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My family and I will be on vacation in Orlando the first week of December and plan to spend a day checking out Clermont as this is the city that we are interested in relocating to in the summer of 2013 (or sooner, hopefully sooner).
I have already established different neighborhoods that I would like to visit but am looking for suggestions as to what other areas/places, etc. we should visit while we are there so that we can get a "true" idea of the area.
I am talking the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful so that we can get a full picture of where we would be living/going about our daily lives, including where we would likely go to get our shopping done, etc. I will likely drive by the area schools just in case my homeschooling plan doesn't work out for the kids.
I know that 2013 is three years off and things will change some but the plan in to visit in December while we are there and then again at least once before the move. In addition, we have visited the Orlando area during all times of the year spending about two weeks each visit so we are aware of the weather and that we will not see that at its worst in December. We are prepared for that (well, the adults are having lived in GA, LA and KY, the kids have only ever lived in CA).
The neighborhoods that I plan to check out are: Susan's Landing, Sunburst Estates, Regency Hills, Overlook at Lake Louisa, Osprey Pointe, Legends, Hills of Clermont, Hartwood Pines, Crescent Lake Club and Crescent Bay. Can you suggest any others?
We do plan to rent for 1-2 years before buying a home and will likely look in the above neighborhoods for long-term rentals if possible once the move is in progress.
I can't help much but here's my comments on a few places and ideas:
Susan's Landing - Nice subdivision with very reasonable HOA fees. Gated community located on VERY busy Lake Shore Drive. Seriously, pay attention turning in and out of the entrance as traffic whizzes by!
Osprey Point is $$$ gated community. If you've got the money to live/rent there it's very, VERY nice. Again on LSD so be very careful entering and existing. Extremely well kept. Don't know about the HOA fees.
Crescent Lake Cub and Crescent Bay aren't as nice as the above two, but it's relative. They are nice. Neither is gated. Also on busy LSD.
I know people who moved out of the Legends. You'll have a nice choice of houses and if renting, won't have to pay their extremely high HOA fees. It's crowded and I heard that the facilities, especially the pool, are usually overrun with unsupervised kids. Great place for walking as it's massive and you won't have to go outside the subdivision. Manned guard gate at the entrance and gates at the anterior entrances.
I don't know anything about Lake Louisa Overlook, Hartwood Pines - meh.
Check out each subdivision's location on a Florida flood map as it could make a difference in your insurance cost. Same goes for frame housing, concrete block and stucco is less expensive.
If you'll be working in Orlando, take the time to make the drive to your prospective place of employment during the time you'd normally make the drive. That's to AND from. Traffic from/to Orlando during those "rush" hours is surprisingly bad.
Lots of grocery choices from BJ's, Target, Publix, Wal-Mart, Winn-Dixie, Sweetbay, IGA, and a couple of small ethnic markets.
Department stores are Belk, JC Penny, Kohls, Target, Wal-Mart, and several independents, plus several thrift shops.
This is off the top of my head, so it's rather disjointed. There are quite a few realtors on the forum, so perhaps one of them will jump in with additional pertinent information.
Good luck with your move.
Last edited by Creek Hollow; 09-14-2010 at 09:57 AM..
It is extremely difficult to be able to offer any sound advice in my opinion, simply because the time frame you are looking at is so big. 3 years is an awful long time, and I generally find from the clients I work with that their needs and wants change very quickly. As an example I was working with a client recently from out of state who unfortunatly I was unable to assist ultimately. I was sourcing properties and neighbourhoods and there were certain things which were no go areas. The community had to be gated and this was a deal breaker for them. No community I sent him worked unless it was gated.
I suggested that we meet up when they got down to Florida and I could show them some communities, or if they wanted to check out communities themselves, then to let me know and I could show them those homes.
I called the gentleman and he told me they had put an offer on a new home in a community which WAS NOT GATED. Unfortunatly the gentleman who didnt have an open mind when I was searching for homes for him for quite a long period of time and was adament they would only purchase a home in a gated community went ahead and purchased in an ungated community.
This is just an example of how peoples criteria can change. This doesnt even take into account any changes in infrastructure, schools or how busy an area is over the long term because you are talking 3 years.
There are a number of great communities including some extremly nice new communities. But who knows what a new community will be like in 3 years. Add to that, it may be your personal preferences change in that time.
I would suggest just driving around different areas and get an overall impression of the area for now. Because if you are going to be making the move in 3 years I can almost guarantee that what you are looking at and for now will be completely different to what you are looking for in 3 years.
Creek Hollow, Thank you so much for all of the information. I will keep everything in mind and will most likely drive by to see where everything is. Thanks again!
cfIfan, I completely understand where you are coming from as far as 3 years being a big time frame. I have a few cities in mind and may just try to see them all while we are there. I kind of want to get a feel for the area when we are there and then the plan is to visit again, at least once, before the move but it will likely be more than once.
I am sure that wants and needs do change. There are few things that I will be picky about (how many bedrooms we'll need, safe area, good schools) regardless of whether it is now or three years from now but other things, well, who knows what the future may bring.
I will be visiting the area with the potentials in mind as nothing is ever, ever set in stone!! Heck, we may totally not like any of the areas we're looking at and have to rethink it all, who knows at this point! And we are always open to different possibilities and know that things change!
Thank you so much for the advice!!!
Last edited by Florida4Me13; 09-15-2010 at 07:08 AM..
Reason: Grammatical errors!
Creek Hollow, Thank you so much for all of the information. I will keep everything in mind and will most likely drive by to see where everything is. Thanks again!
cfIfan, I completely understand where you are coming from as far as 3 years being a big time frame. I have a few cities in mind and may just try to see them all while we are there. I kind of want to get a feel for the area when we are there and then the plan is to visit again, at least once, before the move but it will likely be more than once.
I am sure that wants and needs do change. There are few things that I will be picky about (how many bedrooms we'll need, safe area, good schools) regardless of whether it is now or three years from now but other things, well, who knows what the future may bring.
I will be visiting the area with the potentials in mind as nothing is ever, ever set in stone!! Heck, we may totally not like any of the areas we're looking at and have to rethink it all, who knows at this point! And we are always open to different possibilities and know that things change!
Thank you so much for the advice!!!
Yes, absolutely research your schools. Depending where you live and if the homeschooling thing does not work out you do not want your children attending the Groveland High School. It is very poor and English is really a second language there.
I have close friends in Cleremont and all I can tell you is that the educational standards of the schools leaves MUCH to be desired.
Hwy 50 is an absolute nightmare during rush hour between 27 and the turnpike. 27 can be bad as well though, IMO, nowhere near as bad as 50. 33 can be handy as a back road to get to I-4 if headed toward Lakeland & Tampa areas.
Before you buy know where your water is coming from. Will it be city water or will you have a well.
If you can buy a lake property where your living area faces west on a lake that backs to the Green Swamp you'll enjoy some of the prettiest sunsets FL has to offer outside of the gulf coast, IMO.
Clermont grew exponentially in the boom years before the economic slow down. It wasn't hit as hard as many areas in FL, a good thing. What you see now may be quite different than what Clermont may resemble in three years.
Clermont is rolling hills suburbia with fairly quick acess to Disney and somewhat easy commute into DT Orlando. It's a nice, growing area that is not 100% built out nor 100% rural, bottom line, it's a suburb but the hills make the difference!!!
I can't remember the sub-division names but the ones I think are worth a look, are:
1. North of Hwy 50, between Hancock and Citrus Tower Blvd. This would be just north of the South Lake Hospital to the west and the Lake County College and Library to the east.
2. South of Hwy 50, on Hancock, the neighborhoods are on both sides of the street, called Greater Pine something.
There are also some good looking properties on John's Lake Rd, east of WalMart off 27.
My family and I will be on vacation in Orlando the first week of December and plan to spend a day checking out Clermont as this is the city that we are interested in relocating to in the summer of 2013 (or sooner, hopefully sooner).
I have already established different neighborhoods that I would like to visit but am looking for suggestions as to what other areas/places, etc. we should visit while we are there so that we can get a "true" idea of the area.
I am talking the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful so that we can get a full picture of where we would be living/going about our daily lives, including where we would likely go to get our shopping done, etc. I will likely drive by the area schools just in case my homeschooling plan doesn't work out for the kids.
I know that 2013 is three years off and things will change some but the plan in to visit in December while we are there and then again at least once before the move. In addition, we have visited the Orlando area during all times of the year spending about two weeks each visit so we are aware of the weather and that we will not see that at its worst in December. We are prepared for that (well, the adults are having lived in GA, LA and KY, the kids have only ever lived in CA).
The neighborhoods that I plan to check out are: Susan's Landing, Sunburst Estates, Regency Hills, Overlook at Lake Louisa, Osprey Pointe, Legends, Hills of Clermont, Hartwood Pines, Crescent Lake Club and Crescent Bay. Can you suggest any others?
We do plan to rent for 1-2 years before buying a home and will likely look in the above neighborhoods for long-term rentals if possible once the move is in progress.
Please let me know what you think.
TIA,
Kirstyn
Hi kristyn,
I live in clermont on US Hwy27 near lake louisa. It is a beautiful area don't let anyone tell you otherwise. They have an awesome elementary school called sawgrass my granddaughter went there and was very much involved in activities and she loved it (and we are from NY).
People move in and out of subdivisons all the time a lot is due to the economy if they can no longer afford to live there. There are all kinds of shopping there no far at all including a movie theatre, BJ's, JCpennys, Ross etc. lots of restaurants, and supermarkets like sweetbay, publix, winn dixie just closed (because of the competition of the other bigger stores) there are two walmarts on US27, Lowes, home depot is not far. Hwy 192 is minutes away to tourism and Disney is very close as well. Downtown Orlando is about 25 mins and they have a beautiful park called lake eola park it's awesome. So you should come and see some pics did not do justice for the area but we do have rolling hills and the view can be awesome especially at night. Oh and its very peaceful and quiet. Clermont is very diverse and all ages live amongst each other. Hope this helps.
I can't remember the sub-division names but the ones I think are worth a look, are:
1. North of Hwy 50, between Hancock and Citrus Tower Blvd. This would be just north of the South Lake Hospital to the west and the Lake County College and Library to the east.
2. South of Hwy 50, on Hancock, the neighborhoods are on both sides of the street, called Greater Pine something.
There are also some good looking properties on John's Lake Rd, east of WalMart off 27.
While not bad communities, neither of those (#1 and 2) are considered some of the more desirable communities in Clermont.
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visiting clermont fl
