[micknukie]

My family and I are looking to leave Broward County for our children's sake. Seminole County keeps being mentioned as a great location for education and family oriented area. My wife and I have looked on sites for homes in the Seminole / Orange County areas. Oviedo, Winter Springs, and Culuotta keep appearing on our radar. Schools seem to be great! There are homes that are affordable with the sale of our house in Broward. I am quite ignorant on many topics about the area that hopefully some people can shed some light on to help with our decision where to move to as a neighborhood and school district. My wife and I are also High School teachers so anyone with knowledge about where openings may occur would be great too. A list of questions are provided below.

Are there 4/2 homes with 1/2 acre lots with pools / fireplaces for $350,000 or less available in nice residential areas in good school districts? What is the sinkhole situation in the area? Are teachers needed in the area? Is the area transient (people constantly moving in and then leaving within a short time)? Crime rate? Neighborhoods better in Winter Springs HS area, Oviedo HS area, or Hagerty HS area? Where is traffic worse in the mentioned areas? Younger family (with kids) area? Property taxes?

Of course we are trying to find the dream area that might be unrealistic, but this will be our first move with children and we are just trying to feel out an area that we do not know much about. We have searched on Zillow for homes but the people can tell the real story. I have also tried to get information from the Chamber of Commerce, but have not heard back yet. We have visited the area to do a short drive around for neighborhoods, but time was limited to cover such a vast area. Any input would be appreciated. Thank you!

PS...we do not want to be inundated by realtors / brokers yet...we want to hear from the residence of the area if possible.

[theurbanfiles]

Originally Posted by micknukie

My family and I are looking to leave Broward County for our children's sake. Seminole County keeps being mentioned as a great location for education and family oriented area. My wife and I have looked on sites for homes in the Seminole / Orange County areas. Oviedo, Winter Springs, and Culuotta keep appearing on our radar. Schools seem to be great! There are homes that are affordable with the sale of our house in Broward. I am quite ignorant on many topics about the area that hopefully some people can shed some light on to help with our decision where to move to as a neighborhood and school district. My wife and I are also High School teachers so anyone with knowledge about where openings may occur would be great too. A list of questions are provided below.

Are there 4/2 homes with 1/2 acre lots with pools / fireplaces for $350,000 or less available in nice residential areas in good school districts? What is the sinkhole situation in the area? Are teachers needed in the area? Is the area transient (people constantly moving in and then leaving within a short time)? Crime rate? Neighborhoods better in Winter Springs HS area, Oviedo HS area, or Hagerty HS area? Where is traffic worse in the mentioned areas? Younger family (with kids) area? Property taxes?

Of course we are trying to find the dream area that might be unrealistic, but this will be our first move with children and we are just trying to feel out an area that we do not know much about. We have searched on Zillow for homes but the people can tell the real story. I have also tried to get information from the Chamber of Commerce, but have not heard back yet. We have visited the area to do a short drive around for neighborhoods, but time was limited to cover such a vast area. Any input would be appreciated. Thank you!

PS...we do not want to be inundated by realtors / brokers yet...we want to hear from the residence of the area if possible.

I'll answer in order. Not a realtor, but a resident of the general area, and I enjoy it.

1313 Carpenter Branch Ct, Oviedo, FL 32765 | Zillow

This house was listed as a foreclosure on Zillow at $220,000. It has 4/2, IDK about half acre lot but it said the lot is 7,000 sq. feet, it has a pool, it's located within a country club HOA neighborhood, and the nearest school district which your children would be zoned for, Hagerty, universally receives 9 or higher ratings on GreatSchools. Unfortunately, that only relies upon FCAT scores, but I have family members who have attended this school district and had good experiences. Of course, Winter Springs High School and Oviedo High School generally have good reputations also, boasting scores of 8, and 9 respectively. Both Oviedo and Hagerty at least have excellent sports, cultural, academic programs, and facilities, among the best in the state it seems.

I've heard about one guy who had his house fall into a sinkhole again (didn't get the hint the first time?), but honestly it isn't something anyone here worries about on a regular basis, and that's even with media that regularly covers it. I think the warning signs would generally would be there, and it almost certainly wouldn't happen in a residential cul de sac. But, I could be completely off base, it just seems like you'd have a better chance of winning the lottery than having a house on a sinkhole here.

https://scpsjobs.scps.k12.fl.us/psp/...RAM.HRS_CE.GBL Here is a listing of posts currently available on the SCPS website. I guess the easy answer is, yes, they are always looking, but I don't know about the quantity of jobs to applicants ratio in relation to other counties. If you are planning on making this move in the immediate future however, do be aware that some of these postings even close tomorrow as they are likely looking to have everyone on by early September at latest, in fact the major hiring period has passed.

Florida in general is very transient, but I would say this area is very stable by Florida standards, particularly compared to Broward County. The population is certainly growing, however.

In general, even in the lower income sections of Oviedo, crime is a rarity, I think this is especially true in the Lockwood/Chuluota sections that feed into Hagerty, as well as nice parts of Oviedo/Winter Springs. In those sections, crime is virtually nonexistent. Again, the lottery analogy.

I would say that the busiest intersections in the three are as follows, though this could be wrong.
1. Alafaya and McCulloch, especially now that classes are in session
2. Aloma and Red Bug, mainly just during rush hour
3. Red Bug and Tuskawilla

Most everywhere else it doesn't seem to interfere with daily life, though riding through Downtown Oviedo could get somewhat complicated as they work to expand it to a 4 lane road. Coming from Broward County, even the "bottlenecking" you see there you will almost breathe a sigh of relief at. Apart from parts from Semoran/Colonial and of course I-4, the non-touristy sections of Orlando really have it made when it comes to traffic.

Not too familiar with property taxes by comparison, but I will say that all three have very nice, safe neighborhoody feel that would be nice for a family. I would say that the section along Lockwood is likely the least traffic you will run into since it is all residential. I would also say that area has a very good strategic location, and is close to many amenities.

How old are your kids? One big factor about living close to UCF, is that it is a very good and rapidly improving university, ranked in the Top 100 National Public by USNWR and Top 10 Best Value/Up & Coming. If you were to stay in the area long term, they could potentially attend the college, and have a very easy commute and save that money that would've gone into a dorm (though the on campus experience IS worthwhile). Another option is the acclaimed DirectConnect Program. Many of the 2 year colleges in Florida now offer it, and it allows for cheaper tuition, smaller class size in getting acclimated to college, and guarantees admission to UCF at the end if requirements are successfully completed.
DirectConnect to UCF - UCF Regional Campuses
In fact, with a Seminole State College branch almost across the street from that neighborhood, it would mean that your child's Elementary, High and 2 Year College would be within walking distance.

Being close to UCF is a perk in and of itself, being a major university, there is almost always an event going on, and many of the recreational, cultural and entertainment options are available to the general public at a very, very reasonable cost, if there is any at all, for example the on campus Observatory, which even occasionally has people from NASA visit, is free. If your family enjoys sports, all the UCF athletic programs seem to be firing on pretty good cylinders right now and competing on a National Level. Just last year, to give an example, they won the Fiesta Bowl, and there is a very decent chance that the Big 12, looking to add two teams to have a conference championship, would extend an invite to UCF, in which case they would be in the same league as UTexas, TCU and Oklahoma among others.

Some other perks of Oviedo:
-Excellent park access: among the best in the area. From the UCF Arboretum and Lake Claire, to airboat rides on Lake Jesup, the Little Big Econ State Forest, several community parks and the Cady Way/Cross Seminole bikeways, it's easy to stay active and get out into nature.
-Most all of the shopping you could want or need within about 15 minutes between Waterford Lakes and Oviedo Marketplace, plus bowling alleys, golf courses, movie theater, etc.
-Still only about 45 minutes to the Ocean, with likely a much less stressful/trafficky drive over than you are used to, plus other cool things that way like Kennedy Space Center, which is exceptional and every kid (and adult) in America should visit.
-A simultaneous feeling of removal and connection to Downtown/Winter Park/Surrounding Neighborhoods, which are very charming and walkable in a Early 1900's way. It's easy to find a parking spot, and just walking around downtown and the near east side neighborhoods, as well as Park Ave. is very pleasant and family friendly. Can get to many of these areas from town in about 20-25 minutes. Also, while it is on the opposite side of town, not difficult to get to Universal from there in about 30 minutes, and Disney in about 40 minutes, if traffic is not at peak.
-Already talked about safety, but it's worth noting again, just a very nice feeling place.

Good luck in your search!