs are expensive.
You can expect to pay about $21 for oil changes in your vehicles and if you rent a house, you will be paying someone $30-50 a week to mow the grass or you can do it yourself, and in Florida, you mow every 5-7 days except December - March, when every other week will suffice.
I hope this helps you decide a budget for living here. I am sure there are a lot of little expenses but these are the major living expenses. My figures are based on estimates for what I pay so they may be higher in Seminole County. I live in Lake County and I have discounts with the auto insurance.
The furthur away you live from Heathrow, you will need to figure in the cost of gas for commuting.

[villageidiot]

Thank you very much for the info. Thats very much what I have been looking for.

Really appreciate it.

[tamralakemary]

Our company too has just moved us. From our research, the lake mary and heathrow areas have great schools and opportunities for children/teens. Housing is a little higher here than other areas of the orlando area, but worth it for the schools. There are also a number of houses for rent (extremely nice houses). And having just spoke with a realtor, I've been told the the price of housing may be coming down a bit to benefit the buyer- however this could take a year or two.

[yane]

Originally Posted by tamralakemary

Our company too has just moved us. From our research, the lake mary and heathrow areas have great schools and opportunities for children/teens. Housing is a little higher here than other areas of the orlando area, but worth it for the schools. There are also a number of houses for rent (extremely nice houses). And having just spoke with a realtor, I've been told the the price of housing may be coming down a bit to benefit the buyer- however this could take a year or two.

Decent high school for Lake Mary, nightmare for Heathrow. Come down here for a visit. Do not trust everything the realtors tell you. Visit the school yourself and then decide. Heathrow is great for families with no children. A lifestyle that what's you are buying and it favors mostly adults not children (no highschool): seminole high not looking good at all, I mean at all.

[Rhett_Butler]

Originally Posted by yane

Decent high school for Lake Mary, nightmare for Heathrow. Come down here for a visit. Do not trust everything the realtors tell you. Visit the school yourself and then decide. Heathrow is great for families with no children. A lifestyle that what's you are buying and it favors mostly adults not children (no highschool): seminole high not looking good at all, I mean at all.

What's been your experience with Seminole High??? I know the demographics attest to what you're saying, but am pretty familiar with the offerings there and educationally speaking it's not the black-hole that some make it out to be....

[Rhett_Butler]

Originally Posted by villageidiot

Thank you very much for the info. Thats very much what I have been looking for.

Really appreciate it.

Also keep in mind when reading the information the other poster left regarding Lake County that Heathrow is literally minutes away from there so it's an option for you as well...

[CURT]

The list appeared in print and online at MSNBC - Newsweek.com - National News, World News, Health, Technology, Entertainment and more... Front Page (“America’s Best High Schools” link) in late May and early June.

School/ Ranking / Percentage (as of 6/4/07 online data):
Seminole High School 149 => Top .5% (one-half of top 1%)
Lake Brantley HS 201 => Top .7 %
Lake Mary HS 246 => Top .9%
Winter Springs HS 372 => Top 1.4%
Lyman HS 431 => Top 1.6%
Lake Howell HS 473 => Top 1.7%
Oviedo HS 489 => Top 1.8 %
Crooms AOIT 1154 => Top 4.2%

ALL Seminole County Public Schools 4-year High Schools rank in the Top 5% of the nation for the third consecutive year!

[shrimpster]

I moved from Long Island, NY 2 years ago to Lake Mary, FL.

Overall I am very pleased with the location. Our main reason for moving here was the schools. I have 2 kids going to elementary school. Long Island has a very strong school system so my biggest worry was the quality of education in Florida. I'm happy to say that the kids are more advanced at school here. My kids are more advanced then our friends' kids back in Long Island and my kids bring a lot more work home here compared to New York.

Outside of the school here are some other things to note about Lake Mary:

Heathrow -
this is basically a big development in Lake Mary. Overpriced and overrated. You can get into developments nearby that are just as nice and better priced. The kids at Heathrow attend heathrow or lake mary elementary, markham woods middle and lake mary high. Millenium middle and Seminole high are better rated and are open to Lake Mary/Sanford residents.

Distances - Downtown Orlando is about 20-25 minute drive on I-4. Disney is 45-50 minutes. Universal is 30 minutes. Daytona Beach is 40-45 minutes. Tampa is 1 1/2 hours. Miami is 4 hours.

Businesses- Lake Mary contains many technology companies. We also have the fox local station. Big companies include: Fiserv, AAA, Siemens, Business Objects, more (i am in tech field so i skew to these companies)

Entertainment - Lake Mary has a very nice center that includes various restaurants and bars where people hang out at night. Two people told me it looked like Boca Raton....very upscale. The restaurants are really good. We even have a Ruth Chris steakhouse. I have eaten at the best restaurants in NYC and these are just as good.

Shopping - There is a mall in Lake Mary/Sanford, Super Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, World Market, and on and on. lots of shopping places. There is also main rd called Lake Mary Blvd. filled with shopping centers and smaller stores.

Weather - 90+ in the summers. 65-75 F in winter (we sometime have weather in 30s at night).

Other good towns - Longwood, Maitland, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs

[yane]

I had the chance to buy in Heathrow which is a community that I really like. For some reason the realtor did not tell me where my highschooler would be going to. I called the seminole school board and left a message for one of the administrators. She did call me back to inform me that my child would be attending Seminole High. I took a trip to the area, luckily spotted the school and another middle school... I do not want to sound rude... I felt disappointed...out of words.

I do not know a whole lot about the school academically speaking but the location completely threw me off... As I said on another tread: I am stocked with a beautiful house on the market, in the very right area of the fifth safest town in the US, with a not so desirable school.

It is not the fault of anyone else but the politicians representing this and many other towns in the state of Florida.

I love the State despite all.

It simply gives me heartache to see some of the neighborhoods going down the way they do and it seems like not much is being done to help the unfortunate and also keep them accountable for what must be done.

I simply thought the lifestyle in Heathrow, Heathrow woods and other subdivisions around Lake Mary would be better if new schools were being built especially in a more suitable area.

While Heathrow holds my heart, I chose to buy in Oviedo (live oak) instead. I have 3 children therefore I would buy a family friendly environment with very good schools rather than in a lifestyle. My opininon of course.

Note: Heathrow was my very first choice coming down here 'til I drove the school yard. Police were patoling the school's yard on a Sunday afternoon. I had a talk with my realtor. She said if school is that important then let's go to Oviedo.

When I ask her where in fact the children who live into that community go to school. Her reply was: 50% of them go to catholic schools, 40% to private and the other 10% attend the public system (high school). She lived the community at that time. She sold her house, now move Lake Mary in the Lake Mary high school area for resell purposes she claimed.

Originally Posted by VAFury

What's been your experience with Seminole High??? I know the demographics attest to what you're saying, but am pretty familiar with the offerings there and educationally speaking it's not the black-hole that some make it out to be....