Lake Mary - Advice/Info on nice area for young families (Orlando: apartment, HOA)

[Susan75]

My husband's job may be relocating to Lake Mary within the next 2 years. We have 3 young boys and we have lived in New York (Long Island) our whole lives. To start I would like to know where the best school districts are and what neighborhoods are nicest/safest. Any advice or information would be helpful.

[kyle19125]

Lake Mary happens to be one of the top two school districts in Orlando, so you lucked out there. In terms of neighborhoods, without knowing your price range some of the neighborhoods I would recommend are Alaqua/Alaqua Lakes, Wingfield Reserve, Heathrow, Magnolia Plantation and Timacuan.

[Susan75]

Thank you. Price range would probably be arounnd $450,000

[sergiodurante]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Lake Mary happens to be one of the top two school districts in Orlando, so you lucked out there. In terms of neighborhoods, without knowing your price range some of the neighborhoods I would recommend are Alaqua/Alaqua Lakes, Wingfield Reserve, Heathrow, Magnolia Plantation and Timacuan.

I agree with Kyle, there's also a lot of other great neighborhoods up and down Markham Woods Road and Markham Road (technically Sanford). You'll find there's more than a few gated communities and golf communities depending on your taste. 450k is a good budget and can get you in all the communities Kyle mentioned with the exception of Alaqua/Alaqua Lakes and maybe Wingfield North.

[Susan75]

Would you happen to know how restrictive the gated communities are in terms of renovating your home? My mother would be moving with us and right now we have a home in which she lives in a downstairs apartment. We would like the same (or similar) set up in which she could have her own space seperate from us but within the same house or on the same property (like a converted garage). I've heard HOA's an be tough though and I imagine if that's the case creating an in-law suite would be an issue.

[sergiodurante]

Originally Posted by Susan75

Would you happen to know how restrictive the gated communities are in terms of renovating your home? My mother would be moving with us and right now we have a home in which she lives in a downstairs apartment. We would like the same (or similar) set up in which she could have her own space seperate from us but within the same house or on the same property (like a converted garage). I've heard HOA's an be tough though and I imagine if that's the case creating an in-law suite would be an issue.

Each community will have some sort of Architectural Review Committee, plans are submitted for approval before any construction/renovation takes place. Once you are down here and have narrowed down which community you like, you can check with their HOA for specifics on how restrictive they may be. I would imagine the non-gated communities are less restrictive.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by sergiodurante

Each community will have some sort of Architectural Review Committee, plans are submitted for approval before any construction/renovation takes place. Once you are down here and have narrowed down which community you like, you can check with their HOA for specifics on how restrictive they may be. I would imagine the non-gated communities are less restrictive.

The non-gated communities are less restrictive. Bear in mind in case you're leaning toward gated that the crime rate in this area is about as low as it gets.

[Susan75]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

The non-gated communities are less restrictive. Bear in mind in case you're leaning toward gated that the crime rate in this area is about as low as it gets.

Are the places you mentioned all gated?

[kyle19125]

Heathrow and Magnolia Plantation are gated, Wingfield Reserve/Wingfield North and Timacuan are not gated.

[Susan75]

Thanks for the info. Those communities do look nice from what I have been able to find. The school district's website isn't showing me everything I would like to know about however. Do you know whether they offer any gifted programs or dual language programs?
My oldest son needs to be challenged a bit more than the avg kid. Right now he's in a school that does not offer any gifted programs but they do have dual language which he has been in since kindergarten. I have been very happy with it as it gives him enough of an extra challenge to keep him interested. It's a six year program at the end of which the children are fluent in Spanish.