Communities in Mt. Dora (Orlando, Country Club: condo, homes, neighborhoods)

[Grumpyprof]

Would appreciate thoughts and advice on communities in Mt. Dora. Especially interested learning about pros and cons of Sullivan Ranch and Stoneybrook Hills. Any other Mt. Dora communities that you might recommend? Thanks a lot for the assistance.

[sean1the1]

Both are wonderful communities should not have one problem very similar right next to each other. lol there is also summer broke winch sits on a nice hill and the lakes of mt Dora lots of water.

[jdare123]

Originally Posted by Grumpyprof

Would appreciate thoughts and advice on communities in Mt. Dora. Especially interested learning about pros and cons of Sullivan Ranch and Stoneybrook Hills. Any other Mt. Dora communities that you might recommend? Thanks a lot for the assistance.

I recently chose Stoneybrook Hills so I'm biased but the pros for me were the easier access to 441 (and the 429) -- I know you can get to 441 via RoundLake rd but the back country roads can be a bit daunting too -- and still have access to 46. Also the distance to Mt. Dora. Stoneybrook is in Orange County so that makes it a bit interesting and some people have remarked on the schools but I went to school in the "OC" and actually went to Apopka High School and they're just as good. My child goes to private school in Mt Dora so schools weren't my deciding factor.

Another reason I chose Stoneybrook is that the Wekiva Loop or Lake County road extension appear to be slated to take over some of 46, I want the closer highway but I wasn't sure if access from Sullivan Ranch to 46 could be affected.

The neighborhoods are both beautiful and seem well maintained. I will say that Lennar who builds home in Stoneybrook had more reputation from my local contractor friends than Centex but I think that is because Centex in previous years has had a bad reputation. I never heard anything about the quality of the homes in Sullivan Ranch.

It's been great living here so far. I really do love it. The gate is nicer than I thought it would be and there is a nice safe feeling. I think if you choose either community you'll be happy. Let us know what you choose!

[Grumpyprof]

Thanks for much for your comments. We are a couple of years away from retiring and moving to FL. It will be a permanent home for us, not a "snowbird" thing so we are trying to do our research by making trips to check out communities. We've decided we prefer the Orlando area to the coasts and would rather be in a small town as opposed to a more urban environment.

We've visited a number of towns circling the city of Orlando. We looked at Avalon Park because I am a university professor and my wife a psychologist so we thought it might be possible to adjunct at UCF ....but the traffic and being so near a landfill were cons. Winter Springs was okay but it didn't seem to have much of a downtown or community feel. We really wanted to like Clermont or St. Cloud but neither had that "something special" feel, although I'm sure both are perfectly fine. We visited Independence (Winter Garden) but it seemed to be just a large housing development; the proximity to Disney was nice but there was no other real draw for us.

When we visited Mt. Dora, we immediately were taken by the charm of the downtown...may sound crazy but it seemed like it had just a bit of a Key West flavor. We could see ourselves walking around, grabbing coffee at the bakery, etc. The question then turned to what type of neighborhood or community. We know that in most traditional communities you tend to meet people through the schools and activities in which the kids are involved - - although we are pretty active we will be 64 and 61 respectively and those little league coaching days are well behind us! We liked what we saw of Stoneybrook Hills but did wonder whether it would the sort of place where we could feel part of the community because we won't have kids. So we've started to wonder whether a 55+ community might offer the best option to meet people, join activities, etc. We looked at Lakes of Mt. Dora but the vacant lots and empty security gatehouse suggested that there may be some problems and we don't want to end up in a community that is faltering. Are there any other 55+ communities in the Mt. Dora area? Truly would appreciate any ideas or thoughts you may have.

[brinkofsunshine]

Have you thought about living in a non-HOA community in Mt. Dora? There are so many quaint little neighborhoods with historic homes.. a lot of them within walking distance to downtown. My parents lived for a few years in Mt. Dora, both times they lived in those kind of communities. They met people by being involved in the community more than who they lived next door to

[jdare123]

From my very limited time at Stoneybrook, it does appear to be a very diverse demographic so I think you would find your niche. Sullivan Ranch I believe actually has a section that is specific to 55+ and Country Club of Mt Dora is very nice too. It's not 55 over per se, but it tends to trend that way, especially in the areas by the golf course. If you do decide to explore the areas by downtown (walking downtown would be so wonderful), please make sure your realtor is very familiar with the neighborhoods. There are areas that can be very sketchy, unfortunately. I would stay to the west of Donnelly until you get to at least 8th or 9th street. That's a broad area so I know the realtor could give you a better idea of the areas to avoid. There are great little communities on Lake Shore Drive (try to avoid the homes off of Bay just because it can be busy traffic-wise) -- you can't walk to downtown but the lake view is beautiful. There are also some 55+ Condo communities very near downtown as well.

[ursrob]

Hi Jdare123,
I will be moving from ny to Mount Dora this summer, I have already been to Stoneybrook Hills and love the area. My question to you is why are there so many forclosures in that development? I've seen several on Ansley way and Rishley run way. Also, I have a 14 yr old son, are there many families with kids there? Any info would be greatly appreciated. If you know of any other towns nearby that are good please let me know.Thank you.