[stacy0373]

We will be relocating to FL in July 2010, after my daughter graduates from high school. I'm looking at Port Orange, New Smyrna Beach and Palm Coast as possible choices. A good high school is important to me, as my son has an IEP and he will be starting high school once we relocate. I would like to stay in a less crowded area, not Orlando or Miami. We currently live in a small town (20,000) and the "city" that boarders us has a population of 108,000. I'm more familiar with the Port Orange/Daytona/Altamonte Springs areas but I am very open to suggestions. I want to be in a family friendly area where we feel safe, low crime rate, not too far from the beach, nice neighborhhods, limited drug activity, dog parks are a plus. We will be spending a lot of time going back and forth checking out possible locations over the next year. All feedback is much appreciated.

[Shoegal1075]

Stacy, I don't know that much about the areas in question, but I do believe that Winter Park and Lake Mary are relatively close to Altamonte Springs. I mention these 2 places because I believe they are (at least they were) known for the schools. I have been warned and forewarned about the schools in Florida, to the point you are almost scared to move there. You think oh my goodness, my kid is going to be an idiot if he goes to these schools. However, I have some friends who live in Florida and actually prefer it to where I live now which is NYC. I don't know what scale you would rate your school on, but that may be a serious consideration for your. Good luck. Try www.greatschools.net to look up the schools in the area you are looking to live. I know that my planning stages for my move to SFL are stressfull because of the school situation. This website helped me a lot. I narrowed my search to 5 cities that I felt were acceptable to live in for the public school system. Maybe it will help you the same.